Christie & Co has published its annual “Business Outlook 2024” report, which highlights the key market activities, trends and challenges of 2023 and provides forecasts for 2024.
The report underlines the ambivalent developments in hotel real estate from an operational and real estate perspective. On the one hand, the recovery in tourism demand in Germany, Austria and CEE continued in 2023, leading to visible increases in average daily room rates (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPAR). On the other hand, the hotel investment market recorded an extremely meagre result in 2023, largely due to the rise in key interest rates.
The healthcare real estate asset class remains very popular with investors due to demographically driven demand and increasing awareness of healthcare services. The attractiveness of this type of real estate results from its stability and the constant need for medical care. Despite the current challenges in the area of staff shortages and the shift in interest to more specific property types, its long-term potential is still viewed positively.
Looking ahead to the coming year, the Christie & Co report provides market forecasts for Austria and Germany:
- The pipeline of hotel developments will be weaker due to the still challenging financing landscape, while there will be a parallel increase in sustainable construction projects and modernization measures in the care facility sector.
- Digitalization will become increasingly important for operators of hotels and care facilities. This is done to compensate for cost increases without compromising service quality.
- A clear ESG strategy will become an indispensable component for operator properties and establish itself as common practice.
- After four years of strong volatility, the market is expected to stabilize somewhat in 2024. At the same time, however, some hotel and care home operators will still be subject to lingering consolidation.
Lukas Hochedlinger, Managing Director of Central & Northern Europe at Christie & Co, comments: “Despite the subdued market environment for hotel and healthcare properties last year, we are currently seeing a significant increase in activity among market participants. Investors and sellers alike are positioning themselves to find the right time for their transactions in 2024.”
