24/03/2026
SPOTLIGHT
For Thomas Laakso, investing in hotels means seeking opportunities to add value through a proactive, creative, and collaborative approach with a focus on long-term fundamentals. Thomas enjoys working on CapMan’s can-do hotel team, which brings together some 200 years of hotel-related experience and vision.
One year ago, in February 2025, CapMan Real Estate fund CapMan Hotels II signed the largest hotel transaction in the Nordics by value, acquiring Midstar Fastigheter AB. The Midstar hotel portfolio comprises 28 properties with 4,709 rooms, with plans to increase capacity to 4,887 by 2027 through targeted value-enhancing initiatives. The properties are located across Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.
The acquisition expanded and diversified CapMan Hotels II’s Nordic hotel portfolio. For CapMan’s team, completing the transaction required a year of hard work, and the work naturally didn’t stop there.
CapMan Hotels II fund is one of the largest owners of hotel properties in the Nordics. One person behind the story is our Fund Director and Partner, Thomas Laakso. His passion is to manage our LPs’ investments in a prudent and sustainable way. That was also the case with the Midstar hotel portfolio transaction.
“When we move, we move with a purpose. We seek opportunities to add value through actively identifying ways to improve the value and cash flow generation of the hotels, including refurbishments, repositionings, and other property improvements, with a focus on strong lease contracts with long lease terms and owner participation.”
Midstar is a good example of how CapMan can drive growth by scaling existing products, as the Nordic hotel market continues to expand. With the Midstar portfolio, CapMan Real Estate is committed to enhancing the sustainability performance. CapMan is also working closely with the hotel operators to identify and implement other value-enhancing initiatives to safeguard a long-term, stable cash flow return to our investors.
Understanding the underlying business
CapMan’s active and long-term ownership of hotels aims to enhance the assets, reduce operating expenses and emissions, and create positive social impact.
In the big picture of the hospitality industry, what matters is that everything complements each other, notes Thomas Laakso.
“From us at the investment and asset management team, this requires deep, industry and local-market knowledge along with an understanding of the long-term trends and drivers.”
Thomas is leading CapMan’s hotel investments with decades of experience across the hospitality industry. He is a supporter of life-long learning and challenging routines. He has studied hotel management in Switzerland, and run hotels in different countries. He has an MBA in international finance.
Thomas joined CapMan in 2021, succeeding the former retiring Fund Director. In 2022, he was made a Partner. Together, CapMan’s hotel team has close to 200 years of experience in the hospitality industry.
Before CapMan, Thomas consulted and developed hotels on a global scale. He worked at a specialised consulting firm in London, focusing on economic feasibility studies, valuations, and hotel asset management assignments across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Marriott International was his employer for 17 years. There, he was responsible for hotel development efforts for all 30 brands in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Nordic countries.
“Now at CapMan, I have done a full circle from the operational, consulting, and development field to working on the property ownership side. I can benefit and utilise all the skills I have learned along the way.”
At CapMan, Thomas enjoys the entrepreneurial vibe of coming up with ideas, trying new things, rolling up his sleeves, and getting things done.
The travel industry in Northern Europe continues to grow
As a long-term hotel owner, CapMan Real Estate analyses and focuses on long-term fundamentals.
Thomas believes the travel industry in Northern Europe will only continue to grow. In addition to international travel, there is strong domestic demand and an intra-Nordic travel demand foundation.
Four stable countries, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark, are geographically diverse and therefore attractive to both business and leisure. CapMan’s hotel portfolio also benefits from a diverse operator base, which further balances risk.
“The travel industry economy is growing faster globally, on average, than the broader economy. The increase of the middle class, especially in the developing countries, is moving forward, and the younger generations prioritise experiences over material”, Thomas explains.
Main attractions for LPs to invest in CapMan’s core plus hotel fund are the long inflation-hedged lease agreements, which provide an attractive cash flow driven return profile and stability over time. In addition, investors appreciate that delivering these results requires significant time and energy, as well as seamless cooperation across teams on the investment side.
During the Midstar acquisition process, Thomas noticed how well the team worked together under pressure. He is happy that people at CapMan work seriously but do not take themselves too seriously.
“The hotel team has a wonderful can-do attitude, great level of experience, industry knowledge, and dedication to make it all work. Fostering and contributing to that environment is not only my responsibility, but also a tremendous source of pride and joy.”
Thomas Laakso
Education: MBA, Business, International Finance, Aalto University School of Business, Finland; Bachelor’s Degree in International Hospitality Management, Bournemouth University, UK; Swiss Diploma in Hotel Management, Institute Hotelier César Ritz, Switzerland.
Role: Partner, Fund Director, CapMan Real Estate.
Previous Experience: Vice President – International Hotel Development, Marriott International, Inc. & The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC, and Director of International Hotel Development – Europe, Marriott International, Inc. & The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC, Zurich. Senior Associate – Hotel Consulting and Valuation Practice, HVS, London. Director of Operations & Hotel Manager, Nine Zero Hotel, Boston.
Interests: Spending time with family, mountaineering, water sports, and various other outdoor and indoor sports.
Introducing spotlight – stories from behind the scenes at CapMan
This is the third part of the Spotlight series offering a look behind the scenes at CapMan through the eyes of our people. In each edition, we’ll share career stories, insights into the work of CapManians, and what motivates them in their roles.