According to idealista news, hotels in Portugal continue to attract foreign investors, with total investment prospects around €680 million at the end of 2023.

Not even the end of golden visas, which came into force with Mais Habitação (More Housing), has stopped new businesses. An example of this is the activity of United Investments Portugal (UIP). The company, which is part of the Al-Bahar Investment Group, has just launched a new hotel asset management brand and wants to invest in new hotels in the north and center of the country.

Until September 2023, investment in hotels in Portugal has been going from strength to strength: the sale of 10 hotels was completed with an investment of more than 400 million euros, 23% more than in the same period last year, according to CBRE's accounts cited by Dinheiro Vivo. And it was the sale of the Dom Pedro hotels to the Arrow Global group, which represented the largest hotel operation of the year. Forecasts for the end of 2023 point to an investment in the hotel industry of 680 million euros. And, for 2024, an investment of 436 million euros is expected for now.

This year alone, 44 new hotels have opened in the country, totaling 2,760 rooms. And it is also expected the opening of three more hotel units by December (+200 rooms). For 2024, 60 hotels are expected to open in Portugal, putting a total of 4,920 beds on the market, according to the same newspaper.

These data show that, in fact, hotel investment is at an all-time high in Portugal. And there are concrete examples of this. UIP has invested a lot in this segment in recent years, opening Hyatt Regency Lisboa and Yotel Porto, for example. Now, the company from the universe of the Arab group Al-Bahar, headquartered in Kuwait, wants to reinforce investment in Portugal (and beyond) with the launch of its new hotel asset management brand: United Hospitality Management (UHM). This brand includes, for now, the eight UIP hotels, one hotel in the North of Portugal and two more in Dubai, writes DV in this publication.

Within three years, UIP will open the boutique hotel in the palace of Quinta Marques Gomes, in Vila Nova de Gaia. And, in addition to the North, it also wants to invest in other geographies such as Coimbra, where another Yotel unit should be born in a few years, says the same newspaper. The idea is that UHM will also manage other hotels in Europe, and is currently closing deals in Italy, Greece, Madrid and France. All this is towards the goal of reaching 2024 with 11 thousand beds under management (it currently has 3 thousand beds) and reaching 2030 with 100 hotels in the portfolio.