On 16th January Armin Laschet was elected leader of Germany’s CDU party, putting him in a good position to succeed Angela Merkel when she steps down as German chancellor in September. What does his election mean for Germany and the hospitality market?

This week on In Focus we dive into the results from Questex's fourth quarterly Investor Sentiment Assessment, in partnership with ABP Invest. Join us for insight into the economic outlook of investors globally and a look at the market: where is the dry powder sitting? How is financial support, monetary and fiscal, both hindering and propelling the sector.  Stay tuned for further instalments from the team discussing the latest Investor Sentiment Assessment. Thanos Papasavvas, Founder & CIO of ABP Invest joins Alexi Khajavi, Julie Rey-Gore alongside guest Nevius Glussi, CEO at Trinity Hospitality Group.

Sébastien Bazin, Chairman & CEO, Accor, and Mark Okerstrom, CEO, Expedia Group discuss perspective. 

Thanos Papasavvas, Founder & CIO of ABP Invest joins Alexi Khajavi, Julie Rey-Gore alongside guest Nevius Glussi, CEO at Trinity Hospitality Group sat down to review the fourth quarterly investor sentiment assessment, published by Questex and in partnership with ABP Invest.  In this episode the group discuss the economic outlook, comparing regions Asia, Europe, the US and the UK and analyse the factors contriubting to the varied results.  They also discuss the varying percentage of dry powder investors have allocated to the sector. Not to be missed!  Join us for weekly interviews from the team at Hospitality Insights.

Omer Isvan, President Servotel and Greg W. Greeley, President of Homes, Airbnb discuss thinking differently. 

What is the market sentiment for economic slowdown, how do investors rate their concerns for inflation and ESG?  Thanos Papasavvas and Alexi Khajavi discuss how ESG is now a key focus for investors: "as we see it maturing in the asset management industry. It is no longer considered a marketing term but involved in the decision making process. It is a very different conversation to what it was 3-4 years ago." Julie Rey-Gore and Nevius Glussi discuss the importance of brands as well as local integration.  Investors' sentiment for hotels in the current market shows a positive increase compared to the previous quarter. More episodes discussing the fourth quarterly investment sentiment survey can be viewed here. 

Don't miss out on the 23rd International Hotel Investment Forum 2020, 2-3 March

Hotel Intercontinental, Berlin, Germany

The Meeting of Global Collaboration 

As Pandox released their reuslts last week, CEO Anders Nissen stated "we are preparing for a brighter future". After a difficult fourth quarter in 2020 they remain optimistic. In this interview with Alexi Khajavi, Anders discusses their strategy, future opportunities and shares his knowledge from both an owner and operator persepctive.  Anders discusses why they may be looking outside Scandinavia for their next investment and the benefits of hybrid lease structures right now.  Don't miss our roundup video, Diversity is key, with Hotel Management's Elaine Simon reviewing the latest results.  

President and CEO of Hilton, Christopher Nassetta interviewed by Conference Host Nick Ross.

The HAMA Europe Asset Management Achievement Awards, in partnership with IHIF and HAMA Europe, provide an opportunity to formally recognise results of successful asset management strategies accomplished by the winning companies across three categories, Single Asset Strategy, Portfolio Strategy and Sustainablity Strategy. We sat down with the recipients of the 2020 HAMA Awards Sponsored by Hotstats, Amaris Hospitality represented by Peter Stack, CEO.

Rock climber, mountaineer and author, Cathy O'Dowd addresses the international hospitality investment audience with an inspirational presentation of her remarkable achievements and learnings on how communication and flexibility is key to situations of acute stress. 

How are stakeholders innovating to support each other, ensuring a strong recovery? Where are the opportunities to innovate for owners and brands and how will it impact the guest? Pritchard asks what it will cost the owners and how can they measure a return on that investment. In this discussion, sustainability, talent, and technology are just some of the topics in review.  Are brands doing enough to demonstrate the value that they bring? As Harnisch highlights "the need to invest in innovation is higher than ever but the ability to do so is very low." It comes at a cost and owners are already looking for more transparency of costs and system fees. Anand adds that Marriott are looking at how they can deliver the best returns for the owners, as they assess their competitiveness in the market while Menis Dyksztein mentions flexible lease structures which will be more agreeable for both owner and operator. Lean in for expert opinions and insight from our IHIF Advisory Board.  Hosted by Alexi Khajavi, President of Questex Hospitality & Travel, Jonathan Langston, Chair IHIF Advisory Board with guests: Satya Anand, President, EMEA, Marriott International Olivier Harnisch, Head of Hospitality, Public Investment Fund Paula Menis Dyksztein, COO, Excem Real Estate S.L.  Owen Pritchard, Chief Operating Officer, Hotels, CBRE.  Never miss a thing, keep up to date with the IHIF event and news here. 

Tim Arthur, previously editor and global CEO at Time Out and creative director at Virgin Money, reminds us how to transform businesses to better fit the changing world in which they operate by using emotional connections: trust; compassion and attraction.

Hotel Management Agreements are one of the hot topics on this week's In Focus as we are joined by guest Karen Friebe of Bird & Bird, while Julie Rey-Gore is in conversation with Alexi Khajavi to cover the top stories from this week. One of those being Blackstone and Starwood's acquisition of Extended Stay America.

