No hay un ganador único: depende de tu capital, horizonte y tolerancia a la gestión. El hotel exige ticket millonario (precio medio de 204.000 € por habitación en 2025) con cap rate del 5-6% estabilizado y exit institucional; la cartera de apartamentos se compra desde el precio de un piso y declara un 6-10% bruto que cae al 3-7% neto, con más fricción regulatoria por la reforma de la LPH. La decisión se valida con la cascada de euros pre-firma, nunca con el bruto del anuncio.
The bad question and the useful question
"What more rent, a hotel or several tourist apartments?" is an unanswered question, because it mixes two kinds of assets that are bought, run and sold differently. The question that does decide capital is another: given my ticket, my horizon and how much management I have to assume, what structure leave me more NOI and less risk keeping an asset I can't exploit?
The industry's high. The hotel investment in Spain closed 2025 at 4.275 M € (+ 28% vs. 2024), its second best historic record with 194 operations and 159 existing hotels transacted (Source: Colliers / Five Days, January 2026). At the same time, the well-run tourist apartment declares a gross profitability of 6–10% by location (Source: Buve, 2025). Two hot headlines, two different worlds. Let's clear them up.
Input ticket: all at once vs. piece by piece
The first border is capital. A hotel - even small or urban with a medium range - rarely low of the million euro. The average price per room transformed into 2025 surrounded 204.000 €second consecutive year above 200.000 (Source: Christie & Co, via BrainsRE, 2025). A 20-40 key asset is therefore a billionaire operation that requires all capital (or all debt) at once.
El apartamento turístico se compra desde el precio de un piso. En zonas secundarias y costa no prime, bastante por debajo de los 200.000 € por unidad. Y la cartera se construye pieza a pieza: una puerta hoy, otra dentro de seis meses. Eso cambia el perfil de riesgo de entrada —dosificas— pero también el de gestión, porque cada puerta nueva suma fricción.
Yield: the raw that they sell versus the net that you charge
That's where most of the investment content lies by omission. The tourist apartment declares 6-10% gross but That figure goes to 3-7% net after disposal of carcase, cleanup, IBI, community, management and gaps (estimación sectorial, Buve, 2025). The first hotel, for its part, moves into a cap rate del 5–6% (Source: BRE, Q4 Index 2025) on an already stabilized NOI with a GOP reference margin ~41% (HotStats, sector estimate).
The uncomfortable conclusion: The apartment can rent more raw and at the same time less net That a hotel, if the operative isn't professionally established. That's why we don't compare headlines: we compare the pre-sign euro cascade.
EUR cascade with sign: tourist apartment (example)
An illustrative example of a tourist housing that bills gross 30.000 € every year. The percentages are common sector ranges and the actual result depends on area, employment and management.
| Concept | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Annual gross income | 30.000 € | _ |
| − Channel Commission (OTA 15-18%) | −4.500 € | Booking 54,3% / Airbnb 26,7% from the holiday mix (Lodgify, 2025) |
| − Cleaning and laundry | −3.000 € | Rotary variable |
| − IBI + community + supplies | −3.300 € | Fixed cost of property |
| − Professional management | −3.600 € | Gross conversion to real NOI |
| − CAPEX + gaps and insurance | −2.400 € | Replacement and low season |
| = net NOI (before tax) | ≈ 13.200 € | ~ 44% of raw: the number that decides |
illustrative figures. To reduce the channel commission - e.g. by leading to the Tudesvío (10% vs. 15-18% from the OTAs) - is one of the most direct levers about NOI.
The same exercise applies to the hotel but with more employment costs (reception, F& B, revue management) and an GOP from which the operator lives. The difference isn't about formula, it's about magnitude and from who takes care of the operation. If you want the details of calculation in tourist housing, we have developed them at how to compute the net yield of a tourist housingand the complete hotel version at the actual profitability of buying a hotel in Spain.
Regulatory risk: where the apartment suffers most
That's the asymmetry that destroys most capital and that nearly nobody quantifies. The scattered tourist apartment lives under growing normative pressure:
Neighbourhood Veto (LpH April 2025)
The community can block new VT with a majority of 3 / 5. A loose floor depends on that vote and an entire one-owner building dodge them because there's no community to vote for.
Municipal restriction
Barcelona removes VT licences at 2028; Madrid reached the roof of the RESIDE Plan. To buy to blow up in Red Zone is to buy an asset that you may be unable to operate.
