Comments on Expo Real 2011 and the 1st joint hospitality stand
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| Successful debut: The joint stand "World of Hospitality" in hall C2 concentrates important hotel groups and consulting companies. A new meeting point for hotel investors. |
Munich (October 7, 2011). After three work-intensive days, Expo Real 2011 ended on October 6. For the first time, representatives of the hospitality industry joined together at the joint "World of Hospitality” stand initiated by hospitalityInside. Read exhibitors’ and guests’ comments on the successful industry appearance and recent trends and developments on the market.
Accor Hospitality Germany, Jutta Westerbuhr, Manager Development Support:
We found the idea of having the joint stand good right from the start. This decision turned out to be right. The mixture was well achieved. Both hotel companies and consultancies were represented. We were able to communicate with each other, but didn’t have to. Thanks to the presence of differing groups, many interesting and spontaneous contacts arise as a result. The industry’s platform at Expo Real should be extended.
The overall mood is clearly more optimistic than two years ago. Accor itself was asked a lot about the ibis brand switch. Budget as such also remains a big topic.
Berger Hospitality Management, Emanuel Berger, Managing Director
I was persuaded to visit Expo Real and it will definitely not be my last time. I’m particularly fascinated by the huge amounts of capital lying around looking for investment possibilities.
Christie+Co., Markus Beike, Managing Director:
We always had our own stand at the trade fair before, but we’ve learned that the joint "World of Hospitality” stand is a perfect platform to represent the Christie+Co. brand in Germany. The joint stand and the "Hospitality Industry Dialogue" as well as the "BRICKS & BRAINS" event provide market participants with instant possibilities to inform themselves on the latest industry developments.
In my opinion, there were more visitors than last year, which can surely be attributed to the fact that the majority of participants applied during the first half of 2011, when global sentiment was extremely positive compared to the year before.
The talks during the trade fair revealed, however, that this positive mood has deteriorated somewhat, which is surely connected to the negative news from the euro zone and the USA. The result is a big question mark in the visitors’ faces regarding further development of the real estate sector.
FFF Hospitality Consult GmbH, Dirk Feid, Managing Director:
All in all, it seems to me that there were fewer visitors this year compared to last year. But consequently, people are working in a highly concentrated fashion. I have the feeling that more new connections have been created. Individual stands were given up, there were more joint stands, or former exhibitors joined the stand of their region. This may be a sign of getting ready for financially worse times, but it could also be connected to growing cost sensitiveness. We are not recording a lack of buying interest in hotel property displayed by investors. There is still a lot of capital available. However, bank financing has become significantly more difficult.
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At the second day of the fair, the co-exhibitors invited media and partners to a business breakfast. |
Hotour Hotel Consulting, Martina Fidlschuster, Managing Director: Thanks to the joint stand, we’ve managed to generate numerous new contacts. I’m sure we wouldn’t have achieved this without our presence. The compact and highly professional appearance of our stand partners was incredibly important for how the hospitality industry is perceived within the real estate sector.
Against the backdrop of the latest turbulence, the mood displayed at the trade fair was comparably good throughout the financial sector. This can surely be attributed to the fact that many investors consider "concrete gold” a save haven right now.
Financing remains the biggest challenge for all market participants, whereas alternative forms of financing are quite reassuring at the same time.
Lindner Hotels Real Estate, Johann Kerkhofs, Managing Director:
This joint stand is a very good idea. We have established many new contacts and received several visitors who contacted us beforehand, as we were listed in the catalogue.
The mood in our industry was very good. But when it came to financing, things were different. Financing projects requires much more creativity than last year.
Marriott Hotel Holding, Gitta Brueckmann, Area Vice President Central Europe:
This is my first visit to Expo Real, as we had a talk with a hotel owner here. I’m deeply impressed by the trade fair. The appearance of companies and the quality of conversations are amazing.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Abigail Goldsbrough, Director of Development Marketing:
"World of Hospitality" has been an excellent opportunity for IHG to have a stand at Expo Real. We are pleased with the renewed focus on hotels as an important contributor to the real estate industry. The panel discussions helped draw in the crowds because they were topical and well facilitated.
Sharing a stand as part of the "World of Hospitality" worked well. It’s great that hospitalityInside has taken the initiative to create a dedicated hotel zone at Expo Real and we look forward to participating in the 2012 event.
Steigenberger Hotel Group, Claus-Dieter Jandel, Chief Representative:
We took part in the trade fair with a team of seven. The mood was positive. We’ve used the trade fair to drive on projects and bring them to a close. Furthermore, people made project offers to us from all over Europe.
Treugast Solutions Group, Philipp Bessler, Director Consulting:
We’ve received many inquiries from investors abroad that are looking for both portfolio property as well as new projects. We also met international groups willing to enter Germany and ready to buy. They own hotels in countries where Germany is considered an important source market, and therefore they are on the lookout for locations in this source market.
We also noted that operator security has become more important compared to last year. This is an indicator for greater nervousness than before.
Treugast Solutions Group, Thomas Schlieper, Managing Director:
While we repeatedly had inquiries in the past few years from developers looking for ways to finance, this year sees more potential investors that have an idea for a hotel project and do not consider financing a problem. They introduce their project and ask us to support them in its realisation. / sst
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