EUROPE PIPELINE
REGIONAL PROFILE : EUROPE
TOTAL PIPELINE Q315 EUROPE (% PROJECTS YEAR-OVER-YEAR )
865 projects / 140,774 rooms
367 projects under construction ( -4.2%)
221 projects scheduled to start in next 12 months (+ 17.6 %)
277 projects in early planning (+ 18.4 %)
Top five franchisors account for 45 % of the region ’ s construction projects
Q & A : MELIÁ ’ S MAVEN ON SPAIN ’ S POTENTIAL
Meliá Hotels International ' s Vice President of Development María Zarraluqui Darder says politicians have the power to positively or negatively influence the hotel industry ’ s competitiveness .
TOP MARKETS (% PROJECTS YOY )
London , UK : 58 projects / 11,000 rooms ( -1.7%)
Istanbul : 34 projects / 5,704 rooms (+ 9.7 %)
Moscow : 32 projects / 8,235 rooms (+ 3.2 %)
Berlin : 24 projects / 6,276 rooms (+ 84.6 %)
Munich : 23 projects / 4,743 rooms (+ 35.3 %)
TOP FRANCHISE COMPANIES Q315 (% PROJECTS YOY )
Hilton Worldwide : 138 projects / 23,417 rooms (+ 7.8 )
IHG : 95 projects / 16,215 rooms (+ 18.8 %)
AccorHotels : 72 projects / 10,726 rooms ( -4%)
Marriot International : 49 projects / 9,299 rooms (+ 36.1 %)
Best Western Hotels & Resorts : 39 projects / 3,535 rooms (+ 95 %)
TOP BRANDS Q315 (% PROJECTS YOY )
Hampton Inn by Hilton : 59 projects / 9,298 rooms (+ 22.9 %)
Holiday Inn Express : 43 projects / 6,369 rooms (+ 26.5 %)
Hilton Garden Inn : 40 projects / 6,559 rooms ( -11.1%)
Travelodge UK : 36 projects / 3,180 rooms ( -7.7%)
Holiday Inn : 29 projects / 5,786 rooms ( 11.5 %)
Although it is a global hotel chain with 274 hotels in 40 countries , Palma de Mallorca-headquartered Meliá Hotels International is heavily rooted in Europe and is the largest hotel operator in Spain . HOTELS spoke with Meliá ’ s Vice President of Development María Zarraluqui Darder about Spain ’ s challenges , Europe ’ s opportunities and the company ’ s overall growth plans .
HOTELS : How is Spain ’ s hotel market fairing compared to Europe as a whole ? María Zarraluqui Darder : Spain is doing well compared to other major European markets . According to STR , RevPAR in August in the UK and Germany fell behind Spain ’ s , while occupancy in Italy and France also fell behind . In 2015 , National Statistics Institute reports that we received more than 65 million international visitors in Spain , which is 13 % more than in 2012 .
H : What challenges face Spain ? MZD : Spain ’ s most successful resort destinations were developed many years ago , and some of them are in need of renovation and repositioning . The emergence of alternative resort destinations in the Southeast Mediterranean puts more pressure on the Spanish sector ’ s competitiveness , and the answer is innovation and diversification .
Another challenge is the regulation of alternative accommodation and the shared economy model . In several cities , including Madrid and Barcelona , there are more Airbnb listings than hotel rooms . Both models can coexist , but the challenge is to consistently regulate the new shared economy formulas so that quality , safety and fair competition are ensured .
H : How do political issues impact Spain ’ s hotel industry ?
MZD : Spain is a strong tourism power , but politicians do have the power to influence its industry ’ s competitiveness , either in a positive or negative way . On the positive side , we have examples in Spain such as the Balearic Island ’ s recent tourism law that has fueled sustained investment on hotels upgrading and on the repositioning of destinations . On the negative side , measures such as Barcelona ’ s ban on hotel licenses , or the introduction of new taxes on hotel stays may not only negatively affect the investment flows , but also the legal security and the destination ’ s image .
Another serious threat for tourism is political instability . As long as the tourism policies and strategies keep changing according to the political cycle , there is going to be instability . In my opinion , Spanish politicians should do a “ national agreement ” on behalf of tourism to set a common strategy and implement it in the medium and the long term .
H : What are Melia ’ s plans for development in Europe ? Is the company targeting any specific region ? MZD : Europe is not only the largest touristic market in the world for Meliá , it ’ s the region with the largest share of our hotel portfolio . We keep looking for opportunities either with new developments or repositioning existing assets .
We especially want to keep growing in leisure markets , leveraging our experience in Calvia Beach on the southwest coast of Mallorca with our Sol Hotels & Resorts and ME by Meliá developments . We would like to increase our presence in Europe ’ s tier-1 and tier-2 urban markets through our urban brands , with a special focus on our lifestyle Innside brand . We are also keen to welcome new opportunities in urban markets with a high component of leisure , developing so-called “ bleisure ” hotels .
Source : Lodging Econometrics