PingProperties concludes agreement with Schiphol Commercial for the expansion of ibis Styles Amsterdam Airport hotel

24-07-2023

PingProperties is concluding an agreement with Schiphol Commercial for an allocation under a ground lease to expand its ibis Styles Amsterdam Airport (ISAA) hotel at Piet Guilonardweg 3 in Schiphol Oost. It concerns a ground lease for approx. 4,000 m² LFA which will enable the hotel to add around 127 extra guest rooms, bringing the total to 270 rooms once the extension has been completed. Planning permission has been submitted to the Municipality of Haarlemmermeer for its assessment. PingProperties expects to complete the hotel extension in mid-2025.

Bram Harding, Managing Director (Re)Development PingProperties: ‘Following Covid, the ground lease gives us the green light again to build the extension. We anticipate a significant improvement in the hotel market around Schiphol, as well as the possible arrival of KLM’s Blue Base campus. The hotel will then be transformed from an airport hotel into an airport campus hotel.’

Schiphol Commercial is delighted about the ibis Styles hotel’s expansion, which is in line with the area vision of the district where we aim to improve the quality of accommodation. During the coming years Schiphol Commercial will be working on improving the public space and accessibility by car, bicycle and public transport, in anticipation of the further growth of the area as an attractive and dynamic place to work.
Schiphol-Oost is superbly accessible from the exit of the A9 motorway and is situated alongside the woodlands of the Amsterdamse Bos. Various buses also connect the district to Schiphol Plaza (10 minutes), the railway station and Schiphol’s departures and arrivals halls. A number of national and international businesses have offices in the modern Caravelle, Constellation and Tristar office buildings as well as the General Aviation Terminal.

Shortages in the Schiphol hotel market
Since 2012 the number of hotel rooms available in the Greater Amsterdam region* has increased by 58% (5% a year). Demand for hotel rooms rose even faster until 2019 by 61% (9% a year) and has therefore taken up all of this new availability. Occupancy levels in the region rose from 74% in 2012 to 82% in 2019 and are therefore approaching the theoretical occupancy maximum of approx. 88-90%**. Due to the regional freeze in new hotel development, growth in the number of rooms available has flattened completely, while demand since Covid appears to be rising again. The likelihood that demand for rooms will continue to rise at a rate of 9% a year is small due to the shortage of available rooms, but the worldwide outlook for tourism projects an ongoing annual growth of 3% to 4%. Strong demand for accommodation is causing room prices to rise, as is already evident in Amsterdam. While occupancy levels in Amsterdam in April had recovered to be only 3% lower than in 2019, the average room price YTD rose by >20%. In the Municipality of Haarlemmermeer, room prices have risen by >10% compared to 2019.

Bram Harding, Managing Director (Re)Development PingProperties: ‘Since April, Schiphol hotel occupancy has already returned to 2019 levels. We expect that the court ruling to maximize the number of flights will not have any effect on occupancy levels. Airlines seem to be focusing on passenger numbers at the expense of the number of destinations. Seat occupancy in aircraft is already at the same level as in 2019 and is rising. Now that more travellers are taking to the air again, the airport hotels can look forward to some bumper years.’***.

* Amsterdam, Diemen, Amstelveen, Haarlemmermeer incl. Schiphol
** Hotel occupancy is highly seasonal. 100% occupancy in low-season months is impossible because of disproportionate demand compared to the high-season months. For the maximum theoretical occupancy we assume that during the high-season months all hotels operate with 100% occupancy, and the low-season months (Nov to Feb) their average occupancy of the last few years. In that case the theoretical maximum annual occupancy is between 88% and 90%.
*** https://www.schiphol.nl/en/schiphol-group/page/transport-and-traffic-statistics/