More than 2,000 delegates from 80 countries are currently gathered at The International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the event. Day two of the event began with an announcement from IHG that the company signed eight new hotels to the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brand in Germany. This followed news that IHG achieved record signings in 2016.
Germany is IHG’s second biggest market in Europe with 69 hotels and 38 in the pipeline.
Later during the event, Hilton announced it had surpassed the milestone of 100,000 rooms trading across its Europe, Middle East & Africa portfolio. There are also 40,000 rooms currently under construction and expected to open by the end of 2020. Germany is a key market for Hilton, with six hotels slated to open in Berlin and regional cities in 2017, totaling an investment of more than €120 million. The six properties scheduled to open this year are; Hampton by Hilton Freiburg, Hampton by Hilton Hamburg City Centre, Hampton by Hilton Berlin City Alexanderplatz, Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt City Centre, Hampton by Hilton Aachen Tivoli and the Hampton by Hilton Dortmund Phoenix See.
AccorHotels and Rixos Hotels announced a strategic partnership illustrating AccorHotels’ strategy to expand its presence in the upper-upscale/luxury market, with a primary focus on developing global activities in the resort segment. Under a long-term joint venture, both parties intend to collaborate, develop and manage Rixos-branded resorts and hotels worldwide. Upon closing, AccorHotels will own a 50-percent interest in the joint-venture management company.
#Hilton has passed the milestone of 100,000 #hotel rooms trading across its Europe, Middle East & Africa portfolio pic.twitter.com/eVRGx8ucca
— Patrick Fitzgibbon (@HiltonFitzy) March 6, 2017
Meliá Hotels International confirmed the new Palau de Congressos de Palma (Convention Centre) and its adjoining hotel, the Meliá Palma Bay will open on April 1, 2017, in Palma, Spain. The hotel is located five minutes from the airport, the cathedral and the historical heart of the city, and guestrooms offer views of Palma Bay.
Hamilton Hotel Partners, an independent hotel advisory company offering hotel asset-management, hotel-management and development services, is set to expand further across Europe. The firm appointed Tobi Weissinger as a director, effective immediately, to lead expansion of its services across the continent.
PwC released its European cities hotel forecast during the conference, showing European city hotels are set for continued growth in 2017-18, despite security concerns and geopolitical uncertainty. Salient points from the report include a strong economic growth forecast for Portugal, Spain, Greece and Ireland, while the weak pound is expected to boost tourism in London during 2017 and Germany is forecasted to overtake the UK in M&A volumes in 2016.
"We have never been stronger than we are today. We can do whatever we want opportunity wise." @Accorhotels CEO Sebastien Bazin #IHIF2017 pic.twitter.com/7H1CyJjF45
— David Eisen (@DavidEisen3) March 7, 2017
Cushman & Wakefield appointed Jon Hubbard to head up its EMEA hotels & hospitality business. Reporting to EMEA CEO John Forrester, Hubbard will be responsible for leading and growing Cushman & Wakefield’s EMEA hospitality practice. He has nearly 30 years of EMEA hotel market experience across multiple service lines, advising on everything from economy hotels to international five-star properties, and from single assets to large portfolios.
JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group has been appointed by joint administrators Thomas Campbell MacLennan and Alexander Iain Fraser of FRP Advisory to sell the Holiday Inn Express City Centre and Holiday Inn Aberdeen West hotels in Scotland. The hotels are available separately or as a package and are subject to existing franchise agreements with IHG. JLL has also been appointed to sell the Lea Marston Hotel, North Warwickshire and The Abbey Hotel, Worcestershire as well as the Park Lane Mews Estate, London, including the Park Lane Mews Hotel, which has 72 guestrooms.
Lastly, HVS selected the IHIF platform to release its European Hotel Lending Survey, European Hotel Transactions and 2017 European Hotel Valuation Index to the marketplace. The research showed that hotel transaction volume across Europe reached €17.8 billion in 2016, down 25 percent from 2015, and that Europe has seen an uptick in the availability of hotel financing due to low interest rates and strong performance.