Athens in the top 10 of Europe for hotel investments (pics) | News about the Economy
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In a more general economic environment of instability and rising costs, the Greek tourism remains at the center of investment interest in 2023 as wellwith the Athena especially to feature in the top 10 of the most attractive European megacities for hotel investment and the country as a whole is also on the rise, along with Spain and Portugal, as a hotel investment destination across Europe.
The truth of the matter is also confirmed by the latest study on it “European Hotel Industry in 2022” of the well-known company Deloitte, which sees at this juncture important prospects in our country for the sector, both in relation to the more “traditional” part that concerns the creation or reconstruction of unitsmainly in the upper categories in established or less established, emerging tourist destinations, as well as in general travel combined with technology.
It is indicative that just a few days ago Deloitte gathered in its offices some of the most well-known names of startups/scaleups in our countryin the area of so-called “travel tech”, which focus on the travel/tourism part combined with technology, bringing together the companies in question with investors interested in the sector.
From the investment community, names such as DECA, Uni.Fund, Metavallon VC, Big Pi Ventures, Elikonos Capital Partners, Dolphin Capital Partners, Eurobank, Ampersandwhile among the startups/scaleups that participated were Ferryhopper, M-hospitality, Triparound, Clio Muse Tours, TravelMyth, Ten06, IconicGuest, TLT Services, Ihost, Travel12, Host hub, Kyvernitis, Surprice Car Rentals, FigameGro, , Welcome Pickups, IconicGuest.
The present” they also gave institutional bodiesthe Institute of the Association of Hellenic Tourism Enterprises (INSETE) but also Entreprise Greece, the organization that has continuously received interest in major tourism investments in recent years and it is no coincidence that based on its data so far, 24 strategic investments in the tourism sector with a budget of 4.5 billion have been included to date. euro.
“The industry has already bounced back very quickly to 2019 numbers, which is impressive, and it confirms exactly why it ultimately ranks so high in investors’ preferences. We also see a trend of growth in Foreign Direct Investments – in addition of course to the big deals made in 2022 with big and well-known names in the market”, says Mr. Vassilis Kafatos, head of Deloitte’s Tourism and Hospitality sector (Partner, Clients & Industries Leader and Tourism & Hospitality Sector Leader), adding that the interest is intense from Greece and abroad, both from large funds and from established hotel chains.
“Athens is currently the most popular investment destination for hotels in 2023 and Greece is ranked, according to Deloitte research, as one of the most rising countries in tourism investment from abroad”.
In the top 10 of European cities which are attractive destinations for hotel investments, according to the Deloitte study, the Amsterdam remains in 1st place as the most attractive European city for hotel investment in 2023, with Lisbon moving into second place and London falling to third place.
The cities that also will attract more hotel investment in 2023 it is Paris, Barcelona but also Istanbul. The fact that Greece is still on the investment radar for 2023 comes after a year, like the one that is leaving, which was sealed by the strategic agreement of the Sani/Ikos group with the international investment fund of Singapore GIC, “in the biggest deal pan-European . in the hotel industry since the outbreak of the pandemic and indeed with an institutional character”, as characterized by the market.
GIC becomes a major shareholder and acquires a majority stake in the Sani/Ikos group, the total value of which, with more than 10 privately owned hotel resorts of 2,750 rooms in Greece, Spain and Portugal soon to follow, was valued at 2.3 billion. euro. More recent is the Goldman Sachs deal for the three hotels in Halkidiki, while in Greece last summer Azora from Spain also did with the purchase from LAMPSA of the Sheraton Rhodes Resort (in the context of the latter’s focus on central city hotels), with the Spanish interests being tangible for subsequent projects as well.
On the other hand, based on her study Deloitte, attended by more than 100 representatives of the hotel industry (among them owners of hotel products, operators, developers and investors, pan-European for 202), a 85% of respondents mention “managing inflationary pressures” as the No. 1 priority on their agenda, while the recruitment of the appropriate staff and their retraining is a serious concern of 63% of the respondents for the next year.
The rising cost, h lack of skilled labor, high staff costs and rising interest rates are the most important risks that threaten the growth of the tourism and hospitality industry, with major players now turning to a more defensive and conservative policy, focusing on improving performance and managing their cash flows.
Throughout Europe, the economic recession, the inability to adjust prices upwards despite strong inflationary pressures, the climate change modificationas well as the lack of compliance with the sustainable development agenda and strategy endanger the boom of the sector in the next period (1-3 years).
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New trends and technology
Referring to the new trends in the industry, Mr. Kafatos points out that “the pandemic has changed the data in the international industry, we have quickly entered the post-pandemic era and key big trends. -mega trends- affect and will affect Greek tourism in the immediate future which has one of the strongest brands worldwide. We now clearly see a convergence of leisure tourism and business tourism, with a stronger trend towards “leisure” and as the boundaries between work and the rest of life become more indiscernible, new categories of travelers emerge”.
In precisely these new categories, in addition to digital nomads, whom has been trying to attract more strongly lately and Greece, the so-called “laptop luggers” are also included, those who take their computer with them with the expectation of increasing their vacation time, those who travel for health and well-being, those who try to combine work and vacation, etc.
According to Mr. Kafatos and as it appears from the research, the four main ones in the industry in the post-pandemic period, naturally affecting Greek tourism, are “first of all, specialized services and authenticity in all travel services and hospitality, secondly sustainability, because on the one hand the sector has a large footprint on the societies where it operates, on the other hand, sustainability and sustainability are very high – now – as a destination selection criterion for travelers.
In addition, another key challenge has to do with talent, given that the industry now needs skilled human resources and of course cutting-edge technologies, more than obvious for the times we live in.”
Especially the technology part is coming to provide solutions in the industry, at all stages of the customer journey, “giving at the same time for better operation of the sector’s products and cost reduction. So, we see very important investments in this area as well, which have started to become a reality in Greece as well”.
It should be noted that at the moment the international travel tech market corresponds to 8.6 billion dollars, with an outlook for 13.4 billion dollars by 2027. Advanced search engines, dynamic pricing with “smart” price adjustment systems, dynamic scheduling and reservation systems, the Internet of Thing (IoT) that changes the experience are included in this part of the market, where great mobility is also observed in our country. , e.g., in hotel rooms providing more personalized services.
It also includes the blockchain with new payment methodsvirtual reality systems – one of the biggest trends, which can create unique experiences for the customer – contactless payments, such as those adopted by Disneyword with “magic pass”, interactive AI-artificial intelligence systems for better customer service such as chatbots (software that performs specific functions, imitating human written and spoken speech as best as possible), exploitation of big data and cloud computing, since an overwhelmingly large percentage of the planner for a trip may come through social networks etc.
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