May 2026 confirms the strength of the Alpine market and the depth of its investment cycle. Swiss supplementary accommodation posts a record year, led by vacation rentals, while Atout France reports spring attendance that delivered. On valuations, the market references converge: Knight Frank measures a 23 % rise in ski real estate over five years, and Savills recalls a 197 % rise in prime prices over twenty years in France. Capital is moving to action with the first acquisition by the Premium Hotel Investment fund, a four-star chalet hotel near Megève, while Pierre & Vacances enters the Swiss Alps with four new residences. On the ground, the Ubaye valley welcomes a premium base camp and resorts are strengthening their summer offer. For investors, sellers and operators, the reading is clear: demand holds, scarce supply underpins values, and value is now built across four seasons.
According to data released by the Federal Statistical Office on May 29, 2026, Swiss tourist accommodation outside classic hotels totalled 18.1 million overnight stays in 2025, up 4.7 % year-on-year. Vacation rentals are the leading segment, with 40.7 % of the total, or 7.4 million stays (+4.3 %). Domestic guests account for 11.7 million stays (+2.1 %), while foreign demand jumps 9.8 % to 6.3 million, a never-before-seen level. The Lake Geneva region remains the most popular destination with 2.1 million stays. This growth outpaces the traditional hotel sector (43.9 million stays, +2.6 %).
Why it matters: The strength of vacation rentals and managed residences outperforms classic hotels, a meaningful signal for investors in tourism real estate. The surge in foreign demand (+9.8 %) confirms that Switzerland captures international clients who value experience and authenticity, two hallmarks of upscale Alpine assets. For developers and operators, the residence segment offers an attractive yield-and-resilience profile, especially in destinations able to extend their season. Swiss land scarcity durably supports valuations.
In its Alpine Property Report 2026, published in December 2025, Knight Frank measures an average 23 % rise in ski real estate prices over the past five years, making the Alps one of Europe’s most resilient segments. Over 2025, prices rose 1.2 % on average in French resorts and 3.3 % across Europe, with Méribel (+7.1 %) and Alpe d’Huez (+5.7 %) leading. Premium French stations range from 15,000 to 25,000 euros per square metre for net rental returns of 2 to 3 %. The report notes that 73 % of wealthy individuals are considering year-round Alpine living, and that summer lift-pass sales in Chamonix surged 46 % between 2022 and 2024.
Why it matters: This market reference supports the case for a resilient and liquid Alpine asset, at the crossroads of lifestyle and investment. The 73 % share of wealthy individuals interested in a year-round presence validates the shift toward a four-season model, as does the jump in summer lift passes in Chamonix. For sellers, firm prime values and international appetite guarantee market depth. For investors, the accessibility and diversity of the French market contrast with a more constrained Swiss market, opening selection windows on the best-positioned resorts.
Pierre & Vacances is partnering with SWISSPEAK Resorts to create a joint brand, SWISSPEAK Resorts by Pierre & Vacances, and make its first move into the Swiss Alps. The franchise partnership combines the group’s European commercial reach with local Swiss expertise. Four premium residences totalling 338 apartments are marketed from April 2026: Zinal, in the Val d’Anniviers (93 apartments, ski-in ski-out), Vercorin, in Valais (89 apartments, with spa), Thyon 4 Vallées, in the Val d’Hérens (77 apartments, at 1,800 m altitude), and Meiringen, in the Bernese Oberland (79 apartments). The offer is designed for premium, locally rooted four-season mountain tourism, and comes with a TGV Lyria partnership for rail access from France.
Why it matters: The arrival of a structured residence operator in the Swiss market, in franchise with a local player, illustrates a capital-light development model that accelerates the footprint across authentic Alpine destinations. For developers and owners, it is a credible operating outlet in still-confidential resorts such as Zinal, Vercorin or Thyon. For investors, the four-season strategy and rail access meet the expectations of international clients and public policy. Professionalising operations enhances land value and secures rental income over time.
For the twentieth edition of its mountain real estate report (The Ski Report, Winter 2025/26), Savills recalls that prime real estate prices have risen 197 % over twenty years in France and 95 % in Switzerland, versus 228 % in the United States. The 2024-2025 global season marked the third consecutive year of exceptional performance, with more than 366 million skier days. Gstaad, Switzerland’s most expensive resort, ranks third in the Prime Price League at 30,700 euros per square metre. The report highlights the rise of branded residences, from the Chedi Andermatt (2014) to Six Senses Courchevel and Crans-Montana, through to the W Residences in Verbier.
Why it matters: The rise of branded residences is the key trend for investors: these hybrid products, at the border of hospitality and real estate, offer a managed asset, premium liquidity and a valuation premium. France’s stronger twenty-year appreciation, combined with its accessibility, is an entry advantage, while Switzerland plays the card of scarcity and safe-haven status, from Gstaad to Verbier. For sellers and developers, the upward pressure on scarce prime assets confirms a long cycle of value creation, provided one selects prime, four-season assets.
