Time well invested IHIF, BERLIN
14 | WISH YOU WERE THERE WORDS | John Howell T
he International Hotel Investors Forum, hosted by Questex (
www.questex.com), draws them all. Hotel operators, investors, owners, lawyers, marketers and all sorts of other suppliers to the industry. February means Berlin.
Over 2,000 delegates from over
60 different countries packed the Intercontinental Hotel in Berlin to see a truly awesome panel of speakers pouring out wisdom and common sense in equal measure. What’s likely to happen to the global and regional economies? Covered, by people such as David Fenton, the
“A truly awesome panel of speakers pouring out wisdom and common sense in equal measures”
Senior Economist of RBS; Dr Thierry Malleret, Managing Partner of The Monthly Barometer and the keynote speaker, Professor Dr Jaques Attali, founder of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and holder of too many high level posts to mention. Hint: uncertainty, confusion, an era of permanent disequilibrium, volatility and political risks... but a time full of opportunity for those prepared to take advantage of it.
How should you choose a brand or
affi liation – and do you need one to be successful? Is there more value in building your own brand? Covered by top players such as Dennis Hennequin,
CEO of Accor; Ted Teng, CEO of The Leading Hotels of the World and Gerald Lawless, CEO of Jumeirah Group. Hint: prime hotels in prime locations may not need the assistance of a brand (though you do need a good manager) but secondary hotels in secondary locations probably benefi t from help from a good brand to attract guests. The game is evolving quickly with the maturing of online agencies such as
bookings.com. Where are the opportunities? Is the
enthusiasm for Africa well founded? (Trevor Ward, MD of W Hospitality Group: “Africa is India 20 years ago. Political change, economic change and demographic change create huge opportunity. There are 4,000 hotel rooms under construction. Top tips: Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya and the fi ve North African countries.”). What are the top tips for 2014? “London, Paris and Munich” (Chris Day, MD of Christie & Co). “Angola, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia and Tanzania” (Trevor Ward). What do the people who really know
think is happening to the industry? How about a panel of CEOs from four of the biggest hotel operators in the world? Intercontinental, Marriott, Starwood & Hilton. Between them they operate 25% of the hotel bids in the world and employ over 1 million people. Perhaps you are more concerned
with raising fi nance. After the turmoil of the last few years, what types of fi nance are now available? More importantly, who is in the market to
The CEOs’ Tips
• Tourism is growing rapidly – last year over 1 billion international tourists and 5 billion domestic tourists. It will continue to grow. International tourism is likely to rise to double in five years.
• The last Chinese New Year was the biggest migration in human history: 600 million people on the move.
• Experienced travellers do not seem prepared to cut back on their vacations during these tough economic times.
• Freedom to travel opens up new markets and new customers – the new Chinese five year plan focuses on travel as an export item.
• Compelling ‘classic’ destinations (London, Paris, Rome, New York etc) will continue to attract visitors for the emerging economies and new destina- tions such as China will boom.
World Population
www.opp-connect.com | APRIL 2013
Many developers are looking to include resorts and hotels at the heart of their investment projects. These are highly specialist businesses. Fortunately, guidance is at hand. Several times a year, everybody who matters in the hotel and resort business gathers to discuss problems and opportunities, to network and to do business
World Tourism
• Generates 9% of world GDP. Increasing quickly to 10%
• Employs 100 million people; with lots of starter jobs
1960s: 2.5 billion 2011: 7 billion 2030: 8 billion 2050: 9 billion 2100: 10 billion Growing opportunities for tourism
supply it? Again, covered in detail. Perhaps you wanted expert insight into your local market in Spain? Or Greece? Or Africa? Yes, there were sessions on those subjects too. In fact, nearly 50 sessions over a three day period. In short, invaluable and expert guidance about so much that the real problem was deciding which sessions you could afford to miss. Of course, it wasn’t all about the
• Indirectly employs 250 million
• 75 million more jobs likely in next 10 years Source:WTTC
conference: scores of exhibitors – some, the largest companies in the world and others new to the business – were selling everything from legal and consultancy services to towels and water heaters. The fi nal piece of the jigsaw was the networking. Matchless opportunities to meet almost everyone in the industry that matters – and to do business. Should you attend? Yes.
Next IHIF Summit: Bangkok, 15-16 May 2013.
The CEOs’ Threats & Opportunities
• Climate change: not just a reality but a great economic cost • The opportunity to do well and to do good at the same time • The hotel industry saves the world! • Visa policies impede travel and reform is slow and patchy • The perception that hotels only offer low grade jobs–- yet it remains one of the few industries where you can rise from bottom to top • The perception that travel is frivolous • Europe needs to resolve its problems • There is a ‘dark political cloud’ hanging over the EU
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68