Wednesday, 11 February 2026
The Nordic hotel sector recorded its most active investment year on record in 2025, supported by large portfolio transactions and improving operating performance across most countries, according to the latest regional market snapshot by CBRE. Transaction volumes rose sharply year-on-year, although the report notes that a significant share of the increase was driven by a single large portfolio acquisition and that pricing gaps between buyers and sellers remain evident.
Total hotel investment volume in the Nordic region reached approximately €1.85 billion in 2025, representing a 186 percent increase compared with the previous year. The number of transactions rose to 52. The largest deal was CapMan’s acquisition of the Midstar portfolio, comprising 28 hotels across Denmark, Norway and Sweden, described as the biggest hotel portfolio transaction ever recorded in the region. Even when excluding this transaction, overall activity remained substantially higher than in 2024, indicating broader investor interest in both city-centre and leisure-oriented assets. Prime yields at year-end varied by capital city, with Copenhagen at 4.5 percent, Stockholm at 4.75 percent, Oslo at 5.0 percent and Helsinki at 6.0 percent.
Operating performance trends showed continued recovery in most Nordic markets, although results differed by country and city. Denmark emerged as the strongest performer overall, with Copenhagen recording double-digit year-on-year revenue-per-available-room (RevPAR) growth in the final four months of the year and full-year RevPAR exceeding pre-pandemic 2019 levels. Other Danish cities including Aarhus, Aalborg and Odense also posted RevPAR figures above 2019 benchmarks, supported by both occupancy gains and higher average daily rates, despite significant supply growth in Copenhagen since 2019.
Finland presented a more mixed picture. While full-year RevPAR increased modestly in Helsinki, Turku and Tampere, only Tampere clearly exceeded its 2019 performance levels. Helsinki remained below pre-pandemic benchmarks, partly due to supply growth outpacing demand. Rovaniemi stood out as the strongest Finnish market, delivering the highest RevPAR in the country and recording substantial gains compared with both 2024 and 2019, supported by strong winter tourism demand and an expanding development pipeline.
Norway reported some of the highest relative growth rates in the region. All major cities achieved year-on-year RevPAR increases for the full year, with Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim posting particularly strong improvements compared with 2019. Tromsø achieved the highest nominal RevPAR in the country, although short-term growth was moderated by the opening of a large new hotel that increased local supply. Overall, demand growth in most Norwegian cities exceeded the increase in available rooms, indicating continued expansion potential.
Sweden also recorded RevPAR growth across its principal cities, though performance varied. Stockholm and Gothenburg posted solid year-on-year increases, while Malmö’s growth was more limited due to a decline in average daily rates. On a full-year basis, all major Swedish cities exceeded 2019 RevPAR levels, with Uppsala showing the strongest relative improvement. Supply growth was most pronounced in Gothenburg, where it was accompanied by the highest demand increase among Swedish cities.
At a country level, Denmark achieved the highest overall RevPAR in 2025, becoming the first Nordic country to reach the €100 threshold. Norway followed with record-high national RevPAR and the strongest growth relative to 2019, while Sweden posted moderate but consistent gains. Finland remained slightly below its pre-pandemic national average despite year-on-year improvement. Across the region, the pipeline of new hotel rooms in capital cities for 2026–2028 remains comparatively limited, which the report suggests could support continued pricing power for operators while sustaining investor interest.
Source: CBRE Nordics
