OWNERSHIP DYNAMICS IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY. AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Purpose - This paper aims to investigate the ownership dynamics in high-value hotel transactions (over €7.5 million), respect to both the role of financial or hospitality buyers, and the permanence of national ownership following the transaction. Design/Methodology/Approach – Based on the hotel purchases and sales transactions occurred from 2015 to 2018 in Spain, France, Italy, United Kingdom and Germany, an exploratory research was conducted through both descriptive statistics and a logit model looking for statistical differences across the countries. Findings - The results show the predominant weight in the absolute number and value of transactions carried out by financial subjects. Instead, we did not find statistical difference in the dynamics of country transactions. Originality of the research – This study addresses and identifies a gap in the hospitality literature respect to the real estate hotel ownership. Our analysis identifies the pivotal role of financial players in the real estate hospitality industry. The conceptualization of the volatility of the ownership control over the national hotel industry borders is a novel contribution that calls for extending the analysis forward.