With most of the world?s hotel market becoming increasingly profitable and robust, it?s an exciting time to be a part of the hospitality industry. Developers are getting back to work and operators are seeing gains in occupancy, RevPAR and ADR. And an expanding global tourism industry is getting people to start thinking about future potential.
It?s a magic moment in history as emerging markets are seeing major surges of new travelers wanting to see their home country and the world, while mature markets like Europe and the United States are seeing ever increasing demand. And with global hotel supply climbing modestly it looks like many regions will be celebrating for some years to come.
Now we all know the world may be a big and confusing place, especially for an industry as complex as the hotel business. But at the first ever BITAC Global we?re creating workable insight right from our audience. We?re cutting through the clutter to find out what people are really thinking from an incredible sample of attendees representing 21 countries.
BITAC of course is the industry leading one-on-one meetings and relationship building event in the United States and now we?ve taken the event overseas to the amazing city of Monte Carlo, Monaco, where using cutting edge technology taking the industry?s pulse utilizing a real time voting system. It gives us the ability to uncover from our worldwide BITAC Global audience what?s really happening when it comes to critical industry trends at the property and regional levels.
And what these folks say should be heeded. After all, BITAC Global attendees represent the cr?me de la cr?me of the international lodging industry. It?s the ultimate group of global insiders and decision makers all gathered in one place. And they?re all here to come together for the most exciting BITAC to date to problem solve, network, sign deals and swap their thoughts they believe will move forward the quality of experiences for hotel guests while adding profits to the bottom line.
For today we thought we?d share how leaders in hospitality that attended BITAC see industry trends from a financial and development perspective. Later on this week we?? take a look at what our global audience has to say about their opinions issues such as the rise of the global traveler, technology, and of course F&B.
Here is what BITAC attendees believe about the issues they?re most concerned about and how they see the future playing out:
From what region do you see the largest growth in tourism?
Asia – 55.0%
Middle East – 21.3%
South America – 8.8%
Europe??? – 6.3%
Africa – 8.8%
Are you seeing an influx of a new middle class of traveler coming to your hotels?
Yes – 76.9%
No – 23.1%
If you are seeing that new middle class traveler arriving in your market, what type of traveler are they mostly?
Business – 27.5%
Leisure – 23.5%
Business traveler who adds time for leisure – 43.1%
Group – 5.9%
Have you seen an influx in brand development people looking to make sales in your market???? Yes, a lot – 70.9%
Not much yet, but it is picking up – 21.8%
Brands are not sniffing around -??? 7.3%
Do you feel branded hotels are becoming a more critical component to a hotel’s success in your region?
It is very important to a hotel?s success – 60.9%
It is becoming more critical – 26.6%
There is no advantage – 3.1%
Customers are not concerned with brands – 9.4%
Are you concerned about potential political unrest in your region could negatively affecting your business?
Yes, it already is – 36.8%
It is a concern of ours – 43.4%
We do not expect a problem – 9.2%
No way would there be political unrest – 10.5%
How are you feeling about the future state of the global economy?
Bullish – 18.4%
It?s good – 28.9%
Neutral – 22.4%
A little worried – 26.3%
Freaked out – 3.9%
How do you feel about the state of the overall global hotel market?
It?s accelerating aggressively – 35.6%
It?s accelerating modestly – 52.9%
Flat – 10.3%
It?s decelerating modestly – 0.0%
It?s decelerating rapidly??? – 1.1%
How do you feel about the state of the global luxury hotel market?
Bullish – 14.0%
It?s good – 64.0%
Neutral??? 13 – 15.1%
A little worried – 5.8%
Freaked out – 1.2%
How do you feel about the state of the global focused service hotel market?
Bullish -??? 22.7%
It?s good – 50.0%
Neutral – 18.2%
A little worried – 4.5%
Freaked out – 4.5%
What is your hotel owners? approach toward raising rates?
Aggressive – 41.3%
Timid – 22.2%
Cautiously Optimistic – 36.5%
How much have you raised your ADR so far in 2013?
1-2% – 17.2%
3-5% – 37.9%
5-10% -??? 17.2%
10% or more – 17.2%
None – 10.3%
Click here to read more.