Europe Hotel Owners Form Association to Provide Them a Voice as a Distinct Industry Sector; Named HOFTEL- it Will Represent the Owner, Not Hotel Management, Hotel Brand Companies / March 2005

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Europe Hotel Owners Form Association to Provide
Them a Voice as a Distinct Industry Sector;
.
Named HOFTEL- it Will Represent the Owner,
Not Hotel Management, Hotel Brand Companies

10 MARCH 2005 - BERLIN, GERMANY - Today, an industry association was
launched by Europe's leading hotel real estate owners. Named HOFTEL (the Hotel Owners� and Franchisees Transatlantic and European League), the group aims to raise the profile of Europe�s hotel ownership sector with governments, regulators and investors, and provide enhanced levels of information both to and about the hotel property ownership sector. The group is being co-ordinated by Simon Allison, who has extensive experience in both hotel asset ownership and management. Membership is aimed at hotel owning groups which are not brands or major investors in branded operators.

�For decades, coverage of the European hotel industry has focused on the major brands, yet much of the capital has been provided by investors in the bricks and mortar. As the ownership side of the equation becomes increasingly professional and institutional, it�s time it got a voice,� said Mr. Allison.

HOFTEL Objectives

PROVIDE a consolidated source of information on our industry sector, hotel ownership � who we are, what we do and how we do it
SERVE as a voice for the hotel ownership sector in lobbying government and regulators on issues like REITS, property taxes, the DDA, and the minimum wage
ENCOURAGE open debate about controversial issues affecting hotel owners eg. level and use of FF&E reserves, the cost/benefit ratio of marketing charges, sharing of purchasing savings, revenue reporting and recognition and the like
RAISE awareness about the role played by hotel owning companies, not least among researchers, equity analysts and especially investors
FACILITATE surveys on the performance of hotel brands and managers, lenders, law firms, architects and design firms, and real estate advisors
GIVE owners a powerful tool in their discussions with hotel management groups, which often benefit from the relative lack of information available to ownership companies
SUPPORT an increasingly transparent relationship between owners, managers and hotel brands, and encouraging the large hotel chains to focus on innovations that benefit their property investors

HOFTEL includes among its Founder Members the owners of more than 60 hotels including groups such as Capital Hotels, investor in 10 Radisson SAS hotels across Europe; Lynton Hotels Investment Management which asset-manages the Airport Hotels Partnership; Kapiteeli, the second-largest hotel owner in Finland; Deustche Interhotel, a major German proprietor and CLAL Tourism, Accor�s ownership partner in Israel. Smaller groups like start-up Barrington Hotels have also become members, believing that there is much to be gained from an exchange of views and expertise with larger ownership firms.

It is intended that, over time, HOFTEL will grow to encompass the majority of specialist hotel real estate investors in Europe and beyond.

HOFTEL is also being supported by several leading sponsors, each from one area of specialized services to the hotel ownership sector. 2005�s sponsors to date are Barclays Bank, CMS Cameron McKenna, Molinaro Koger and Hotel Analyst magazine.

As one of its opening activities, HOFTEL has requested information from the major hotel brands represented in Europe relative to the brands� owners relations programmes. The results will be published in HOFTEL�s members� newsletter, Hotel Owners Journal, later this year.

Contact:

Simon Allison, Director
HOFTEL Ltd.
+44 7771 762274
[email protected]

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