The 196+ forum in Munich has, for the first time, named three winners of its 'Hotel Property of the Year' award — an unprecedented three-way decision that the organisers say reflects the diversity of today's hotel market.

ASSETPHYSICS, the real estate advisory firm behind the forum, announced the result. In previous editions the award went to a single property. The move to three simultaneous winners marks a deliberate shift: instead of crowning one benchmark asset, the jury chose to recognise distinct concepts that each answer different demand profiles in the European hospitality sector.

Why three winners now?

The decision speaks to a market where no single hotel model dominates. Budget and lifestyle concepts, full-service urban hotels and hybrid formats all compete for capital on their own terms. An award structure built around one winner struggled to capture that spread. By honouring three properties at once, the 196+ forum jury has effectively acknowledged that investors and operators now benchmark across categories rather than within them.

For operators, the signal is straightforward: product differentiation has become a judging criterion in its own right. Concept clarity — who the property serves, at what price point, with what service layer — now carries as much weight as location or build quality when capital allocators assess hotel real estate.

What does this mean for European hotel investment?

Award recognition of this kind tends to function as a soft certification for lenders and funds. Properties singled out at industry forums frequently see easier access to refinancing and stronger interest from institutional buyers, because the jury's assessment substitutes for part of the due-diligence work.

The three-way outcome also aligns with how European hotel portfolios are being assembled. Buyers increasingly want mixed exposure — a lifestyle asset here, a reliable midscale performer there — rather than concentration in one segment. Recognising three concepts simultaneously mirrors that allocation logic.

The 'Hotel Property of the Year' award sits within the wider 196+ forum programme, which brings together hotel operators, owners, advisors and financiers active in the German and broader European market. ASSETPHYSICS uses the platform to track transaction activity, operator performance and asset-level innovation across the sector.

What happens next?

The three winning properties will now carry the award through the coming deal and financing cycle, and the 196+ forum will face the question of whether the three-winner format becomes permanent. Operators and investors should watch the next edition's shortlist for confirmation that multi-segment recognition is the new standard rather than a one-off.