The mood at the 16th Expo Real and statements about "World of Hospitality"
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| The hospitality community at Expo Real: Competitors stand side by side giving momentum to the whole industry in the investment environment. |
Munich (October 11, 2013). At Expo Real 2012, the atmosphere was slightly purpose-driven optimistic but this week, it was characterized by relaxed optimism. This could be sensed among the industrial exhibitors and visitors and especially among the new developed hospitality community in Hall C2. With 17 co-exhibitors at the 200 sq.m. joint stand of "World of Hospitality", the large hotel chains, hotel specialists and consultancies proved to be the absolute magnet among the trade show activities. The participants of the other stands of PKF hotelexperts, Motel One, and B&B Hotels as well as GBI AG were also not able to take any long conversation breaks. For two days, "World of Hospitality" was almost overflowing with people; bankers, project developers, owners, and investors came to the stand for the first time – previously, it was always the other way round. Here are some of the statements which made the rounds in the industry on the 16th International Trade Fair for Property and Investment, and about the "World of Hospitality".
A2 hotelconcept, Oliver Massabni, Managing Director:
With our business, we are represented at the stand "World of Hospitality" for the second time, and we are happy about the concept's development. The co-exhibitors represent the broad range of the hotel world. My impression of this year's trade fair: the number of visitors from the Middle East and Eastern Europe decreased but they were replaced by high-quality contacts from the German-speaking countries.
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| 5 minutes plain talking at the hospitality joint stand: cheerful chat with the developers Mike Haemmerli of Kempinski (back, to the right) and Christian Giraud. Soon on The hospitalityInside TV YouTube channel. |
Accor, Christian Giraud, Vice President Development Germany/Austria:
We were one of the first groups that joined the stand of "World of Hospitality", and we are happy to see that the hospitality family is growing every year. The entire hotel industry profits from this presence compared to other asset classes, which will help us in future projects for sure.
bbg-Consulting, Tina Froboese, Managing Partner:
The extension of the "World of Hospitality" by additional established industry experts does not only provide an excellent presentation platform for the individual participants but for the entire hotel industry. We are present at the stand for the second time, we are able to establish very good contacts here, and we experience many positive conversations. We will participate next year again, too.
Choice Hotels Europe, Georg Schlegel, Managing Director a.i.:
In the last few years, we closely observed the development of the Expo Real and participated in the joint stand "World of Hospitality" for the first time this year. My impression is that the stand has been very well accepted and has become the industry's meeting point at Expo Real. For us, this is an opportunity to participate in the Expo Real at a very good price-performance ratio. If we had to rent our own stand, we would have been present purely as visitors. It is important to establish the stand in the same form or a similar form in the next few years in order to anchor the hospitality industry firmly at the trade fair.
Christie + Co., Markus Beike, Managing Director Germany/Austria/CEE:
All in all, a good atmosphere and many, many visitors. Good conversations, certainly catalysed by the stand of "World of Hospitality" with top addresses from the industry, which make stand C2.230 the most important "industry hub" every year. Our highlight of this trade fair is definitely the exclusive support by Premier Inn at their roll-out in Germany. This established and strong budget concept from Great Britain will create important accents in the German hotel industry for sure. We are looking positively into the next year!
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| 5 minutes plain talking: Martina Fidlschuster interviews Markus Beike of Christie+Co (back) and Martin Bowen of IHG. |
Derag Livinghotels, Tim Dueysen, Marketing Director:
Expo Real is a magnet for all topics concerning properties, and the joint stand of hospitalityInside is a successful idea/realisation in order to bundle hotel expertise. In this environment, we feel very comfortable and we had been able to establish interesting contacts so far.
Hotour Hotel Consulting, Klaus Fidlschuster, Managing Director:
The pleasant increase in the number of exhibitors at the joint stand shows that it was the right decision and that the concentrated presence of all operators, brands and consultants pays off. The discussed projects increased in number and quality. The degree of realisation will show within the next few months.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Peter Penev, VP Acquisitions and Development:
Expo Real is an excellent platform in order to meet developers from the German-speaking countries as well. The panel discussions of the hotel conference were very rich in content and showed the latest development trends. Expo Real offers a good balance of owners, investors and operators. Being part of the joint stand of "World of Hospitality" was very productive and we are looking forward to our return next year.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Martin Bowen, Asc. VP Development Germany:
I found the stand of "World of Hospitality" even better than last year; the presentation and representation was excellent, the catering was great, and we had even more positive conversations than last year. The location opposite the "Special Real Estate Forum" with the hotel conference on Monday provides for high frequency.
