Hotel real estate has become a well-established asset class in Europe, averaging around 7 percent of total investment volume.

In the current environment of low interest rates, the popularity of the asset class is likely to endure. And the hotel sector in Europe continues to grow, with guest arrivals growing by 8 percent and revenue per room by 5 percent during 2017.

Against this background, and with construction costs on the rise, an increasing number of investors, developers and hotel brand franchises are turning to dual-branded or multi-branded hotels, where two or more hotel brands occupy one site, to maximise returns and reduce risk.

Although dual-branded or multi-branded hotels have been around for around three decades, with the first dual-branded hotel in Europe established in 1984 by Accor in Paris, they are now flourishing across Europe as well as the US hotel markets, with 50 dual-branded projects (100 hotels) and over 16,000 rooms due to open by Decemb