EDITOR ’ S DIARY
PASSION FOR HOSPITALITY
EDITORIAL Jeff Weinstein , Editor In Chief 1.312.274.2226 E-mail : jweinstein @ hotelsmag . com Barbara Bohn , Managing Editor 1.312.274.2209 E-mail : bbohn @ hotelsmag . com Chloe Riley , Associate Editor 1.312.274.2229 E-mail : criley @ hotelsmag . com Bert Ganzon , Senior Art Director 1.312.274.2227 E-mail : bganzon @ mtgmediagroup . com Steve Vanden Heuvel , Senior Art Director 1.312.274.2218 E-mail : svandenheuvel @ mtgmediagroup . com Brittney Hackbart , Associate Art Director 1.312.274.2216 E-mail : bhackbart @ mtgmediagroup . com Carolina Martinez , Freelance Design E-mail : cmartinez @ mtgmediagroup . com Bill McDowell , Vice President , Editorial Director 1.312.274.2201 bmcdowell @ mtgmediagroup . com
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Judith Crown , Megan Rowe , Juliana Shallcross , Erin Sund
PUBLISHING David Wood , Publisher 1.312.274.2225 dwood @ hotelsmag . com Bill Kinross , Vice President , Group Publisher 312 / 274-2214 bkinross @ meatingplace . com
INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD Nakul Anand Executive Director , ITC Ltd ., Gurgaon , India Stephen Bartolin President , Broadmoor Sea Island Co ., Colorado Springs , Colorado Geoffrey Gelardi Managing Director , The Lanesborough , London Alex Kyriakidis President and Managing Director , Middle East and Africa , Marriott International , Dubai Christopher Nassetta President and CEO , Hilton , McLean , Virginia Monika Nerger Chief Information Officer , Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group , Atlanta Paul Sistare President and CEO , Atlantica Hotels International , São Paulo Susan Terry Vice president of culinary and food and beverage operations , Marcus Hotels & Resorts , Milwaukee , Wisconsin
EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION OFFICES , HOTELS Marketing and Technology Group 1415 N . Dayton Street Chicago , Illinois 60642 USA 1.312.274.2200 ; fax : 1.312.266.3363 edit @ hotelsmag . com
Subscriptions / Change Of Address For address changes or subscription questions , please contact : Customer Service , HOTELS , 1209 Dundee Ave . # 8 , Elgin , Illinois 60120 USA . E-mail : PrintCirc @ hotelsmag . com or call : 800.697.2111
SWEET SPOT in the middle
June and July mark the months when I am immersed in data , finalizing HOTELS annual ranking of the world ’ s biggest hotel companies . Among other insights , the exercise allows me to recognize where the organic growth is coming from , even though it is M & A that still drives the chart climbers .
What seems clear this year is how organic growth is coming from coveted middle-market brands , and how some of the biggest players are cashing in on the flexibility of these brands . When I say middle market , it ranges from focused-service brands like
Editor In Chief
Hampton by Hilton to full-service comers like Choice Hotels International ’ s Cambria brand , which we feature in our Design section this month ( p . 34 ).
A recent pipeline report suggested that nearly 200,000 mid-market rooms were completed in the United States during the year ended in March , across 993 hotel projects . Moving forward , more than 186,000 rooms are underway , and an additional 221,000 rooms are in the final planning stages and are expected to break ground within the next 12 months .
I expect that growth trend to get even bigger as emerging markets in China , the United Arab Emirates and India recognize the opportunity in the middle after having more fully developed the upper end of the marketplace . The same scenario likely applies in other emerging markets that first tend to focus on full-service and luxury projects .
All one has to do is look at HOTELS Top 50 Brands chart , based on data year-end 2017 data ( p . 28 ), to realize where the action is taking place . The top three are Holiday Inn Express , Homeinns and Hampton by Hilton . Also in the Top 10 are Courtyard by Marriott and the core Holiday Inn brand .
According to our data , IHG ’ s Holiday Inn Express grew to 262,398 rooms from 247,009 , while Hampton grew to 237,334 from 223,114 rooms . Wyndham recognized value with its acquisition of La Quinta ; Choice ’ s most high-profile mover is Cambria . AccorHotels has taken on Mövenpick , Hard Rock is developing Reverb , and Okura is partnering with Hawaii ’ s Trinity Investments to develop an upscale select-service brand for Japan . Other companies not big enough for the 325 also show a lot of potential by moving into the segment – Hoshino Resorts ' Omo brand comes to mind . This is where a lot of the action will continue to take place in the years ahead as the emerging global middle class takes flight .
HOTELS annual 325 ranking is a fascinating study of the ever-evolving makeup of the global hotel giants , and it always has me thinking about where the consolidation wave will take the industry next . Is the newly minted Radisson Hotel Group the best bet to give one of the major players a synergistic boost ? Where will disruptor Sébastien Bazin take AccorHotels next ? Enjoy combing through the list and let yourself daydream like me about what ’ s ahead .
July / August 2018 hotelsmag . com 7