Mark Owens on Colliers International and the New Economics of Hotel Deals

Colliers International is a global real estate services firm, but in hospitality it increasingly functions as a strategic translator between owners, lenders, and shifting traveller demand. In this Brand Insiders conversation, Mark Owens, Hospitality Practice Group Leader and Vice Chairman at Colliers International, explains how the firm “span[s] the gamut” of hotel advisory, from investment sales and debt restructuring to joint venture equity and consulting. Across the discussion, Owens connects capital markets realities with an industry that is still being reshaped by experiential demand, new destination discovery, and the economics of delivering differentiated stays.

How does Colliers work with hotels?

Owens positions Colliers as a full stack hospitality advisory platform, spanning transactions, capital structuring, and operational strategy. We span the gamut, he says, describing work across capital markets, debt transaction advisory, structured finance, and joint venture equity, alongside a sizable consulting capability that supports owners through repositioning and long term planning.

What has changed in travel demand, and why does experiential matter so much?

Owens argues that Covid accelerated destination discovery and broadened what institutional demand now considers investable. Markets once viewed as secondary have become more durable drivers of leisure performance because they offer something that feels rare. There are a number of markets that may have been thought of as second, third tier… that have unmatched beauty and aren’t well known, he says, and those destinations have become more institutionalized for that experiential traveler.

He links this to the growth playbook of ultra luxury brands, pointing to how groups such as Aman have proven the value of building in places where there is nothing else and no one else around.

What do performance indicators such as RevPAR capture, and what do they miss?

Owens treats RevPAR as a useful signal, but not the whole picture. The stronger takeaway is what sits behind the number: how a hotel earns its rate, how resilient its demand mix is, and whether the product is positioned for the next wave of traveller expectations. In his view, performance conversations are increasingly tied to experience design, not just room night optimisation.

How are cap rates and pricing behaving in today’s market?

Owens explains that valuation is being pulled by competing forces: operating performance that has recovered in many segments, and capital costs that have reset. That tension is central to why transaction volumes have often lagged sentiment. Owners are weighing whether to sell into a market that is still finding price clarity, while buyers are underwriting with more conservative assumptions and higher cost of capital.

What is happening in hotel debt markets, and what should owners prepare for?

Owens describes a market where structure matters more than slogans. Refinancing is not simply a rate conversation, it is a feasibility and lender appetite conversation, and the constraints differ by asset quality, sponsorship strength, and business plan credibility. He also notes the practical reality that even when capital is available, it often comes with a tighter view on proceeds, covenants, and downside risk.

ESG, CPACE, and hotel economics

Owens is blunt about how ESG becomes real in deals: it is not only a values story, it is a capital story. There are three real main constituents in this equation, he says, the government, the consumer, and the investor. Regulation can shape viability through compliance costs, consumer preferences can shift demand, and investors can expand or restrict the pool of available capital.

He also highlights how green capital can expand liquidity. In parts of the world, green bonds can create a deeper market for debt, meaning sponsors may access proceeds from a bigger variety of investors. In the United States, he points to CPACE as a tool that can help projects that are cuspy from a return perspective, while cautioning that it can also deter certain senior lenders. The conclusion is pragmatic: It is dollars and cents.

Closing thoughts

Owens closes with a reminder that hotel outcomes are increasingly shaped by the intersection of guest expectations and financing reality. Demand may be strong, but the winners will be the assets that can execute, and the deals that can be structured to survive.