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EVENTS


23rd European Hotel Investment Conference Beating the Odds?


16 November 2011 The Dorchester, London


As 2011 drew to a close, the hotel investment community met to review the year’s events and ask ‘will you be beating the odds?’


Words: Catherine Martin Photography: Courtesy of Deloitte


London... the global economy in meltdown... growth slows... European stocks plunge on debt concerns... UK unemployment at a 17- year high... yes, 2011 was an eventful year. Opening at the Deloitte 23rd European Hotel Investment Conference, a broadcast highlighting the major news events of 2011 was a stark reminder of today’s state of play. “It doesn’t matter where you look, the


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statistics don’t look particularly good,” stated Nick van Marken of Deloitte in his scene- setting session. The Global Head – Advisory, Travel, Hospitality & Leisure at Deloitte continued to reveal that in 2011, growth declined in every region of the world, even in the economic powerhouse that is China. Looking to 2012, GDP growth for the UK is forecast at 0.8% – revised down from 2%


he Middle East and North Africa at war... terror continues... a devastating tsunami hits the coast of Japan... riots in


two months ago – while the Eurozone is set to contract by 0.5%. The airline industry, a key performance


indicator, offered mixed results: International Airlines Group reported that 2011 profits were expected to be double those of 2010, whilst Emirates said it was their “best financial year ever” and easyJet outlined profits were “up 62% on previous year”. American Airlines and BMI were a different story however, and concerns over the health of the industry in 2012 remain.


On closer inspection of hotel performance, it became clear that the new Europe has become a tale of two continents. “The majority of major European cities have seen improved year-to-date performance, albeit many are still lagging behind their peak levels – particularly in southern Europe,” revealed van Marken. Many cities in Northern Europe were shown to be exceeding previous revPAR peaks, whilst those in the South were down


100 JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2012 WWW.SLEEPERMAGAZINE.COM


by as much as 23% and 29% in the cases of Madrid and Athens respectively. With a matter of months until the London 2012 Olympic Games, the city found itself the focus of much attention: “London has had a spectacular year so far, with revPAR 11% higher than 2010 and 13% ahead of the previous peak, reflecting the importance of the city as a true global gateway and one of a triumvirate of unique global hotel markets along with Paris and New York,” commented van Marken. A Pre-Conference Survey carried out by Deloitte in conjunction with TNS Research International showed that the majority of the audience (74%) was hopeful that London’s winning streak would continue, although van Marken did warn that this level of growth was not sustainable and so looking ahead, it was expected to “moderate somewhat”. As the only ‘by invitation’ event for European hotel executives, the Pre-


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