RE:VALUE Awards – a New Tool for Evaluating Investment Real Estate

Real estate has traditionally been considered one of the simplest and most understandable market assets. It includes housing, offices, warehouses, retail spaces, and more. Over the past couple of decades, however, the market has been changing rapidly, just like the broader technological world. Offices have become remote. Retail has moved online. The new generation increasingly prefers renting over buying property.

These transformations have also affected leisure real estate. Each year brings new trends. In turn, vacation property—one of the most popular investment formats—evolves alongside them.

As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult for investors to navigate the changing landscape of investment real estate. Traditional tools are no longer effective for evaluating new or hybrid formats such as branded residences, private hotel units managed by international hospitality operators, and similar assets.

For this reason, the analytical publication International Investment is launching the international RE:VALUE Awards, which will evaluate the most reliable investment real estate assets worldwide.

Branded Real Estate

Today, branded real estate stands at the top of the “investment pyramid.” It outperforms other types of real estate assets in a weighted average of yield, capital appreciation, and liquidity. That is why the key categories of the RE:VALUE Awards will focus specifically on this segment.

The concept of “branded residences” began to take shape relatively recently—in the 1980s, when Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts started developing residential units under its hotel brand. However, the earliest precursor is often considered to be apartments at The Sherry-Netherland Hotel, which opened in New York in 1927.

The term became widely adopted in the 2010s, when fashion houses, automotive brands, and other luxury labels entered the real estate sector—for example, Armani, Porsche, and others.

Trends and Statistics

The branded residences market is undergoing structural transformation. According to Knight Frank’s report The Global Branded Residence Survey 2025, the segment is scaling significantly: from 27,000 luxury branded units in 2011 to a projected 162,000 by 2030.

Despite the entry of fashion, automotive, and wellness brands, the market remains hotel-driven in nature. Hotel brands still account for 83% of all branded residences globally.

At the same time, product formats are expanding. Bentley, Karl Lagerfeld, SHA Wellness—each originally non-hospitality brand is introducing its own lifestyle layer to traditional hotel concepts. In an increasingly competitive environment, service quality and operational stability are becoming decisive factors.

According to the Savills Branded Residences 2025–2026 report, the average annual growth rate of the branded real estate segment is 10.9%, nearly twice the pace of traditional hospitality and real estate development markets.

RE:VALUE Awards – A New Reference System for the Investment Real Estate Market

Our editorial award aims to become a universal expert evaluation tool that reflects the rapid transformation of the global market, the emergence of new formats, and hybrid products. To achieve this, our expert council brings together specialists in economics, finance, tourism, construction, real estate, and the hospitality industry, as well as related fields.

How did the idea for an independent investment real estate award emerge? It originated from our own experience of lacking adequate, up-to-date evaluation tools. We unite hundreds of real estate experts with decades of experience across European and Asian markets.

In the 2010s, branded real estate began to expand rapidly on a global scale. New cross-industry collaborations emerged with automotive, fashion, wellness, and other brands. It became clear that the market needed additional evaluation mechanisms that reflect these changing realities.

In 2017, the specialized publication International Investment was founded. This expanded both our team and our capabilities. For nearly 10 years, we have been analyzing markets in more than 50 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Central and Southeast Asia, and North America, with continued geographic expansion. We publish research, rankings, and reviews in real estate, investment, and hospitality.

In 2025, we launched AI Helper based on OpenAI—a tool for scoring investment hospitality projects. It evaluates assets across 30 parameters, from location and infrastructure to legal transparency and financial stress testing. AI Helper also performs OSINT research on developers, assets, and locations, compares them with industry benchmarks, and generates a risk profile.

The information space is saturated with either “standard consulting” or highly niche analytics. We aim to support the emergence of more advanced tools and view the RE:VALUE Awards as a catalyst for the development of analytical standards, not only as an investor instrument.

Evaluation Methodology

For each category, we apply a proprietary set of criteria tailored to the specific segment and market characteristics. We primarily assess practical factors relevant to investors:

• Weighted indicators of yield, capital appreciation, and liquidity, along with the realism of projected performance and alignment with market trends
• Strength of concept, construction quality, execution, and project management
• Design and technical components, including layouts, infrastructure, and location
• Transparency of financial terms, advantages, and hidden risks
• Long-term investment attractiveness
• A range of additional proprietary analytical methods

RE:VALUE Awards is not a “mathematical ranking” or a purely algorithmic system. It is a professional editorial assessment based on an understanding of the evolving dimensions of the modern market, its new challenges, and emerging complexities.

Inclusion in either the longlist or shortlist already represents a meaningful expert evaluation. It means the project has been identified through international market monitoring, analyzed according to a structured framework, and deemed worthy of consideration.

We do not receive any compensation from participants for inclusion. Projects enter the list either via application or through independent editorial research.

Our evaluative terms—such as “reliable,” “promising,” or “profitable”—are used only when supported by quantitative indicators and sources. For example, “attractive entry conditions” refers to benchmarking against market prices based on comparable transactions or public listings.

First Categories

In the inaugural season, the RE:VALUE Awards will be presented in the following categories: “Best Hospitality Project Infrastructure,” “Best Hospitality Projects in Southeast Asia,” and the Grand Prix—“Best Hospitality Project in the World.”

The debut longlist includes projects from the UAE, Greece, Italy, Thailand, Indonesia, Maldives, Morocco, Cambodia, Spain, Turkey, Vietnam, and Georgia:

Six Senses The Palm Dubai,

Bulgari Resort Ranfushi,

Aman Dubai,

Four Seasons Resort Mykonos,

Mandarin Oriental Downtown Dubai,

Baccarat Hotel & Residences Dubai,

Mandarin Oriental Bali,

JW Marriott Al Marjan Island Resort & Residences,

Conrad Corfu,

Rosewood Rome,

Sandblu Santorini,

Rixos Dubai Islands Hotel & Residences,

Park Hyatt Phu Quoc Resort,

Anantara Dragon Bali Resort,

JW Marriott Ubud Bali,

Four Seasons Resort AMAALA,

Wyndham Grand Batumi Gonio,

Wyndham Garden Pasanauri,

Wyndham Garden BKK1,

MGallery Residences MontAzure Lakeside,

The Anantara Zanzibar Resort & Residences,

Wyndham Grand La Cala Golf Residences,

Wyndham Portocolom,

Radisson Resort Maldives,

Wynn Al Marjan Island,

Wyndham Grand Naiharn Beach Phuket,

Four Seasons Resort & Residences Marbella,

NG Sign Kemer,

Westin Hotel & Residences Belek.

Statuses and Laureates

Following the final evaluation, nominated projects will be assigned one of four statuses.

Winner

The main winner of the category. One project with the highest overall score across all criteria. Awarded to a single project per category.

Shortlisted

Finalists—up to five projects that have passed full editorial review and meet all threshold criteria. Inclusion in the shortlist confirms methodological validation and eligibility for consideration. This status does not imply ranking among the finalists.

Editor’s Choice

Our subjective editorial selection. This status is assigned to a project that stands out due to an unconventional concept, architectural or operational solution, positioning, or monetization model—even if it ranks lower on quantitative metrics.

Special Mention

A recognition for a specific outstanding feature within a category—for example, the highest documented RevPAR among finalists, the lowest entry threshold while maintaining high standards, or the greatest diversification of revenue streams.

Development Outlook

Going forward, we plan to expand the number of categories in line with new experience and further industry evolution.

The award is designed as a long-term, publicly accessible tool for the market—a reference system for investors, developers, and industry professionals. The first analytical reviews will be published soon. Stay tuned for updates on our website and the official revalue.international website.