In the first half of 2026, the German hotel investment market achieved a transaction volume of around 741 million euros. This figure is approximately 18 per cent below the corresponding period of the previous year, when 901 million euros were registered. However, the first half of 2025 represented an exceptionally strong period, almost doubling the volume of the preceding half of 2024 (460 million euros). In total, 28 transactions were registered in the past half-year, including five portfolio deals. Of significant importance was the sale of the Penta portfolio, whose transaction volume of approximately 275 million euros ranks among the most significant portfolio transactions of the year. The average transaction size amounted to around 27 million euros, remaining at a stable, albeit lower, level.
Stefan Giesemann, Managing Director of JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, noted that the German hotel investment market started dynamically into 2026. He explained that although geopolitical factors and temporary uncertainty in the operator segment led to a slight cooling in the second quarter, fundamental interest in the asset class persists. In the previous year, the transaction volume in the first half was significantly influenced by three prominent single transactions – the Motel One Upper West, the Mandarin Oriental Munich, and the Steigenberger am Kanzleramt in Berlin – whose equivalents were absent this year. Nevertheless, hotels, supported by solid fundamental data, remained one of the more liquid and sought-after asset classes in Germany.
The sustained international investor demand, accounting for over half of the transaction volume, was interpreted by Giesemann as a clear indication of Germany's structural attractiveness as a hotel investment location. Prime yields developed steadily sideways, as the ECB interest rate hike in June had already been factored into investors' expectations. Giesemann added that an attractive range of investment opportunities is currently available in both the value-add and core segments, forming the basis for continued strong demand. For the second half of the year, robust market activity was predicted, with a total annual volume at the level of 2025, near the two-billion-euro mark, considered realistic.
Financing Environment and Key Transactions
Dominik Rüger, Senior Director Debt & Structured Finance JLL EMEA, shed light on the financing environment for hotel properties. It was mentioned that liquidity in the German hotel financing market has significantly improved over the past 18 months. Both German and international senior banks and debt funds are actively operating in the market. The operational recovery of the hotel sector after the pandemic has sustainably strengthened lenders' confidence. Senior financing is currently typically available at loan-to-value ratios of 55 to 65 per cent, depending on location and property quality. Financing conditions have stabilised, with a slight decrease in margins compared to 2024 and 2025. This underscores the growing attractiveness of the asset class from a financing perspective as well, and creates a solid foundation for transactions later in the year.
- —the acquisition of the luxury resort 'Der Öschberghof' in the Black Forest by the Zech Group, with JLL acting as exclusive agent
- —the sale of the Excelsior Hotel Munich by Geisel Privathotels to BlackRock for approximately 60 million euros
- —the acquisition of the Excelsior Hotel Berlin by the Israeli owner-operator Brown Hotels for approximately 50 million euros
On the portfolio side, the transaction of the Penta Hotel portfolio dominated, which represents a European hotel portfolio with a German focus. In this deal, Aroundtown sold six German hotel properties to Ogilvy Capital. Giesemann sees this as a clear signal of international investors' continued interest in structured hotel portfolios with a German focus.
Investor and Strategy Profiles
The most active buyer group in the first half of 2026 were again High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) and family offices, contributing approximately 37 per cent (around 272 million euros) to the total transaction volume. Institutional investors followed with 35 per cent (around 262 million euros), while hotel operators accounted for about twelve per cent (around 94 million euros) of the volume. Private equity investors contributed around ten per cent (around 75 million euros). Foreign investors were a key pillar of the German hotel investment market, accounting for more than half of the transaction volume (around 410 million euros).
Regarding investment strategies, value-oriented approaches dominated market activity during the year to date. Value-add and opportunistic transactions together reached approximately 433 million euros, representing around 60 per cent of the total volume. Core investments contributed approximately 259 million euros, about 36 per cent, with the remaining shares generated by core-plus transactions. This focus on value-add and opportunistic products indicates that investors are specifically seeking repositioning potential. The continued core demand simultaneously signals ongoing healthy institutional interest. Heidi Schmidtke, Managing Director of JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, added that the hotel operator market in the first half of 2026 was strongly influenced by the insolvency of the Revo Hospitality Group, a large multi-brand hotel operating company. This led to the splitting of the group and the entry of new operating companies into the German hotel market.
