HOFTEL’s Simon Allison outlines new priorities for hospitality investors
With all the factors currently impacting the global economy, it goes without saying that global travel, tourism, and hospitality are feeling their effects, both positive and negative.
Hospitality investment, in particular, has been placed in an unusual position by present circumstances.
According to experts, global hospitality investment is undergoing a paradoxical shift wherein short-term RevPAR is falling whilst widespread project delays have frozen opportunistic capital; but, at the same time, regional sovereign wealth funds continue bankrolling long-term tourism infrastructure for economic diversification.
Simon Allison, founder and chairman of HOFTEL, said of the situation: “The global geopolitical crisis is also having an impact, diverting tourists who used to fly via the Gulf as well as keeping fuel costs and interest rate high. So, the overall situation is a lot less stable and benign than people had probably anticipated, which is bound to be a drag on transactions.”
We were able to catch up with Allison ahead of this year’s South East Asia Hotel Investors’ Summit (SEAHIS) which runs on 15th and 16th June in Bangkok to know more about how the sector has progressed in Asia, particularly Southeast Asia, since last year’s summit.
The same priorities
According to Allison, the overall priorities remain largely the same: Japan is hot and institutional investors are still focused there, but also in Korea and Australia, which are also liquid and transparent markets.
At the same time, China is increasingly coming into focus as a long-term recovery play.
Regarding the sector in Southeast Asia, he said: “Vietnam is very much in vogue with a massive rebound from the property crisis a few years ago and Thailand is probably suffering from that along with its overall economic stagnation.”
Likewise, industry watchers have noted a significant rise in the influx of luxury brands into the Southeast Asian hospitality market throughout the past twelve months, with major global players capitalising on the overall preference of global travellers for bespoke experiences that take travel and hospitality up a notch.
Interestingly, though, this growth is running alongside the more muted performance of the branded luxury residences sector within Southeast Asia.
When asked whether luxury will remain a major growth area for both hospitality and real estate in the region or if it’s set to plateau, Allison remarked: “The luxury sector has surged since [the pandemic]and rates have soared, making new projects viable when they were not before, especially with a branded residence angle. This is true across the world, not only in Asia. However, there must inevitably come a ceiling to prices and rising costs are bound to be a challenge, along with balancing AI-driven automation with personalisation.”
This matter has certainly piqued the interest of experts throughout the region and will be given specific focus at SEAHIS 2026 through a panel titled Can big boxes really be luxury – and does scale still drive margins at the top end? on 15th June.
Allison also noted that branded residences, co-living, serviced apartments, as well as wellness-led and F&B-driven products are growing quickly and that is unlikely to change.
He said: “The challenge will be to build products that go beyond the usual lifestyle or boutique buzzwords to create something truly different in a world with over 2,000 recognised hotel brands. Structurally, franchising is gradually replacing management agreements and white-label operators are growing, though perhaps a little more slowly than some had expected. Will the big global brands just keep on expanding or will they re-focus on Net Unit Profit instead of Net Unit Growth? That might be the biggest change over the next decade.”
Bangkok rolls out the red carpet for SEAHIS 2026
This edition of SEAHIS is all set to open discussions on a wide range of topical issues, including the ongoing rise of branded residences; who’s buying in the region and which locations are they looking at will be a major focus; as mentioned above the challenge of making large-box hotels true luxury properties; the continued popularity of properties centring on wellness and gastronomy; as well as the ongoing emergence of non-hotel operating real estate as a significant investment category.
Industry specialist Bill Barnett will be sharing his insights alongside leading investors like Suchad Chiaranussati, Kenny Gaw, Kieran Bestall, Hoe Kit Mak, Choe Peng Sum, Aki Tachibana, and David Ling among others.
This year’s roster includes nearly 130 speakers, offering a broad-spectrum look at the sector both within the region and beyond.
As to who gets to benefit from the wisdom and insights featured at SEAHIS, Allison said: “SEAHIS is for everyone in the industry who supports hotel investment, and we have multiple operators, franchisors, TPOs, law firms, consultants and architects attending.”
What makes SEAHIS and other HOFTEL conferences different from other industry events is the proportion of owners and investors they draw in.
Approximately 50 percent of attendees are from groups that put capital into hospitality real estate, a sector in itself made up of nearly 100 different companies.
Allison enthused: “SEAHIS is a wonderful forum for property owners to compare notes and learn from each other, and also an amazing place for those who provide services to the capital suppliers, because there are so many of them to meet. What’s more, we combine a very relaxed approach with a real focus on live topics, with speakers encouraged to say what they really think to make the discussions lively and relevant. That makes SEAHIS a perfect venue for building relationships, [as] the feedback we always receive is ‘great crowd, create content.’”
As stated above, SEAHIS 2025 is scheduled for 15th and 16th June at the Mövenpick BDMS Wellness Resort Bangkok; to learn more, log into the official event website.