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Cheryl Arcibal

Late last month, an open tender for Hotel Cozi Harbour View in Kwun Tong was announced, with interested parties given until October 15 to submit bids.
The 598-room hotel, located in Hong Kong’s eastern Kowloon Peninsula, a former industrial area, was taken over by Nanyang Commercial Bank for HK$1.87 billion (US$238.4 million) in 2025, with the bank now looking to dispose of the asset to the highest bidder.
Just a week after the announcement of the tender, Nina Hospitality, one of the largest hotel operators in Hong Kong, unveiled the completion of the HK$120 million (US$15.3 million) renovation at Nina Hotel Island South.
The refurbishment transformed the hotel’s lobby and guestrooms and launched both balcony suites and family rooms.
It is the second major refurbishment project of the hospitality arm of private developer Chinachem Group, following the renovation of guest rooms at its flagship Nina Hotel Tsuen Wan West, completed in 2024.
The renovation of Tsuen Wan’s lobbies are still under way, with the group earmarking HK$225 million for the project, part of Nina Hospitality’s rebranding announced in 2021.
The two investment strategies illustrate contrasting outlooks for Hong Kong’s hotel industry.

The city consistently held the crown as the world’s most-visited city before 2019, according to consultancy Euromonitor International.
With 29.26 million overnight visitor arrivals in 2018, Hong Kong’s hotels saw their average occupancy rate increase by 2 percentage points to 91 per cent that year, according to the Tourism Commission.
In 2025, Hong Kong saw 23.19 million overnight visitor arrivals, according to official data, still 20 per cent below their 2018 peak. The average hotel room occupancy rate, meanwhile, was at 87 per cent.
It is no surprise that with higher financing costs, brought about by an increase in interest rates, many asset owners found the hotel business challenging. Those who were unable to service debts had to dispose of their assets, either by selling them at huge discounts or facing asset liquidation by their creditors, recent cases have shown.
Many of these hotels sold were acquired by new owners for conversion into student accommodation.
So far this year, Hong Kong has recorded HK$8.2 billion worth of hotel property deals involving about 2,550 rooms, according to Colliers. Most of these transactions were for student accommodation conversions, and some were a hybrid of co-living – targeted towards students or young professionals – and hotel offerings, the property consultancy added.

With the government’s bid to turn Hong Kong into a global education hub, JLL estimated that the city faced a shortfall of more than 140,000 student beds by the 2029-2030 school year.
“For investors, the sector presents a compelling opportunity underpinned by resilient demand and income visibility that is largely insulated from broader real estate market cycles,” said Cathie Chung, senior director of research at JLL Hong Kong.
For Nina Hospitality, refurbishing its hotels was a way to prepare for higher accommodation demand from tourists, managing director Simon Manning said.
“While recovery is slower than pre-pandemic levels, we are encouraged by the government’s initiatives such as mega-events, sports-related programmes and efforts to attract new markets, which are driving positive momentum,” Manning said.
“By upgrading our hotels and services, we ensure Nina Hospitality is optimally positioned to capture demand and exceed guest expectations as tourism continues to strengthen.”
Since the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium in Kowloon opened in March last year, the mammoth venue had “quickly emerged as one of Asia’s leading event venues and top three internationally in terms of ticket sales in its first year,” according to Colliers.




In the first half of the year, about 1.75 million visitors were drawn to more than 130 events in Hong Kong, generating around HK$5.8 billion in spending and contributing HK$3.3 billion to the economy, according to Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po.
As the city also books global performers amid a growing demand for student accommodation, the hotel property industry was likely to see more hotel conversions and also investment in existing and new hotels, analysts said.
In particular, hotels in the higher market segment could see more capital deployment to refresh and improve their amenities, while well-priced midscale assets could be primed for student accommodation conversions, said Shaman Chellaram, senior director for hotel advisory and valuation and advisory services at Colliers.
“Each segment caters to different demand drivers and end users with very distinct operating and business models,” Chellaram said.
Location might determine whether a hotel was suitable for a student dormitory asset or a tourist accommodation, said Cleavon Tan, senior vice-president of hotels and hospitality group at JLL Hong Kong.
“Hotels in established tourism and business districts, with strong demand drivers, can offer a compelling case for continued hotel use and further investment,” Tan said.
“For properties outside these core locations, particularly where hotel performance is weaker but access to universities and public transport is good, student accommodation may offer a more attractive use. A location that is less competitive for tourists can still work well for students.”


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As the city positions itself as a global education hub, hotels are being converted into premises for student occupation


As the city positions itself as a global education hub, hotels are being converted into premises for student occupation.


Once the world’s most-visited city, Hong Kong now converts hotels into student dorms

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}As the city positions itself as a global education hub, hotels are being converted into premises for student occupation

As the city positions itself as a global education hub, hotels are being converted into premises for student occupation