ARVA — Independent hotel investment advisory boutique

ARVA advises on hotel assets where value is shaped as much by operating performance and operating contracts as by real estate — particularly when that value is being structured or renegotiated. Typical situations include the acquisition of an asset, the negotiation or renewal of a lease or management contract, the repositioning of an underperforming asset (hotel or otherwise), the preparation of a disposal, and the defence of a position with shareholders or decision-makers.

These situations have lasting impact on both the value of the asset and the standing of the parties involved. They require a precise transactional read of the matter, a clear grasp of the leverage at play with the operator, and the ability to lead negotiations with counterparties.

Since its founding, ARVA has been retained by institutional hotel investors — often alongside their in-house asset management teams — by international investment funds, and by the leadership of a European hotel group. As an independent firm, with no brokerage business and no co-investment positions, ARVA is paid solely by its clients, under dedicated mandates.

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Opportunity opinion

A focused written opinion ahead of any commitment, with a clear recommendation to proceed, adjust or walk away — on the price of an asset, the feasibility of a project, or the terms of a transaction put forward by a counterparty. Some decisions call for a sharp, brief view rather than a full mandate. ARVA delivers a substantiated opinion, in a tight format, on matters where the quality of the call outweighs the breadth of the process.

Mixed-use asset — hotel read informing an investment decision.

Opportunity opinion for an investment fund pursuing the acquisition of a mixed-use Parisian asset, where the client lacked a precise framework to read the hotel component. ARVA analysed the hotel component as it currently stood and as it would stand under a target configuration — at a point where the viability of the overall transaction hinged precisely on the conclusions specific to the hotel side.

European hospitality portfolio — hotel input within an expert valuation engagement.

Technical input for a real estate valuation firm conducting the audit of the property values of a listed company. ARVA reviewed the portfolio's operating assumptions, P&L statements, leases and management contracts, as well as the market dynamics specific to each asset — within the methodological framework set by the lead firm.

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Buy-side

Analysis of opportunities sourced by the client, acquisition structuring, negotiation and execution. The value of a hotel asset rarely turns on a single angle. ARVA runs the operational, contractual and market analysis that supports a defensible price, then sees the structuring and negotiation through to the investment decision.

Contrarian read on a hotel under a high-demanded brand.

A private investor was looking at the acquisition of a hotel in a deal the seller had tied to the signing of a management contract with one of its brands — widely seen as a highly desirable name by guests and investors alike. ARVA ran the operational read on the brand — performance, margins, real investor appetite for that positioning at exit — and put forward an alternative scenario under a lease, sourcing two candidate operators. The work brought to light a meaningful gap between the asking price and the defensible price.

Critical read of a leased portfolio — built-in contractual reversion.

A private investor was considering the acquisition of a portfolio of hotel real estate leased to an operator, whose stated valuation rested on the rents in place. ARVA reviewed the leases and modelled both the cash flows and the rents achievable at the next contractual reset. The gap between the rent in place and the sustainable rent at renewal pointed to a built-in depreciation that the standard real estate read of the portfolio had passed over.

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Sell-side

Disposal engagement through a targeted approach to qualified buyers, when an open process would be premature or unsuited to the nature of the matter. A well-conducted disposal is not always a widely advertised one. ARVA leads transactions where the relevant buyer universe is narrow, the matter confidential, or the value fragile in an open process.

Orderly market test under a tight timeline — hotel sell-side.

Disposal mandate in a context of financial pressure. The value of the situation rested on the market's capacity to take over a hotel project still under structuring. ARVA ran the diagnosis of the project, then tested a narrow pool of targeted hotel operators and investors. The feedback shaped the seller's decision well beyond the question of price alone.

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Hold/sell arbitrage and disposal preparation

Analysis of the hold-versus-sell options, critical read of the asset and its structure, calibration of the defensible price and the optimal timing, preparation of a decision that holds up under the pressure of the market and the negotiation. Before going to market, the owner of an asset often has to weigh holding, restructuring or exit. ARVA builds the framework for that decision, combining asset-level, contractual and transactional analysis — free of any incentive to transact one way or the other.

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Contracts and restructurings

Renegotiation of a lease, management contract or franchise, contractual repositioning, lender/borrower disputes. The contract that governs how a building is run as a hotel drives value just as the real estate does. ARVA steps in when that contract needs to be (re)negotiated, (re)structured or defended with third parties — lenders, committees, decision-makers.

Franchisor selection process on a hotel portfolio — contractual transition across multiple perimeters.

A hotel property company sought to refresh the brand contract of a portfolio of operating assets. ARVA designed and led a selection process open to leading domestic and international franchisors, built to allow bids across different perimeters and trade-offs beyond royalty levels alone. The work covered the review of offers, a recommendation to the client, and the contractual negotiation with the selected franchisor.

Multi-criteria trade-off in a lease selection process — the highest headline rent is not always the best path to value.

A real estate investor sought to secure a hotel lease as part of the redevelopment of an urban building, with a view to a later sale to an institutional investor. ARVA designed and ran the selection process over two rounds, each calling for a different read of the candidates. While the final choice naturally weighed the rent levels proposed by each candidate, what tipped it was the balance between long-term sustainability, the strength of the signature and the readability of the contract for a future buyer.

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Shareholding and governance

Disputes between shareholders, decision-making deadlocks, divergent strategies. When an investment decision hinges on first resolving a dispute between shareholders or partners, ARVA builds the decision-making framework in which the parties can find a way forward.

Conviction notes

ARVA publishes quarterly conviction notes on the hotel and hotel investment markets in France and across Europe.

To request them: contact@arva-am.com

Contact

contact@arva-am.com