Results are rolling in from the big global players as both Accor and IHG announced results this week. IHG refer to a muted recovery while Accor calls on discipline. And what will be of Marriott? We hear from Vrbo's Karen Mullins as she describes how the Expedia group's brand is performing with continued rise in extended stay.  And Alexi and Katherine are placing bets, join us to find out what is at stake! 

Implementing seamless and touchless technologies is essential to boosting the health and safety of our guests now, while ensuring our luxury all-inclusive resorts remain profitable investments in a post-pandemic world.

Results are rolling in from the big global players as both Accor and IHG announced results this week. IHG refer to a muted recovery while Accor calls on discipline. And what will be of Marriott? We also hear from Vrbo's Karen Mullins as she describes how the Expedia group's brand is performing with continued rise in extended stay.  And Alexi and Katherine are placing bets, join us to find out what is at stake! Watch the latest In Focus episode here. 

CBRE Hotels’ Executive Director and COO Owen Pritchard shares the company’s views on recovery in the hospitality sector, key growth segments, and ESG goals ahead of the company's participation to IHIF.

This week's guest for our In Focus series is Dimitris Manikis, President EMEA Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, who tells Katherine how Wyndham have navigated the storm this year with evidence of rebounding.  "It's all about retain, develop, serve: retain your customer base, develop your hotels and serve your customers." Katherine asks how targets have changed since the pandemic and what types of locations and types of properties they are now looking at. Wyndham have seen strong results from their loyalty programme and the newly launched Wyndham Direct, targeting corporate travellers from small organisations and he predicts that while luxury will remain an important investment, economy is going to be big in the years to come.  An interesting point Dimitris makes, is how he sees destinations competing for the same traveller and remains optimistic for the future of travel and hospitality.  You can watch the latest In Focus episodes here. 

Does profit REALLY matter?  How it has changed since covid, how to measure it and how to improve it. Jonathan asks if this is this an opportunity to reset?

On 19th November, the IHIF Advisory Board met virtually to take a temperature check on industry sentiment in a fast-changing market. Kicking off the conversation was a panel of investors hosted by Michael Hirst OBE, Chairman of the UK Government’s Events Industry Board, with Keith Evans, Chief Investment & Development Officer at Ennismore, Benjamin Habbel, CEO & Founding Partner of Limestone Capital, and Jan-Willem Terlouw, Director of Development Finance at Westmont. The panellists shared their experiences of the past year, and views for 2021 and beyond.

We asked our IHIF AB does profit really matter? Having reviewed how and if profit matters, the panel are now looking at how to sustain that profit by investing in technology. But what does investing in technology mean? 

Is it better to be the first or last to the party? As the market piles up, now is the time to consider the value of your assets. Alexi & Katherine discuss the deals and bargains out there for investors with guest Tom Oakden. "This is the hotel sector, a mature asset class....you can bank on it so long as you take a long term view." 

Join us this week for all the latest news and development in the hospitality industry with Alexi Khajavi, Katherine Doggrell and this week's guest Tom Oakden of Hilltop Hospitality Advisors.  In discussion with Katherine, Tom explains "if sellers don't sell now, there will be a wall of assets on the market" and buyers will see a wall of capital competing their capital....What we need to see are deals which will lead to pricing discovery with transactions beginning to happen at prices both parties are comfortable with and that "certainty of sale" will emerge.

Agnès Roquefort has been at Accor for more than a decade, taking on various senior roles until in November she became the company’s chief development officer.

What is happening to your business? Christie & Co would love to hear from you on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on your business and assets.

Abbas Rangwala, Head of M&A at InterGlobe, one of India's largest groups with businesses across hospitality, real estate, travel technology and business services, shares his views on hospitality investment ahead of his participation to IHIF.

Paul Pisani, Senior Vice President Hotel Development and member of the founding and owning family of Corinthia Hotels, shares his thoughts on how the Covid19 crisis has affected hospitality in 2020 and his expectations for 2021 and beyond.

HB Titan's Investment Director, Alastair Carmichael, joins us this week to discuss why they are bullish about the hotel sector.  Alastiar leads HB Titan's lending and investment activity in the UK and Europe.  Carmichael agrees that while hospitality has been one of the hardest hit sectors, it has the fundamentals to enable a quick bounce back, having seen the potential from the brief relaxation to travel resrictions last summer

This week on In Focus we introduce our monthly special: A seat at the table; a monthly roundtable with our IHIF Advisory Board to inform and connect the hospitality investment and development market. The panel uncover their hospitality investment trend predictions for 2021, discussing the return of leisure and corporate travel, consolidation of brands and the role of sustainability as a demand driver. Never miss a thing, keep up to date with the IHIF event and news here.  This week's panel was hosted by Alexi Khajavi, Jonathan Langston and Julie Rey-Gore with guests: Robert Alley, COO Roomzzz Aparthotels Carine Bonnejean, Managing Director Hotels, Christie & Co Will Duffey, Head of Hotels & Hospitality EMEA, JLL Neville Graham, MD International Member Services, Best Western Hotels Anders Nissen, CEO Pandox Thomas Page, Global Head of Hotels & Leisure, CMS Gesa Rohwedder, Head of Hospitality, Drees & Sommer  Maria Zarraluqui, Global Development MD, Melia Hotels International