JLL Italian hotel investment outlook and strategy survey

• Inbound Capital Leads Expansion
  Allocation strategies vary materially by existing market exposure. Investors with minimal Italian exposure show the most expansionary intent, outpacing Italy-focused incumbents in both allocation growth expectations and net buyer positioning.
• Gateway Cities Anchor Demand
  Rome, Milan, Venice, and Florence dominate investor preferences across all capital types, with established leisure destinations forming a strong secondary focus. This preference is consistent across domestic Italian, pan-European, and global capital sources, reflecting the importance of liquidity, depth of demand, and scalability.
• Returns Are Increasingly Execution-Led
  While Italy's structural demand fundamentals remain intact, return generation is becoming more asset-specific. More than two-thirds of respondents identify execution-led strategies as the primary source of alpha, reflecting both a maturing demand environment and sustained pressure on operating costs.
   

Italy remains one of Europe's most compelling hotel investment markets, and our latest survey confirms investor demand is both deep and widening.

Conducted in May 2026, the JLL Italian Hotel Investment Outlook and Strategy Survey captures perspectives from senior hotel decision-makers across Europe and globally. Just over half of respondents manage hotel portfolios of €500 million or more, including almost 40% overseeing AUM above €1 billion.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents expect to be net buyers of Italian hotel assets over the next 12–24 months, signaling continued capital inflows and competitive pricing dynamics. The strongest conviction comes from international and inbound investors with limited or no existing exposure, who are materially more likely to plan aggressive allocation increases and to position as net buyers.

Allocation strategies vary materially by existing market exposure. Investors with minimal Italian exposure show the most expansionary intent, outpacing Italy-focused incumbents in both allocation growth expectations and net buyer positioning.

These investors—particularly international private capital, high-net-worth individuals, and family offices—are actively evaluating market entry or expansion. They display greater confidence in Italy's medium- to long-term performance outlook and are often willing to underwrite assets on a through-the-cycle basis, supporting premium pricing for well-positioned hotels.

By contrast, investors with substantial existing exposure (≥50% of hotel AUM) signal stable allocations or selective growth. This measured stance reflects portfolio concentration discipline and long-term strategic positioning rather than diminished conviction.

Key takeaway: Investors with limited or no current exposure to Italy show a markedly stronger bias towards significant allocation increases, while Italy-focused investors favour moderate, selective growth.

Rome, Milan, Venice, and Florence dominate investor preferences across all capital types, with established leisure destinations forming a strong secondary focus. This preference is consistent across domestic Italian, pan-European, and global capital sources, reflecting the importance of liquidity, depth of demand, and scalability.

Luxury and upscale segments are prioritised for their pricing power and demand resilience. Italy offers more than ten true luxury destinations, providing investors with opportunities to diversify geographically within the country and pursue value-add strategies across multiple high-end markets.

Interest in secondary and regional markets is meaningfully more selective, with domestic Italian capital showing materially higher propensity to target these locations than inbound investors. Where respondents highlight secondary markets, this is typically framed around specific opportunities—repositioning, conversion, or supply-constrained micro-locations—rather than broad directional exposure.

While Italy's structural demand fundamentals remain intact, return generation is becoming more asset-specific. More than two-thirds of respondents identify execution-led strategies as the primary source of alpha, reflecting both a maturing demand environment and sustained pressure on operating costs.

Refurbishment and capex-led repositioning emerge as the most consistently cited routes to value creation, frequently paired with branding or rebranding initiatives. Revenue management and pricing optimisation also feature prominently, with roughly one-third to two-fifths of respondents identifying these levers as central to driving returns over the next 12–24 months.

Key takeaway: Alpha generation is expected to be driven primarily by execution-led strategies, with refurbishment and repositioning clearly dominant, while distressed and opportunistic approaches remain selective rather than systemic.

Italy is firmly on the radar of global hotel capital. Liquidity remains robust, pricing momentum is supported by inbound demand, and the most competitive outcomes are achieved where asset positioning and execution align with the expectations of this high-conviction buyer pool.