The International Hospitality Investment Forum EMEA (IHIF EMEA) 2026 opens today in Berlin, marking what many in the industry consider the most consequential gathering of hospitality capital in over a decade. Running from March 23 to 25 at the InterContinental and Pullman hotels, the forum arrives at a moment when European hotel transaction volumes are recovering, interest rate pressures are easing, and institutional investors are actively seeking to deploy capital that had been sidelined for the better part of two years. Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Ireland, Spain, and dozens more countries are represented — but this is far more than a roll call of nations. It is a concentrated marketplace where over 700 investors representing $581 billion in assets under management will spend three days forging deals, testing strategies, and making commitments that will shape the hospitality landscape for years to come.
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A Forum Built on 25 Years of Deal-Making Heritage
IHIF EMEA is not a newcomer to the hospitality investment calendar. Organised by Questex, the event has operated for more than 25 years as the primary platform where hospitality capital meets opportunity across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. This year’s edition features a record 220 speakers — the largest programme in the forum’s history — and welcomes more than 2,500 delegates, including over 500 C-suite leaders and directors. The theme for 2026, “Returns Redefined. Value Reimagined,” signals a sector that has matured beyond the recovery phase into a period of strategic sorting, where investors are differentiating sharply between asset classes, geographies, and operational models.
The conference programme addresses six core areas: Vision (macroeconomic and geopolitical trends), Experiential Hospitality (luxury, lifestyle, and wellness), Asset Management (operational optimisation), Destination (growth markets), Development (adaptive reuse and conversion), and Investment and Finance (deal structures and capital deployment). Confirmed speakers represent companies including Airbnb, Blackstone, Hyatt Hotels, Minor International, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Pandox AB, LaSalle Investment Management, Christie & Co, Frasers Hospitality, and many more. The programme also features keynote appearances from Sebastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO of Accor, Elie Maalouf, CEO of IHG Hotels & Resorts, and Satya Anand, President EMEA for Marriott International.
Notably, 32 percent of the investors attending this year are first-time participants, a statistic that underscores the broadening institutional appetite for hospitality as an asset class.
Why Europe Anchors the Global Hospitality Investment Conversation
Europe’s centrality to this forum is not accidental. The continent remains one of the world’s most active regions for hotel investment, supported by strong tourism demand, globally recognised destinations, and a diverse hospitality market that continues to attract international capital.
According to a report from Global Asset Solutions, Europe’s hotel market recorded deals totalling €14.65 billion in 2025 across 267 transactions. Those deals comprised approximately 45,052 hotel rooms, with an average transaction size of €54.9 million and assets trading at roughly €325,000 per key. France, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Germany remained the four core markets, together accounting for approximately €9.61 billion — about 66 percent of total European transaction volume.
The luxury and upscale segments dominated activity. Luxury hotels accounted for 34 transactions worth a combined €3.66 billion, while the upscale category led overall volume. The largest single deal of the year was the sale of the Mare Nostrum Resort in Tenerife for €432 million, sold by the Brookfield-backed Selenta Group to Spring Hotels.
This momentum is projected to continue. JLL’s 2026 Global Hotel Investment Outlook forecasts a continued robust increase in global hotel investment volumes for the year. The report highlights that cross-border capital is accelerating, particularly into UK and European markets, while private equity firms are positioning themselves to target value-add opportunities and portfolio transactions. Global hotel direct investment rose 22 percent from the 2023 trough in 2025, and hotels have reclaimed their historical share of commercial real estate investment at approximately eight percent of global volumes.
Separately, Cushman & Wakefield projects a 5.6 percent rise in European tourism demand for 2026, with hotel investment volumes expected to reach €27 billion. New hotel supply remains constrained by high construction costs and financing difficulties, with supply growth across 17 key European city markets averaging just 2 percent in 2025 and projected at 3.1 percent in 2026. Cities such as Lisbon, Manchester, Budapest, and Dublin are expected to see the largest relative increases in hotel inventory.
