Updated November 2026 · Based on Figurz hotel project benchmarks
QUICK ANSWER
To decide on an office-to-hotel conversion in 48 hours, split the CapEx in two: the base building (structure, façade, risers, fire safety), priced by a quantity surveyor, and the FF&E and OS&E, which an independent estimate gives you in minutes. FF&E and OS&E together typically represent 10–20% of a hotel's total investment budget, and per key they run from €8,000 (budget) to €150,000+ (luxury). Put both numbers next to the asking price and your target yield: that is your go/no-go.
These figures are benchmarks: they do not reflect everything that moves a hotel budget (positioning, brand standard, building condition, scope of lots, schedule). The Figurz tool lets you build in the parameters that structure your budget, for a CapEx consistent with your program. Try the free Starter tool.
Office-to-hotel conversion in Paris: why the first 48 hours decide everything
In a tight market, the investor who can say "yes, at this price" or "no, walk away" first sees the deals the others never get to look at. The problem is rarely the hotel idea. It is the number: a building that looks perfect on the first visit turns into a different deal once someone prices the works, the furniture and the opening date.
This guide shows how to get a defensible CapEx in two days, before the offer, before the feasibility study, and with an independent number you can put in front of a bank, a partner or an operator.
GET YOUR FREE FF&E/OS&E BUDGET HERE!
Why are investors looking at office-to-hotel conversions in Paris now?
Two dated signals. In its study of 25 March 2026, Cushman & Wakefield put prime hotel yields at 4.75–5.25%, which keeps capital interested in the asset class. And Hospitality ON (11 December 2025) described converting offices into hotels as a development avenue.
Put together: investor appetite, and obsolete office buildings looking for a second life. In that setting, speed of pricing becomes a competitive advantage.
Which office buildings convert well into hotels?
You do not need a full study to screen a building. You need an architect's layout test and six checks.
The floor plate and structural grid must allow rooms of a workable size on either side of a corridor. Every bathroom needs plumbing, so the structure must accept frequent vertical risers without a disproportionate cost. Floor-to-floor height decides what you can hide above the ceiling. Natural light on the room sides decides the room count. The core (lifts, stairs, evacuation) must meet the safety rules that apply to a hotel. And the building needs somewhere for the lobby, the F&B and the back-of-house, often at ground level or in the basement.
Then check planning: change of use, local urban planning rules, fire safety and accessibility. Have an architect and a lawyer confirm them before you go further. The layout test gives you the first number that matters: how many keys, at what room size. Keys drive revenue, and they drive FF&E.
Where do you find the opportunity before everyone else?
Obsolete offices rarely carry a "hotel opportunity" label. They sit with owners and asset managers facing vacancy, with brokers, with receivers and with notaries. Operators looking for sites also hear about them. "Off-market" is a way of reaching these people early, not a product.
What matters is what you do after the first call. Whoever can answer "at this price, is it a hotel?" within two days is the one the seller calls back.
What does an office-to-hotel conversion really cost?
Two budgets, two owners. The base building (structure, façade, risers, technical systems, fire safety, interior finishing works) is priced by a quantity surveyor. FF&E and OS&E sit outside that scope: see why FF&E and OS&E fall outside the quantity surveyor's scope. Both belong in the same CapEx, and the second is the one most often forgotten or underestimated.
FF&E and OS&E together typically represent 10 to 20% of a hotel's total investment budget. Per key, in France and Western Europe, the total FF&E and OS&E budget (common areas, back-of-house and logistics included, divided by the number of rooms) runs from roughly:
Budget (2–3 stars): €8,000 to €17,000 per key.
Midscale (3–4 stars): €13,000 to €38,000 per key.
Upscale (4–5 stars): €20,000 to €75,000 per key.
Luxury (5 stars and above): €55,000 to €150,000+ per key.
OS&E, which covers linens, tableware, glassware, housekeeping equipment and the other operating supplies, typically represents 15 to 25% of that budget: see What is OS&E?. On renovation and conversion projects, joinery and loose furniture typically cost 10 to 40% more, because adapting to the existing building loses the economies of scale of industrialised manufacturing. Custom furniture from a European manufacturer typically takes 16 to 24 weeks from order to delivery.
Do not assume that converting is cheaper than building new. Shell works on an office building can weigh more than expected, and only a quantity surveyor's pricing will tell you. For the full picture, see how much it costs to build or renovate a hotel and what a hotel really costs, FF&E and OS&E included.
How do you build a CapEx in 48 hours?