State framework in motion
The single state registry (NRUA, RD 1312 / 2024) was cancelled by the STS 620 / 2026 (May 2026). He commands his autophone code: VUT, VV, HUT... according to CAA. It always verifies local validity.
The hotel with an established tertiary use and its own activity license does not depend on the vote of a community of neighbours and VUT quotas. That regulatory stability is, in itself, part of the premium paid by the institutional investor. The details by city we mapped in our analysis of tourism investment and in the area guides.
Liquidity: Unit vs. block
Another asymmetry that's mean upside down. The tourist apartment is very liquid per unit: each floor is sold to any private buyer on the residential market. But selling his whole wallet with a bonus's tough. The hotel's just the opposite: as a single asset (No thousands of buyers) but with a clear institutional buyer - SOCIMI, background, chain - that values by chap rate and multiple EBITDA. The volume of 2025 (4.275 M €, Colliers) shows that this capital exists and is active.
Translated to decision: If you anticipate partial and gradual departures, the apartment portfolio gives you flexibility. If you are looking for a clear suit to a large buyer with only one close, the hotel - or the whole building - is the car. And if you come from outside of Spain, the fiscal and tenancy structure changes the calculation: we detailed this in the guide to non-resident foreign investor in tourist housing.
Comparison of decision: hotel vs. apartment portfolio
| Criterion | Hotel | Apartment portfolio |
|---|---|---|
| Input ticket | Millions (all at once) | From the price of a flat (piece to piece) |
| Reference Yield | Cap rate 5–6% prime, estabilizado (CBRE Q4 2025) | 6–10% bruto → 3–7% neto (Buve, 2025) |
| Regulatory risk | Low: Tertiary use without neighbouring veto | High: LpH 3 / 5, municipal quotas, autonomous code |
| Liquidity | In block, institutional buyer | High per unit, low block |
| Management | Operador / equipo 24/7 | Coordination multiplied by door |
| Diversification | Unified assets, focused risk | Filling between doors and zones |
| Typical event | Cap rate / multiple EBITDA fully | Residential sale Unit to Unit |
The board does not crown a winner: it separates profiles. The hotel awards big capital, delegated management and institutional success. The portfolio rewarded flexible entry, diversification and liquidity per unit, in exchange for more regulatory and operational friction.
The intermediate tranche that barely anyone's covered
Between the loose floor and the 40 Hotel keys there's a ground that big operators ignore and small ones do not professionally: edificio mediano, el aparthotel y los conjuntos de 1–10 unidades. It combines scale (buy an entire asset, dodge the neighbouring veto, gain debt) with operational flexibility (check-in digital, less regular). If you doubt between formats, it's worth reading aparthotel vs hotel: what an asset more and comparative exploit hotel rooms vs buy the whole hotel and review our line of complete buildings.
That's where management stops being an expense and becomes the value lever. In the actual portfolio of Bliss - between comprehensive management, online, R2R and operation of buildings - the average occupation is of 87%versus market average 56,6 % (internal data Bliss and market: Lodgify, 2025). Ese delta es exactamente lo que convierte un yield bruto en un NOI defendible, lo gestiones sobre un hotel o sobre veinte apartamentos.
Bliss vs. alternatives: clear cascade
The difference isn't just about the asset but about how they put your numbers before they sign. The market of tourism management for investors moves between round and nonsource promise and a fixed canon that challenges your upside. Our bet's the opposite.
| Before signing | Bliss | Round pledges | Fixed canon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-sign number | EUR cascade gross → NOI with source | "+ 40%," "150% Annual" without method | Fixed income without breakdown |
| Capture of upside | R2R + Retirement Retirement Retirement Retirement | Not applicable | Roof: Canon doesn't come up |
| Channel Commission | Direct Tudesvío 10% vs. 15-18% OTAs | Without transparency | Total OTA Unit |
| Regulatory risk | Mapping by CAA and neighborhood | Not mentioned | Generic |
| Tramo intermedio (1–10 uds, rural) | Serious reporting cover | Just big cousin | Solo edificios 10–100 uds |
How to decide on three questions
- How much capital do you have and how do you want to deploy it? If it's high at once and you want to delegate the operation, the hotel. If you prefer to dose and diversify, the portfolio.
- How much regulatory friction do you tolerate? If you want an asset proof of local vetos and local quotas, hotel or whole building. If you agree to manage regulations by door, apartments in green-amber area.