Meanwhile, Savills’ European Hotel Investment Outlook 2026 characterises 2025 as a positive year for the market, with transaction activity strengthening and investor engagement broadening. The report notes that European-focused private real estate funds raised over $40 billion in 2025, a 23 percent increase from the previous year, although the fundraising environment remains increasingly competitive and concentrated.
The Rise of Branded Residences and Experience-Led Investment
One of the most significant structural shifts visible at IHIF EMEA 2026 is the convergence of hospitality with adjacent sectors. The forum introduces three dedicated tracks this year that address these changes head-on.
The first is BxR (Brand x Residential) EMEA, a full-day programme dedicated to branded residences. As institutional investors allocate growing capital to this segment, the track examines investment strategy, development pipelines, and the operational models defining branded residences across the EMEA region. According to Savills, the number of luxury branded residential schemes in Europe has increased threefold from 18 in 2015 to 62 at the end of 2025, and is forecast to double again by 2032. Branded residences are increasingly integral to the financial viability of luxury hotel development, creating a symbiotic relationship between hospitality and high-end residential real estate.
The second new track is the Experience Stage, which examines how experiential travel — spanning ultra-luxury, lifestyle, and adventure leisure — has fundamentally altered what investors seek in a hospitality asset. Shifting guest expectations are reshaping key performance indicators and underwriting assumptions across the sector.
The third addition is the Destination Hub, which spotlights placemaking, public-private partnerships, and the emerging destinations creating the most compelling risk-adjusted opportunities. Location has never mattered more in hospitality investment, and this track recognises that reality with dedicated programming.
Middle Eastern Capital: A Driving Force in Global Hospitality
The presence of delegates from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and the wider Gulf region at IHIF EMEA reflects the outsized role that Middle Eastern capital now plays in shaping global hospitality investment.
Gulf-based sovereign wealth funds have grown dramatically in recent years. According to a Deloitte Middle East report, global sovereign wealth fund assets reached $12 trillion by the end of 2024, with Gulf funds controlling approximately 40 percent of that total and representing six of the ten largest funds worldwide. These assets are forecast to reach $18 trillion by 2030. The five major Gulf players — the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ), Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) — deployed $82 billion in 2023 and an additional $55 billion in the first nine months of 2024 alone.
In the first half of 2025, Middle East sovereign wealth funds invested an estimated $12.85 billion in European deals, with energy, technology, and infrastructure leading sector allocations. The hospitality sector remains a key target, particularly for luxury and large-scale developments. Saudi Arabia’s PIF, which has grown to $1.15 trillion in assets, now allocates 37 percent to alternatives and actively seeks transformative partnerships aligned with Vision 2030 objectives. ADIA, managing $1.11 trillion, maintains a 32 percent allocation to alternatives that includes significant commitments to European private equity, infrastructure, and real estate.
These sovereign investors are not merely passive allocators. They increasingly demand co-investment rights, direct deal access, and strategic alignment with national economic visions. At forums like IHIF EMEA, their presence adds both depth and scale to the deal-making environment, particularly for cross-border luxury projects and large-format hospitality developments.
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North American Investors Bring Scale and Experience
The United States and Canada send a substantial delegation to Berlin each year, and 2026 is no exception. North American investors — including major private equity firms, global hotel brand operators, and institutional capital providers — are drawn to Europe by its combination of mature markets, stable demand, and attractive relative value.
JLL notes that private equity firms are mobilising with substantial undeployed capital, targeting value-add opportunities, portfolio transactions, and high-quality hotels available below replacement cost across key European markets. The dynamic is particularly active in the cross-border space, where American and European companies regularly form partnerships at IHIF EMEA that drive market integration.
Many of the world’s largest hotel brands originate from North America, and their expansion strategies are heavily influenced by the conversations and commitments made at Berlin. Hyatt, Marriott, Wyndham, and other major operators use the forum to align their European growth pipelines with investor demand and development opportunities.
