During the course of 2016, 29 new four and five star hotels are expected to open, 13 of which will be in Lisbon. Seven more are scheduled to open in the north of Portugal, along with another in Porto. The speed at which they’re opening is leading some investors to ask if there aren’t more hotels than necessary in the country. “We are starting to get to a point where we risk having excess supply,” says Miguel Júdice, CEO of Thema Hotels.
“The cost of investment increased despite the best financing conditions,” explains José Roquette of Pestana Group. In Lisbon, the average price per square meter increased from 18% to 30% between 2014 and 2015. Baixa, Chiado, Avenida da Liberdade, Bairro Alto saw the biggest increase in completion prices, with the average price now reaching €4,000 per square meter. The Pestana / CR7 hotel (Cristiano Ronaldo hotel) is one such example.
