Observations and Key Themes from the International Hotel Investment Forum EMEA 2026

The 2026 edition of the “Berlin” hotel conference, more formally known as the International Hotel Investment Forum EMEA, brought together a wide-ranging set of industry investors, operators, advisers, brands and experts for three days of thought-provoking conversations about key issues facing the industry and its future. While we could not attend every panel and connect with all delegates, several themes emerged from our discussions and the panels we attended.

Geopolitical Concerns Weigh Down the Transaction Market

While the conference started only three and a half weeks after the start of the Israeli-American war in Iran, it was clear from our conversations that the pending impact on the Middle East region generally—and the global impact of the raising price of oil and natural gas—is giving pause to investors. In addition, the continuation of the Russian war against Ukraine presents additional considerations for underwriting investments in continental Europe. We did not hear directly from any investors saying that 2026 would be a lost year, but transaction volumes will certainly be lower as owners and potential buyers try to weigh the impact of these wars. Many expressed concerns about a protracted war and disruptions to oil supply (and corresponding rising prices for air travel, consumer goods, and food production) that would be felt across many regions. At the same time, panelists and industry contacts noted a strong desire to find deals and to continue to invest in hospitality assets, especially as travel continues to be a part of discretionary consumer spend and business travel remains relatively strong in Europe.

Of course, the operators and investors with assets in Middle East markets—particularly in places like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where occupancy levels have been significantly impacted—are concerned about a long recovery, even if the hostilities end relatively quickly, given the dramatic drop in tourism. It will be interesting to see how places like the United Arab Emirates and Qatar respond to the drop and undertake campaigns to encourage travel to their regions, once fighting stops. At the same time, many people were making predictions on which markets would benefit from the travel disruption, with travelers pivoting to other destinations away from the Middle East.

Yield Compression: The Global Financial Challenge

Some panelists discussed yield compression as a financial challenge for the hospitality industry. This is a result of increasing costs—such as employment expenses, insurance costs, or energy costs—which could not be offset by an increase of RevPAR. While this obviously negatively impacts the profitability of hotel operations, the appetite of real estate investors for hotels assets is tempered as investors may seek more robust investments, either inside the hospitality sector (leases) or, more likely, in other real estate asset classes.

Hospitality Restructuring: The New Normal?

Another discussion point between hospitality investors was the increase in restructuring and even insolvency cases affecting the hotel investment industry. A particularly prominent case in Germany discussed frequently was the insolvency of Berlin-based Revo Hospitality Group (formerly HR Group), Europe’s largest multi-brand operator operating more than 260 hotels in 12 countries. While some market observers have speculated about a Revo-specific structural issue, the increase in operating costs (as discussed above) is likely one of the reasons for this insolvency. As a consequence, the desire for debt providers without long hospitality experience to finance hospitality assets and businesses seems negatively impacted, as the risk profile is perceived to be higher. This may again create opportunities for market experts: what is bad for some is good for others.

Everyone Has AI Fever, but Where will AI Be Most Impactful?

At this point, nearly every conference, cocktail party, or short conversation with a stranger on an airplane will discuss artificial intelligence (“AI”) and the pending impact on the global economy, jobs, education, health care and—of course—travel and hospitality. Industry operators are clearly trying to understand how to leverage AI for bookings and demand generation, but how it will be deployed was less clear. One fascinating panel discussed everything from direct booking through AI platforms to how hotels will leverage AI to drive traffic to their booking channels. Many stories were told of AI-assisted travel (“I used AI to plan my trip to XYZ city”), but what operators and owners want to better understand is how they can impact the output of the AI’s response to prompts like, “help me plan a trip for three days in Paris with my spouse.” The implications for hotel brands, apps, and large online travel agencies (“OTAs”) are fascinating, and we will watch closely to see how things evolve and how AI could reshape things like franchise agreements, management agreements and OTA licensing agreements (and the economics of those agreements).

While the desire to increase efficiency and find new ways to deploy AI in investment decisions and daily operations garner significant attention, the hospitality industry remains focused on a key differentiator for the industry—human interaction. Numerous operators and investors talked about the importance of human touch, and that tomorrow’s traveler will seek (and perhaps at an even higher level compared to today) personal connection and service. For the hospitality industry, it seems an emerging thesis for investors and operators is to unlock how to deploy AI in a way that is “unseen” to the customer. Similarly for investors, we heard several stories of the remarkable impact of AI on underwriting and deal analysis, but AI cannot (and may never really be able to) feel the emotional component of what could make an investment a good or bad opportunity or understand how a shift in market is coming.

2026 and Beyond

Turbulent—yet potentially opportunistic—times seem to be the reality for the hospitality industry in 2026. We hope for less turbulence, greater stability, and innovation together with opportunities for investors and operators to achieve their desired goals. The hospitality industry has always been resilient, and we are confident this year will be no different.