Hoteliermiddleeast.com editor Louise Birchall reports from the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin Hoteliermiddleeast.com editor Louise Birchall reports from the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin

Hello or 'guten tag' from the International Hotel Investment Forum 2012 in Berlin, 

I'll be bringing you the latest news from this year's forum as well as exclusive interviews with some of the top speakers and attendees. 

DAY TWO
It’s day two of IHIF and the InterContinental is buzzing with hundreds of hotel industry professionals from around the world. In fact, according to the organiser, more than 1707 delegates from 57 countries have attended the 2012 event. It’s a far cry from the 250 attendees at the first IHIF back in 1998.

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Jonathan Worsley, who opened the show yesterday said: “Over the last 15 years lots has changed but our beliefs haven’t. The reasons to attend are, as they always have been, to do deals, do business, network and have fun”.


10:10: While I’m waiting for the start f the CEO’s panel ‘thinking outside the box’ - which starts in five minutes with the top bigwigs from Starwood, IHG and Carlson & Rezidor, and Accor on the panel – I have a quick flick through DLA Piper’s 2012 European Outlook Survey unveiled yesterday at the event.


The research reveals that respondents feel that most hotel investment in Europe in 2012 will come from the Middle East, closely followed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. A key influencing factor is that the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority with its US $627 billion worth of assets is the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, with two other Middle East SWFs ranking fourth and sixth globally.

1015: Moderator Simon M Johnson, director CBRE specialist markets, certainly put these following five hotel chiefs through their paces in the CEO panel:

  • Denis Hennequin, chairman and CEO, Accor
  • Hubert Joly, president and CEO, Carlson & chairman of the board, The Rezidor Hotel Group
  • Steve Joyce, president and CEO, Choice Hotels International
  • Richard Solomons, CEO and executive director, IHG
  • Frits Van Paasschen, president & CEO, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc.


Top questions…


Confused about Carlson Rezidor
Johnson: Hubert, you said publicly that that the two names Carlson and Rezidor were confusing. How does renaming it to The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group make it any less confusing? And how exactly, by putting the two names together, do you intend to raise more than $400 million in additional hotel revenue by 2015?

Joly: “It’s a major step forward. There was a lack of understanding about Rezidor and Carlson, but now it’s easier to say we have a global portfolio. Carlson Rezidor is a B2B brand, but our consumer brands have had a lot of success. Since renaming Radisson SAS Radisson Blu after the shareholder pulled out, a trendy, design-led upscale brand has emerged.
 


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