View from the top / Hotels
Q.
Are there any particular plans for expansion this year and beyond? What can you share? B P In 2017 we announced our 2020 vision which included growing our portfolio by an additional 90,000 signed rooms by the end of 2020. Following the Starwood acquisition, we revaluated and amended these goals and our focus now here in Europe is to be ‘number one where it counts’. We are already the largest operator of luxury and upper upscale hotels in Europe, and we see great potential to expand our mid-market and lifestyle brands such as Aloft, Courtyard by Marriott and Moxy. Moxy is particularly interesting. We launched the first Moxy Hotel in Europe in 2014 and we now have 19 open across the continent. And more than 50 Moxy hotels across 40 destinations are expected to open between now and 2020 showing the phenomenal demand for this affordable lifestyle brand.
C r Our focus right now is on integration. The next brand for us to integrate is Movenpick. It’s regionally very strong in the Middle East and that’s the next one to go through – it gives us strength in multiple Middle Eastern countries. In the UK we like to challenge and get under the skin of what the customer is looking for, leisure and business traveller alike. For example with Ibis brands, a frustration for customers was check-in and check-out so in new hotels we are not putting in receptions, but instead having mobile check-ins with staff who have mobile devices and customers are checked-in by someone who has a mobile device. Check-in is now faster and there is no check-out, with the invoice simply emailed to customers.
d M We choose our locations based on a lot of facts such as advice from developers and owners. We speak to them to find out which brand would best suit them. It serves the purpose of our owners as it has a focus – for example, brands focusing on the MICE market. We would love for all our brands to be everywhere. If you take on one brand after the other in a city you can easily have any number of our brands. We buy brands for our customers to experience them and for our owners to make money out of them. C r In May we acquired Atton in Chile who have 11 hotels and in April we acquired a 50% stake in the South African Mantis Group which has boutique hotels and eco lodges. We’ve got the growing Adagio brand and that services business travellers who want an extended stay option. I think the challenge it faces are that a lot of corporates stay away from private extended stay options but Adagio has maid services and meets regulations that corporates insist on. With project and consulting work, you see corporates moving towards it. At the same time, Adagio is not a luxury product and I think there is a gap in the market there that One Fine Stay can fill.
Q.
How much of a threat is Airbnb and the sharing economy, and how are you addressing it? B P We welcome healthy competition and embrace the challenges it brings. It has certainly been a disrupter in our industry and has prompted hotel companies to think differently about guest needs and behaviour. In April this year we launched Tribute Portfolio Homes – a six-month home-sharing pilot in partnership with Hostmaker, a London-based home rental management company. We selected 200 exceptional homes across London and put in place a set of enhanced requirements consistent with our company’s overall approach to guest accommodations. This pilot has been an important step in understanding the intersection of hospitality and home sharing, and how this type of accommodation can complement our existing portfolio. d M The sharing economy gives people the chance to travel. Airbnb has their business model and we’ve got ours. I think there is room for everybody. At Wyndham we have everything the traveller needs in the place they need it and at the time they need it. C r Airbnb and HomeAway service a lot of the small market but the big corporates have very strict policies in place for what their travellers can stay in. Travellers have to comply with these policies and I think we’re better placed to service that going forward.
[
the eXPerts
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BP
Belinda Pote, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Europe, Marriott
dM
Dimitris Manikis, President and MD for EMEA, Wyndham Hotel Group
Cr
Chris Roe, Vice President, Sales, Accor Hotels
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7/30/18 04:58 PM