Asia’s Hotel Deal Market Is Booming, Can It Outrun Global Headwinds?

Hotel transactions across Asia Pacific reached $12 billion in 2024, a gain of 3.3% year-over-year, according to Nihat Ercan, CEO of JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, Asia Pacific.

But can the gains continue given the turbulence in the global economy? 

“We’re actively calling for bids across the region, and in just the past two weeks, we’ve exchanged contracts on two boutique hotels in Singapore, launched fresh bids on a major hotel in Sydney, and have just got an offer on another hotel in Melbourne,” said Ercan in an exclusive interview to Skift.

Ercan expects this momentum to grow despite global market volatility. 

“The volatility in the public markets that I think is expected in the short term puts further emphasis on investors’ desire to diversify and invest in hard assets like hospitality,” said Ercan, whose parent group, JLL, has helped trade over $80 billion in hotel assets worldwide in the past six years.

Limits on new development should support interest in deals, said Ercan. Elevated construction costs and restricted financing have slowed the project pipeline despite rising visitor numbers, creating a supply-demand imbalance that’s driving revenue per available room (RevPAR) growth.

“This creates a vacuum for more positive growth and outlook for hotel trading as we look into 2025 and 2026,” Ercan said.

Tourism Rebounds, China Re-engages

International arrivals in Asia Pacific (APAC) reached 316 million in 2024, a sharp rebound from previous years, though still about 13% below pre-pandemic levels. 

“The visa waivers and the visa-free travel policies granted by governments are encouraging more demand to be dispersed within APAC,” Ercan said.

While China’s outbound travel lagged during the initial recovery, momentum is building. “The Chinese are back,” Ercan said. China accounted for 19% of arrivals in Singapore, surpassing Indonesia and India, and reclaimed its position as the top source market for the Maldives, representing 13% of total arrivals.

The Rise of the Experience Economy

Hotels are adapting to new guest expectations. 

“We’re seeing the rise of branded residences, lifestyle hotels, and flexible spaces that blend work, play, and community,” Ercan said. “Guests today want more than a room — they want connection, story, purpose.”

This trend is reshaping hotel operations. Underutilized areas, such as meeting rooms, are being converted into pop-up retail spaces. Food and beverage (F&B) venues are increasingly outsourced to high-end local restaurateurs, creating authentic experiences that appeal to both travelers and locals.

“Hotels are at the center of the work-play integration,” Ercan noted. “There is an ability for hotels to really maximize income from every square meter of their floor space.”

Events-led tourism is further fueling performance. From Taylor Swift’s Singapore concerts to record-breaking attendance at the Melbourne Grand Prix, destination-driven events are translating into strong hotel demand. Regional currencies like the yen are also drawing travelers to key markets such as Japan.

Ercan praised Singapore’s strategic approach to event tourism: “Singapore’s been very proactive in being able to target tourists initially with Formula 1 and more recently with music events like Taylor Swift last year and the upcoming Lady Gaga concert in May. That has a lot to do with the infrastructure that’s available in the city,” he said. “The city’s hotel supply is able to cater to the surge in demand.”

Balancing Automation with Human Touch 

While hospitality continues to embrace innovation, staffing remains a persistent hurdle. JLL’s operator survey conducted in the third quarter of 2024 based on a total of 1,075 responses from hotels in Asia Pacific, across 20 countries, identifies front office and F&B positions as the most difficult to fill.

“As labour has become even more salary and benefits sensitive given the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties, hotels in Asia Pacific are finding it difficult to recruit for guest-facing roles (front office), and F&B related (F&B service and kitchen). Housekeeping is also another department where hotels, particularly in Australasia, Greater China and Southeast Asia, are struggling to recruit for,” the report noted.

To relieve these pressures, hotels are increasingly deploying AI-driven solutions—from smart room technology to cloud-based task management. Yet, Ercan emphasized the enduring importance of human interaction.

“We will see more tech-driven solutions,” he said, “But at the same time, this is a service industry. The human touch point is equally important. It’s about finding the right balance.”