PODCAST: Pro-invest’s Schaffer on the hotel sector’s ‘renaissance’

The co-founder and CEO Europe of Pro-invest said the once-shunned property type is now attracting institutional investors for two reasons.

Sabine Schaffer, co-founder and CEO Europe of Sydney-based Pro-invest Group, believes the hospitality sector is undergoing a “renaissance,” thanks to shifting investor sentiment.

“Hotels was the asset class that nobody wanted to invest in about 18 months ago,” she said, speaking with PERE editor Evelyn Lee on day two of the PERE Europe Forum 2023. “And now, all of a sudden, more and more of the well-established institutional investors are looking into it.”

The reason for this shift in investor sentiment not only has to do with so-called revenge travel, but a change in society with respect to how people want to spend their money. “The next generation simply is less focused on ownership and rather would like to focus on experiences,” she said. “What we see is people wanting to have more wallet share to spend on travel. And I think that’s an area that hotels are really very nicely catering to.”

She also added that hotels have a versatility of usage, in not only providing a place for people to sleep, but also to work outside of the office. “So effectively, the versatility of hotels lends itself well to be more adaptive for the future demand of the next generation going forward,” Schaffer said. “And hence, allows for more flexibility and arguably risk mitigation than some of the more traditional classes such as offices or retail.”

For more on Schaffer’s views on hotels, her firm’s decarbonization progress and the challenges with executing residential investment opportunities, listen to the above podcast.