Hotel investment bright spots for 2012 identified

Arabian Hotel Investment Conference(AHIC) founder and CEO of Bench Events Jonathan Worsley asked these four experts which hotel market are ripe for investment in 2012?

Here's what they said...

In today’s market, we are interested in hotels and platforms that have a story, a defensible niche and an opportunity to provide real value for money to the customer. Accordingly, Patron looks for management teams and assets that provide a compelling offer to a target market that shows growth and stability. Specifically, we believe bespoke luxury hotel offers will continue to present opportunity for investment. We also believe there is a completely new market for hip budget hotels and hostels where elements of the upscale boutique hotel market are offered to guests for a budget price." Josh Wyatt, investment director, Hospitality & Leisure, Patron Capital Advisers LLP

Hard to imagine where these will be geographically as all geographic areas have positives and negatives. I see there being great opportunity as many sellers are motivated by a need to raise cash swiftly and as such there will be some very interesting deals come to market – indeed I would go as far as to say they will be compelling!" Derek Gammage, managing director, EMEA for CBRE Hotels Limited

"London and Paris will still be the hottest markets even if the trading performance levels off. Cities which will still achieve RevPar growth will be the favoured other locations – Barcelona, Warsaw, Moscow, Istanbul for example. Dubai also remains attractive if assets can be purchased at market value as opposed to construction cost." Mark Wynne-Smith, global chief executive officer, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels

"I see a continued rebound in some of the markets which hit rock-bottom during the recession. For example, we’ve seen steady performance improvements from our properties in Ireland and the Baltic countries. These markets have restructured and no supply will be added in coming years. Of course, this growth is from a low base. Turkey looks like a great market short to mid-term. I’m also optimistic about Sub-Saharan Africa." Puneet Chhatwal, chief development officer, The Rezidor Hotel Group