This is quite a special moment, as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Hospitality Operator Forum. Thirty years is a long time, almost a generation and a half. I remember, around thirty years ago… Today, we are all very concerned: what will happen in the coming months? What will the trends be, the economic outlook?
But thirty years ago, do you remember how we used to collect hotel statistics? We would go into hotel parking lots and count the number of lit rooms at night to estimate the occupancy rate. Otherwise, we would discreetly glance behind the reception desk to check how many keys were still hanging. That was our data.
Since then, we have come a long way. And we have been collectively very proud to contribute to structuring this sector, giving it more visibility, more clarity, more certainty. That was our mission from the very beginning, a mission we fully embraced three decades ago.
At the time, we received statistics by fax. The goal was already to bring transparency and trust to the market and to enable banks to lend. We must remember that back then, interest rates ranged from 12 to 14%, with some fairly exotic mezzanine loans.
Hospitality was far from being a mainstream sector. It had to be industrialized, particularly through the development of standardized budget hotel concepts. This lasted for about twenty years, and each of us, in our own way, contributed to this transformation.
Today, once again, we face many uncertainties. Just like thirty years ago, we ask ourselves: what does the future hold? What kind of disruption will artificial intelligence bring? Will we be able to adapt?
We are living through a very particular momentum. Within our “hospitality family,” we’ve reached another stage. Between partners, investors, and operators, we are entering a new, more mature phase. It’s a time when we need to redefine the value levers of each party in this equation.
For thirty years, investment partners have learned to understand the operational model. They now know how to manage hotels, how to identify value creation opportunities, and have developed real expertise. On their side, operators are here to create brands, to build attractiveness, to design distinctive concepts, to establish a premium in profitability, and to guide major transitions, notably the one involving AI.
It is therefore essential that together, calmly, we redefine new horizons, new ways of cooperating, to sustain another thirty years of prosperity in our sector. That, in any case, is the mission we have set for ourselves.
At MKG Consulting, we know how to continue playing this role as a virtuous force, at the service of the prosperity of all the stakeholders present here today, and even beyond.
Today, we are faced with artificial intelligence. It’s an exciting transformation. AI will bring about very subtle evolutions. And first of all, it confirms one thing: our model is extraordinarily solid and sustainable.
A lawyer or an accountant? Their competitiveness in the face of AI probably won’t last long. It’s a matter of weeks, maybe months. But our professions? The contact-based roles, service roles, those involving welcoming, empathy, sincerity, where we build an experience, a service… These jobs have a future. In fact, they are gaining in value.
We will be able to tell young graduates: your real skill is your humanity. Your heart, your availability to others, your ability to grow personally by engaging in these professions.
It is a collective responsibility to carry that message. I am convinced that AI will enhance the value of our professions. People will be so saturated with automated transactions that they will crave genuine human contact. Our hotels, our establishments, our places of life will become precious interfaces. They will continue to increase in value.
I once wrote an editorial where I spoke about “the revenge of the head over the hand and the heart.” I truly believe we are living through that moment. And that’s a good thing: AI will increase our value.
But to deliver that value, we will also need productivity gains. And that is where AI will be extremely useful for us. How do we generate productivity gains in an establishment with high operational intensity? How do you make a bed? How do you clean a bathroom? How do you serve food at a buffet or to a table? These are complex gestures to automate.
I regularly discuss this with specialists. Some tell me: robotics is coming. Maybe, we’ll see. Let’s take one revolution at a time. Let’s focus on this one first.
Our challenge, collectively, is to define the standards for AI transformation in our professions. Because unlike in law or IT, where AI can instantly generate 80% productivity gains, that won’t be the case for us. We won’t have one massive, unified lever, but rather dozens of micro-topics, in which we will need to inject intelligence and AI to unlock our potential for creating value around human interaction, service, and experience.
So I propose that in the coming years, we continue this approach together. Let’s collectively search for best practices, let’s reflect, let’s build market consensus. Then each of us can express our talents, our unique value.
Our contribution is a daily one. But it also comes through the events we organize, spaces to think together, to keep growing, evolving, and transforming as an industry.
