A new HVS survey of GCC hotel owners and investors, in which the UAE represents the second-largest share of respondents, finds that long-term confidence in regional hospitality remains strong, with most investors describing their outlook as positive or neutral even as recent geopolitical conditions prompted a period of recalibration.
June 17, 2026 | Tripti Mehta | UAE | Real Estate
HVS has released its Hospitality GCC Hotel Owner and Investor Survey, and for UAE stakeholders, it presents some timely and newsworthy insights into investor sentiment across the region's hotel sector.
The report surveyed hotel owners, developers, investors, and hospitality-focused real estate groups representing an estimated 160,000 branded hotel rooms across the GCC. The UAE accounted for 34% of respondents, the second-largest share after Saudi Arabia at 42%, with the remainder spread across Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar.
HVS notes that this weighting is significant, as Saudi Arabia and the UAE currently account for the majority of regional hospitality development activity, transaction volume, and branded hotel pipeline expansion, meaning the findings closely reflect the markets most actively shaping GCC hospitality investment trends, with the UAE prominent among them.
By respondent type, hotel investment companies made up 38% of the sample, followed by real estate companies at 30% and private investors at 23%.
One of the report's standout findings is that 83% of respondents still describe their hospitality investment outlook as either positive or neutral, a strong signal of confidence given the scale of recent regional geopolitical developments. On sentiment specifically, 34% reported no meaningful change in their outlook and 22% said sentiment had become more positive, while 43% described becoming more cautious, including 11% significantly so.
Positive or neutral: 83%
Negative: 17%
No change in sentiment: 34%
More positive: 22%
More cautious: 43% (including 11% significantly more cautious)
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• 41% still intend to build or acquire hospitality assets over the next 12 months, with sell intentions described as extremely limited, a trend consistent with the UAE's continued pipeline of branded hotel development.
• Domestic tourism, religious travel, and staycation demand continue to support resilience across key GCC markets, including the UAE's well-established domestic and regional visitor base.
• 57% say their hotel assets could continue meeting key financial obligations for at least six months under current conditions, reflecting the sector's underlying stability.
• 68% report assets remain operational, while 27% say operations remain stable, underscoring that hotels across the region, including in the UAE, have continued trading throughout the period.
• Most respondents expect EBITDA recovery within 6 to 12 months, supported by ADR recovery and continued demand from domestic and regional travellers.
On the more pressured side, 76% reported moderate or significant impact on RevPAR during the recent period, with nearly half indicating declines exceeding 20%, with the highest-yield months between March and May affected by softer international arrivals and airline connectivity.
45% reported some delay to investment or development decisions, comprising 18% citing significant delays and 27% citing modest delays.
On asset values, most respondents reported either declines below 10% or insufficient visibility to assess pricing accurately, with investors continuing to differentiate between asset quality and market exposure.
The survey identifies regional air connectivity as the area investors are watching most closely for recovery, with HVS framing the sequence as connectivity improving first, followed by traveller confidence, hotel demand, and investment activity returning to full strength.
Air connectivity improves
Traveller confidence recovers
Hotel demand normalises
Investment confidence returns
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What makes the findings particularly encouraging is that they point to a market that is not retreating from hospitality, but rather recalibrating around resilience, risk management, and long-term opportunity.
For the UAE specifically, the combination of strong domestic and regional demand, continued investor intent to build and acquire, and operational continuity across the survey period reinforces its position as one of the more resilient markets within the GCC.
Investors are becoming increasingly selective, operationally focused, and disciplined in their capital deployment strategies, while long-term tourism growth continues to underpin confidence in GCC hospitality as an asset class.
The survey suggests that GCC hospitality investors remain fundamentally confident despite a period of geopolitical uncertainty. Rather than withdrawing from the sector, investors are recalibrating their strategies around resilience, operational performance, and long-term value creation.
For the UAE, continued development activity, resilient demand drivers, and strong investor intent reinforce its position as one of the region's most attractive hospitality investment destinations.
Source: HVS, Hospitality in the GCC: Hotel Owner and Investor Sentiment on the U.S.-Iran Conflict.
