French Riviera: 32 conversions to hotel use, 21 of them from housing

The planning permissions recorded in the Sitadel database point to a clear trend across three emblematic Riviera towns — Cannes, Antibes and Saint-Tropez. Since 2013, 32 approved projects (excluding cancelled ones) have created hotel-type accommodation (hébergement hôtelier) floor space through conversion. In total, these projects cover 10,198 m² transformed, for 5,610 m² of floor space created and 94 rooms.

The striking point lies in the origin of the premises. Of the 32 operations, 21 start from former homes — nearly two thirds — ahead of commercial premises (9 projects). In other words, the Riviera's momentum is not merely about refurbishing vacant commercial units: it is transforming residential property into suites and small hotel-type accommodation units, within a lasting legal framework.

This shift echoes the tightening of the short-term rental regime along the coast. Faced with increasingly restrictive rules on the standard short-term rental (meublé de tourisme), hotel-type accommodation offers owners a legal, year-round route to operation. To understand the levers behind this transformation, see our dedicated page on change of destination to hotel use.

The pace has picked up recently. Of the 32 approved projects, 19 were approved since 2024, roughly six in ten. This concentration in the most recent years reflects a response from investors and owners to the changing regulation of short-term rental in seaside resorts.

It should be noted that 5 projects were also cancelled over the same period. We deliberately exclude these from the headline figures in order to retain only permissions actually granted and upheld. The underlying trend therefore remains solidly documented, without overstatement.

For an owner, this acceleration can be read two ways: it confirms the model's viability on the French Riviera, but it also signals growing competition for the best locations. Getting ahead becomes an advantage.

The breakdown by town reveals very different profiles:

• Cannes — 17 projects, 5,956 m² transformed, 2,470 m² created and 75 rooms. Eight projects since 2024. The origin is split between housing (9) and commercial premises (7): Cannes is the most mature and most diversified market in our sample.
• Antibes — 8 projects, 1,040 m² transformed, 734 m² created and 19 rooms. Seven projects since 2024, six of them from housing: this is the town where the recent acceleration is most marked in proportional terms.
• Saint-Tropez — 7 projects, 3,201 m² transformed and 2,406 m² created. Six projects start from housing. The floor areas are substantial here, a sign of operations with high land value on a highly sought-after market.

Cannes therefore accounts for the majority of rooms (75 of 94), while Saint-Tropez stands out for operations with large individual floor areas. To explore a specific area, the observatory of transformations in Cannes lets you search an address and place a project in its immediate surroundings.

Several recent permissions illustrate the variety of formats:

• Antibes — 770 chemin de la Garoupe: 479.8 m² from housing, 8 rooms. An example of a small hotel unit in a sought-after residential location.
• Cannes — 7 boulevard du Moulin: 1,355 m² transformed from housing, a large-scale operation.
• Saint-Tropez — avenue Frédéric Mistral: 1,312 m² from housing, and 30 avenue Paul Roussel, 234 m². Two projects that confirm Saint-Tropez's appetite for converted residential property.
• Saint-Tropez — 11 rue de l'Ormeau: 53 m² from commercial premises, conversely, shows that commercial floor space remains a complementary route.

These examples share one thing in common: the conversion of a residential asset — often devalued by the constraints of short-term rental — into a legally secure hotel-type accommodation property. This is precisely the kind of trade-off we support.

For an owner or investor, this data highlights three concrete lessons.

First, hotel-type accommodation is a structured answer to the limits of short-term letting. Where the standard short-term rental runs up against ever stricter rules, hotel-type accommodation status allows legal, continuous operation. Our guide to letting in Cannes sets out the applicable regimes and their implications.

Second, the best locations are becoming scarce. With 19 projects approved since 2024, the window of opportunity remains open but is narrowing. Studying the feasibility of a change of destination upstream — local planning rules (PLU), co-ownership constraints, public-access building (ERP) standards — is decisive for a project's success. Discover the market on our dedicated Cannes page.

Third, value is created at the point of transformation. Converting a home into hotel suites moves an asset from a constrained residential market to an operating market valued on yield. This is the heart of our expertise in hotel-type accommodation, from assembling the application to enhancing the property's value.

The French Riviera illustrates, on a small scale but clearly, a reshaping of the tourist accommodation market. The 32 approved projects are no tidal wave: they are a sign of maturity, driven by owners who choose legal security over regulatory uncertainty.

The figures come from the Sitadel database (SDES, French Ministry for the Ecological Transition), which records planning permissions. We retain here the projects creating hotel-type accommodation floor space through conversion (change of destination), from 2013 onwards, in the towns of Cannes, Antibes and Saint-Tropez.

The headline figures cover approved projects excluding cancelled ones (32 projects; 5 cancelled projects excluded). Floor areas are expressed in square metres; room figures are not systematically recorded in the source. Data vintage: 2026-08. Article published on 7 September 2026.