Buy Hotel

Hospitality property acquisition – where you’re usually buying a business as much as a building.

Usually a Business Purchase, Not Just a Building

Buying a hotel is rarely just a real estate transaction. An operating hotel comes with staff, existing bookings and contracts, a tourism operating license and star classification, sometimes a brand or franchise agreement, and – if the deal includes freehold land – Albania’s foreign land-ownership rules. Whether you’re acquiring a running business as a going concern or an empty property to convert or redevelop changes almost everything about how the deal should be structured, and getting this decided early shapes the entire due diligence process.

Albania For Business Sh.p.k. supports hotel and hospitality acquisitions end-to-end – structuring the deal correctly, coordinating due diligence across property, licensing and employment, and managing the transaction through to completion.

HOTEL ACQUISITION SUPPORT

From 2,000 EUR
fixed fee

PACKAGE OF HOTEL ACQUISITION SUPPORT INCLUDES:

Eligibility & structuring assessment – including land-ownership rules if freehold land is included
Business vs. asset purchase structuring advice
Full due diligence – title, licenses, permits, existing contracts and employee liabilities
Tourism operating license and star-classification review
Financial and operational due diligence coordination – occupancy, revenue, existing bookings
Staff transfer and employment law coordination
Notary coordination and contract review
Registration of the transfer

Order Now

Fixed fee for a standard single-property hotel acquisition with straightforward title and licensing. Multi-property portfolios, complex franchise/brand arrangements, or acquisitions involving significant staff transfer are scoped and quoted individually given the added complexity.

Buying the Business vs. Buying the Building

	Asset Purchase	Business / Share Purchase
What you get	The building and land only	Ownership of the company operating the hotel; the company generally remains the same legal entity, together with its assets, contracts, employees, rights and liabilities.
Licensing	The buyer must ensure that the accommodation structure holds the required categorisation certificate and that all registrations, permits and authorisations required for the intended operation are obtained or updated.	In a share purchase, the operating company remains the same legal entity, so existing certificates and authorisations generally remain with that company, subject to any notification, amendment or re-approval requirements resulting from the change of ownership or management.
Liabilities inherited	Liability exposure depends on the transaction structure. Property encumbrances and certain statutory obligations may remain relevant, and employee rights may transfer where the transaction constitutes a transfer of an enterprise or part of an enterprise.	Historical liabilities, contracts and employee entitlements come with it
Typical use case	Conversion, redevelopment, or starting fresh	Continuing an operating hotel with minimal disruption

Neither route is inherently better – it depends on whether you want a running business with income from day one, or a clean slate to build your own concept.

Licensing Considerations

An accommodation structure operating as a hotel must obtain the applicable categorisation certificate under Albanian tourism legislation and comply with the other registrations, permits and operational requirements applicable to its activities.
If the hotel includes a restaurant or bar serving alcohol, the operator must comply with the applicable food-service, tax, excise and local requirements. Any additional alcohol-related authorisation depends on the specific activity.
If you’re considering adding a casino, the property must satisfy the premises and other requirements applicable to the specific casino licence category under Albanian gambling legislation.
Fire safety, health and building compliance certificates specific to hospitality operations need to be current or renewed as part of the transaction.

What We Check Before You Buy

Title and, if freehold land is included, the foreign land-ownership position – see our Buy Land page for the underlying rules.
Tourism operating license validity, classification, and whether it transfers with the business or needs re-registration.
Existing employment contracts, entitlements and any outstanding liabilities to staff.
Brand or franchise agreement terms, if the hotel operates under a recognised brand.
Financial records – occupancy history, revenue, and existing booking commitments.
Structural, fire safety and building compliance certificates.

Hotel Acquisition, Step by Step

Structuring assessment – asset vs. business purchase, and land-ownership position if freehold land is included.
Property & business search – matching opportunities to your brief.
Due diligence – title, licensing, employment, financial and brand-agreement review.
Negotiation – price and deal terms supported on your behalf.
Contract, notary & registration – the transfer is formalised before a notary and registered.
Handover & licensing transition – staff, licensing and operational handover coordinated.

What We Need From You

Whether you’re looking for an operating business or a property to convert/develop.
Your budget, preferred location(s) and target property size/star rating.
Whether the purchase is personal or through your Albanian company.
Any plans for additional licensed activity – restaurant, bar, casino.
Your timeline and whether you can travel for site visits or need remote coordination.

Fee Schedule – Additional & Ongoing Services

Beyond the fixed package above, the following services are priced individually. Your adviser confirms an exact quotation once your structure, nationality and banking preference are known.

Service	Indicative Fee
Hotel acquisition support (as above)	From €2,000 fixed fee
Employment/staff transfer coordination (beyond standard scope)	quoted individually
Tourism license transfer or fresh application	from €500
Brand/franchise agreement review	from €400
Gambling license eligibility pre-assessment (if planning a casino)	see Gambling License page
Alcohol license application (if restaurant/bar included)	see Alcohol License page
Notary & registration official fees	billed at cost, set by the notary/registry

⚠ Practical note

Decide early whether you’re buying a running business or a building, since it changes the entire due diligence scope – a share purchase means acquiring the company together with its existing contracts, employees, rights and liabilities, while an asset purchase requires separate analysis of the permits, certificates and employment obligations that may need to be obtained, amended or transferred. If a casino is part of your longer-term plan, confirm the property genuinely qualifies as a licensed resort/hotel premises before you buy – not every hotel does, regardless of how it’s marketed.

Frequently Asked Questions

This is the first thing we clarify, since it fundamentally changes the transaction. A business/share purchase inherits the operating hotel – staff, licensing, bookings and history. An asset purchase gets you the property alone, with licensing and operations built fresh under your ownership.

Yes, to legally operate as a hotel. Whether an existing license transfers with a business purchase or you apply fresh with an asset purchase depends on the deal structure – we confirm this specifically for your transaction.

In a business/share purchase, existing employment relationships and entitlements generally transfer with the business, and need to be reviewed carefully as part of due diligence. In an asset purchase, employment relationships may still transfer to the buyer where the transaction qualifies as a transfer of an enterprise or part of an enterprise under Albanian labour law.

Potentially, but casino activities require a separate gambling licence and compliance with the statutory requirements applicable to the relevant casino category, including premises, capital and operational requirements.

If the hotel comes with freehold land, yes – the same foreign land-ownership considerations apply as with any land purchase. See our Buy Land page for the underlying rules; we factor this into the hotel transaction structure.

We review the terms as part of due diligence – some agreements transfer with a business sale, others require the new owner to renegotiate or exit. This affects both the value of the deal and your operational flexibility afterward.

Considerably longer than residential property, given the layers of due diligence – property, licensing, employment and, where relevant, brand agreements. We give a case-specific estimate once we understand the specific property and deal structure.

Much of the due diligence and negotiation can be handled remotely, but given the complexity and value typically involved, an in-person site visit is usually worthwhile before completing a hotel acquisition, even if the signing itself is handled under a power of attorney.