EMEA Emerging Again In 2007

By Jeff Weinstein, Editor in Chief -- HOTELS Magazine, 2/1/2007

THE YEAR AT HAND LOOKS TO BE A GREAT ONE for hoteliers in Europe, the Middle East

and Africa (EMEA). New brands are emerging, performance looks to be very

solid, if not outstanding, in the hot markets of London, Paris, Moscow, Dubai and

Johannesburg, just to name a few. At the same time, infrastructure and business

bases are growing in sub-Sarahan Africa and Eastern Europe, creating new

opportunities for hoteliers with the working capital and the patience to endure the

long development cycle.

Look for property growth in Prague, Vienna and the capital cities of the

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). If you are not aware of the incredible

and ongoing escalation of the tourism base in Dubai

you have been living in a shoebox. But what you might

not know is that the leadership in Oman and Qatar,

among others in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC),

is working hard to carve out additional niches in the

Middle East travel boom. Doha in Qatar has more than

40 projects in the works, and by the end of this year

room count is expected to rise above 11,000—with

many more to come. This month’s Special Report on

EMEA (p.37) gives you a taste of what is happening in

the region. Allow me to use this space to give you even

more to think about.

Look for leaders Hilton, Starwood and Marriott—with

their bundle of brands in tow—to make even further

inroads throughout the region. Hilton is dutifully

using its franchise model to grow the Garden Inn and

Doubletree brands in Italy and the CIS countries. Other

examples: Starwood has signed a deal to operate two hotels in the Saraya Aqaba

project in Jordan, the

Westin Aqaba Resort and the Al-Manara hotel under The Luxury Collection brand.

As for Marriott, it plans to double hotel capacity in France (currently 2,238 rooms)

within three years as part of the company’s goal of a 30% increase in rooms

outside North America by the end of 2009.

Corinthia Hotels International, Malta, has seen substantial investment from

Dubai-based Istithmar Hotels and the Wyndham Hotel Group from the United

States. As a result, Corinthia and its new CEO Tony Potter (former leader of

Millennium & Copthorne in London) are getting ready for aggressive growth

across EMEA—with its own brand in markets such as North Africa, as well as

with the Wyndham and Ramada brands around western Europe.

Kempinski Hotels, a fixture in the Middle East and Africa, will benefit from the

expected increase in outbound travel from the Middle East as it builds its portfolio

in Eastern Europe. Kempinski will manage its third hotel in Russia by the end of

2009, a 250-room hotel in the Nizhny Novgorod, now considered one of Russia’s

most progressive economies. Heading west to Georgia, company leader Reto

Wittwer will send in his team to manage a hotel in the capital city of Tbilisi by 2009.

Further afield in Prague, the Kempinski Residences Prague is scheduled to open in

2008, exhibiting a pioneering spirit in the luxury residence category.

Last but not least, Austrian real estate company Warimpex announced plans in

mid-January to create a joint venture with a global hotel operator and invest up to

€500 million in budget hotels in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary,

eventually developing up to 100 new hotels for the region.

These are just a few examples as each day new deals are announced in the EMEA.

It is boom times, indeed, as the reach of global tourism appears to have no limits.

Jeff Weinstein, Editor In Chief