The European Hotel Investor Intentions Survey 2026 has been published, offering hotel operators, owners and lenders their first consolidated read of where acquisition appetite sits heading into the new year.

The survey, distributed via Hotel Online, is the latest edition of the annual poll of investor intentions across the European hotel real estate sector. It asks participants where they plan to deploy capital, which markets they rank as targets, and how policy and financing conditions shape their decisions.

Why does this survey matter to operators?

Investor intention surveys function as a forward indicator for the transaction market. When intentions point to net buying, operators can expect more capital chasing hotel assets, firmer pricing and more competition for off-market deals. When intentions tilt toward disposals or a wait-and-see stance, refinancing conversations get harder and asset-heavy groups slow expansion.

For European hospitality businesses, the practical effects show up in several places:

• Asset values and the cost of debt for leveraged operators
• The willingness of funds to back conversion and repositioning projects
• Owner appetite to fund capex on branded portfolios
• The pipeline of single-asset and portfolio transactions available to expanding chains

What questions does the survey address?

The annual questionnaire covers the core variables that drive hotel investment volumes: whether respondents intend to buy or sell, their preferred European markets, target asset types, and the constraints they expect, from interest rates to staffing and regulatory costs.

Readers comparing the 2026 edition with prior years will focus on the direction of travel rather than any single figure. Shifts in the balance between buyers and sellers, and changes in which countries attract the strongest interest, typically lead transaction data by two to three quarters.

Who uses the results?

The audience spans institutional investors, hotel asset managers, brand executives mapping unit growth, and advisors pricing deals. Lenders also monitor it: sentiment deteriorating among would-be buyers tends to precede tighter underwriting on hotel loans.

For chains negotiating management and franchise agreements, the survey's findings feed into strategy on which markets to push for new signings and where owner relations may come under strain if values soften.

What happens next?

Operators and investors should now benchmark the 2026 findings against their own pipelines. Transaction volumes in the first half of the year will test whether stated intentions convert into signed deals, with refinancing maturities and country-level cost pressures the likely swing factors.