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| Tim Dueysen of Derag Livinghotels: the serviced apartment specialist had its debut at Expo Real. |
Jung & Schleicher Rechtsanwaelte, Dr. Felix Krieglstein, Partner:
This year, the stand of "World of Hospitality" was brighter and even more "stylish" than last year; several smaller innovations and ideas simplified many things in practical terms. The assembly and alignment in the hall were optimised and skilfully arranged, which provided a pleasant and attractive environment for successful business once again.
Kempinski Hotels, Mike Haemmerli, Senior VP Development:
This year was my first attendance at this fair, so have not seen the evolution, but must say that I am extremely impressed by the World of Hospitality Stand, and the program that you have put together to showcase our industry in this fair. Your choice of brands and panel topics, as well as the quality and depth of participants you managed to involve is perfect in giving a comprehensive oversight of what is a very complex and multi-faceted industry that many real estate investors have a hard time understanding. Also a great forum to meet key decision makers. Thanks.
LFPI Group, Philipp Bessler, Director Development:
The setup of the stand of "World of Hospitality" was even better and more professional than last year. The stand develops a strong pulling effect on the industry at Expo Real and it is the ideal platform for LFPI Hotels to present itself.
Louvre Hotels Group, Aude Le Forestier, Assistant to Willemijn Geels, Development Director Northern, Central & Mediterranean Europe:
My general impression is good. We are very happy here. As last year, we have many interesting contacts, the stand is growing and we will be back next year.
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| Markus Lehnert of Marriott: all expectations exceeded. |
Marriott International, Markus Lehnert, VP Int. Development:
The stand of "World of Hospitality" is an absolute hub, which far surpassed our expectations concerning the quality and quantity of the visitors.
Premier Inn/Whitbread Mark Anderson, Managing Director Commercial & Property:
We had a very successful trade fair with intensive conversations with developers. The mixture of operators, lawyers, consultants, and investors at Expo Real was a great success. This trade fair clearly focuses on development – different from others! We hope that we will be able to participate again next year.
Treugast Solutions Group, Stephan Gerhard, Chief Executive Officer:
Every year, it is a hard decision for us to take: joint stand or own stand. This was the case so far. After this year's "World of Hospitality" was able to "produce" such a great stand, we will definitely participate permanently in the next few years. The Expo Real has been, like in the previous year, a good working trade fair where we take orders regularly. Luckily, the trade fair is neither euphoric nor depressive but target-aimed and simply good.
Wyndham Hotel Group, Rui M. Barros, Senior VP & Managing Director EMEA:
This is my first year attending Expo Real and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. It is a well organized show with a tremendous amount of opportunities for business development. This past year has been an exciting one for Wyndham Hotel Group with the signing of 60 hotels, Expo Real is a great platform to grow our business with our existing partners and create new opportunities with new partners. We look forward to next year´s event.
Additional exhibitors in Hall C2:
B&B Hotels, Ian Biglands, Director of Development:
All of us were very busy during this Expo Real; we had very good talks and received many reasonable offers. After we obtained the award as best investment partner on Tuesday, we experienced another large boost of visitors on Wednesday. We are very content.
Grand City Hotels & Properties, Christian Windfuhr, Chief Executive Officer:
Our outcome of Expo Real 2013 is very positive. We noticed great interest and had intense talks with many German and international investors and analysts. Due to this, the already strong pipeline of Grand City was also able to be extended by interesting offers during the trade fair. This way, Expo Real contributed to reinforcing our strong growth even more.
Motel One Group, Horst Schaffer, Management Legal & Development:
This time, the atmosphere was a relaxed optimistic one. Last year, it was more purpose-driven optimistic. For two days, we had a great deal of work to do at the stand, and we now feel the effects of our international projects, too. This year, we had more international than national requests.
PKF hotelexperts (Munich), Ulf Templin, Managing Partner:
Our numerous conversations led to one conclusion: solidarity is important. The industry is back to reality. This year, we were – figuratively speaking – neither offered hotels in the Caribbean nor in the Spree Forest. When property owners enquired, they were usually very well prepared concerning the subject of hotel industry.
Compiled by Susanne Stauss.
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