Driven by strong leisure demand, Spain’s hospitality market remains one of Europe’s most dynamic. As a local real estate investor, Meridia’s strategy includes hotels as well as an open-air hospitality portfolio contributing to the professionalisation of this growing segment. Luis Amézola, Associate Director focusing on hospitality investments at Meridia, shares his insights on the market.
Hospitality Investor: How would you characterise current hospitality investment conditions in Spain?
Amézola: Hospitality investment in Europe is increasingly driven by strong operating fundamentals. Within this context, Spain stands out for the strength and consistency of its tourism fundamentals, supported by scale, demand diversity and long-term attractiveness as a destination. In 2025, hotel investment reached approximately €4.3bn, the second-highest level on record, following several consecutive years with volumes consistently above €3.0bn.
This sustained activity is underpinned by exceptionally strong demand (c.97 million visitors in 2025) combined with structurally constrained hotel supply. In a country with strong infrastructure, excellent international connectivity and a diversified cultural and leisure offering, these fundamentals continue to position Spain as one of the most compelling hospitality investment markets in Europe for both core and value-add strategies.
Hospitality Investor: How are macro-economic factors are influencing capital allocation decisions in hospitality?
Amézola: The macro environment has become more constructive over the course of 2025, against a backdrop of ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. Inflation and interest rates have moderated, financing conditions are supportive, and hotel yields have remained relatively stable.
This improved visibility is reinforcing the view of hospitality as a core component of real estate allocation, rather than a cyclical trade. Strong operating performance, visible demand and the ability to reprice revenues on a daily basis continue to underpin investor appetite for the sector.
Hospitality Investor: Where do you see the strongest opportunities for value creation today?
Amézola: The hotel sector is undergoing a structural transformation driven by changing consumer behaviour, creating new opportunities across segments where differentiation, operational efficiency and scale can unlock value. In Spain, this opportunity is reinforced by the obsolescence of a significant part of the existing hotel stock, which creates a clear runway for repositioning, refurbishment and product upgrading.
Upscale and lifestyle-led assets offer clear upside through repositioning concepts focused on experience, design and gastronomy. At the same time, budget and select-service hotels are gaining momentum as demand increasingly favours accessibility, flexibility and value for money. The gradual repositioning of mid-scale hotels into upscale or luxury is also reducing competition in the mid-market, reinforcing the investment case for efficient, scalable select-service platforms.
Executing these strategies requires operational depth and proven experience. In that context, Meridia’s strong reputation and long-standing track record in hospitality allow us to pursue these opportunities.
Hospitality Investor: You will be joining a session on returns in outdoor hospitality: what makes this segment attractive and what do investors need to know about it?
Amézola: Outdoor hospitality is benefiting from a significant supply–demand imbalance, particularly in Iberia, where demand for nature-based and experiential travel continues to grow. This imbalance is reinforced by a highly fragmented and underinvested supply base, a largely non-institutionalised market, and high barriers to entry.
From an operating perspective, well-managed outdoor hospitality assets can deliver resilient cash flows with high operating margins, supported by flexible cost structures, scalable unit economics and strong ancillary revenue potential. Against this backdrop, Meridia, together with wecamp, has built the first institutional outdoor hospitality platform in Iberia, with 16 assets and more than 3,000 units operated under a fully integrated PropCo–OpCo model. The value creation thesis is centred on acquiring underperforming assets, upgrading the product mix and professionalising operations to unlock ADR growth and scalable returns.
Hospitality Investor: As you come to IHIF EMEA, which themes or debates do you expect will shape the next phase of hospitality investment in the region?
Amézola: Debates around owner–operator–brand alignment, platform strategies and access to product differentiation will shape the next phase of hospitality investment, as hospitality continues to consolidate its position as a core real estate allocation driven by long-term conviction.
The focus is increasingly on execution and delivery, where Meridia has a very strong positioning, supported by a proven track record, deep operational expertise and the ability to scale platforms across strategies and cycles.
Luis Amezola will join the session ‘Capitalising on the outdoors: Camping, glamping and open-air hospitality’ at IHIF EMEA in Berlin in March, where he will explore the professionalisation and capital flows transforming camping and glamping into core components of modern leisure portfolios.