Europe -  Zurich

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With some 410,000 inhabitants (December 2019), Zürich is the largest city in Switzerland and is a hub for railways, roads and air traffic. Zürich Airport and Zürich Central Station are the largest and busiest in the country and are easily accessible from the main areas of the city. Zürich is considered a leading global city and among the world’s largest financial centres. The country’s major banks are headquartered in Zürich which is also home to a number of insurance groups as well as international companies, such as Google, and renowned research institutions such as the ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology).

Visitation to Zürich has been increasing year-on-year for the last 10 years, with growth in 2018 and 2019 of 5% and 4%, respectively, driven by both the international and domestic markets. Germany remains the largest international feeder market and one of only two European countries in the top-five, which also includes the USA, the UK, China and India. Overall, international travellers account for approximately 75% of total visitation. The destination is primarily business oriented, although its picturesque Old Town, high-end shopping and location on the lake make the city appealing to the leisure market, particularly for weekend breaks. The conference market is relatively small, mostly due to the lack of a large convention centre; conferences and meetings are held in hotels or other venues and are therefore generally smaller in size.

Over the last few years, Zürich has welcomed an increasing number of leisure groups that choose the city as their base to explore Switzerland, thus driving occupancy up slightly. However, the strong currency dynamics make the country more expensive for foreigners and continue to put pressure on average rate. Nevertheless, we note that Zürich’s hotel market still achieves one of the highest average rates in Europe.

Owing to its strong reliance on international travellers, Zürich was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of occupancy levels. However, due to less strict lockdown measures in Switzerland, the hotel market benefitted from the domestic demand with a higher spending power, resulting in an ADR in line with 2019 levels.

While hotel supply has been characterised by a high percentage of independent and family-operated hotels, recent years have seen the addition of numerous international brands such as the Hyatt Place Zürich Airport The Circle, the IntercityHotel Zürich Airport, the Ruby Mimi Zürich, Adagio and the Hyatt Regency Zürich Airport, as well as renovations/rebrandings such as the Marriott Autograph Collection (previously Sheraton) near the lake. The pipeline includes two hotels at Zürich Airport: a Tribe by Hilton and a Mövenpick hotel (both slated for 2024) as well as a Locke serviced apartments in the Enge neighbourhood (opening in the summer of 2023). Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has announced that it will manage and rebrand the historic Savoy Baur en Ville hotel in Zürich from 2024.

The transaction market in Zürich is very illiquid. Very few transactions have taken place in the last couple of years, including the FIVE Resort Atlantis and the Hoppeler Hotel Portfolio (Hotel Opera and Hotel Ambassador).

Overall, Zürich recorded a 4.3% increase in hotel values as of the end of 2021.

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
Senior Director
[email protected]
  • +44 20 7878 7722 (w)
  • +44 0 7725781037 (m)