In Italy the growing interest in resorts, and the strong focus on design in new hotel projects, emerged at a round table organized by the PKF hospitality group.
Resorts are performing twice as well as urban hotels
With average hotel rates growing in all market segments, and resorts performing practically twice as well as urban hotels, inflation, energy costs and rising commodity prices are not hindering the development of the hospitality industry in Italy, which is set to exceed 2019 figures this year.
"The post-Covid recovery is a concrete fact," comments Luca Cerretani, PKF’s new director Italy. "The most important data highlighted by an analysis from STR Global shows that average rates are on the rise, not only in the luxury segment, where the growth rate is still higher, but also in the midscale and economy segments.”
The STR research shows that hotel rates in Italy increased on average by 25% at the end of 2022 and the start of 2023 compared to 2019.
“Hotel room prices can be adjusted to the higher cost of living”
"Last year the leisure sector led the recovery, showing greater buoyance than city hotels," adds Giorgio Bianchi, business development PKF. "The main international brands, from Hilton to Radisson, from Accor to IHG and Meliá, are carrying out operations in Italy and the interest in resorts is not just for seaside properties, but also for mountain areas as witnessed by the Club Med project in Sansicario, Piedmont.” Rising inflation is favouring investments in hotel assets, added Cerretani, - because unlike office or residential properties, room prices can be adjusted to the higher cost of living. Over the course of the year we will see many openings. While there is not the same level of transactions as in the past, there is a lot of demand, supported by the growth in arrivals and overnights.”
Italy’s art cities are much in demand as are secondary destinations
The survey conducted by PKF shows that the three essential ingredients for a new hotel project are location, funding sources and capital expenditure. The best opportunities are resorts (25%) and the highest performance is in the leisure and resort market. Tuscany, Puglia, Sicily and cities such as Rome, Milan and Florence are in demand as are secondary destinations such as Bologna, Turin, Naples, Bari, Trieste and Palermo.
