Luxury hotel groups are increasingly converting historic buildings—banks, palazzos, civic structures—betting that character and sense of place outperform new-build development.
ReadingNew-build loses when the seller is the story. Historic conversion operators are displacing volume from branded new builds in major capitals. Architects and GMs now compete on interpretation, not just service.
WatchWhich major cities see historic-to-hotel conversions announced in the next two quarters. The ones with the most conversions are signaling market saturation in their region.