Between post-COVID recovery, the Olympic effect, new trends and investment strategies, three specialists share their perspective on a hotel sector in full transformation. Bertrand Pullès, Deputy CEO Extendam, European leader in private equity investment in hospitality, Vianney Lautrous, Asset Management Director, Etendam and Nady Bendaoud, partner at Nexia S&A.

The Hotel Industry Is Reinventing Itself

How is the hotel sector doing?

Bertrand Pullès: The sector is doing well, in France as well as in Europe. After the health crisis, the recovery was solid and driven by the return of leisure and business customers. Europe remains a very attractive destination: culture, heritage, diversity of landscapes... And France, the world's leading destination, keeps a special place. What has changed is the way investors look. They discovered the resilience of the hotel industry, while other asset classes — offices, housing, retail... — were suffering. Today, they are coming back with integrated, mature and commercial strategies to better manage performance. The figures show it: revenue per room (RevPAR) grew by around 30% in France over five years. The Olympics also gave France back global visibility. It is a sector that has reinvented itself and is attracting again.

Nady Bendaoud: We also see this dynamism through the financial indicators of the operators we support. The Olympic Games Effect was felt at the end of 2024 and on the^Er quarter 2025. RevPAR increased by 11% in Paris in 2024.

What are the main trends?

BP: There is not one trend, but several, depending on the zone and the clientele. What we observe at first is that the customer is no longer necessarily looking for a standardized hotel, but a place where he feels good, where he can also meet people. The hotel is no longer just a place to sleep, it is a place of passage, sometimes of work, sometimes of life. This is what we call lifestyle, which reflects a real evolution.

Vianney Lautrous: The hotel industry is looking to become better anchored locally. Some hotels make local suppliers work, others open up to the neighborhood by offering a coffee or a table where everyone can come. That's the idea that's creating value today. ESG is also essential: it is no longer a slogan but a reality. In some hotels certified at European level, sheets are changed only one night out of four, instead of one out of two, and no one complains about it.

In this context, how do you support professionals in the sector?

BP: Our job, our DNA, is to support hospitality entrepreneurs in their development and acceleration. Our strategy is based on three pillars: hotel specialization, alignment with operators — we invest alongside them, under the same conditions — and trust. Extendam actively supports its operators in structuring and seeking the financing necessary for the success of their projects. We have built our reputation on proximity to the field and on our ability to create sustainable value, both for investors and for hoteliers. Concretely, we act on both assets and operations: repositioning, targeted CAPEX,
performance management.

NB: We take care of all or part of the accounting and financial management of hotels: outsourcing accounting, reporting, payroll, support for agents... With 250 establishments monitored, from First Class to Crowne Plaza, we know the sector from within. We seek to go further than the traditional accounting service: to understand the operating logic of our customers in order to offer them useful tools. At the moment, we are working on reporting personal expenses to facilitate comparisons between hotels. With Extendam, we share the same requirement for rigor and professionalism, and a common attention to the reality on the ground. This naturally makes it easier to work together.

Nexia S&A, 360° hotel expertise

250 Accompanied hotels

80 specialists in accounting, payroll and reporting

4,800 Pay slips per month

Nexia S&A supports hotel players — independent operators, groups or investors — in the management and development of their business, thanks to an integrated offer:

• Accounting expertise
• Reporting and performance analysis: building custom tools (RevPAR, occupancy rate, margins, personnel expenses)
• Tools and indicators adapted to the hotel sector
• Social management
• BPO, Business Process Outsourcing, Accounting Outsourcing Service

Focus: what is the link between Extendam and Nexia S&A?

The first meeting dates back to a transaction services mission, then to the MyHotels file in which Extendam invested and for which Nexia S&A provides accounting and payroll. As part of a new project in Paris, Extendam was looking for an accounting firm.” We selected Nexia S&A for its ability to build personalized reports, adapted to our needs and those of future operators. ” explains Vianney Lautrous.” For an investor, quick access to data and operational monitoring is decisive for making quick and effective decisions. ”, continues Bertrand Pullès.

Extendam, creating value in hospitality

Extendam is the European leader in private equity dedicated to mid-range and upscale hotels (2 to 4 stars).

Creation 2013

Strategy: Acquisition of premises and businesses for hotels with high potential, renovation, repositioning and operational management.

€4.8 billion Of asset value

385 hotels purchased Since the beginning

275 hotels in the portfolio (around 31,000 rooms)

50 employees

In 2024:

• 27 hotels purchased 1/17 sales/€300m invested
• Distribution:
  
  • 1/3 active in France
  • 2/3 active abroad Mainly Spain, Italy and Portugal
• Partners: More than 60 blinds hotels (Accor, Marriott, Hilton, Hilton, Hilton, IHG, Best Western, etc...)
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