Rooms for growth

More than a hundred people gathered for the conference at the InterContinental hotel in Warsaw on March 26th. "In 2012 the travel and tourism sector grew faster than the production, retail, financial or telecommunication sectors. The number of travellers exceeded a billion and a further increase in this number can be expected," declared Michal Kušnier (Cushman & Wakefield). There was just as much optimism when discussing Poland. The first panel, moderated by Janusz Mitulski (Horwath HTL), considered whether hotel chains would manage to take a larger chunk of the market. "The openings of Hilton or Marriott in some locations is leading independent hoteliers to look for support from other chains, and this is stimulating our development," said Małgorzata Morek (Orbis). Wojciech Popis (Vision Hotel Management) pointed out that securing the support of a large chain is often necessary for independent hoteliers, whether they are considering the sale of their hotel or a loan. Jacek Łukowski of consultancy RCP discussed the differences in hoteliers' competences. Some of them are familiar with running the business, others are only looking for a capital investment and subsequently entrust their family with the hotel operations. And what is it that investors are most interested in when it comes to this market? The clear majority of last year's transactions involved acquisitions of chains, whereas there was little interest in the independent hotels. And it was German investment funds who dominated the scene.
What we are left with after the Euro 2012 football championships was the topic of the second panel moderated by Alex Kloszewski of Colliers International. Robert Pietryszyn (Wrocław 2012) talked about the substantial financial losses that stadiums incur when organising events. "Airports and hotels are the winners, but we are always the losers," he explained. However, he also added that thanks to the investment in stadiums and infrastructure in the run-up to Euro 2012, life has returned to a neglected part of Wrocław, so in this way it has benefited the city and its residents. Krzysztof Łopaciński (the Institute of Tourism) was also moderately optimistic. He believes that a lot of forecasts were adjusted upwards thanks to Euro 2012. In the three years after the tournament tourism in Poland should grow at a rate of 3 to 3.5 pct per year. The number of new building permits for hotel projects did not decrease after the football championships. The participants of the panel were unanimous that more large events are needed and that the MICE (Meetings-Incentive-Conferences-Events) sector was the greatest winner of Euro 2012. "The future of MICE is the future of the market," emphasised Grażyna Kowalczyk (Hotel Narvil Conference & Spa). Last year 3 mln overnight hotel stays in Poland were related to MICE. However, it remains an under-invested market. The moderator reminded us that we did not even come close to 'the Barcelona Effect' - the significant increase in tourism enjoyed by Spain after the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. He also noted that there is a lack of space in Warsaw for large conferences that would allow it to compete in the MICE market. "We had a good start last year, now we need to get down to work and build on it," concluded?Magdalena Sekutowska (Hilton World Wide).
Another panel was opened by Adam Konieczny (Christie + Co), who took on the difficult role of refereeing a clash of two business concepts. Can a two-star hotel be a better investment than a five-star one? Christian Lainer (Motel One) said yes. He mentioned a number of purchases by the Motel One chain of dilapidated luxury hotels in large city centres that were adapted to economy class operations. "We have been developing intensely. For us there is no crisis. When people move from business to economy class they choose cheaper hotels," he said. "Investors prefer top-shelf facilities," riposted Murat Yilmas (Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide). He also cited increasing wealth and aging societies as the factors?stimulating demand for luxury. The overall consensus was that?there was no winner in this duel.
The conversation then moved to the lobby, but after the coffee break it was time for the next panel about technology in the service of hoteliers. "There is a lot of new technology available and the mobile device revolution is now getting underway," declared Marcin Dragan (Profitroom) about ?the future for booking. Łukasz Dąbrowski (Hotel Reservation Service Poland) recounted his company's experiences in creating the Hotels Now booking method and the challenges related to adjusting reservation websites to mobile devices. Tomasz Janczak (Mamaison Hotels & Residences) stated his belief that the choice of strategy is the key. "We treat the social media as a communication channel, not a sales one," he explained. "Ours will be the first self-service hotel in Warsaw. Our priority is to save guests the maximum amount of time," claimed Miłosz Stanisławski (Sound Garden Hotel).
Mariusz Aleksandrowicz (Jones Lang LaSalle), the moderator of the final panel, started by presenting a case study on the modernisation of the Bristol hotel in Warsaw. "The European market has changed a lot over the last five years. We need to keep an eye on the competition," offered Tadeusz Zajączkowski (Polmaster), while pointing out the openings of new facilities in Europe. However, the discussion heated up only when the topic of costs was broached. "Investors should cooperate closely with their architects from the very outset and take into account the cost of the finishing materials at the planning stage," emphasised Jolanta Całka (Całka Construction Management). "Everyone dreams about lower costs. There are even hotels where the guests sleep in capsules. But we are not only concerned about the cost optimisation," was how Barbara Kowzan (Innermode) made the case for the human dimension of business operations. Everybody agreed with Bogdan Czajkowski (Orbis) that people are the key. Only designers, contractors and equipment suppliers who are familiar with the specifics of hotel projects should be employed. But the after-conference drinks party provided an opportunity to raise a glass to the no extra costs ethos as well as to work on business contacts over a plate of roast duck.