Africa and Asia-Pacific: Emerging Growth Frontiers
While Europe remains the anchor, IHIF EMEA’s mandate spans the Middle East and Africa, and increasingly draws selective participation from Asia-Pacific markets. Africa represents an emerging growth frontier, with South Africa as a key participant and other markets gaining investor attention for their development potential. The continent’s expanding middle class, rising tourism demand, and infrastructure development create opportunities that are increasingly visible on the IHIF EMEA stage.
In the Asia-Pacific region, JLL highlights Japan as a standout market, forecasting it will represent 35 to 40 percent of total Asia-Pacific hotel transaction volumes in 2026. Singapore’s safe-haven appeal and India’s promising growth trajectory create additional opportunities for strategic capital deployment. At IHIF EMEA, delegates from China, Singapore, and India engage in targeted discussions that often lead to cross-regional investment partnerships.
New Networking Formats Designed for Transaction-Focused Engagement
IHIF EMEA has traditionally been recognised not just for its content but for its capacity to facilitate actual deal-making. The 2026 edition introduces several new structured networking formats designed to accelerate this process.
“Meeting of the Minds” sessions offer delegate-led topic discussions focused on the issues that matter most to participants. “Off-Stage Chats” provide direct one-to-one access to speakers immediately following their sessions. “Hosted Parallel Discussions” bring expert-facilitated roundtables for deep, candid engagement on complex investment challenges. Additionally, an AI-powered networking tool matches delegates with peers based on their specific goals, while Breakfast Roundtables and “Capital Meets” facilitate direct conversations between investors, developers, and operators.
Over 85 companies are exhibiting in the Exhibition Hall, showcasing ventures, technologies, and investment propositions that are redefining hospitality operations and guest experience.
The Broader Investment Trends Shaping IHIF EMEA 2026
Several macro trends are converging to make this year’s forum particularly consequential.
First, hospitality has evolved from what was once considered an alternative investment into an institutional-grade asset class that is increasingly influencing adjacent sectors through what the industry calls “hotelisation.” The overlap with residential living, wellness, and lifestyle sectors creates entirely new categories of investment opportunity.
Second, sustainability is becoming a non-negotiable consideration. The forum is aligned with Questex’s Quest Zero initiative, which commits to reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Green investments and ESG-compliant strategies are increasingly central to investment decisions, driven both by regulatory pressure and investor demand.
Third, the era of uniform recovery is over. As JLL’s Will Duffey noted, the market is now in a phase of strategic sorting where discerning consumers and targeted capital are creating divergence. Experience-led, high-quality assets are commanding significant premiums, while midscale urban hotels face margin pressure from elevated operating costs, labour shortages, and price-sensitive guests.
Fourth, technology and digital transformation are reshaping the industry. From AI-driven guest experience platforms to data analytics for investment underwriting, the integration of technology into every layer of hospitality operations is a persistent theme throughout the conference programme.
Fifth, the 2026 FIFA World Cup represents a unique catalyst for hotel performance in host cities, while constrained supply dynamics across Europe create lasting value for existing assets.
What This Means for the Future of Global Hospitality Investment
IHIF EMEA 2026 is not simply a conference. It is, in practical terms, the operating system for European hospitality investment — the place where strategies are tested, partnerships are initiated, and capital is committed. The convergence of over 2,500 delegates from dozens of countries, representing hundreds of billions in investable capital, creates an environment where the trajectory of the industry is actively shaped rather than merely discussed.
The Deloitte European Hotel Industry and Investment Survey found that executives maintain a positive long-term outlook for European hotel markets, with London remaining the most attractive city for hotel investment in 2026. However, profitability has become the top priority, and labour and workforce challenges remain the industry’s number one risk.
As Europe’s hotel construction pipeline continues to expand — with 1,717 projects and 252,600 rooms currently in development across the continent — the decisions made during these three days in Berlin will influence which projects move forward, which markets attract the most capital, and which business models define the next era of hospitality.
For investors, operators, developers, lenders, and advisors gathering at the InterContinental and Pullman hotels this week, the message is clear: capital is moving again, opportunity is diversifying, and the hospitality sector’s transformation from a niche asset class into a mainstream investment vehicle is now firmly underway.
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