REVinsight

Article by SKIFT October 22, 2021 IHG isn’t expanding at the rate of some of its competitors. The company’s review process of poorly performing Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza properties can’t end soon enough. IHG Hotels & Resorts reported Friday its third straight quarter of essentially no net expansion to its global portfolio. But one company leader emphasized growth is just around the corner. The company behind brands like InterContinental and Holiday Inn is still opening rooms — nearly 30,000 so far this year — but enough hotels are exiting the IHG network where the company hasn’t seen any annual net growth in recent quarters. New room signings in IHG’s Americas region are roughly half of 2019 levels. Leaders at IHG, which is undertaking a review process of roughly 200 underperforming Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotels, maintain the company can return to the strong growth momentum seen before the pandemic. “Remember that there is quite a long lead time for a deal to go from when an owner starts to get interested in doing a signing with us to actually getting ink on a page and a legal contract in place,” Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, IHG’s chief financial officer, said Friday on an investor call. “For quite an extended period of time, our owners have been focused on stabilizing their businesses, looking after their teams, etc. And it’ll take a while before that sort of normalizes. What we have seen, though, is very encouraging.” There has been an increase in inquiries about franchise deals, he added. Potential owners have letters of intent for hotels and available property lined up, and a crucial part of the development equation — willing lenders at regional banks — is once again showing signs of life. Edgecliffe-Johnson indicated the company should be back to the growth it saw in 2018, which was the strongest level of rooms expansion seen in a decade, as early as next year. “The regional banks have been calling our owners more to say, ‘We are open for business. We want to lend on your project,’” Edgecliffe-Johnson said. “Again, that’s a good early indicator as to the [pace of] signing doubling in due course.” While IHG has seen flat growth this year, some of its competitors are managing to expand during the pandemic. Hilton reported a 7 percent net rooms growth in the second quarter compared to IHG’s negligible net expansion. Marriott International, which similar to IHG saw a chunk of its rooms removed from its system due to a failed deal with a Boston-based real estate trust, estimated on its second quarter report the year would end with as much as 3.5 percent rooms growth. A Year to Rebuild Part of IHG’s flat rooms growth is attributed to the company’s ongoing review of roughly 200 Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotels with poor customer service ratings. More than 90 of those hotels have either already been removed from the IHG network or are in the process of leaving. Owners of more than 40 of the hotels committed to a property improvement plan. Read the full article here

Article by PwC UK October 22, 2021 Encouraging signs for hoteliers After the most volatile trading period since benchmarking began, the PwC Hotels Forecast 2021-2022 reveals the green shoots of recovery as demand returns. Though performance is not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by Q4 2022, there are finally encouraging signs for hoteliers. By the end of 2022, the forecast is that revenue per available room (RevPAR) in London will return to between 43% and 86% of pre-pandemic levels. In the regions, this figure is higher with the forecast between 64% and 100% of pre-pandemic levels. I believe with the right planning and strategy, hotels across the UK can look forward to significantly better trading over the next 12 months. - Sam Ward, UK Hotels Leader This year, to help account for the unpredictable path of the pandemic, we have modelled three scenarios: slow, moderate and strong rebounds. You can explore each of these in the full report. Hotels Forecast 2021 - 2022 - An Emerging Recovery Find out more about the UK Hotels Forecast, what this means and opportunities for hoteliers into 2022. By the end of 2022, the forecast is that revenue per available room (RevPAR) in London will return to between 43% and 86% of pre-pandemic levels. In the regions, this figure is higher with the forecast between 64% and 100% of pre-pandemic levels. Read the full article here Download 2022 UK Forecast :

