by editor’s office, ch
The premium hotel industry is growing around the globe: More than 3,500 new first-class and luxury hotels will be opening throughout the next four years. 200 hotel projects are being built in Germany, alone, with 45 developments in Austria and 35 in Switzerland. This marks a 7.3 percent increase in four and five-star hotels in Germany, 2.3 percent in Austria and 4.8 percent in Switzerland. On a European scale, the number of top hotels will rise by 2.2 percent by 2012. This was found by a recent study conducted by hotel project database tophotelprojects.com©.
“Despite a slight decline in hotel projects due to the global financial and economic crisis, all regions show a strong, sometimes very strong growth in first-class and luxury hotels,” explains Rolf W. Schmidt, managing partner of CHD Expert (Deutschland), initiator and marketing partner of tophotelprojects.com. Even the lower hotel segments are seeing an increase in market participants: Over the next years, the number of one to three-star hotels will grow by 1.2 percent in Germany, by 0.4 percent in Austria and by 0.5 percent in Switzerland.
More than 850 first-class and luxury hotels are presently being developed in Europe, with two thirds ranging in the four-star (first-class) segment. “Even though the business travel segment is currently showing heavy losses, there will be a large number of modern business travel hotels joining the market throughout the following years,” said Schmidt. This will further intensify the cutthroat competition in the densely crowded European hotel market (around 37,780 hotels).
The USA are still showing the strongest growth in the hotel market. Despite a slight decline in new developments, the number of top hotels will grow by almost 30 percent over the next four years. About a third of the total of 850 projects will be luxury hotels. “Those who have written off the USA due to the outbreak of the financial and economic crisis are mistaken,” Schmidt commented. The United States are showing signs of an early recovery – and hotel investments are being stimulated.“ US hotel chains are implementing and establishing various new hotel brand developments and room concepts. Of the ten largest hotel chains in the world, eight are from the USA: Wyndham, Marriott, Hilton, Choice, Best Western, Starwood, Carlson and Hyatt.
The Middle East and East Asia are also booming – at least in regards to new top hotels. The numer of properties here – currently at around 15,300 – will rise by almost eleven percent. 430 new first-class and luxury hotels are being developed in the Arabian Gulf region, alone, half of which in the United Arabian Emirates. All international hotel chains are already represented in UAE destinations or preparing for their market entry. „There is a large demand in the Emirates for hotel investments in middle-class and economy hotels for business travelers,“ said Schmidt.
About tophotelprojects.com: The on-line database features more than 3,000 top hotel construction projects (first-class and luxury hotels, exclusively), along with complete project data and contact persons. An average of 150 new hotel projects are added each month, with several hundred projects being updated. Subscribers of tophotelprojects.com® are leading outfitters and suppliers for the top hotel industry. More at www.tophotelprojects.com.
About CHD Expert (Deutschland) GmbH: The company’s business branches range from market research to direct marketing and data management. The company philosophy is „Know it and do it!“ Founded in 1997 as Marktplatz Hotel GmbH, it is now operating globally under the name of CHD Expert (Deutschland) GmbH, with partners in all major European economies, as well as in the USA and Canada. CHD Expert is a Preferred Partner of the German Hotel Association (IHA). Their clientele includes well-known companies in the fields of food & beverages, furnishing, media and others. More at: www.chd-expert.com.
Carsten Hennig
Senior Publisher / Editor In Chief
work medienunternehmung
20259 Hamburg, Germany
