Paris, March 14th 2005 - The 9th annual Hotel Decision Makers' Forum,
held on March 7th by the MKG Group, was a true success. This forum, which
took place in the Press Club de France rooms at the Sofitel Champs-Élysées
Hotel, was an occasion to have a look at the results from 2004, and to
envision the future via its more strategic aspects.
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Léon Bertrand, Minister for Tourism, "The restructuring of the hotel
supply is not yet finished, and much remains to be done, notably in hotel
rating system, which needs to be reconsidered in order to make the supply
more clear".
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Jürgen Fischer, President of Hilton International Europe and Africa,
and President of Scandic Hotels, evokes an operation of disinvestment in
real estate, "we are not sellers at any price, but it is a good time to
do so".
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Serge Ragozin, Chief Executive Officer of Supports Internationaux of the
Accor Group, "One must be reactive and flexible, and balance out development
means (consumers of capital)"
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Georges Panayotis announces the MKG Group's 2005 forecasts: a RevPAR on
the rise from 3% to 5% in France, up by 4% to 6% in Europe.
The Minister for Tourism, Léon Bertrand opened the Forum with a
speech in which he confirmed his desire to promote a renewal of the French
tourism supply. "A renewal which at the foremost naturally concerns our
hotel supply", he affirmed. "The restructuring of the hotel supply is not
yet finished, and much remains to be done, notably in hotel classification
system, which needs to be adjusted in order to make the supply more clear.
A few points of consensus have been brought out:
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adaptation of criteria,
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creation of a 5th star,
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harmonisation of inspection procedures to avoid regional disparities".
The minister concluded his speech, which coincided with the twentieth anniversary
of the creation of MKG Group by praising, "the expertise that this group
has been able to develop over the past 20 years, and its forecast reports",
while reminding all that it should be for the Minister of Tourism and its
associated organs, Maison de la France and ODIT France, "a partner, a support,
and a relay in the establishment of a strategy of economic 'intelligence".
He also added, "We have already had the opportunity to collaborate with
MKG Qualiting in the establishment of the Plan Qualité France. I
express my wish that 2005 will permit us to strengthen our ties".
The President of the MKG Group, Georges Panayotis, then delivered a
presentation of the hotel activity in France in 2004. This presentation,
rich in information, notably highlighted the very strong reduction of the
independent and hard-budget supply. It concluded with a RevPAR growth forecast
by MKG Consulting which should "be in the +3% to +5% bracket for 2005".
The first roundtable of the day had the theme of "the new hotel marketing
scene". The opportunity to exchange viewpoints and analyses concerning
the internet and GDS in the presence of eminent representatives, both from
the hotel industry and new online distribution channels:
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Charles Bourdin, DG Exclusive Hotels,
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Stéphane Gauthier, DG Best Western France,
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Erick Morazin, DG Galileo France,
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Pierre Paperon, DG Lastminute.com,
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Séverine Philardeau, Directrice Business Development & Country
Manager France d�Active Hotels,
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Isabelle Rochelandet, Vice President Choice Hotels Europe and
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Denys Sappey, Director of Hotel Sales Accor EMOA.
It resulted from the real desire to "regain control", already well underway,
on the part of the large groups of the hotel world, in addition to the
growing desire for "win-win" cooperation schemes between these latter,
and the key web and GDS actors. The impact of these channels on rates and
brands was also largely debated, as was the phenomenon of concentration
observes in the online reservation sector.
The afternoon began with a new presentation of Georges Panayotis, which
this time presented the assessment of the hotel activity in the European
Union and in the world. The problems of over capacity, which the Spanish
hotel industry underwent, were at the centre of the analysis; as was the
return to growth in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. For 2005 and
in the European Union zone, "the forecasts from the MKG econometric models
show a rise in RevPAR of between 4% and 6% for 2005".
The second roundtable was centred on "new rules of hotel development",
thanks to the insight of
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Raymond Chigot, Senior Vice President Corporate Development � Hilton International
EMEA,
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Jacques Dano, Director of Development � Groupe Galaxie �B&B,
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Jean-Charles Donnat, Rezidor SAS Hospitality,
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Dominique Dudan, Director of Hotel Development France � Accor Group,
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Xavier Grange, Director of Development France and Benelux � InterContinental
Hotels Group,
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Mike Haemmerli, Vice President of Development � Kempinski Hotels &
Resorts and
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Bernard Rousseaux, Development and Technical Director � Louvre Hotels.
An ideal configuration to decode the present and the future via the study
of the role of CDECs, the evocation of the necessity of new hotel rating
schemes, the search for real estate (qualified as "battle field") and of
course: the state of development possibility on French territory.
Finally, this year, the highly awaited strategic hotel decision makers'
forum included such prominent figures as
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Dominique Desseigne, President of Groupe Lucien Barrière SAS's Supervisory
Board,
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Jürgen Fischer, President of Hilton International Europe and Africa,
and President of Scandic Hotels,
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Serge Ragozin, Chief Executive Officer of Supports Internationaux of the
Accor Group, and
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Georges Sampeur, President of the Board of Directors - Groupe Galaxie SA
Hotels B&B.
The Forum, launched by an introduction by Christian Mantei, Chief Executive
Officer of ODIT France, saw its participants enunciate the current major
difficulties for the sector, whether they be in the domain of human resources,
sustainable development, or the lobbying of European authorities. Additionally
at the heart of the debates, two themes that merit as many comments as
questions: the separation of assets ("we are not sellers at any price,
but it is a good time to do so", stated Jürgen Fischer), and a reduction
of taxation issues ("I am for a lowering of taxes. However, one must not
change the rules of the game during the match. It is difficult to gain
10 to 12 points over ten years. In the Resort sector, it is increasingly
difficult to invest without having a medium to long-term view of taxation
issues", said Dominique Desseigne. For his part, Serge Ragozin encourages
all to "not give in to panic", before adding, "we know the crises and we
know how to manage them. It is necessary to be reactive and flexible, and
also to rebalance the means of development (consumers of capital), thus
demonstrating a greater commercial reactivity".
Once again, the Hotel Decision Makers' Forum will have been the theatre
of intense discussions, rich in information, which are currently the mark
of these major meetings, which have become events not to be missed for
the sector.
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