INTERSTATE LEADER DAVID ANDERSON SEEING BUSINESS REBOUND AND SAYS THE BUSINESS IS NOW IN A MUCH STRONGER POSITION TO GROW ACROSS EUROPE OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS .
by KATHAKALI NANDI
Interstate manages the Mercue in Bristol , England property in Brussels that will open in this year and properties in Newport , Manchester and Norwich in the U . K .
“ With the ongoing changes to travel guidance we are seeing signs of uplifts in demand , but also continued strength in domestic travel ,” Anderson continues . “ Travel restrictions have eased recently giving people more confidence to book trips . Travelers have missed out on many opportunities to get away over the last two years and will be wanting to explore again in a safe way . Likely trends include more intergenerational family trips as people make up for time spent apart due to lockdowns and restrictions , and more international travel with the return of groups and events business to our international cities such as Amsterdam .”
Anderson adds that it has been really reassuring to hear from manager who are seeing a shift in demand in meetings and events . “ While we have an experienced impact in Q1 due to Omicron , clients are moving bookings , rather than cancelling . One of our most popular events spaces , The Eastside Rooms in Birmingham , reports that 84 % of event revenue has been postponed to later in the year , rather than cancelling outright . In person events remain in demand and important to organizations .” approach ensured that all Interstate Hotels have operated fully , either open or for exclusive use business , since May 2021 .”
Anderson , who most recently spent three years as CEO of Sun Ltd . ( Hotels & Resorts ) Mauritius and held previous executive roles with Dolce Hotels , Wyndham Hotel Group and Louvre Hotel Group , adds that 2021 was a key year for Interstate as it integrated all 31 of Jupiter ’ s UK properties into its portfolio , opened a new Hampton by Hilton property in Canterbury and grew its pipeline for 2022 / 23 taking the company ’ s growing pan-European portfolio to more than 138 properties .
Interstate was working on a number of projects throughout 2021 , including a new Holiday Inn Express
LIKELY TRENDS INCLUDE MORE INTERGENERATIONAL FAMILY TRIPS AS PEOPLE MAKE UP FOR TIME SPENT APART DUE TO LOCKDOWNS AND RESTRICTIONS , AND MORE INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL WITH THE RETURN OF GROUPS AND EVENTS BUSINESS TO OUR INTERNATIONAL CITIES SUCH AS AMSTERDAM .
– DAVID ANDERSON
June 2022 hotelsmag . com 23