HOTEL INVESTMENT AND FINANCE - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module provides an in-depth examination of the hotel investment landscape, focusing on the development, acquisition, and franchising of hotel assets from the perspectives of owners, operators, and lenders. Students will explore the strategic motivations and financial considerations that drive decision-making across the hotel real estate cycle.Through a combination of lectures and applied learning, the module covers key topics including feasibility studies, hotel valuation, capital structuring, debt and equity financing (including joint ventures), and the roles and implications of management contracts and franchise agreements. Students will gain critical insight into the transaction process, market and operational analysis, types of ownership, and asset management strategies.The module places strong emphasis on real-world application, enabling students to evaluate hotel investment opportunities and structure financially viable, operationally sound development proposals.In line with the University of Surrey¿s curriculum framework, this module contributes to the development of the following graduate capabilities:

• Digital Capabilities ¿ Through financial modelling, data interpretation, and industry-standard analytical tools.
• Global and Cultural Capabilities ¿ By engaging with international investment trends, cross-border financing, and global brand agreements.
• Employability ¿ By building commercial awareness, strategic thinking, and practical skills relevant to hotel development and investment roles.

Module provider

Surrey Hospitality & Tourism Management

Module Leader

GANBERT Sylvia (Hosp & Tour)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Module Content 

• Intermediate to advanced knowledge of hotel investment processes, including key stakeholders, decision-making frameworks, and the strategic implications for asset performance and value creation.
• Introduction to real estate finance as applied to the hotel asset class, covering property valuation methods, investment metrics, and sector-specific financial dynamics.
• Hotel transaction lifecycle analysis, with a focus on acquisition, development, asset management, disposition strategies, and distressed scenarios such as restructuring and bankruptcy.
• Comprehensive overview of hotel development, including market feasibility studies, site analysis, development planning, and financing models.
• Investment performance evaluation, incorporating financial return modelling, IRR/NPV assessments, and benchmarking through industry standards (e.g., STR, RevPAR, GOPPAR).
• Critical appraisal of hotel management and franchise agreements, examining contract structures, fee models, operator obligations, and owner-operator alignment.
• Applied hotel financial analysis, integrating accounting fundamentals, cash flow forecasting, profit and loss interpretation, and KPI tracking within hotel operations. 
• Exploration of some capital structuring strategies, including the role of debt and equity within the investment sector, funding sources, risk-return profiles, and leverage implications for hotel investments.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

  In the case of an alternative assessment being necessary, individual students will be provided with an alternative data set and be expected to carry out a similar set of analyses. The report from this will be up to 2000 words.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate all learning outcomes that are related to the topics delivered in various weeks. The assessments are designed to capture learning in all the topics covered in this module.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

•  The group assignment will use the tools and techniques learned in this module to analyze a destination/market (i.e.Development marketplace) that is hypothetical whereby the role of an owner, a lender, and management company must be carefully analyzed and presented. Sustainability and the longevity of the demand and marketplace must be analyzed accordingly. Transaction data will be provided by instructor.


•  The individual assignment is a feasibility study based on an existing case study hotel. The information will be provided by the instructor whereby the role of the owner, lender and management company should be analyzed but also discuss the upside and downside risks and rewards of the transaction through strategic and critical thinking. The transaction and data for the individual assignment will be provided by the instructor. Once again this will assess the student’s abilities in various theoretical, strategic and advanced calculations-based competencies in hotel investment and financial analysis. The sustainability of business is key to this assessment.

Alternative Assessment

In the case of an alternative assessment being necessary, individual students will be provided with an alternative data set and be expected to carry out a similar set of analyses. The report from this will be up to 2000 words.

Formative assessment and feedback

Verbal and written feedback on group presentations

Written feedback on group reports

Peer assessment within and between groups. This is to ensure fairness within the group and help each student to understand their working practices and how it can impact team members in a positive or negative way.

Facilitation and feedback from the teaching team

Module aims

• Provide students with understanding of hotel investment and financial concepts together with understanding the varying owner profiles seen in the hotel investment landscape.
• Learn market- based analysis, strategy, techniques, models and transactions. The student will be engaged in hotel feasibility studies, and financial analysis techniques as well as understanding the various transactions in the industry which impacts the owner, lender and operator
• Help understanding of some of hotel investment and finance vocabulary and various contracting options such as operating contracts, leasing etc.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

Facilitate active learning and to support students in achieving the learning outcomes.

The learning and teaching methods include:

Lectures incorporating class-room participation for better understanding for the students. Discussion of the lecture material and case studies is integral for the fuller understanding of this complex topic.

Seminar sessions for solving problems to explore in more depth content covered in lectures. These seminars cover worked examples which are an integral part of the module. The lecturer will provide the necessary support during these sessions for deeper understanding practical examples, articles, case studies and long problem solutions. This will benefit the students by putting real life case studies at the heart of the learning journey

SurreyLearn will be used for delivering a variety of case studies thereby giving the students an opportunity to get formative feedback.

Utilizing SurreyLearn as the main pool of resources including lecture handouts, tutorial problems, mock exercises, articles, case studies, and discussions.

Office hours provided by lecturers.

Support of lecture material by directed reading and exercises selected.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MANM319

Other information

Global and Cultural Capabilities

Students will explore hotel investment and development strategies across diverse cultural, economic, and regulatory environments. By analysing real-world cases and datasets from different geographic regions, they will learn to compare and contrast investment behaviours, stakeholder motivations, and market dynamics. This will enhance their ability to interpret global trends and adapt business strategies to culturally and regionally distinct hospitality markets.

Digital Capabilities

This module develops students¿ ability to analyse financial and operational data using digital tools to support strategic decision-making in hotel investment and asset management. Students will gain hands-on experience in applying descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics, as well as data visualisation techniques, using industry-relevant software. Through individual and group assessments, students will engage with datasets to extract actionable insights and present investment recommendations grounded in data-driven analysis.

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.