External Articles

July: France's hotel industry continues its course... | hospitality-on.com

This July 2016, France's hospitality industry continued to follow the trend established since the beginning of the year, producing highly contrasting - and even opposing - results depending on region and range. While in the Paris region brighter skies are not always in the forecast, and the French Riviera is in mourning, other dynamics persist in the different regions.

Gulf Region: UAE, Qatar hospitality markets to grow the fastest in the next four years | gulfnews.com

The hospitality markets of the UAE and Qatar are expected to grow the fastest in the Gulf region over the coming four years, driven by tourism-related developments, according to the latest report by Alpen Capital, an investment banking advisory firm.

Savills: Nine things to know about Asia-Pacific hotel investment | hotelmanagement.net

Savills’ Asia Pacific Hotel Sales & Investment Overview paints an interesting picture of second quarter (and first half) of the year in the region. Here are nine key takeaways:

Qatar hospitality sector feels impact of additional supply | gulf-times.com

Almost 5,000 hotel keys have been added to Qatar’s stock over the past 18 months and the additional supply has started to impact performance measures in the second quarter of 2016, a DTZ executive says. Occupancy levels fell 64% in April 2016 compared to 72% in the same month in 2015, while average daily rates also experienced a year-on-year (y-o-y) fall of 6.5% from QR551 in April 2015 to QR515 in April 2016, said DTZ associate director – Consulting and Research Johnny Archer. Speaking before stakeholders yesterday at the launching of DTZ’s “Q2 2016 Qatar Market Report,” Archer said revenue per available room fell by 17.8% from QR399 in April 2015 to QR328 in April 2016.

Hotel rates in Paris halved as visitor numbers slide | telegraph.co.uk

Hotels in Paris are offering discounts of up to 56 per cent in a bid to entice tourists back to the city.

The recent terror attacks in France have had a devastating impact on the country’s tourism industry. According to Matthias Fekl, the junior minister for tourism, hotels in Paris had an occupancy rate of just 32 per cent in the second half of July, compared to 77 per cent for the same period in 2015.

June 2016: weak growth for Europe’s hotel industry | hospitality-on.com

The trend that began last month – resulting in weak growth in European hotel indicators – is gaining strength in June. The balance sheet is nonetheless positive across the continent, with a majority of countries showing positive indicators overall, making up for a minority that post a decline.

How Trump's Divisive Campaign Is Hurting His Hotel Business | fortune.com

Are Donald Trump’s hotels an early casualty of one of the most divisive presidential campaigns in generations? If new numbers released by an online booking site are any indication, the answer may be “yes.”

Trump hotel bookings have plummeted nearly 60% for the first half of 2016, according to new data released today by the online travel site Hipmunk. The site measured the percentage of Trump bookings within its markets. For the first quarter, it found reservations tumbled 59.36% compared with the previous quarter, and for the second quarter, the group suffered a 57.46% decline, according to Hipmunk.

Lone China Hotel Stock Seeing Gains Ducks Extravagance Purge | bloomberg.com

President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on fancy feasts and penthouse suites has decimated China’s hospitality industry, with a notable exception. China Lodging Group Ltd. is the only Chinese hotelier to have gained in 2016. The Shanghai-based hotel operator has risen 23 percent to $38.43 so far this year, making it the fifth-strongest performer within the Bloomberg-China Index, which tracks Chinese stocks traded in the U.S. After taking leadership of the Communist Party at the end of 2012, Xi banned official extravagance as part of an effort to stamp out widespread corruption. Lavish spending on anything from showy cars to luxury hotel rooms was out, with far-reaching consequences to caterers, entertainment and lodging businesses not to mention alcohol giant Remy Cointreau SA. Intensifying that effect has been slowing economic growth, which hovered at a seven-year low in the first half of 2016.

