Hotel assets vs. other asset classes – Béatrice Guedj, Head of Research & Innovation France, Swiss Life
From 2013 to 2020, the hospitality sector significantly outperformed the Euro Stoxx 50 in terms of performance, and is therefore much more popular.
Hospitality is the only sector where part of the business can be operated, unlike offices, housing or hospitals.
Before the pandemic, hospitality accounted for 5-7% of global investments, compared to nearly 10% today (and even 20% in Spain).
MKG Insights – Asset valuation: which factors drive value? – Sylvie Bergeret, COO, MKG
In France, we have three major markets: Paris, the French Riviera and the Alps. These markets are of great interest to both domestic and international investors.
Paris is highly sought-after, with an 8% increase in room value in the luxury hotel sector.
The Royal Monceau was the first luxury hotel to be sold for more than €1 million in 2007, but it was far from being the last.
We are currently in an upward phase.
Major European real estate companies: what strategies are they deploying? – Gilles Clavié, CEO, Essendi; Tugdual Millet, CEO, Covivio Hotels
Gilles Clavié: Over the last five years, it was our operations that kept us going, at least during the first three years, and since 2023 it has been asset management that has been driving our growth. We are improving our margin year after year.
We are entering a rotation plan, with asset conversion and property repurchases in particular.
Tugdual Millet: We have gone from sharing risks (owner-lessor) to now sharing opportunities through a mixed model.
Our job is to identify which brand is best and which manager is most suitable for the markets and projects in question.
Delivering value to investors and reviving a luxury brand – Hospitality on the move – Gilda Pérez Alvarado, Chief Strategy Officer, Accor & CEO, Orient Express
Quest and desire for experience drive the growth of luxury hospitality , this is all about experiences nowadays.
You need to think about additionnal value when you are taking a decision or drawing a new strategy.
We are at a crossroad regarding hospitality investment and travel demand.
MKG Insights – The value of brands – Adrien Lanotte, Senior Analyst, MKG
While luxury consumption has not been doing very well lately, this is not the case in the hotel industry.
These players view luxury as an ecosystem and are investing millions of euros in diversifying their portfolios.
How do we deliver the experience to bring the right product to these assets?
Diversification and repositioning in search of upside – Julien Huel, Executive VP Hospitality & F&B, Groupe Barrière
We have revisited a number of the group’s F&B concepts in recent years in order to improve their profitability and reputation.
The resort spirit created by the group brings together various facilities to create truly unique destinations.
Luxury relies heavily on intentions and hyper-personalisation. It takes a lot of hard work to attract customers who want experiences, such as F&B.
The current strategy is to seek out new investors who trust us.
A new vision of luxury – Maud Bailly, CEO Sofitel, MGallery & Emblems, with Chloé Laskaridis, Executive President, Lampsa Hellenic Hotels
Maud Bailly: Our very first clients is our owners so we craft every relationships.
We have a long-term relationship now with Chloe, which is a great sign of success for an asset-light player as Accor.
The way you’re lauching a new brand set the tone. What make Emblems special is that you can just stay in the property and enjoy doing and seeing a lot of things.
Chloe Laskaridis: I think trust is important for small trophy asset, it is less business and more trust for these kind of projects.
MKG Insights – Which geographies offer the strongest potential for luxury assets? – Adrien Lanotte, Senior Analyst, MKG
Brand segmentation has been changing significantly lately. In the mid-scale and high-end segments, we see lifestyle brands on one side and power brands on the other.
Lifestyle brands are growing by an average of 14% per year, representing 600,000 rooms worldwide.
There is room for all brands to grow, both established and lifestyle.
Restoring value to brands and portfolios – Arnoud Vink, Louvre Hotels Group
Louvres is primarily focused on the midscale market, which is where we can create value.
Nearly 70 hotels have been renovated this year, throughout France but also in other European markets such as Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. The goal is to renovate more than 360 hotels in the coming years.
We are not looking for volume, but rather for quality.
We strongly believe in medium-sized French cities and are signing numerous projects in these destinations.
Inside IHG’s acquisition of Ruby: what value-creation levers on both sides? – Willemijn Geels (IHG) and Michael Struck (Ruby Hotels)
Michael Struck: The question is : do you want to stay independant and take more time or speed up through a partnership ?
It is a formula that you need to get right, it is about balance.
Willemijn Geels: The brand (Ruby Hotels) is very complementary with the portfolio we already have.
The integration took more than 3 years because we wanted to get that right, and to understand what makes Ruby Hotels.
How can a brand enhance the value of an asset? – Stephan Croix, Hilton
Brands have existed for over 5,000 years, with trademarks appearing at the end of the 19th century.
Brands are a driver of growth for businesses because they establish a relationship of trust with consumers.
Hilton brands are involved in the transformation or restoration of certain destinations.
Geopolitical panorama: a context shaping hotel assets and investment – Hubert Védrine, former Minister of Foreign Affairs
I don’t believe in world war. I’m not saying there aren’t problems or risks, but there is no automatic mechanism as there was during the First World War.
We are not in a scenario of global war.
However, we will see more pandemics similar to Covid. We need to analyse how this crisis was managed and see how we can do better in the future.
As for the ecological countdown, the issue has not been abandoned, as there is a global awareness of the need to make everything more environmentally friendly.
There will always be a luxury clientele, as it is immune to all uncertainties.
Conclusion – Vanguelis Panayotis, CEO, MKG & Hospitality ON
We have seen that trust is an essential pillar for closing solid deals.
Financial stakes call for very high standards.
Hospitality is increasingly expanding into other areas.
For nearly 15 years, it has been our privilege to be at your side with both MKG and Hospitality ON.
