New Advisory Alliance Opens Door for Foreign Hotel Investors in Italy’s Booming Market

Why this matters now for real estate Italy investors

Italy’s hotel market is drawing fresh international attention, and for good reason: the sector recorded €1.4 billion in investment in the first half of 2025, according to Colliers’ Hotel Market Report H1 2025. If you are watching real estate Italy for hotel or resort opportunities, a new specialised advisory partnership has just appeared that aims to smooth the path for overseas buyers.

On 25 March 2026, Italy Access Advisory (IAA) launched as a strategic collaboration between Chris Henry of Majestic Hospitality and Christian Scali of LV Toscana SRL. IAA promises an end-to-end service offering that covers acquisition, redevelopment, and operations for hospitality properties across Italy, from boutique hotels and luxury resorts to agriturismo and branded residences. This matters because international investors face a mix of attractive returns and practical hurdles when entering the Italian hospitality market.

Quick take

• Market signal: €1.4 billion invested in H1 2025 — the highest hotel investment volume in Italy in five years.
• New advisory player: Italy Access Advisory (IAA), founded by Chris Henry and Christian Scali.
• Service scope: acquisition, redevelopment, regulatory navigation, and hotel management support.
• Practical edge: local know-how plus international development experience.

The market opportunity: what the numbers and trends tell us

Italy is a top tourist destination for high-spending international travellers. Colliers’ H1 2025 data shows a surge in institutional and private capital targeting hospitality assets, particularly in the high-value segments: boutique hotels, luxury resorts, and branded residences.

Why investors are circling:

• Strong demand for distinctive, high-end accommodation in Rome, Florence, Venice, Tuscany and coastal regions.
• A backlog of heritage properties suitable for repositioning into boutique hotels or private villas.
• Tourist flows that continue to favour experiential travel: cuisine, wine country stays, private-use villas and curated itineraries.

This combination creates a niche for investors who can execute quality conversions and manage a premium guest experience. But demand does not erase operational and regulatory complexity. That is where targeted advisory help becomes valuable.

Meet the team: who is behind Italy Access Advisory and what they bring

IAA pairs two complementary profiles: an international hotel developer with U.S. experience and a local Italian operator with deep regional connections.

• Chris Henry is CEO of Majestic Hospitality, a Los Angeles-based development and consulting firm. The company has more than $550 million in active projects, and Henry is a member of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC). His track record is in creating and renovating experiential hotels and resorts on an international scale.
• Christian Scali heads LV Toscana SRL, an Italian hospitality management company with local market intelligence and regulatory experience in Italy’s property and hospitality sectors.

My read is simple: Henry brings international execution and product thinking; Scali brings Italian permits, local partners, and operations know-how. For foreign buyers, that combination reduces two big risks—design and positioning that miss guest expectations, and bureaucratic delays that derail timelines.

What IAA offers: services and practical benefits for investors

IAA’s stated service offering is full-service and covers the main obstacles foreign investors routinely face. The advisory model centres on three pillars:

• Acquisition: identifying and sourcing properties that fit a specific hospitality thesis—boutique hotels, resorts, agriturismo, branded residences, vacation houses.
• Development and conversion: design, historic-conservation coordination, technical due diligence, and project management through planning and construction.
• Operations and asset management: pre-opening planning, operator selection, branding strategies, and ongoing management support.

Specific, practical investor benefits include:

• Single point of contact for cross-border transactions, reducing friction with local vendors and authorities.
• Access to a tested network of architects, conservators, contractors and hospitality operators in Italy.
• Guidance on matching product type to market demand—for example, deciding whether a rural farmhouse is better as an eight-suite luxury retreat or a private villa product.

This is not consultancy that ends at paperwork. IAA’s pitch is implementation: from scouting and acquisition to a revenue-ready hotel.

Villa Ardore: a case study that explains IAA’s playbook

If you want to see how this model works, the Villa Ardore project in Chianti Classico is instructive. The property was a 16th-century farmhouse and a low-end bed & breakfast before a repositioning project converted it into a private, five-star hotel. Key facts:

• Origin: 16th-century farmhouse
• Outcome: transformed into an eight-suite, five-star private hotel with a private indoor spa

The project required careful coordination between heritage authorities, hospitality designers and operators to preserve historical integrity while adding modern amenities. That combination of sensitivity to conservation rules and commercial repositioning is central to many successful Italian hotel projects.

Investors should note the kind of returns that can follow from such repositionings but also the concentration of complexity: historic permits, structural upgrades, and guest expectations for modern comfort.

Where investors should exercise caution: risks and red flags

Italy’s hospitality market is attractive, but it is not frictionless. We advise a measured approach that recognises the following risks:

• Regulatory complexity: heritage buildings and rural properties often require multiple permits and sign-offs from local and regional authorities. Timeframes can be long and vary by municipality.
• Conservation requirements: restrictions on alterations to façades, interiors and landscapes can increase renovation costs and limit capacity expansion.
• Seasonality: many Italian destinations are highly seasonal; without a clear demand-smoothing strategy, occupancy and revenue can be uneven across the year.
• Operational staffing: recruitment and retention of qualified hospitality staff is a challenge in certain regions, particularly for boutique luxury offerings that require specialised service standards.
• Overleveraging: financing heritage conversions can be costly; lenders expect clear planning permissions and experienced operators before committing.

Red flags in a deal pipeline include unclear title or easements on historical properties, missing heritage assessments, and unrealistic timelines promised by local contractors.

How to approach a hotel acquisition in Italy: a practical checklist

For investors considering a hotel or resort acquisition in Italy, I lay out a pragmatic checklist based on what IAA says it will offer and what the market requires.

1. Clarify your product-market fit

• Decide if you are targeting boutique hotel guests, luxury resort clientele, or long-stay branded residences.

2. Technical and heritage due diligence

• Commission structural, seismic and conservation reports.