Article by WTTC Press Office October 22, 2021 European Travel & Tourism sector’s contribution to GDP to grow by less than a quarter this year. Sector employment remains stagnant in 2021, however, with the right measures, the number of those employed in the sector next year could surpass pre-pandemic levels. With millions more European citizens fully vaccinated, international spending is expected to rebound by nearly 80%% in 2022. London, UK - Latest research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) shows Europe’s Travel & Tourism sector’s year on year recovery may only achieve a growth of 23.9% this year. The data from WTTC says this slow recovery is due to travel restrictions throughout the year, particularly in the first half, which continued to hinder the sector’s recovery. Before the pandemic struck, Europe’s Travel & Tourism sector’s contribution to GDP represented €1.92 trillion (9.5% of the total economy). However, according to the research, and based on the current rate of recovery, the sector’s contribution to GDP could see an increase of less than a quarter (23.9%) in 2021, falling behind the expected growth of the global sector of 30.7%. The data also reveals that in 2022 Travel & Tourism’s contribution to the European economy could see a further year on year rise of 38%, representing an increase of €439 billion. Although far from pre-pandemic levels, the growth of the sector has seen a slight rise due to the successful vaccination rollout, and intra-European mobility, supported by the EU Digital COVID Certificate, which was launched in early July this year. But with borders closed internationally Europe has struggled to recover. The global tourism body says whilst the surge in domestic travel has provided some relief, it is not enough to achieve the full recovery the region needs in order to salvage Europe’s economy and millions of jobs. The research goes on to show that while domestic spending is set to rise 30.2% year on year in 2021, international spending is expected to see a smaller increase of just 19.3% this year, reaching €242 billion, well below pre-pandemic levels, of €560 billion in 2019. Next year, domestic spending is set to rise 27.7%. However, with relaxed restrictions in many European countries and with millions more European citizens fully vaccinated, international spending is expected to rebound 77.2% year on year. In 2019, the European Travel & Tourism sector supported more than 38 million jobs. After suffering a loss of 3.6 million jobs last year when the pandemic brought international travel to an almost complete standstill, employment growth is set to remain stagnant this year. However, WTTC’s research reveals an expected 15.7% rise in jobs in 2022, increasing by 5.5 million jobs to reach pre-pandemic levels. Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO said: “Our research shows that while the European Travel & Tourism sector is slowly beginning to recover, there is still a long way to go." “With many European countries’ borders now open to international travel for fully vaccinated travellers, the region’s economic recovery will be accelerated next year. This could restore millions of jobs and livelihoods which rely on a thriving Travel & Tourism sector." “We need governments to replace the patchwork of restrictions with a set of harmonised rules for travel.” According to the research conducted by Oxford Economics on behalf of WTTC, the sector’s contribution to the region’s GDP and the rise in jobs could be more positive this year and next, if five vital measures are met by governments worldwide. These measures include allowing fully vaccinated travellers to move freely, irrespective of their origin or eventual destination. Secondly, the implementation of digital solutions which enable all travellers to easily prove their COVID status (such as the EU’s Digital COVID Certificate), in turn speeding up the process at borders around the world. Thirdly, for safe international travel to fully restart, governments must recognise for all vaccines authorised by WHO and fourthly, continued support of the COVAX/UNICEF initiative to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines around the world. Finally, the continued implementation of enhanced health and safety protocols, which will underpin customer confidence. If these five vital measures are followed before the end of 2021, research shows the impact on the economy and jobs across Europe could be considerable. Travel & Tourism’s contribution to GDP could rise by 28.8% (nearly €270 billion) by the end of this year, followed by a year on year increase of a further 40.3% (over €480 billion) in 2022. Read the full article here

Article by GBTA | October 21, 2021 Latest GBTA poll also reports increased industry optimism, a rise in business travel bookings, support for vaccine programs and an eagerness to get back to traveling for work Optimistic signs of return and tangible recovery in the business travel sector could be seen over the past month. In the latest poll from The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), half (52%) of industry respondents reported more optimism compared to September. October also saw an increase to 66% of those polled who said their companies are allowing non-essential domestic business travel and, in a high for the year, 42% international travel. Three in four (74%) indicated support for the opening of U.S. borders (now slated for November 8) with the required protocols, with seven in 10 expecting an increase in international business travel over the next six months as a result. GBTA members and stakeholders strongly agree that reduced infection rates and increased vaccinations will accelerate business travel at their company, with 59% indicating increased vaccination rates around the world would be a top driver. “There’s still a road ahead for recovery but we’re delighted to see the opening up of borders and a return to non-essential business travel. While we have seen ever-increasing domestic and short-haul travel, a more accelerated recovery has been hindered by the lack of international trans-Atlantic travel. The opening of the much-anticipated Europe and UK to U.S. travel corridors, as well as the opening of land borders to Canada and Mexico, will give a much-needed boost to the business travel ecosystem and global economy,” said Suzanne Neufang, CEO, GBTA. “Safety and duty of care continue to be of upmost importance to our members, who overwhelmingly support vaccine programs as well as smart travel policies to ensure a safe return to business travel, meetings and events.” The October poll from GBTA, the world’s largest business travel association and worldwide leader in education, research, networking, and advocacy for the industry, is the 24th in a series tracking the pulse of GBTA’s membership of global travel buyers, suppliers, and other stakeholders on how the business travel industry overall is navigating the return to travel, post pandemic. Read the full article here

