Hotel Analyst Podcast

How can investors make the most of the potential in operational real estate? Richard Bursby and Paul Leamy of Taylor Wessing discuss what the attraction is, and how the hotelisation of student accommodation, rental homes and other buildings with beds is providing opportunities. The pair will be part of the Operational Real Estate Festival, happening on 20 September 2022 in London - more details at www.op-re.com

Economy brands Premier Inn, Scandic, Motel One and Travelodge all report stronger than expected first quarter performance. Choice buys the American part of the Radisson business - what does that mean for the future? Plus fractional ownership remains a challenge - but hotel Reits may suit investors better

Are we heading for a recession - or are too many people simply trying to talk us into one? International businesses pull out of Russia - with Marriott taking a lead in the hotel sector. And how Africa continues to be an enigmatic opportunity for hotel brands.

Why investors are teaming up with hotel operators, in the search for solid returns; as travel opens up, the pundits upgrade growth estimates - but there are growing pains, too; and as Oyo stalls its IPO, how can the tech disruptors differentiate themselves?

Subscriptions look to be delivering for Soho House - with a longer waiting list despite raised prices - who else will jump to the subscription model? With more dry powder than ever, investors are challenged to look for decent returns, often from operational real estate. (Don't forget our Operational Real Estate Festival - https://op-re.com) And as more hotel groups get to grips with reducing carbon, how will progress be measured, and the process take all participants forward together?

Hotels are just becoming aware they can be part of the electric vehicle revolution, by installing EV chargers for either a quick top-up, or to allow guests an overnight refuel. While there are costs involved, there's also a revenue stream - and an opportunity to meet growing demand from guests for chargers, where they stay. Bruce Galliford of RAW Charging explains why it makes sense to look at installing EV chargers

Results from Airbnb suggest guests are booking and staying away longer - and it's not just the digital nomads. Investors are piling into other buildings in beds, in the residential sector, requiring hotel-like operations to support their assets. And is the glass half full or half empty? Reading the latest market information, and setting it against popular sentiment, to understand what the coming months will look like in hospitality.

Franchise operators Choice and Wyndham have a great first quarter - what to do with the profits? The OTAs Booking and Expedia appear to have rediscovered their mojos, but are their share prices too optimistic. And investors like the look of third party operators, as they expand their global reach.

Thoughts from the Berlin hotel conference, where economic worries took the shine off what has, so far, been a strong recovery. But the global majors are setting such worries aside, helped by the return of the US market to 2019 levels, or even better. The laggard is China, where frustrations over the Chinese government’s Covid-19 lockdown policy are becoming evident - and forcing Chinese hotel groups to keep cutting back. Will they sell up their European operations?

Retail landlords learn that operational real estate is the key approach to reviving shopping centres - an area we'll be covering at our www.op-re.com event in September. How Chinese partners are driving the growth of Western hotel brands - but will they have the capacity to carry on? And as we chew over the positive noises of hotel chief executives in Europe, was locking down really an effective way to treat the pandemic?