Mainland China emerged as the fastest-growing hotel investment market in Asia Pacific during the first half of 2026, with transaction volumes reaching $1.5 billion, representing a 224% increase according to data from JLL.
The growth is being driven by a significant structural shift in China’s regulatory framework. At the end of 2025, Chinese regulators expanded the country’s Real Estate Investment Trust (C-REIT) framework to encompass commercial real estate for the first time. This expansion made hotel properties eligible for public securitization, opening a new financing and investment avenue that had previously been unavailable.
C-REITs had operated in China since 2021 but were restricted primarily to infrastructure assets such as toll roads and industrial parks. The regulatory change represents what industry observers characterize as a pivotal moment for the sector. According to Julien Naouri, head of investment sales for Asia at JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, the expansion marks “a historic inflection point for China’s hotel industry as it moves toward broader asset securitization and capitalization.” This shift is expected to reshape how hotel assets are financed, valued, and traded across the market.
The surge in transaction volumes reflects growing investor interest in accessing China’s hotel sector through the newly available securitization mechanism, signaling a transition from traditional ownership and financing structures to more diversified capital market approaches.
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