The European hotel market is one of the most mature in the world with limited scope for development in many areas, so where should investors be looking for their next project?
In many ways it’s a difficult decision as most of those established locations have limited supply, which means getting hold of property is challenging and expensive but once it has been acquired can command a high price from guests. The flipside is that newer, emerging destinations have more supply but less demand.
Speaking recently at the Resort and Residential Hospitality Forum, Gonzalo Aguilar, CEO- Europe & Americas at Minor Hotels said that his company wouldn’t shy away from those far-to-reach places and indeed wouldn’t shy away from going beyond traditional hotels.
“I think again depending on what brand we're focused on, I think off-the-beaten path is right up our alley. We're looking for those types of destinations that perhaps if they're a little bit more difficult to get to could be a benefit, and I think that's what today's traveller is looking for. They're looking for much more authenticity, much more of an immersive experience,” he said.
“Our Anantara brand is a is a key example where, you know, we can look at tented camps in some remote locations. We have one of our one of our signature resorts is in the Golden Triangle in northern Thailand which is actually an elephant camp.”
For a company like Mitsis, which is focussed on the Greek market, finding more differentiated locations is harder. That said there are still some newer destinations worth exploring.
“From one side it's challenging because here, you either have established destinations or no destination,” said Stavros Mitsis, managing director of Mitsis Group.
Mitsis gave the example of Kamena Vourla a coastal town north of Athens, it is a two-hour journey from the airport making it more inaccessible than many destinations in the country but in a way that is part of the appeal.
“The destination itself has so much to offer,” said Mitsis.