5 Takeaways From Junes Us Performance Data | hotelnewsnow.com

Video: Bill Blackham talks about demand, RevPAR, and opportunities in the select service hotel sector | jmbm.com

Bill Blackham, President and CEO of Condor Hospitality Trust, speaks to Bob Braun, senior member of JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® at JMBM’s 2016 Meet the Money® – the national hotel finance and investment conference. They discuss Condor’s transition from economy chain scale into select service, extended stay and limited service hotels, RevPAR, and opportunities in the select service sector.

Excess Rooms Push Hotel Owners to Cut Rates in China | wsj.com

Revenue per available room slips amid an overexpansion by hotel chains. A glut of hotel rooms in Chinese cities is forcing owners to reduce rates in a bid to attract customers.

Dutch Hospitality Sales Growth Outpacing Rest Of EU | nltimes.nl

In recent years the turnover of Dutch hotels, restaurants and bars increased more than the European Union average, according to figures Statistics Netherlands released on Tuesday. The Dutch hospitality industry’s sales are currently at a record high.

In the first quarter of this year, the Netherlands hospitality industry saw its sales increase to 24 percent above the lowest level during the financial crisis, in late 2009. The turnover in the rest of the EU grew by an average of 20 percent.

Chinese tourism investment boom in Australia reaches ‘cruising altitude’ | ehotelier.com

The latest tourism figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics paint a remarkably positive picture of Chinese tourism to Australia. Not only did the Chinese inbound figures pass the ‘magic million’ mark in the past year – an increase of over 19 per cent on the year to April 2016 – but Chinese tourists now account for 23 per cent of total expenditure (over $7 billion) by overseas visitors. In 2009, Chinese tourism to Australia numbered less than 350,000, and tourists could only fly from five Chinese cities. Today, they can fly direct from ten cities, and the prospects for further expansion in the future were highlighted by the announcement last month by China’s biggest private airline operator, HNA Aviation Group, to take a 13 per cent (AUD$159 million) stake in Virgin Australia.

Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis Expand in Asia, Contemplate Merger Structure | travelmarketreport.com

When Marriott's acquisition of Starwood is completed this summer, the combined group will significantly increase its luxury footprint in Asia, said executives speaking at two separate press events during ILTM Asia, being held now in Shanghai. Ritz-Carlton currently has 25 properties open across the region, including two Reserves and one Bulgari, while St. Regis has 15 properties online, and another 14 in the pipeline. Jim Petrus, global brand leader for the latter, noted a Maldives property will open later this year, Shanghai at the end of this year or Q1 2017, and Changsha in the same period.

Rezidor CEO Says HNA Wants to Grow Brand, Will Study NH Deal | bloomberg.com

HNA Group Co., which in April agreed to buy a 51 percent stake in Rezidor Hotel Group AB, plans to turn the European lodging company into a “hotel chain on a global level,” according to Rezidor Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Neumann. HNA may eventually try to combine Brussels-based Rezidor and Madrid-based NH Hotel Group SA, in which it owns a 30 percent stake, Neumann, 53, said in an interview in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on May 26. “The priority is to consolidate Carlson Rezidor and then we will study the possibility of integrating with NH,” he said. A representative at HNA didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for NH declined to comment.

Thailand: Hospitality industry faces new threats | nationmultimedia.com

A SHORTAGE of skilled labour and poor crisis management have become new threats for the hospitality sector, including in Thailand, tourism experts said last week. Global demographic change also presents a new challenge as tourism operators are forced to differentiate their strategies to reach old and young travellers. Meanwhile, the boom in online travel agencies is forcing some operators out of business. Kaye Chon, professor in international hospitality management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said Thailand and many other countries faced some or all these new trends.

Saudi Arabia hospitality sector adapts to millennial needs | tradearabia.com

Millennial travellers are forecast to become the dominant consumer group globally by 2020, yet the future appears closer for Saudi Arabia, a new report has unveiled.

A report by Euromonitor International prepared for The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia reveals that in 2016, 10.3 million people or 32 per cent of the kingdom’s population are classed as millennials or young adults (aged 18–36). Meanwhile, 27 million domestic trips are forecast to be made by Saudi travellers this year.