According to H1 2017 European hotel investment data from CBRE, Spain was the outstanding market in the first half, seeing a 228 percent year-on-year increase in transaction activity and taking H1 2017 investment volume there to more than €2 billion. Overall, European hotel investment volume in the first half totalled €9 billion, a more modest 6 percent year-on-year increase.

Spain’s “exceptional” dominance is attributed by CBRE to the country’s continuing economic recovery, attractive asset pricing and availability, “which made Spain the most liquid hotel market in Q2 2017.” One example of recent market activity there was the sale by Starmel, a joint venture between Starwood Capital and Meliá Hotels International, of a Spanish hotel portfolio consisting of four Sol by Meliá branded assets in Ibiza, Mallorca, Lanzarote and Costa del Sol. Miguel Casas, director, investment properties, CBRE Hotels, Spain, comments that this transaction is a sign of