Portugal: International Hospitality Media hosted its annual European event Recharge in Porto this year, held at Vertical Dom Henrique.
Now in its seventh year, Recharge is held in a different European city every January. Hosted by IHM – the publisher of Urban Living News, Short Term Rentalz, Boutique Hotel News and Serviced Apartment News – the event is designed to encourage meaningful conversation and deliver a new approach to thinking and learning.
Having previously been hosted in Belfast, Lisbon, Paris, Barcelona, Berlin and Amsterdam, for 2025 the event took shape in Porto. Day one featured a series of property tours in the afternoon, including AMRO Porto University Residences, the mixed-use regeneration project M-ODU: Matadouro Outro Destino Urbano, and Vertical Firmeza Coworking & Flats.
Day two involved a series of presentations, panel discussions and workshops throughout the day, broadly exploring the investment climate across the hospitality and living sectors.
A keynote presentation from Susanna Pinto, head of InvestPorto, revealed that Porto attracts significant international investment, representing 63 per cent of the total (between 2018-2024), with 93 per cent directed towards serviced activities. Around 18,000 digital nomads currently call Porto home, and more than 116,000 square meters of office space is currently under construction, signalling further growth.
In a panel discussion moderated by IHM’s editor-in-chief George Sell, coliving was described as the “flavour of the day” by David Woodward of GAA – a sentiment echoed throughout the event. Despite strict licensing in Porto, the PBSA sector faces increasing competition, and due to the similarities between asset classes, operators are looking to distinguish offerings. María Lascasas, manager for Amro Student Residence for example, highlighted the property’s BREEAM Outstanding certification.
One of the major challenges is underwriting, hampered by inflation, creating a gap between investment capital and realistic valuations. Financing across the living sectors also faces a lack of understanding, despite the potential for additional revenue streams (up to five per cent in some cases) beyond rental income.
In a later panel discussion moderated by Feel Discovery CEO, Rui Santos, it was argued that policy-making needs to keep pace with market evolution. While the ability to flex an asset is becoming a little easier compared to five years ago, it’s still challenging and to build for one use risks irrelevancy. “No-one is looking at regulation as a tool for innovation,” said Ricardo Valente, managing director of Savills Porto.
Additional presentations included the growth of the living sector in Portugal (John Rowlands, CBRE), two case studies (vertical living and urban regeneration), hospitality market performance update (Ryan Bains, STR), and more. All presentations from the event can be found here.
Recharge will return in 2026 – subscribe to Serviced Apartment News here to stay updated with future announcements.
Testimonials:
“Thank you so much for another outstanding IHM event. Always going above and beyond to make sure your delegates have the best time, meet wonderful new people and learn about current hot topics in our amazing sector. Here’s to you!” Nadia Milligan, Keystone Law.
“It’s a very interesting event because it keeps on evolving depending on the trends, and therefore it’s very flexible and adaptive to what’s going on, so that makes it always interesting.” Horacio Blum, Joivy.
“Recharge is a gathering of highly skilled professional individuals on a smallish scale, so not overwhelming, but a true opportunity to spend 24-48 hours building relationships and a true understanding of how the different sectors within the hospitality world operate.” Matthew Prosser, Agilysys.
“I’m returning from Recharge2025, an incredible event organised by International Hospitality Media Limited in the vibrant city of Porto. A heartfelt thank you for curating such a thoughtful event packed with valuable insights and inspiring content.” Filipa Letitão de Aguiar, Rent4Rest.