Article by Financial Times October 21, 2021 The pandemic highlighted the need for a shift in attitude towards workers in the food industry – but what will that really mean? I’m eavesdropping on the pre-service line-up at Davies and Brook in Claridge’s, a huddle of 20 or so staff led by general manager Anneka Brooks. Usually, line-ups are a chance to catch up on new dishes or prep for VIP guests. This one is a little different. Alongside menu updates and points of service, the team is sharing thoughts and fears and making affirmations in ways you’d expect at group therapy. First point of order (denoted by “Caught Smashing It” on the agenda) is a round of applause for two servers who performed exceptionally the night before. On the theme of “Friendship At Work”, a waiter talks about how a colleague lent him a philosophy book “about life, love and tackling emotions” and another swapped holidays with him “at a time I really needed it”. “It’s really important to have that connection,” someone else says. “You should be super-proud of yourselves,” concludes Brooks, before everyone whoops and disperses. As Brooks tells me, supporting and uplifting her team is an essential part of her job. Over the past 18 months, restaurants have been reckoning with how they attract, retain and treat their staff. Labour shortages are rife, particularly in the UK post-Brexit. Morale and welfare have become key concerns. Read the full article here

Article by Hotel News Now October 21, 2021 Historical Data Carries Less Weight in Setting Future Budgets Even in the best of conditions, setting up next year’s budget includes some amount of guesswork, relying on historical performance data and trying to predict the future. Much like last year, budgeting for 2022 is proving a challenge for U.S. hoteliers. “Budgeting is always kind of a crystal-ball question, and I think this year is particularly cloudy,” said Barbara Purvis, president and director at Essex Hotel Management. Budgeting for 2022 means trying to figure out what the baseline is, because 2021 had a lot of leisure business along with higher rates, she said. But the questions remain whether leisure demand will remain as strong as this year and when corporate demand will return and how quickly. “Those are just all the questions that we're grappling with,” she said. The 2022 budget will be a product of looking at 2019 actuals, the 2020 budget and a review of 2021, Purvis said. All those elements will be part of what’s going forward, and next year should be more stabilized. Read the full article here

Article by Hotel Business October 20, 2021 Hilton has revealed its latest in a series of technology innovations that enhance the guest experience across the company’s 18 hotel brands. In a first for a major hospitality company, Digital Key Share will allow more than one guest to have access to their room’s Digital Key, which turns the free Hilton Honors app on their smartphones into a room key. Hilton also unveiled an enhancement to a highly valued Hilton Honors benefit, providing members with early confirmation of a favorite perk—complimentary room upgrades. Eligible Gold and Diamond Hilton Honors members will be notified of their space-available upgrade 72 hours prior to arrival, enabling the member to choose their upgraded room directly when they check-in via the Hilton Honors app. These two enhancements join the recently launched Confirmed Connecting Rooms, another industry first that allows individuals to easily and instantly confirm at least two connecting rooms at the time of booking. “We’ve always had our guests at the heart of everything we do, and we continue to listen, evolve and innovate to give them more choice and control over their hotel stay,” said Chris Silcock, EVP/chief commercial officer, Hilton. “Our approach to technology always starts with the guest experience, and as travel returns, we are pleased to provide Hilton guests with enhancements to their stay that are seamless, flexible and allow them to focus on what matters most—creating new memories.” Read the full article here

