Hospitality Talks
This forum, of global lodging and hospitality industry professionals, connects various stakeholders for active discussions. Our mission is to foster conversations on issues facing the industry and identify ways to work together for the greater benefit.
Food Trends and Fads
Dining trends have evolved, but at a slower pace, until the pandemic. The industry finds itself in a new era of foodservice and hospitality adapting to new demands and challenges. In the age of food network, Tik Tok and Instagram consumer expectations and demands are ever changing. Online search trends drive the restaurants’ offering as consumers using third party delivery services search for type of menu rather than a specific chains. These changes can be overwhelming with new business models surfacing rapidly.
Operating Challenges in the New Normal
After a couple of tumultuous years, hospitality and lodging businesses have slowly reopened as the industry starts to recover. We might find that the old business model doesn’t fit the “new normal” During this process, several considerations must be applied, including the health and safety of guests, staff, and the community along with local regulations that govern these operations. We are thrilled to have three fabulous professionals from different parts of the world to share their thoughts regarding what to expect with business challenges and consumer behavior by exploring industry developments and expectations going forward.
European Lodging Investment Landscape
Together with tourism, the hospitality sector is the 3rd largest socio-economic activity in Europe. Hotels have become a prominent part of the real estate alongside the usual trio of commercial real estate asset classes: retail, office, and industrial. European hotel transaction volume had reached 27.1billion Euros in 2019 surpassing all previous records. Despite of the short-term challenges, fundamentals of the European hotel industry remain strong: key hotel markets such as London, Paris, and Rome are generally supply constrained and will continue to experience demand growth. There continues to be investor interest in hotels and the confidence in the long-term prospects for this sector.
Experiences and Lifestyle Hotel Brands
Traveler preferences evolve and so do their perceptions. In the last few years, the hospitality industry has responded to these changes by developing new accommodation products that seek to fulfill customer needs through so-called lifestyle brand. As a result, the growth in hotel brands over the past decade has mainly been driven by the lifestyle category. These relatively new concepts are becoming powerful players in the industry. The availability of income-generating opportunities provided by facilities such as urban bars or cafeterias, meeting rooms available to locals or small spaces for special events play in their favor. Our guest today leads the lifestyle space globally and will help us understand the uniqueness of this segment.