Valotel Holding (Suisse) SA seeks to become Swiss leader in hotel property investment

With its new structure which capitalises on its internal expertise in development, asset management and hotel management, the hotel property business is expanding its investment structure with the launch of a targeted hotel investment strategy with CHF 100 million in assets.

Niche sector
Created under the impetus of GoodNight Partners SA, the exclusive advisor to the new structure and initiator of the investment strategy, Valotel Holding (Suisse) SA has identified an opportunity to exploit the potential offered by the anomalies of a fragmented and immature Swiss hotel property market and a capital market that lacks knowledge in this sector, thus resulting in less favourable financing conditions than for more traditional property asset classes. By capitalising on the expertise and experience of GoodNight Partners SA, Valotel Holding (Suisse) SA offers investors the opportunity to diversify into this niche commercial property sector. This will be achieved through secure hotel property transactions and a tailored asset management strategy, allowing controlled growth until 2023 with a targeted return on investment of +10% and distribution opportunities superior to traditional property asset classes, of 5%–6.5% versus 2.5%–4%.

A strategy of proximity
The strategy will be deployed on budget to mid-scale hotel assets in high-traffic locations – close to train stations, motorways, exhibition centres and airports – in urban and suburban areas, making it possible to attract primarily business customers and thus mitigating the effects of seasonality. This strategy is reinforced by a stable general economic environment and a highly agile investment structure.
This approach allows the holding company to take varying degrees of operational risk, depending on the hotel asset and the target destination – all the while leaving enough leeway for flexibility and operational involvement if there is an opportunity to create greater value. The company’s approach may thus vary from one opportunity to another, by investing only in the building, in the operating business alone, or in both simultaneously. To do this, Valotel Holding (Suisse) SA relies on its exclusive advisor GoodNight Partners SA (GNP), which is involved throughout the value chain of a hotel property asset – identifying the right opportunities, defining a solid business plan for each of them, and implementing an asset management strategy specific to each asset. Founded in 2014 by graduates of the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, GNP currently has more than CHF 90 million in assets under management (AUM) and CHF 196 million in assets under development (AUD) on behalf of third parties.

Arjun Fornerod, Managing Director of GoodNight Partners SA: “We are very pleased to see the materialisation of the investment strategy initiated in 2018 and the launch of Valotel Holding (Suisse) SA, which reflects the confidence of our investors. As a minority investor in the holding company, we affirm our willingness to take a share of the risk in this project – a project we firmly believe in. Our position is boosted by the expertise in the Swiss hospitality industry and tourism market that our team members have developed over the past 15 years.”

Initial fundraising of over CHF 48 million
Valotel Holding (Suisse) SA is announcing a first round of funding of more than CHF 48 million, enabling it to create its hotel portfolio with the acquisition of the operating hotels ibis Sion-Est, ibis Rothrist-Olten and NH Fribourg, as well as a hotel project in St. Gallen being developed by GoodNight Partners SA, which is currently under construction and scheduled for completion in the second half of 2021. Further acquisition opportunities have also been secured, including a hotel in operation in the canton of Fribourg and a hotel project strategically located in the Lake Geneva region.

About Valotel Holding (Suisse) SA
The vision of VALOTEL Holding (Suisse) SA (“Valotel”), an independent Swiss company, is to become the leading hotel investment company, capitalising on solid skills in development, asset management and hotel operations. Valotel offers investors the opportunity to invest in this niche sector of commercial property. Based on its knowledge of the market, its ability to predict trends, its great agility in terms of hotel investment, and its involvement in operational risk, Valotel’s mission is to develop a portfolio of budget to mid-scale hotel property assets in Switzerland, offering returns that exceed traditional real-estate asset classes.

About GoodNight Partners SA
GoodNight Partners SA (GNP) is an independent Swiss hotel property company that provides asset management, development and investment services to owners, developers and investors in Switzerland and Europe, with the aim to continuously create value throughout the investment cycle of each asset. GNP is a member of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association Europe (HAMA Europe) and of HOFTEL, the world’s leading association of active hotel industry investors.