Russell Kett, chairman of the London office of HVS joined the Hospitality Insights team at IHIF 2022 to discuss the wall of money targeting the sector, the niches attracting the most interest and the challenging macroeconomic environment.
"Hotels over the last 30 to 40 years since I've been working in them, we have been able to cope with inflation. And most people in the business today haven't had to cope with inflation. But I recall times when inflation hit double figures and stayed there, I can remember the times when interest rates were well into double figures. Nobody died. The industry worked their way through it and in a way inflation helped the industry through because you were able to raise rates, and you were able to maintain margins, and you were able to move on. And ultimately you were paying back whatever loans you had in inflated euros, pounds, dollars, whatever currency you borrow them. So the inflation bailout turned out to be quite a good thing. Now as long as we haven't forgotten how to deal with inflation, I think we're going to be alright, he said.
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