Europe -  Geneva

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Geneva is the second most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich), with 204,000 people (2022 census) living in an area of 15.9 km². The population of the Canton of Geneva was 524,000 in 2023. The destination is widely regarded as a global city for international cooperation, hosting 39 international institutions, organisations and bodies such as the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as 750 non-governmental organisations and the permanent representations of 180 member states.

While the economy is focused on the service sector, with a large number of financial institutions – private banks, in particular – the city is also considered a hub for the watch-making industry, with numerous luxury brands headquartered there, as well as being home to major international research and development laboratories. Furthermore, Geneva is the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) headquarters of high-tech companies HP, IBM’s Microelectronics Division, SUN Microsystems, Oracle and Reuters.

Geneva’s tourism demand is driven mostly by the banking sector, international organisations, multinational headquarters and numerous trade fairs and conventions which mostly take place at the Palexpo. As a result, Geneva’s tourism is approximately 70% business-related. Around 50% of the business tourism is attributable to meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition (MICE) demand and the other 50% to international organisations. Only 30% of tourism can be defined as purely leisure. The hotel market has historically been unable to successfully capture the Leisure segment during weekends and holidays but nevertheless witnessed a slight increase in volume coupled with minimal increases in supply from 2017 to 2019, with a marketwide average occupancy in the low-70s.

2020 and 2021 were very challenging years for the conference and events market in Geneva, with only a handful of scheduled events taking place according to plan. Several of the major events in the city, including The Geneva International Motor Show and The Geneva Supercross were cancelled both years. Geneva returned to hosting events from 2022 onwards, as all restrictions were lifted in Switzerland. This led the market to revert to a marketwide average occupancy in the mid-60s, at an average rate in the mid-SFr200s in 2023.

Hotel supply for the city and Canton of Geneva has remained stable in recent years, with minor variations related to renovation works and the reorganisation of some hotels’ inventories. As of March 2024, the city of Geneva has 95 hotels providing some 7,800 rooms, which is quite substantial given the city’s small size. The market is geared towards the upper end of the spectrum, with four- and five-star hotels accounting for more than 60% of the total room inventory.

Looking ahead, the hospitality landscape in Geneva is poised for modest growth, with two serviced apartment projects currently under construction and totalling 183 units – the 99-unit Residence Inn by Marriott Geneva City Nations and the 84-unit Stay KooooK Geneva City, both scheduled for opening in 2024.

In terms of transactions, Geneva’s hotel market is rather illiquid, mostly due to a lack of sellers, with very few sales taking place in recent years – in 2021, we are aware of three hotel assets transacting: the ibis Styles Geneva Gare and the ibis Styles Geneva Mont Blanc (undisclosed transaction price) as well as the Hotel des Alpes (28 units at a sales price of SFr11 million). In 2022, Geneva recorded the transaction of the 412-room Fairmont Grand Hotel Geneva (for an undisclosed price), and in 2023, the 109-room Le Richemond transacted in February for an undisclosed price, and the 57-room Hotel Suisse transacted for SFr30 million, or SFr520,000 a room, in December.

In 2023, Geneva hotel values increased by 0.5% in euro terms but decreased by 4.6% in local currency, as reported in our 2024 European Hotel Valuation Index.

Change In Value For Market: (€Euro)

Legend
Significant Value Increase: Greater than +10%
Moderate Value Increase: Between +3% and +10%
Stable Values: Between -3% and +3%
Moderate Value Decline: Between -3% and -10%
Significant Value Decline: More than -10%

For more information, please contact:

Sophie Perret, MRICS, MBA
Managing Director
[email protected]
  • +44 0 2078787722 (w)
  • +44 0 7725781037 (m)
Julia Dzerkach
Associate
[email protected]
  • +44 0 2078787742 (w)
  • +44 0 7912240964 (m)
Clemence Sennavoine
Senior Associate
[email protected]
  • ++44 0 7736273439 (m)