- How do you figure that out? Clean institutional event → hotel. Partial departures and liquidity per unit → apartments.
And, in all three cases, a constant: the decision is valid with the cascade of euro pre-sign, and with the gross of the announcement. The number that goes into your pocket is the NOI after expenses, taxes and channel commission - not the yield that paints the brochure.
FAQ
Hotel or tourist apartments: what's best?
Depends on capital, horizon and management appetite. The hotel is an unitary high (million) ticket asset, institutional feature and operation 24 / 7; the portfolio of tourist apartments is built from a flat, gives more declared gross jield (6-10% according to Buve, 2025) and more liquidity per unit but adds regulatory and operational friction by multiplying doors. No universal response: there's an investor profile. The figure that you decide isn't the gross of the announcement, it's the NOI at hand after the cascade of expenses.
What minimum ticket does every choice require?
Un hotel pequeño o urbano de gama media rara vez baja del millón de euros; el precio medio por habitación transaccionada en 2025 rondó los 204.000 € (Christie & Co), así que un activo de 20–40 llaves es multimillonario. Un apartamento turístico se compra desde el precio de un piso (en zonas secundarias, bastante por debajo de los 200.000 €), y la cartera crece pieza a pieza. El hotel exige todo el capital de golpe; los apartamentos permiten dosificar la entrada.
What's more net jield?
El apartamento turístico bien gestionado declara 6–10% bruto (Buve, 2025), pero ese número cae a 3–7% neto tras comisión de canal, limpieza, IBI, comunidad, gestión y vacíos. El hotel prime ronda un cap rate del 5–6% (CBRE, Q4 2025), más estabilizado y con margen GOP de referencia ~41% (HotStats, estimación sectorial). El apartamento puede rentar más en bruto y a la vez menos en neto si la operativa no está profesionalizada. Por eso la cascada de euros pre-firma manda sobre el titular.
What's more regulatory friction?
El apartamento turístico disperso, sin duda. La reforma de la LPH de abril de 2025 permite a la comunidad vetar nuevas VT con mayoría de 3/5, y ciudades como Barcelona (fin de licencias en 2028) o Madrid (Plan RESIDE) restringen el alta. El hotel, con uso terciario consolidado, no depende del voto vecinal. Y el edificio entero de un solo propietario esquiva ese veto porque no hay comunidad que vote. El registro único estatal (NRUA, RD 1312/2024) fue anulado por la STS 620/2026: manda el código autonómico (VUT/VV/HUT).
What's more fluid at the exit?
Each unit, the apartment: it's sold to any particular buyer on the residential market. The hotel has a clear institutional buyer (SOCIMI, background, chain) that values for Cap rate and multiple EBITDA, and 2025 closed with 4.275 M €invertidas (Colliers, ene-2026). The hotel is an unique but attractive asset for big capital and the apartment portfolio is clear and clear but difficult to sell with bonus.
What requires more professional management?
Ambos, pero distinto. El hotel necesita un operador o equipo 24/7 (recepción, F&B, revenue management) y un contrato de operación que reparta el riesgo de NOI. La cartera de apartamentos exige coordinar limpieza, check-in, pricing dinámico y normativa en N puertas a la vez: la fricción crece con cada unidad. En los dos casos, la gestión no es un gasto, es la palanca que convierte yield bruto en NOI real. Bliss opera con 87% de ocupación y mejora de ingreso vs media de mercado (datos internos).
What investor profile fits with each other?
El hotel encaja con family office o inversor patrimonial de ticket alto que busca un activo institucional, exit a fondo y operación delegada. La cartera de apartamentos encaja con el inversor que entra con menos capital, quiere diversificar riesgo entre puertas y zonas, y acepta más fricción a cambio de liquidez por unidad. Entre medias está el tramo intermedio (edificio mediano, aparthotel, 1–10 unidades) que combina escala con flexibilidad y que casi nadie cubre con reporting serio.
Decide with the cascade of euro ahead, and with the gross of the announcement
We set up a model of a hotel or an apartment portfolio with verifiable market and area data: ticket, net yield, regulatory risk and success. No round promise.
Official sources: Colliers - Spanish Hotel Investment Report 2025 · StR & Cushman & Wakefield 2025 Hoteler Barometer. The estimates marked as sectorally did not come from a harsh institutional source. Blist = internal portfolio data. That article's general information, not investment advice.