The growth of the hotel market in Europe will be driven by branding and franchising, according to leading industry figures.
Speaking at Deloitte’s 19th European hotel investment conference in London last week, operators, owners and investors said translating investment into businesses that can get on their feet quickly will be critical to growth in 2008.With economic conditions forecast to be tight as the global credit crunch begins to squeeze, the future of hotels will be in branding and franchising existing business models, delegates heard.
Patrick Fitzgibbon, senior vice-president of development for Europe and Africa at Hilton Hotels Corporation, said the company would be launching full-service budget brand Hampton by Hilton into the UK market next year.
“In Europe, only 28% of hotels are branded, compared to 66% in the USA,” he said.
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