Hours 0 to 4: frame the project
Fix the six inputs that structure a hotel FF&E budget: room count, room mix, hotel category, common area programme, country of delivery and opening date. The architect's layout test provides the first three. Change any one of them and the budget changes materially.
Hours 4 to 24: price the two budgets in parallel
Ask a quantity surveyor for a rough order of magnitude on the base building. In parallel, run the FF&E and OS&E estimate. A free Figurz simulation returns it from the six inputs. For the detail by category, see the hotel FF&E and OS&E budget per key benchmark guide and the CAPEX vs OPEX guide.
Hours 24 to 40: stress-test
Apply the renovation and conversion premium to joinery and loose furniture. Check the opening date against lead times: 16 to 24 weeks for custom furniture means the date is a procurement constraint, not a design afterthought. Check that OS&E, back-of-house and logistics are in the number.
Hours 40 to 48: go or no-go
Add the price of the building, the base building works and the FF&E/OS&E, then compare the total with the income the hotel can produce and the yield you are aiming for. If the answer is "no", you have lost two days, not a feasibility study.
A worked example
Take a 60-key conversion into a 4–5 star hotel. At €20,000 to €75,000 per key, FF&E and OS&E alone range from €1.2 million to €4.5 million. That spread is the reason a benchmark is not an estimate: negotiating on the low end when the real number sits near the high end means the difference comes out of your return after you have signed. The example is illustrative and uses the ranges above.
GET YOUR FREE FF&E/OS&E BUDGET HERE!
Which red flags should you look for in hotel due diligence?
Five things come up again and again. The layout test was never done, so the key count is a guess. The base building has been priced and FF&E and OS&E have not. The operator's standard is unknown, so nobody knows which furniture and equipment it will require. The opening date ignores procurement lead times. And every figure on the table comes from someone who wants the deal to happen.
That last one is the real weakness of these processes: nobody is rewarded for telling the investor the truth about the budget. An independent number, produced by a tool with no interest in the answer, is the cheapest protection you can add. The same pattern is behind the five FF&E mistakes first-time hotel investors make, and investing in a French hotel: the interior budget shows what comes after the acquisition.
Feasibility study or 48-hour estimate?
They answer different questions. The 48-hour estimate answers: should we spend money on a feasibility study at all? The feasibility study answers: how do we build it, with which programme, which permits, which phasing. Run the estimate first. It is cheap, fast and it kills bad deals early.
If you work with an architect, the same estimate gives them an envelope to design inside: see FF&E for architects: how to win a hotel project.
How Figurz helps investors decide fast
Figurz is an independent FF&E and OS&E budget estimator for hotel projects. It has no commercial interest in the answer: it does not sell furniture and does not buy for you. A free simulation takes the six inputs listed above and returns an estimate you can put in front of a bank, a partner or an operator. See how it works for investors, or use the hotel FF&E budget estimator.
GET YOUR FREE FF&E/OS&E BUDGET HERE!
FAQ: office-to-hotel conversion
Can any office building be converted into a hotel?
No. The floor plate, the structural grid, the ability to create vertical risers, the natural light and the planning rules decide it. Ask an architect for a layout test before you discuss the price.
How much does it cost to equip a converted hotel, per key?
FF&E and OS&E together typically run from roughly €8,000 to €17,000 per key for a budget hotel and €55,000 to €150,000+ for luxury (common areas, back-of-house and logistics included). Conversion adds a 10 to 40% premium on joinery and loose furniture.
Is converting offices cheaper than building a new hotel?
Not automatically. The shell works can be heavy, and only a quantity surveyor's pricing will tell you. Compare both budgets before you decide.
How long should I plan for FF&E?
Custom furniture from a European manufacturer typically takes 16 to 24 weeks from order to delivery. Work back from the opening date.
Who should estimate the FF&E and OS&E before the purchase?
An independent party with no interest in the answer: not the supplier who will sell the furniture and not the seller of the building. Figurz is built for that: start with the free Starter tool.
Conclusion
A conversion is won or lost in the first two days, when the number is still cheap to get. Split the CapEx into base building and FF&E/OS&E, price both, stress-test them against the opening date and decide.
Get an independent FF&E and OS&E estimate before you make an offer, not after the contractor is appointed. Run a free simulation with the Figurz Starter tool.
About the author: Martin Bretécher has spent 15+ years in hotel FF&E and OS&E procurement, delivering over 3,100 keys across Europe and beyond. He co-founded Figurz to give hotel investors an independent, realistic budget, with no incentive to understate it. Try the free Starter tool.