Article by European Travel Commission - October 19, 2021 With the summer now behind us, Europe is entering a different stage in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. 74% of EU adults are now fully vaccinated and vaccination efforts are ongoing throughout Europe. Despite the continued spread of the virus at community level, the impact of the pandemic on public health has been brought under control within the EU. In this context, travel and tourism associations welcome the discussions which are currently taking place between Member States about the revision of Council Recommendations on travel restrictions. Amongst others, the Council is considering updating the criteria behind the colour-coded EU travel restrictions map, to include vaccination and hospitalisation rates and not only the incidence rate. However, considering that the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC): is now acknowledging that EU travel restrictions have not had a significant impact on reducing virus transmission, hospitalisations, or deaths; – and is proposing to discontinue the use of the combined indicators and the colour-coded system due to limited public health value, to focus on promoting vaccination amongst travellers; We are hereby calling for the elimination of this colour-coded system altogether and discontinuation of travel restrictions for all Digital COVID Certificate (DCC) holders, irrespective of their country/area of origin. EU countries should thus move towards a traveller risk-based approach, rather than the country-to-country approach that is currently used. With a focus on the individual traveller, there is no justification to treat international travel any differently than intra-EU travel. While several Member States have already opened non-EU travel outside of the EU under similar conditions as intra-EU, some continue to discourage non-essential travel to any country that is not on the very limited list of safe countries (Annex I of the Council Recommendation, so-called “White List”). International travel should be made possible with the same conditions as for intra-EU travel: based on vaccination, recovery or a negative COVID-19 test; with quarantine requirements and recommendations against non-essential travel strictly limited to very high incidence or variant areas of concern. On this basis, we also call on Member States to abandon the use of the EU White List. Read the full article here

Article by Cornell SC Johnson College of Business October 6, 2021 The hospitality industry has been shifting its focus and taking a robust approach when it comes to sustainability. From better managing energy and water consumption to eliminating single-use plastics and food waste, the industry is working toward championing responsible business and tourism. In an effort to accurately measure their impact and provide transparency to investors, customers, and employees, companies have begun scrutinizing their sustainability practices, moving from symbolic initiatives to those that actually combat climate change. With the help of technology companies are uncovering their true environmental impact, and quantifying less-tangible indirect emissions that are adversely affecting the planet. Read the full article here

Article by WTTC | October 8, 2021 The Travel & Tourism sector’s continued sluggish recovery will see its year-on-year contribution to global GDP rise by less than one third in 2021, according to new research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). In a slower than expected recovery GDP contribution will only increase by less than one third. Nearly 19 million Travel & Tourism jobs in the balance in 2021 With the right measures, governments could see jobs surpass 2019 levels by 2022. WTTC, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, says the recovery of the sector has been hampered by the lack of international coordination, severe travel restrictions and slower vaccination rates in some parts of the world which still hamper many regions of the world. In 2019, the Travel & Tourism sector generated nearly USD 9.2 trillion to the global economy, however in 2020, the pandemic brought Travel & Tourism to an almost complete standstill which resulted in a 49.1% drop, representing a punishing loss of nearly USD$ 4.5 trillion. While the global economy is set to receive a modest 30.7% year on year increase from Travel & Tourism in 2021, this will only represent USD 1.4 trillion and is mainly driven by domestic spending. Read the full article here

Article by STR | October 4, 2021 The hotel industries in Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Moscow and Paris each reported improved profitability, but all remained well below pre-pandemic levels, according to STR‘s August 2021 monthly P&L data release. Building on its launch in the U.S., STR now features monthly P&L data reporting in Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and the Americas (excluding U.S.). Using U.S. dollar constant currency, August was the first month of the pandemic-era in which all five of these key European markets posted positive levels of gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR). Moscow, which had reached as high as 98% of its comparable 2019 level back in May, led the major European markets with GOPPAR of US$44.87 (78% of 2019 comparable). Berlin, which had been at -12% of its 2019 GOPPAR in July returned to a positive level of US$12.60 in August. London showed slow and steady improvement over the summer months but remained at just 23% of 2019 GOPPAR in August at US$27.78. Read the full article here

Article by France24 September 30, 2021 Interview conducted during the Global Lodging Forum 2021, on September 28, 2021 at the InterContinental Paris Le Grand. Source: https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/people-profit/20210930-staying-power-hotel-industry-executives-discuss-post-covid-challenges Although travel has slumped over the past year and a half due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many tourist destinations in Europe had a better summer season than expected. Karin Sheppard, Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Europe at IHG, the hotel group that includes brands like the Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn. She tells us how her summer season compared to 2020 and pre-pandemic years. Read the full article here

