The 2015 spring report by the "Rat der Immobilienweisen" (Council of Real Estate Experts), commissioned by the Zentraler Immobilien Ausschuss (ZIA), also examined Berlin's hotel market. The finding: the capital was in a phase of strong growth.
17,000 new rooms in six years
Between 2009 and 2015, over 17,000 new hotel rooms were completed in Berlin. Despite this expansion, the report found no oversupply. Demand grew in parallel and occupancy rates remained high. The experts expected overnight stays to keep rising in 2015.
Conferences as a stable demand factor
A key driver was Berlin's growing role as an international conference destination. According to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), Berlin ranked fifth worldwide in 2013 with 178 conferences held by international associations, behind Paris, Madrid, Vienna and Barcelona. The conference sector generated roughly a quarter of all hotel overnight stays in the city, making it a stable and high-spending segment.
Where hotels were being built
New hotel developments were concentrated in locations attractive to both business travellers and tourists. The borough of Mitte benefited from its proximity to the government quarter, major sights and the main railway station. Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf scored with Messe Berlin and the Kurfuerstendamm. Early hotel projects also appeared in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg.
Relevance for the property market
The 2015 hotel boom was relevant for Berlin's property market in several ways. It strengthened confidence in the location and affected land values in hotel-friendly areas. Owners of existing properties in these zones benefited from growing footfall. At the same time, the high demand for temporary housing opened niche markets such as serviced apartments and furnished apartments in Berlin for business travellers. The market development of the following years confirmed that Berlin continued to gain importance as a hotel location.
