By Sergey Vakhnenko, CEO of Dominart Real Estate GmbH

One of the questions I am asked most often is:

“How do you attract investors for a hotel project?”

Many developers believe the answer is simple:

A beautiful concept.
A good location.
Professional architectural renderings.

In reality, none of these factors is enough.

After more than twenty years working with international investors, I have learned one fundamental principle:

Investors finance structures, not presentations.

What investors really buy

Every successful investment project answers four questions before capital is raised.

Why this project?

Why now?

How is investor risk reduced?

How will the investor eventually exit the investment?

If these questions remain unanswered, financing becomes extremely difficult.

Case Study 1

150-Room Hotel at Berlin Brandenburg Airport

One of the largest projects coordinated by Sergey Vakhnenko and Dominart Real Estate GmbH was the development of a 150-room hotel near Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER).

The project required significantly more than finding an investor.

We first secured a hotel operator.

Negotiations lasted more than three months before both parties signed a 25-year lease agreement with two additional extension options totalling 15 years.

Only after securing the long-term operator did we approach investors.

This dramatically reduced the project’s perceived risk.

We then structured the equity investment.

An international investor committed approximately EUR 10 million in equity.

Following negotiations with the financing bank, we also secured approximately 60% senior debt financing, representing around EUR 20 million.

The success of the project was not based on architecture alone.

It was based on creating an investment structure that institutional capital could understand and trust.

Case Study 2

Senior Living Development in Saxony

Another example involved a senior living development in Saxony with a total investment volume of approximately EUR 10 million.

Dominart Real Estate structured the financing by securing:

• approximately EUR 7 million in private investment
• the remaining capital through bank financing.

However, our work did not end with project completion.

Before construction was finished, we identified a German institutional investor actively acquiring healthcare real estate with long-term lease agreements.

Following completion, the property was successfully sold into the fund’s portfolio at approximately 6% yield, creating a clearly defined exit for the original investors.

This demonstrates an important principle.

Professional investors think about the exit before entering the investment.

Why our investment strategy changed

During the past three years, our team has fundamentally expanded its focus.

Rather than concentrating exclusively on traditional hotel real estate, Dominart Real Estate GmbH increasingly advises projects combining:

• Hospitality
• Healthcare Real Estate
• Wellness Infrastructure
• Longevity Hospitality

We believe these sectors represent one of the strongest structural investment trends over the coming decades.

Today’s investors are looking for more than hotels

International investors increasingly seek projects capable of generating multiple revenue streams.

Future hospitality assets will increasingly combine:

• accommodation;
• wellness;
• preventive healthcare;
• rehabilitation;
• longevity services;
• membership ecosystems.

Hotels are evolving into integrated lifestyle and healthcare destinations.

The Dominart Investment Framework

Every project we evaluate follows the same investment logic.

Step 1. Secure long-term operational stability.

Step 2. Build a transparent capital structure.

Step 3. Reduce financing risk.

Step 4. Define the exit strategy before construction begins.

Only then do we approach institutional and private investors.

Looking Ahead

At Dominart Real Estate GmbH, we are currently expanding our research and advisory activities in three strategic areas:

• The Future of Wellness Hotels Report
• The Longevity Hospitality Report
• The Longevity Hospitality Index

Our objective is to help investors understand how hospitality, healthcare and longevity will reshape hotel investments across Europe during the coming decade.

Conclusion

Raising capital has never been about finding investors.

It has always been about creating projects that deserve investment.

That philosophy has guided Sergey Vakhnenko for more than twenty years and remains the foundation of Dominart Real Estate GmbH today.