Newmark Appoints Christoph Härle as Hotel Sector Chairman for DACH Region
Newmark has appointed Christoph Härle as Chairman for its hotel sector in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the firm announced September 14, 2026. Härle, one of Europe's most active hotel investment advisors, joins with an immediate mandate to build a dedicated transactions and advisory team for the DACH region, drawing on existing client mandates already in place at Newmark.
A New Hotel Advisory Platform for DACH
The appointment marks Newmark's formal entry into hotel investment advisory in the German-speaking market. Rather than adding a senior figure to an existing practice, the firm is launching a hotel transactions and advisory vertical for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with Härle serving as its founding chairman. Newmark said the team will be assembled around mandates already under way, giving the new platform an immediate operational base.
Marcus Lütgering, Country Head Germany at Newmark, described the hire as a significant expansion of the firm's advisory capabilities. "Christoph Härle is an institution in the real estate industry. International expertise, decades of experience and a unique network make him one of the most successful hotel real estate advisors in Europe," Lütgering said. "Härle has a holistic understanding of the hotel real estate market and experience on both the capital and operator sides. He offers strategies and solutions precisely tailored to client needs."
Härle's Track Record in European Hotel Transactions
Härle spent 25 years at JLL, where he held leadership roles across Hospitality and Global Capital Markets before founding his own hotel advisory firm. Over the past three decades he has advised on transactions, leasing assignments and strategic mandates across Europe.
Recent assignments include advising Zech Stiftung on the acquisition of the Öschberghof Hotel & Resort in Donaueschingen, a high-end leisure and MICE resort in Baden-Württemberg. He also advised the Geisel family on the sale of the Hotel Excelsior in Munich, a long-established city hotel near Munich Central Station, and advised UniCredit Bank on the lease of the Ten Towers property to Fattal Hotels. In addition, Härle served as a supervisory board member at MHP Hotel AG, giving him direct experience with institutional governance structures in the German hospitality sector.
That combination of capital-markets relationships, operator-side experience and family-portfolio access positions Newmark's new hotel platform to compete across the full spectrum of DACH hotel transactions, from private foundation acquisitions to institutional portfolio deals.
Market Conditions Driving the Expansion
Härle pointed to structural tailwinds in the hotel asset class as context for the move. "The hotel real estate sector has developed into an increasingly attractive, stable asset class over the years, despite various crises — for institutional and private investors as well as private equity investors," he said. "Since the OECD expects above-average growth rates for global tourism and at the same time few new projects are being developed, hotels are a sought-after asset class with a very positive outlook."
Transaction data from the DACH market supports that assessment. German hotel transaction volume reached approximately €1.53 billion in 2024, the largest in the region. By late 2025, German hotel deal volume had already reached roughly 161 percent of the full-year 2024 figure, reflecting a sharp acceleration in capital deployment. Austria recorded around €522 million in hotel transactions in 2024, with approximately €407 million transacted by December 2025. Switzerland posted a record year, with roughly €428 million in hotel transactions by December 2025, compared with approximately €239 million for all of 2024.
Operating performance has reinforced investor appetite. German hotel average daily rates and RevPAR reached their highest recorded levels in 2024. Switzerland led the DACH region with RevPAR of approximately €174 in 2024, compared with roughly €140 in Austria and €118 in Germany. Across Europe, upscale and luxury hotel segments posted RevPAR growth of nearly 5 percent in 2025, the segments where Härle has been most active.
At the broader European level, hotel investment volume reached approximately €14.65 billion across 267 transactions in 2025, underscoring the depth of institutional interest in the asset class.
About Newmark
Newmark Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMRK) is a commercial real estate services firm offering advisory, transaction and management services across the property lifecycle. For the twelve months ending March 31, 2026, Newmark reported revenue of more than $3.4 billion. As of that date, Newmark and its business partners operated with more than 9,600 professionals across approximately 187 offices on four continents.
Sources
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