Hotel investors becoming 'more sophisticated'

Industry figures have spoken about the emerging trend of hotel investors and owners becoming more involved in the day-to-day operations.

Speaking at Arabian Hotel Investment Conference, experts said that due to the wealth of options and increase in brand choice, investors are becoming more sophisticated in who they work with.

Alex Kyriakidis, president and managing director MEA for Marriott International, said: “You do have some investors who tend to interact with us on the more emotional aspects of the operation. However, you will have others who have very substantial in-house asset management teams who work very closely with us on a daily basis on how we can maximise the performance of the hotel.”

He added: “Today, there is a tendency to have more advisory support than there was a few years ago – that is an emerging phenomenon for sure.”

Christophe Landais, managing director Middle East and Egypt, Accor, said: “Certainly, the investors are becoming much more sophisticated than they were before. The groups and the brands create competition and the owner has much more choice than he did before so he is becoming more sophisticated. The foreign operators will definitely need to show that they are the right group with the right brand for that investor.”