On May 13, 2026, Mille100-47 officially opened in Faucon-de-Barcelonnette, in the Ubaye valley (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence). This 1,500 sqm guesthouse-hotel, surrounded by 5 hectares of preserved nature, positions itself as a premium base camp dedicated to outdoor enthusiasts and designed for all four seasons. It offers roughly 44 beds spread across about fifteen modular rooms and four independent gîtes (two upscale, two family-style), complemented by seminar rooms, an events space, shared kitchens and outdoor areas open to nature.
Why it matters: This new concept illustrates the rise of four-season outdoor accommodation in the Southern Alps, a still under-served and margin-rich segment. The modularity (rooms or large gîtes) and the seminar offer capture leisure clients, sports groups and business tourism alike, a mix that secures occupancy outside the winter peak. For investors, the Ubaye and the Southern Alps valleys offer more accessible entry tickets than the large Savoie resorts, with valuation upside driven by summer diversification and growing demand for nature-based stays.
On May 5, 2026, the Premium Hotel Investments fund, managed by Sogenial Immobilier, announced its first acquisition: the Chalet Hôtel Alpen Valley, a four-star property of 1,643 sqm located in Combloux, Haute-Savoie. The asset enjoys a prime location, immediately adjacent to Megève, at the gateway to a 445 km ski area and with views of the Mont-Blanc massif. The deal inaugurates the deployment of a fund dedicated to upscale mountain hospitality, in one of the most sought-after Alpine markets.
Why it matters: The launch of a dedicated fund and its first acquisition in the Megève area confirm managers’ appetite for upscale Alpine hospitality. For sellers and asset owners, it is concrete proof of market depth: a well-positioned chalet hotel near the major ski areas finds a structured institutional buyer. For operators, the arrival of patient, mountain-focused capital opens prospects for partnerships and repositioning. The Megève and Combloux area, already among the most highly valued of the Alpine arc, confirms its status as a safe-haven market for hotel capital.
In its review of the spring holidays and the month of May, Atout France reports attendance that delivered, supported by a favourable calendar and weather. Over the pre-season period from May 1 to June 15, French tourist attendance stands at around 140 million overnight stays, broadly stable, sustained notably by an Ascension weekend (May 8) that reached the level of a late-July weekend. Early 2026 indicators are encouraging, with air bookings clearly up in the first quarter from Mexico (+19 %), China (+17 %) and Canada (+7 %).
Why it matters: The strength of the spring shoulder season supports the case for resilient French tourism that is increasingly well spread across the year. For owners of hospitality assets, in the mountains and beyond, the May long weekends and the early summer represent a pool of additional RevPAR, provided opening and offer are adapted. Rising long-haul air bookings (Mexico, China, Canada) signal a strong return of high-spending international clients for the summer and the coming Olympic season. Investors read this as greater visibility on flows and one more argument for four-season assets.
As summer 2026 approaches, the French Alps are significantly enriching their offer. Padel is emerging as the flagship activity of high-altitude resorts: Courchevel 1850 and Méribel are inaugurating permanent courts, playable even in winter. Saint-Sorlin d’Arves is launching a zip-line paired with a rail luge. In Chamonix, the new Mont-Blanc Museum is opening its doors, while in Saint-Gervais the modernised terminus of the Mont-Blanc Tramway at Nid d’Aigle (2,400 m) redefines access to high-altitude heritage. Unusual accommodation and premium base camps round out this diversification drive, already supported by 15 million euros from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Why it matters: Investing in the summer offer is no longer secondary: it is becoming the central lever of mountain asset value. A resort able to fill its beds in July and August, thanks to padel, heritage or outdoor activities, secures an annualised yield that winter alone no longer guarantees. For investors and operators, selecting assets on their four-season capacity becomes the rule. Regional public support reduces the risk of these diversification projects and accelerates the move upmarket. Destinations that pull off this transition will capture the valuation premium of the coming years.
Signal #1: Robust, well-spread demand, Switzerland and the French spring confirm the trend
Swiss tourist accommodation outside classic hotels posts a record year at 18.1 million overnight stays (+4.7 %), led by vacation rentals and with foreign demand up 9.8 %. In France, Atout France confirms close to 140 million stays over the pre-season and an Ascension weekend on par with a peak-summer one. Demand holds, and it is increasingly well spread across the year.
Signal #2: Capital moves to action, a dedicated fund’s first acquisition and Pierre & Vacances entering Switzerland
The Premium Hotel Investment fund completes its first acquisition with a four-star chalet hotel near Megève, concrete proof of market depth favourable to well-positioned sellers. Pierre & Vacances enters the Swiss Alps with four premium residences (338 apartments), and the Ubaye valley welcomes a four-season premium base camp. Mountain-focused capital is deploying into managed, qualitative assets.
Signal #3: Resilient values and a four-season model, value is built year-round
The market references converge: Knight Frank measures a 23 % rise in ski real estate over five years and Savills a 197 % rise in prime prices over twenty years in France, with a marked rise of branded residences. In parallel, resorts strengthen their summer offer (padel, Mont-Blanc Museum, diversification backed by the regions). Scarce supply and four-season capacity are becoming the two key criteria for valuing Alpine assets.
HoliProject Switzerland supports investors and operators in identifying, acquiring and managing hotel and tourism assets in France and Switzerland.
