Why A&O Hostels Is Buying Europe’s Empty Buildings

Most of European hospitality has spent the past decade trying to own less real estate. a&o Hostels has spent the past two years buying it on the cheap.

“Good years for buyers, bad years for sellers,” is how CEO Oliver Winter described the environment to Skift.

a&o is the largest operator in one of the most fragmented corners of European hospitality, with 44 properties and roughly 30,000 beds. The top five branded hostel chains control roughly 8% of inventory, according to JLL, leaving most of it to independents and small regional operators.

JLL expects Europe’s hostel sector to reach €8.2 billion (about $9.5 billion) by 2029. With no single operator dominating, a&o has room to keep buying.  

The targets are distressed three- and four-star hotels with convention space that never recovered after the pandemic, and empty offices that owners can’t fill.

“We see a hotel, we see an asset, and say, where th