Five-star quality: Hotel recovery under way despite disruptions

The hotel sector has undergone major changes post-COVID that have disrupted previous operational norms, but a recovery is under way, and the future could be bright.

The European hotel sector has had to come to terms with a number of changes following the COVID-19 crisis. From interruptions to previously long-established operational standards, to a shift in investment focus, the market has had to adjust to a number of tough new realities.

Mercifully, these challenges have been somewhat masked. As travel restrictions ebbed away and pent-up demand among tourists from regions such as the United States was boosted by favourable currency exchange rates, a clear recovery was under way in 2022.

Hotel values across Europe rose by around 3 percent in 2022, with Paris, London, Zürich, Amsterdam and Rome posting the highest-valued hotels, according to the HVS European Hotel Valuation Index. Valuations rose due to a number of gateway cities achieving higher RevPAR levels by