Real Estate Investment 2022 6 The opportunity The hotels, hospitality and leisure sector COVID-19 has had a seismic impact on the hotels, hospitality and leisure sector that’s been felt by investors, owners, operators, consumers and employees alike. Despite this, the underlying strong growth fundamentals remain. Demand for leisure, domestic and international travel has rebounded strongly to near pre-pandemic levels. Business travel demand is expected to follow a similar pattern as more barriers to travel are removed though MICE-focused venues may take a lot longer to fully recover or reinvent themselves. Against this positive backdrop, there is of course the war in Ukraine and there will always be local, regional and global challenges of varying degrees facing the sector. Indeed, when asked what the greatest challenge was, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan was reported to have said ‘Events, dear boy, events’. The same is certainly true of the hotels, hospitality and leisure sector. Responding to these events will provide opportunities and require solutions for hotel, hospitality and leisure businesses depending on their location, target segment and offering. Key themes are already emerging – the importance of flexibility and diversity, the challenge of labour shortages, the focus on ESG and the growth in TravelTech, Big Data and Branded Residences.