The year 2024 marked a significant rebound in global hotel investment, driven predominantly by robust growth in cross-border transactions. The hotel investment landscape was characterized by region-specific trends, with the Asia-Pacific region continuing to offer promising opportunities. Despite potential risks such as geopolitical factors and inflationary pressures, the global hotel investment outlook for 2025 remains positive.

According to CBRE’s new 2024 Global Hotel Capital Flows report, global cross-border hotel investment witnessed a robust increase of 54% year-over-year in 2024, marking a significant upturn in the global hotel investment landscape. This growth boosted total hotel transaction volumes by 16% year-over-year, indicating a strong recovery from the economic slump induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Americas saw EMEA emerge as the dominant source of cross-border capital, accounting for 74% of inbound investment volumes. This was partly due to a reduction in activity from Asia-Pacific investors, particularly those from Greater China. Full-service hotels remained the preferred investment choice, constituting 87% of all cross-border investment in 2024.

In EMEA, foreign capital inflows accounted for 61% of hotel investment volumes. This was primarily driven by interest from U.S.-based investors. The UK remained the top destination, while Italy, Portugal, and Greece exhibited substantial growth in cross-border investment.

The Asia-Pacific region outperformed the Americas and EMEA, with total hotel investment volumes reaching 90% of 2019 levels. Strong purchasing by investors from within the region contributed to this growth. The U.S. remained the leading source of cross-border capital, with annual inflows up by 23% since the onset of COVID-19. Japan experienced a significant rise in capital inflows in 2024, accounting for nearly 50% of cross-border investment in the region.

Global cross-border hotel investment as a percentage of total transaction volume surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2024. This trend was unique to the hotel industry, as other commercial real estate asset classes have yet to recover fully. Strong cross-border investment over the past decade has resulted in an approximately US$50 billion increase in foreign investors’ hotel ownership and the significant expansion of hotel brands worldwide.

Asia-Pacific has emerged as a bright spot since COVID-19, registering a 12% increase in annual capital inflows during 2020-2024. This was primarily driven by steady purchasing by U.S. investors. Meanwhile, reduced outbound investment from Greater China led to declines of 52% and 70% in annual capital inflows into EMEA and the Americas, respectively.

The global hotel investment outlook for 2025 is positive, both in terms of domestic and cross-border investment. CBRE expects lower interest rates, a positive travel and tourism outlook, and favourable demand/supply fundamentals to drive more capital flows into the hotel sector.

In conclusion, despite the potential risks posed by geopolitical factors, currency fluctuations, and inflationary pressures, the robust performance of global hotel capital flows in 2024 and the promising outlook for 2025 signal a stable and profitable future for the global hotel investment landscape.

Download the Full Year 2024 Global Hotel Capital Flows Report, which includes detailed regional analysis.