Investing in Italian Hotels
Italy received 73.9 million international arrivals in 2024, and foreign visitors generated 54.5% of all overnight stays in the country. This section is written for buyers based outside Italy who are considering acquiring a hotel here, and it covers the two things such a buyer usually cannot find in English: what the market actually looks like in numbers, and how the transaction works in practice.
By the team at KW Hospitality · Updated
Who this is for
Most of what is published in English about Italian hotels is either a listing or a marketing brochure. This section is neither. It is written for family offices, private investors, hotel groups and funds who are seriously evaluating Italy and need to understand the ground before committing time to it.
We are KW Hospitality, the hotel brokerage division of Keller Williams in Italy. We act on the purchase, sale and leasing of accommodation businesses, and we work in English from first contact through to the deed of sale. We are based in Rome and we operate across the country.
Start with the demand data, not the property
The most common mistake an international buyer makes in Italy is falling for a building before understanding its market. A beautiful property in a destination with a nine-week season and no domestic demand is a different investment from an identical property in a market that trades all year.
We maintain an observatory of the official ISTAT record — arrivals, overnight stays, and accommodation capacity for all 5,324 Italian municipalities, from 2014 to 2024. The pages below present that record for the destinations international buyers most often ask about. They contain demand and supply figures only: no yields, no rates, no valuations, because those are properties of a specific asset and a generic figure would mislead you.
Each figure above is drawn from the official series and is set out in full, with the 2023 comparison, on the destination pages.
Then understand the transaction
Buying a hotel in Italy is not the same as buying a house, and it is not the same as buying a hotel in most other jurisdictions. Two things surprise foreign buyers most often.
The first is that you are usually buying a business, not just a building. An operating hotel comes with employees, licences, supplier contracts, forward bookings and an operating history, and Italian law treats the transfer of a going concern differently from the transfer of real estate. Which of the two you are buying changes the tax treatment, the liabilities you inherit and the documents you need to see.
The second is the role of the notary. In Italy the deed of sale is executed before a notaio, a public official who is not acting for either party and whose function is to verify title and give the deed public effect. The notary is mandatory, is chosen conventionally by the buyer, and is not a substitute for your own legal adviser.
The guides
These pages set out, in English, what the process actually involves.
- How to buy a hotel in Italy — the transaction end to end: offer, preliminary contract, deed of sale, and where the timeline usually slips.
- Buying property in Italy as a foreigner — the tax code, the reciprocity condition for non-EU buyers, bank accounts and practical prerequisites.
- Asset deal or share deal — buying the building, the business, or the company that owns them, and what each choice carries with it.
- Costs and taxes on a hotel purchase — the categories of cost involved and who bears them.
- Hotel due diligence in Italy — what must be verified before you commit, and the checks that most often stop a deal.
- Judicial auctions and distressed hotel debt — buying from an insolvency process, and the risks that route carries.
- Residence and the investor visa — what buying a hotel does and does not do for your right to live in Italy.
- Who runs the hotel after you buy — direct operation, business lease, management contract or brand affiliation.
Market data by destination
Why most of the market is not advertised
Owners of operating hotels rarely advertise a sale. Announcing it unsettles staff, alarms suppliers, invites competitors to approach key employees and can affect forward bookings. The consequence for a buyer is that public listings represent a small and unrepresentative slice of what is actually available, weighted towards properties that have been on the market a long time.
Access to the rest runs through brokers holding confidential mandates. That is the substance of what we do: we hold mandates, and we introduce qualified buyers to owners who are willing to sell but not willing to advertise.
Talk to us about an acquisition in Italy
Write to us with what you are considering. We reply in English, and we will tell you honestly when we think Italy — or a particular market — does not fit the brief.
Contact our teamConfidential portfolioFrequently asked questions
Can a foreign national buy a hotel in Italy?
Yes. There is no general prohibition on foreign ownership of Italian commercial property or businesses. EU nationals are treated as Italian nationals. Non-EU nationals are subject to the condition of reciprocity, which is satisfied for most countries. Practical prerequisites — an Italian tax code, and usually an Italian bank account or holding structure — should be arranged before a transaction begins rather than during it.
Do I need to speak Italian?
You need Italian for the deed itself, which is drawn in Italian before a notary; where the buyer does not speak Italian the law provides for a sworn interpreter and, commonly, a bilingual deed. Everything before that point can be conducted in English. We work in English throughout.
Am I buying a building or a business?
Both are possible and they are legally distinct. Buying the property alone leaves the operating business, its staff and its licences with the seller. Buying the going concern transfers the business including its employment relationships and, subject to the applicable conditions, its licences. The choice has significant tax and liability consequences and should be settled early.
How long does a hotel acquisition take in Italy?
For a straightforward transaction with clean documentation, several months from agreed terms to deed of sale. Where planning or building status requires regularisation, or where the ownership structure is complex, considerably longer. The variable that most often extends the timeline is the completeness of the seller's documentation, not the negotiation.
What does KW Hospitality charge, and who pays?
Brokerage in Italy is regulated and commission is earned on conclusion of the transaction. The specific arrangement depends on the mandate and on which side we are acting for, and we set it out in writing before you commit to anything. Ask us directly and we will tell you plainly.