A good economic situation means the Polish hotel market is still developing and, as a result, becoming increasingly attractive to foreign investors. The biggest players are drawn above all to properties valued at more than EUR 20 million, and relatively few such assets are still available for sale in Poland. Although several luxury hotel investments will be built in the near future, CBRE experts predict that they will not be the only ones attracting foreign capital to Poland. According to the latest analyses, the value of transactions involving the sale of hotels at the 3-star level or below may increase by as much as several dozen percent over the next few years.

Poland's capital and its largest cities are increasingly being chosen as new locations by very luxurious international chains. The Raffles brand has chosen Warsaw as its third destination in Europe, right after Paris and Istanbul, and by 2023 we expect the opening of the first Four Seasons property in Poland. Luxury brands are boldly entering Poland, but there is still a lack of, among others, The Ritz-Carlton or Kempinski.

In 2019, two large hotel transactions took place on the Polish market, both involving high-standard properties. In the first quarter, Patron Capital bought the 350-room Sheraton Warsaw Hotel, and Unirest acquired two hotels operating under Hilton brands in Kraków – DoubleTree by Hilton & Convention Centre and Hampton by Hilton, with a total of 393 rooms. However, the supply of the most expensive hotel properties with more than 200 rooms is very limited in Poland. Moreover, there is not sufficiently extensive land availability for such investments. CBRE experts predict that something else will attract foreign capital to Poland in the coming years.

– Currently, the largest financial players are investing in 4- and 5-star hotel properties. However, observing the situation on our market, we see that this trend may change in the coming years. So far, we have not recorded many sales of new chain hotels. Soon, many properties in the economy and budget segment will appear on the market, such as Ibis Style or Hampton by Hilton, which have a 3-4 year stabilization period and will soon begin to show profits. There will certainly be many willing investors for such investment products, even though the transactions will not exceed PLN 100 million – comments Rafał Rosiejak, Director of the Hotel Department at CBRE. He adds: – On the other hand, in 2020 we expect the opening of the NOBU hotel, and in 2023 the first Four Seasons property in Warsaw, whose debut on the Polish market will certainly be analyzed by other global brands.

Poland's capital is increasingly attractive to hotel investors, but we still lag somewhat behind Moscow, Prague or Budapest. Unlike Warsaw, those capitals were not destroyed by war and did not have ownership-related problems. However, the Polish consumer does not expect a hotel to feel elitist at all – instead, they seek comfort and privacy. Poles most often choose 3-4 star hotels, which currently offer a high level of service and design. The popularity of boutique and design hotels is also growing, such as the Puro Hotels chain, Indigo or H15 in Warsaw. The preferences of the target group also influence what properties are built in the country, and even the largest players are beginning to appreciate stable investments in economy-standard hotels.

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