Palma and Playa de Palma attracting hotel investor interest. | M. Joy

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According to Barcelona-based real estate investment consultancy Laborde Marcet, hotels are currently among the most sought-after properties. The impact of the pandemic on tourism has made hotels in urban and resort destinations equally attractive, with Palma highlighted as one city in Spain which is attracting a significant increase in investment fund interest.

Prices are said to be stable for now, because the impact of coronavirus is being offset by increased investment demand. Nevertheless, investment funds sense the opportunity to make purchases at prices that are more competitive than they were before the pandemic.

The profile of the most sought-after hotel asset, says Laborde Marcet, is a hotel with eighty rooms or more and prices of between 200,000 and 600,000 euros per room, depending on location. The total price therefore ranges between 15 and 50 million euros. In Spain, there are prime streets, such as Madrid's Gran Via, where prices per room are at a premium of up to 600,000 euros.

Barcelona and Madrid are of particular interest, but so also are Bilbao, Malaga, Marbella, San Sebastián and Palma. Laborde Marcet founding partner, Miquel Laborde, says that as in all crises, investment opportunities are emerging for players who have liquidity. "It has been a very tough summer for the tourism sector, and its financial needs are being noticed, despite the Spanish government's aid. Operations which a year ago would have been impossible are now likely to be completed because of the impact of Covid-19 on private owners and indeed large hotel chains."