Hotel Industry Returns To Owner-Operator Model

The FINANCIAL:

According to caterersearch, the hotel industry has come full circle, with the owner-operator model now returning to prominence, experts said last week.

In recent years, many large hotel operators such as InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott, Travelodge and Accor have favoured the franchise, leasehold or management contract approach.

But, speaking at the World Economy & Budget Hotels Congress at the Hilton Tower Bridge, industry leaders said that the market was returning to the owner-operator model favoured in previous decades, in a movement dubbed ‘bricks to brains’.

Patrick Dempsey, managing director of Premier Inn, which owns 85% of its hotels, said franchising was ‘not for me ¬ I like to own assets, not management contracts’.

‘We own and operate and are not interested in changing the structure,’ he said. ‘I believe the industry trend has come full circle and it¹s all about owning your assets now.’ More.