Eivind Hjulstad of Citybox Hotels on Scandinavian Design, Budget Done Right, and Why the Middle Market Is Running Out of Time
Why this matters
Hospitality has separated by chain scale and demand segment, with luxury and resort outperforming and select-service holding pricing power on a leaner cost base. New construction starts remain at multi-decade lows, which has supported in-place RevPAR and made conversions of soft-branded flags an increasingly active part of transaction velocity. For sponsors with operational expertise, the sector continues to offer one of the more compelling income-plus-appreciation profiles available across CRE.
Editorial analysis · Real Estate Trail Editorial
On the RET wire
- Disclosed hospitality deal value tracked in September 2026: $5B across 15 reported transactions. All Hospitality coverage →
Computed from Real Estate Trail’s own tracked coverage
Citybox CEO Eivind Hjulstad outlines how a 9-property Nordic budget chain uses Scandinavian design, reception-free operations, and lean cost structures to undercut midscale rivals, with a pipeline set to double revenu…
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