Despite global economic challenges, hotel developments continue to progress, with 432,000 new rooms injected into global supply by both independent hotels and groups.
International hotel supply records a 2.7% growth to reach almost 20 million classified rooms. Much of this growth is fuelled by hotel groups, alone recording an increase of 4.2%.
“Although much the world’s hotel growth is a result of projects already launched before the crisis, it is still a positive indication of the commitment, endurance and potential from developers, investors and of course hoteliers. It is also no doubt necessary in order to stimulate economic growth, and then, when recovery is well and truly upon us, sustain it,” states CEO, MKG Group, Georges Panayotis.
Renewed dynamism in mature market-continents is most apparent, with 170,000 new rooms in North America and 138,000 in Europe, an increase of 3.1% and 2.2%, respectively. Asia-Pacific is somewhat subdued during this particular period, managing 98,000 rooms, a growth of only 1.9%.
Other regions also show development resilience during the global economic challenge, with Latin America registering 63,600 new rooms (+4.8%), Middle East and Africa 52,700 (+4.2%).
“Moderate growth and reduced pipeline developments are anticipated for the coming years however, given the number of cancellations, postponements and of course the difficulties in obtaining financing,” continued Panayotis. “As a result, we can expect greater popularity in hotel franchising, widely considered to be the best way to expand internationally.”
2010’s World Hotel Ranking has remains largely unchanged. Only Hilton Worldwide manages to move into third position with an 8% increase in room supply, pushing out Marriott International. Hilton’s extensive franchise development programme in the US being the driving factor.
The year’s growth is also marked by consolidations, though more was actually expected. Most notable is Groupe du Louvre (+28.8%) and NH Hoteles (+18.6%), both taking over other groups and expanding their portfolio with Golden Tulip and Hesperia, respectively. Exceptional supply growth also came from Australian-based Mantra Group (+89.2%), 7 Days Group Holdings Limited (+51.8%), Barcelo Hotels (+33.8%) and Merrylin Hotel Management (+23.8%).
The 5 first franchising/managing/owning groups
Worldwide Hotel Group Ranking (chain supply)
ABOUT MKG Group | Established in 1985 by Georges Panayotis, MKG Group has built a solid reputation for business expertise and substantial European-based know-how in the fields of tourism, lodging and food service. MKG Group meets the needs of each of its clients by providing valuable analytical and decision-making skills necessary for success. www.mkg-group.com
METHODOLOGY | For 25 years, MKG Hospitality has been a global leader in tourism, hotel and catering consulting, with the largest database in the world (excluding the US), representing all segments from budget to upscale hotels. 45 000 hotels and over 2.5 million rooms are compiled in MKG’s database. MKG’s market monitoring database, HotelCompSet, contains a sample of over 250 brands in 150 countries (over 800 markets) and 11 000 corporate chain hotels, representing more than 1,000,000 rooms. HotelCompSet provides daily, monthly and yearly monitoring of hotel indicators and analyses of its sample. MKG’s statistical samples provide a comprehensive and accurate measure of the hospitality industry. Together with other specialised brands, MKG Qualiting, OlaKala, Worldwide Hospitality Awards, Global Lodging Forum, as well as sector publications HTR Magazine and Hotel Restau Hedbo, MKG Group supports investors, hoteliers and key tourism players to improve performance, boost productivity and achieve results.
