Happy hoteliers
Events
The first panel, entitled ‘It’s Good Here Too’, was devoted to the prospects for the market in the CEE region and opened by a presentation by Kathryn Miller (STR Global). The figures for the region’s major markets all look promising, with the exception of post-Olympics Sochi and political crisis-hit Kyiv, which are both struggling with vacancy. Markus Beike (Christie+Co) told the audience that Prague remains particularly interesting for hotel investors due to its leisure and business mix, while Frédéric Le Fichoux (Cushman & Wakefield) spoke about Montenegro as an under-developed hotel market with great potential, but also pointed out that the lack of infrastructure in such locations will always discourage investors. Both concurred that Euro 2012 had had a positive effect in boosting Poland’s profile for leisure, while they also agreed that the question of whether the Ukrainian situation will attract or deter investors from the Polish market was one that is too early to call.
A number of historic castles and palaces are currently up for sale in Poland – many of which seem ideal properties for adapting for the hospitality sector. This was the subject of the next panel, which began with a presentation by Aleksandra Ferens of the land department of the Agricultural Property Agency (APA). Barbara Kaniewska (Historic Hotels Poland) explained that there is a large group of clients who will only stay in historic buildings – and the numbers continue to grow. The panel also included Jan Kordasiewicz (Cieślak & Kordasiewicz) – and two owners of palaces adapted into hotels: Rafał Predenkiewicz (Pałac Romantyczny, Turzno) and Zbigniew Czmuda (Pałac Wiechlice), who talked up the merits of familiarising guests with the history of the buildings and using the internet (eg. Facebook likes) to do so.
The booming aqua park segment in Poland was the topic of the next discussion, which was moderated by Grzegorz Wojciul (PPHU Anchem), and featured Tomasz Pawłowski (Condohotels), Karolina Woźnicka (Pol-Glass) and Bartołomiej Walas (Polish Tourist Organisation).The benefits from the latest technology (eg. sound effects, sliding roofs in summer) were examined, as well as what themes the parks should have to cater for children and adults, and whether developers should be building hotels with aqua parks or vice versa. As Mr Walas asserted, the question for tourists who visit such parks is not where to go, but what for.
After the coffee break, the conference resumed with another hot topic for the Polish market: the number of health resorts from the communist era that are being privatised. More than twenty are still in state hands, but if they enter the private sector they would need to be repositioned and upgraded. In a debate moderated by Eurobuild CEE’s Rafał Ostrowski, Alicja Iżycka (Uzdrowisko Wieniec Zdrój) made the point that such resorts have not previously been marketed at foreign clients, but now efforts to do so are being redoubled.The panel also included Marcin Szmit (Zakład Leczniczy Uzdrowisko Nałęczów) and super-sub Aleksander Wasilewski (also Uzdrowisko Wieniec Zdrój), who reminded us that in undertaking such efforts we need to remember that “fish are never caught by what the fisherman likes.”
The complexities involved in developing and managing hotels that form part of office and/or retail complexes was the subject for the next debate, which was preceded by a presentation by the moderator, Janusz Mitulski (Horwath HTL). This panel was joined by Wojciech Popis (Visio Hotel Management), Konrad Szymanowski (Ingenia-Konsult) and Edyta Podkulska (Hotel Rzeszów) – who was of the view that in designing such projects for specific locations, architects need to partner with someone who knows the local market very well. Also present was: Małgorzata Morek (Orbis/Accor Hotels Poland), who spoke of how difficult it was to build the profile need for an own-branded hotel and how tempting it would be to just become part of a wider franchise; and Miłosz Stanisławski (Sound Garden Hotel, Warsaw), who insisted that the brand is actually the people who work for the hotel, so effective recruitment is crucial.
A number of prominent Warsaw hotels have been extensively renovated recently, which was the topic of the next panel. Examples of some of the re-designed interiors were provided in a presentation by Agnieszka Kowalska and Małgorzata Federowicz-Boule (both of the Tremend studio). As the moderator Alex Kloszewski (Hotel Professionals) explained, in Poland in the years after 1989 hotels were built first before anyone asked who customer was. It was due to the back-to-front nature of this approach that many have now had to be remodelled. The experts this time included Daria Wassermann (Newmor) and Paul Ryterski (Hagenhauer Group-Mebloform), who stressed the necessity for employing big-name designers to help advertise the hotel; while interior designer and architect Anita Rosato also claimed that having a celebrity chef was another bonus as this tends to reduce the expanses of empty restaurant space that give some hotels a deserted feel.
The final panel brought us back to the topic of own-brands and whether they were worthwhile. After a presentation by moderator Katarzyna Królak (Pure Concept), she was joined on the stage by Angelina Gosal (IHG), Gheorghe Marian Cristescu (Best Western), Krzysztof Stęplowski (marketinghotelu.pl) and Tymoteusz Skuza (Puro Hotels) to discuss the topic and how best to reach select business target groups.
After a long day when it seemed that each and every trend and aspect of the hotel sector had been thoroughly analysed, much was still left to chew over when the networking continued outside the auditorium. Dinner was served and now it was time for the guests of the conference to enjoy the hospitality on offer in the Intercontinental Hotel.
