The 8th edition of the Meetup-MIPIM highlights the success of the hotel sector in 2023 and the essential factor in attracting international investment

The new edition of the Meridiana Meetup-MIPIM brought together in Barcelona the main leaders of the hotel sector in an event organised by Meridiana with the collaboration of the Barcelona Catalonia project. The meeting highlighted how the real estate market is evolving to attract international investment, with a particular focus on the hospitality segment and how it has evolved in recent years.

Xavier Mayo , head of City Promotion abroad at Barcelona City Council, started the event by explaining the importance of participating in MIPIM. Barcelona Catalonia is a project that has been running for 17 years:

"During these years, we have lived through moments of economic and political crisis, but we have also maintained our commitment to the internationalisation of the city through tools such as MIPIM, which allow us to attract investment to the region and provide private companies with a place to develop their business".

At MIPIM 2024, the Barcelona Catalonia stand, promoted by the Generalitat de Catalunya through INCASÒL | Institut Català del Sòl , Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB) and Barcelona City Council , will have a new design that will bring together 250 m2 full of innovation and investment opportunities in the Catalan region. More than 25 companies and three public administrations of the region will present innovations and establish relationships with potential international investors.

The round table "The Rise of the Temporary Stay: Challenges and Opportunities in the Hotel Industry", moderated by Ariadna Belver, General Manager of the Cador Group Catalonia Office and Vice President of WIRES, was attended by: Javier Batlle, Managing Partner of Okami Hotels; Jorge Ruiz, Head of CBRE Hotels Iberia; Federico Holzmann, Global Head Real Estate of Catalonia Hotels & Resorts.

A panel separated by 5 blocks: a retrospective of the hotel sector in 2023, sustainability and if it affects a plus valuation of the asset, how to apply technology in a b2c sector, how regulations affect and possible new uses of spaces.

Jorge Ruiz, Head of CBRE Hotels Iberia, summed up the hospitality boom in 2023:

"Growth has been faster than expected. After covid, we didn't expect to recover until 2024-2025 and we have seen more than €4.1 billion invested last year. Hotels have been able to increase prices to mitigate the cost increase and even so, the number of bookings has increased".

Regarding the type of investments, "Given the rise in interest rates, the sector has had difficulties in finding financing and this has led to the emergence of investors with low financing requirements, such as sovereign wealth funds. Now we are seeing much more Core capital coming in". For the forecast in 2024, Jorge believes we will see few financing requirements and for the second part of the year, a risk capital investor profile that will return to the market.

Javier Batlle, Managing Partner of Okami Hotels, has focused on the decline of ESG policies:

"Today sustainability in purchasing has little weight, private equity and hedge funds do not value it too much. In the works we are carrying out it is difficult to take sustainability into account when the most important things are timings, labour, lack of suppliers, permits... all this limits you to put more costs such as the ESG concept".

Federico Holzmann, Global Head Real Estate of Catalonia Hotels & Resorts, reaffirmed the good year for the sector, both in terms of occupancy and ADR. Concerning ESG, he explained his vision as an operator, which is different from previous ones,

"It is a matter of conviction. We don't depend on investors or buyers, we simply believe that it has to be done".

Federico Holzmann has understood the current climate emergency and has applied it: "We are now implementing systems that help internal coordination. This makes us more efficient for our customers and energy-efficient".

He also took the opportunity to reaffirm the good moment of expansion that the chain is experiencing.

Ariadna Belver, President of WIRES, explained the reason for the association, its vision, mission and values, as well as its commitment to and for women in the real estate sector:

"For this reason we have signed a collaboration agreement with Meridiana and MIPIM to promote the role of our members and managers at MIPIM, the Barcelona Catalonia stand and the Spanish Pavilion".

To close the event, we answered two questions: "Why are we going to MIPIM ? How can we do it? Guillem Codina, Commercial Director of MIPIM in Iberia, answered these questions: "Going to MIPIM can be summed up in three key ideas: to sell, to expand your network of contacts and collaborators and to understand the trends in the real estate market".

Codina has highlighted the Barcelona Catalonia stand as the perfect way for those companies from the region that want to participate in the fair: "The Barcelona Catalonia brand is an umbrella that allows companies to have greater visibility and a work space within the fair, thus maximising business opportunities during MIPIM".

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Thank you to all the parties involved in the Meetup!

We look forward to seeing you at MIPIM from 12 to 15 March 2024.

👉 For more information about the event, you can contact Joan Molins

For more information about MIPIM, the Spanish Pavilion and the different ways to participate, please contact Guillem Codina.