Article by PwC UK September 28, 2021 In collaboration with Women in Hospitality, Travel and Leisure (WiHTL) and The MBS Group, we’ve carried out research looking at the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on the hospitality, travel and leisure sector. This report includes findings from an extensive survey conducted by PwC earlier this year of 1500 hospitality, travel and leisure (‘HTL’) employees exploring the impact of COVID-19 from their perspective, with a particular focus on gender and ethnicity. The survey sought to understand how the pandemic had affected them and whether they felt inclusion and diversity had taken a back seat as HTL organisations have had to make tough decisions in their struggle to survive. With the Black Lives Matter movement having further heightened the spotlight on inequality and discrimination, the survey also sought to find out how they felt HTL organisations have responded. Read the full article here Download the article here

Article by European Travel Commission - September 23, 2021 Rising COVID-19 cases and the Delta variant might have been affecting Europe lately but travel sentiment among Europeans has remained high over the summer. Almost 70% of Europeans surveyed stated they have plans to travel between July 2021 and January 2022, while significantly fewer expressed unwillingness (17%) or uncertainty (15%) about travelling in the short-term. This is according to the latest research on “Monitoring Sentiment for Domestic and Intra-European Travel – Wave 8” [1] by the European Travel Commission (ETC), which provides timely insights on Europeans’ [2] travel intentions and preferences during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 vaccine shows the way to steady tourism recovery The COVID-19 vaccine remains an essential prerequisite for traveller confidence and booking behaviour. Recent vaccination rollouts allowed more than half (54%) of Europeans to feel much more optimistic regarding trip planning within the next months, with only 21% expressing scepticism. Furthermore, 1 in 2 Europeans plan to book a trip as soon as they are vaccinated. At the same time, more than half (57%) of the respondents expect the EU Digital COVID Certificate to facilitate planning their next trip and crossing borders, while only 18% doubt that it will ease and simplify their travel experience. Almost 70% of all surveyed Europeans plan to travel by the end of January 2022. Of those with short-term travel plans, over half favour visiting another European country and 35% plan to travel domestically. An increasing share of Europeans sticks to their original travel plans but concerns over rising COVID-19 cases at destinations have intensified by 20%. Read the full article here

Article by Siteminder September 21, 2021 While uncertainty continues to dominate headlines, there is a new constant that remains chronically underreported. Booked travel. In fact, it’s now been four consecutive months that hotel bookings globally have remained over 60% of 2019 levels. As I write this, they’re sitting at 68% – their highest point since the pandemic began. Let’s examine why. Europeans are redefining ‘summer’ In Europe, pent-up demand has redefined summer from the warmest months of the year to a state of travel freedom. Fifteen of the 17 European countries on the World Hotel Index are currently outpacing the global average for hotel bookings, with only Austria and Finland narrowly below it. Meanwhile, hotels in Iceland and Spain are receiving more hotel bookings now than this time two years ago. The performance of Spain, which withstood another surge of Covid cases in late July, is of particular note. It could very well represent the world’s first case study of how travel can successfully coexist alongside looming threats. The MEA region is also bouncing back. This past month, Namibia joined the handful of countries on the World Hotel Index to exceed its 2019 hotel booking levels, after a strong dip in local Covid cases. The UAE, Morocco and South Africa are seeing an uptick of booking activity for the same reason. Fastest risers are in Asia In Asia, hotel booking volumes remain low overall, but in certain markets are now rising relatively faster than anywhere in the world. After four months, Indonesia is again above 50% of its 2019 hotel booking levels, as restrictions ease in Bali. Malaysia has experienced a sharp jump in bookings to 38% of 2019 levels, from below 10% at the beginning of the month. And, Thailand, which is eyeing a broadening of travel options to vaccinated tourists from October, has risen from 10% of 2019 levels at the start of August, to 24%. In the Pacific, Fiji has also seen a small, yet significant rise in bookings. The archipelago, which relies on tourism for roughly 40% of its GDP, is now targeting a November 1 reopening date, which has resulted in an initial rallying of bookings in recent days. North and Central America are showing stability Despite the ongoing presence of the Delta strain, North and Central America remain two of the most stable regions on SiteMinder’s World Hotel Index, showcasing their resilience. In the United States, hotel booking momentum has remained between 70% and 90% of 2019 levels since April, while, in Canada, it has stayed above 75% of 2019 levels since July. In Mexico, which currently leads the region, the momentum has remained above 80% of 2019 levels since mid-March. Read the full article here