Speakers from several hospitality asset management firms declared at the Asian International Hospitality Investment Forum (IHIF Asia) that the old model of asset management is unsustainable.
In light of this statement, investors and operators are now calling for a more collaborative approach.
Relevant observations were pointed out during a panel discussion chaired by Global Asset Solutions’ CEO Alex Sogno
Among those involved in the discussion on Lifecycle Management: Planning for Optimal Asset Performance were Prospect Hotel Advisors’ Rohan Gopaldas, Eric Siegel from EQT Group, and Hilton’s Gisle Sarheim.
Success lies in alignment
Sogno said during the panel: "What we’ve heard here is that lifecycle management is less about reacting to issues and more about anticipating each stage of a hotel’s journey from development to exit. Success lies in aligning ownership, operators, and investors around a clear long-term strategy, while having the discipline to execute on short-term performance. Hotels are living assets, and the most successful ones are those nurtured with foresight, accountability, and adaptability.”
He added that the previous model of asset management should be replaced with a fresh, less confrontational approach, leaning on expert knowledge, with all parties working alongside the hotel’s operations.
Asset management groups should be independent and global and look to educate owners, with the goal of building sustainable asset management platforms for them to operate their own asset management teams.
With regard to the current position of the market, Sogno said that owners were doubling down on proactive asset management to capture the current upcycle.
This would mean significant changes with regard to repositioning, brand/manager selection, and tech-enabled margin improvement.
Sogno remarked: “Owners are no longer just building; they’re engineering performance—from operating model selection to data-driven revenue and targeted capex.”
Investors and owners were also increasingly open to flexible operating structures, including third-party management, hybrid models and joint ventures to sharpen ROI and accelerate projects to market.
Significant growth in the luxury and lifestyle hospitality segments
The panel came against a backdrop of increased investor interest in the luxury and lifestyle hotel sectors in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly from institutional and private equity capital.
Region-wide pipelines were at or near records, with notable acceleration in luxury and lifestyle projects and growth in new brands coming into the market.
Luxury and upscale assets accounted for almost 85% of the total hotel investment in the Asia Pacific region during 2024 and the first half of 2025, according to the latest research from Global Asset Solutions.
The company’s Asia-Pacific Hotels Transactions & Market Snapshot for full-year 2024 and first half of 2025 reported that an increase in liquidity driven by the strong dollar had helped to bolster deals.
For all hotel deals exceeding US$20 million, the total transaction volume in the region during 2024 reached US$11.2 billion, with 139 transactions, and 56 worth US$5 billion so far this year.
The study also found that Japan was the most in-demand hotel market, with a weak yen and near-zero interest rates, meaning that the country accounted for over US$4 billion in hotel transaction volume, nearly 40 percent of the total for the year.
