2021 China hotel investment hits US$2.1 billion, rebounding to pre-pandemic levels

Shanghai, February 28, 2022 – After a turbulent 2020 the hotel industry accelerated in 2021, with its recovery projected to continue in 2022. According to JLL Hotels & Hospitality’s annual Hotel Investment Outlook, the global hotel investment increased 131%, reaching US$ 66.8 billion in 2021. Notably, the transaction volume of China reached US$2.1 billion, recovering to pre-pandemic levels.

Global hotel investment activity was contributed by private equity investors, coupled with the emergence of new and traditional hotel acquirers, both of which stimulated the consummation of transactions globally. In 2021 private equity investors acquired $32.5 billion in hotel assets, representing 50% of all transaction activity. Foreign capital and REITs made a powerful comeback to the previous year’s level.

Americas was the most liquid region and accounted for nearly 60% of global hotel transaction volume. As for Asia Pacific, the transaction volume equalled $8.5 billion, accounting for 13% of total global hotel investment. This level of activity marked a 39% increase over 2020 yet was still 40% below pre-COVID level in 2019.

“Several economies in the region experienced the fallout from ongoing pandemic restrictions and border controls, coupled with a wide price gap between buyers and sellers, which ultimately hampering investment appetite. Nevertheless, new market entrants were eager to capitalize on burgeoning opportunities, especially in China, Japan and Korea. We estimate that hotel transactions will grow to US$ 9 billion in 2022 in Asia Pacific,” says Lingwei Tan, Senior Vice President Asia, JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group.

In 2021, hotel investment in mainland China registered about US$2.1 billion, recovering to pre-COVID levels. The Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) had a notable recovery but remained sensitive to local Covid outbreaks and travel restrictions. The demand for short-distance trips and staycations greatly boosted the demand of luxury hotels and high-end hotels. Sanya remains the top travel destinations and continues to benefit from pent-up leisure travel demand.

Looking forward to 2022, border controls are unlikely to be lifted in the first half of the year. China’s hotel market will still be mainly driven by domestic leisure tourism demand. With an increasing vaccination rate, demand for travel will keep growing, which JLL believes will benefit the broader market. According to JLL, hotel investment volumes in 2022 are expected to remain at similar scale as 2021.

Tao Zhou, Managing Director of Hotels & Hospitality Group, JLL Greater China, says “We expect to see active transactions in China hotel market in 2022, driven by private equity’s record level of capital as well as the strategies of developers to divest non-core assets to improve balance sheets under ‘three red lines’ policy. Additionally, the industry needs to increase hotel management capabilities to navigate operational hurdles brought on by labor shortages, rising inflation, supply chain issues, sustainability and the impact on service levels given the difficulties operating in such an environment.”