Hotels, redeveloping disused facilities works

Start again with upcycling. Translated, bringing disused structures back to life. This is one of the building industry's bets, which not only concerns residential real estate, but also involves the world of hospitality, called upon to renew itself in the post-Covid period.

And those who bet on it are beginning to reap the rewards. Or so it seems from the last year's results of Aries, a hotel group founded in 2020 that has made building renovation its DNA: in 2024, in fact, the group's revenues rose by 27% and EBITDA by 48%, with a growth trend that remains constant.

"Upcycling, if you like, is a sort of 'industrial' response to ESG requests," explained the group's CEO, Stefano de Santis. "It is an operational model that works. Not only are abandoned structures redeveloped, but with the opening of hotels, the surrounding area is also given a boost, neighbouring companies are moved, services for citizens are increased, and employment is contributed".

Agreeing on the regeneration brought by hotel projects would also be 86% of Italians, according to the study commissioned by Aries to YouGov on the state of the art and challenges for the future of upcycling in the hotel industry. Plans for the recovery of hotel facilities in the suburbs could in fact, according to the sample, benefit the most marginal neighbourhoods; it is important, however, for 48% of those interviewed, to accompany these interventions with adequate services and infrastructures. Basically, however, improvement of urban decorum, real estate revaluation of the area, growth of employment and local allied industries are the expected positive impacts.

In short, the attention is there, yet there seems to be a lack of proper communication. In fact, 43% of respondents consider it a topic that is still little considered, and 31% do not know if there were any regenerated facilities among those they stayed in.