Creating growth one room at a time

Room without windows at Scandic Go in Stockholm.

At Pandox, growth does not only come from acquisitions. 

Sometimes, it starts with an empty corner in a hotel corridor. An underutilized basement. A former nightclub. Or a retail space that no longer creates enough value. 

Across the portfolio, Pandox is continuously looking for ways to unlock additional capacity within existing properties — turning hidden or overlooked spaces into new hotel rooms, upgraded guest experiences and stronger cash flow. 

The philosophy is simple: every square meter should work harder. 

Over the past decade, Pandox has added almost 800 rooms across 40 hotels. And the pace is accelerating. During 2026 and 2027 alone, we expect to add more than 600 new rooms through extensions, conversions and redevelopment projects within the existing portfolio. 

Behind those numbers is a highly operational approach to hotel ownership. 

Looking beyond the obvious 

Unlike traditional real estate companies, Pandox works very closely with operators, brands and hotel teams to understand how each property can evolve over time. 

Some hotels need repositioning. Others need additional meeting space, upgraded public areas or new food & beverage concepts. And sometimes, the biggest opportunity is simply more rooms. 

“We have an asset-by-asset view,” CEO Liia Nõu explained when describing how Pandox approaches value creation across the portfolio.  

That flexibility has created a culture where teams constantly look for hidden opportunities inside existing buildings. 

At Scandic St Jörgen in Malmö, Pandox will convert retail space and underutilized areas into 45 additional guestrooms. 

In Luleå, an old nightclub and housekeeping space were transformed into 29 new rooms. 

And in Stockholm, we identified space for 13 additional rooms in the basement of a former Best Western hotel that was later repositioned into Scandic Go. 

Home Hotel Arcticus in Norway was extended with a new floor.

Sometimes the opportunities are even smaller — but still meaningful. 

Martin Creydt, SVP Asset Management International, described how a walkthrough at Leonardo Hotel Cork revealed an unused corner of the building that could be converted into eight additional rooms. 

That mindset — always looking, always evaluating, always optimizing — has become a defining part of how Pandox operates. 

Bigger projects, bigger impact. 

While some projects involve finding hidden space inside existing hotels, others are large-scale transformations. 

One of the biggest ongoing projects is the expansion of DoubleTree by Hilton Brussels City, where Pandox is adding 150 rooms and a new ballroom for 600 guests. 

In Edinburgh, an office building is currently being converted into a new Clayton Hotel with 172 rooms in one of the city’s strongest hotel locations. 

Conversion from office to hotel in Edinburgh, 172 rooms.

And in Dublin, the Clayton Hotel Cardiff Lane is being expanded with another 150 rooms to meet growing demand in the Irish capital. 

For Pandox, these projects are not just construction initiatives. They are long-term investments designed to strengthen each hotel’s market position and earnings capacity. 

New rooms in Quality Hotel Luleå in Sweden.

“We renovate approximately 2,000 rooms every year” 

Turning ideas into functioning hotel rooms requires much more than identifying space. 

It demands planning, technical expertise and operational coordination — especially when hotels remain open during renovations. 

“We renovate approximately 2,000 rooms on an annual basis,” said Mikael Hultqvist, SVP Property Management at Pandox.  

That equals roughly six bathrooms per day across the portfolio. 

Pandox currently has 49 ongoing or planned projects across eight countries, ranging from major repositionings to smaller room additions and technical upgrades. 

According to Mikael Hultqvist, speed and structure are critical. 

“We want to be in a high pace due to minimize the disturbance within the operations,” he explained when describing how the property management team works across markets and projects.  

Working together with operators 

Most of the investments are carried out jointly with hotel operators. 

The process often starts with a simple discussion: what does the hotel need in order to perform better? 

Additional rooms? Better guest flow? New meeting capacity? A spa? A stronger lifestyle positioning? 

“The most important dialogue with the operator is: What shall we do?” said Tobias Ekman, Head of Asset Management Nordics. “Do you need more rooms? Do you need a spa area, more conference space, or something else?”  

From there, Pandox and the operator develop investment plans together, sharing both costs and long-term incentives. Depending on the type of project, the investment split can look very different — from larger structural investments by Pandox to softer refurbishments where operators take a greater share. 

That partnership model allows projects to move quickly while ensuring that investments are tied closely to operational performance, guest demand and the long-term positioning of each hotel. 

Creating value inside the existing portfolio 

At a time when hotel construction costs remain high and new supply is relatively limited in many European markets, Pandox sees significant growth opportunities within the existing portfolio. 

Not every project becomes visible from the outside. Some of the most valuable improvements happen quietly — floor by floor, room by room, building by building. 

But together, they form an important part of the company’s long-term strategy: creating stronger hotels, stronger cash flow and long-term value through active ownership.