#GLF 2019: "Only time and ice will decide"

George Panayotis, CEO Hospitality-On

Opening the Global Lodging Forum, George Panayotis, founder of MKG Group and Hospitality ON, organizers of the forum, presented his vision of the hotel industry while recalling some key points in the history of this great industry. The emergence of yield management, the transition to asset light, today's digitalization... Georges Panayotis underlines the importance of the current challenges: digital, the customer experience, the sharing economy that is taking market shares. This warning is an invitation to react as well as an opportunity to share a secret, in the form of advice: don't forget the essential point, you must welcome the customer, and always put him at the centre. And with that, the 21st century will be the century of hotels. The tone is set for this 24th Global Lodging Forum.

"The result is another thing, average daily rates have exploded with products that couldn't keep up in terms of quality…  and the sacrosanct quality for price relationship between began to suffer."

George Panayotis, CEO Hospitality-On

Vanguélis Panayotis, CEO, MKG Group

With Vanguélis Panayotis, a new generation of decision-makers and sharp tourism observers is taking to the stage of the Global Lodging Forum. Once again, the observation is the same: the challenges facing the industry are many and imposing. But more than new players, it is above all the rising countries that the CEO of MKG Consulting is warning about. China is advancing, always stronger. Its airports have caught up with major European and American hubs such as Atlanta and Roissy. The acquisition of Radisson has propelled Jin Jiang to second place among the world's hotel groups. And soon - or even already - India will enter the market. In 2013, OYO represented about ten rooms. 5 years later, the company now manages half a million keys. And watch out, they're coming to Europe. This change in centre of gravity must also raise questions about the hotel business... Who are the operators? Who is the operator between Airbnb and the owner of the apartment? Is it the same operator who manages the room, co-working and wellness areas in the same space? It is in these questions that the stakes lie, because, as Vanguélis Panayotis reminds us, "being disruptive when you sell a bed and a desk is complicated".

"What shape will jobs in the hotel industry take in the future? Or rather: who will operate the assets? Actors own less and less, and manage more and more. According to this logic, Airbnb is the third largest manager in the world."

Vanguélis Panayotis, CEO, MKG group

On the first day they said...

"In 2019 our group reached 100 Hotels. Within 5 years, we want to reach 250, and it is this challenge, which we will take up, that makes Deutsche Hospitality a company full of promise and passion, albeit a small one."

Thomas Willms, CEO Deutsche Hospitality

"Digital, everyone talks about it, everyone wants to work on it, participate in it. But it's expensive, it's complex. So at Belambra we have developed a pragmatic approach, digital yes, but only if it serves the service, if it really improves customer service, if it is useful to it. Digital technology yes, but only if it is at the service of service."

Frédéric Le Guen, CEO, Belambra Clubs

"At Accor, we have one conviction: customer experience is the most beautiful thing in the hotel business. And that is what we need to re-invent. Why? Why? Because customers ask us to. Because through their smartphone, through their lifestyle, today's customers want something immediate, personal and simple. Not just value for the sake of it. And we will re-invent this experience by relying on 3 points: hotels that are more open, that put all the men and women who meet each other in hotels at the centre, and hotels under new brands."

Franck Gervais, CEO Accor Europe & Président Union des Annonceurs

"Digital represents a fantastic opportunity, especially for a market's challengers. However, we must move away from the idea that digital makes it possible to do anything. You have to rely on a good product, then on a brand. And then comes digital, and we used the fans. You're in a city without Burger King when it's your favorite fast food? We pay you for the move. And this type of operation, when well conducted on social networks, allows us to save on prime time advertising on TF1. Because digital also means differentiating oneself, in tone, doing things differently. The product, the brand and speech are all different through digital. This is the winning recipe for Burger King's return to France." Jérôme Tafani, VP & CEO, Burger King France

"There are two reasons why you did not take sustainable development into account when you plan your projects, when you create companies or hotels. The first is because you do not understand what Nature is, you have a truncated vision of it. That's why at Ponant, we take you on an expedition in contact with true Nature, the hard one, the one that never forgives. Sometimes man forgives, always god, but never Nature. The second reason is that you are misinformed. The northeast passage? A fantasy; as the ice floe melts, it is makes the northern waters even more dangerous because of ice bergs float in an uncontrolled manner. The more it melts, the less practicable it is. Only time and ice will decide."

Nicolas Dubreuil, Director of Expedition Cruise and sustainability for Ponant

Do you think it is possible to to create a hotel industry that is carbone neutral? Is carbon neutrality possible in the hotel industry?

"Yes. Of course. But the real question is: how soon? The difficulties are not technical, we know how to make buildings that are almost carbon neutral. The problem lies in the old supply: everything must be renovated. Of course, there will always be some emissions over which the groups do not really have any control: the catering industry, the energy supplier. In addition, this will be done through an ambitious programme of change and explanation: it will be necessary to raise customer awareness."

Arnaud Hermann, VP sustainable development at Accor.

"For construction, it's more complicated. The answer is probably no as it stands. In other words, unless emissions are offset, there will be no carbon neutrality for the sector. You can't build without emitting. But here again, the real issue is rehabilitation. We know how to build low-carbon buildings, but it is work on the existing fleet that would really save on the CO2 emissions."

Fabrice Kergolot, director of sustainable development and innovation, Vinci Immobilier

"In consortia, in the independent chains, it was necessary to do real evangelization for our hoteliers to go digital. Everyone had to understand the tools, the usefulness of implementing them. There is such diversity among our hoteliers that it was difficult to get them to accept the same tool and practices for all of them. It finally worked for reservations, and today management has digitalized them. For instance, with regard to social networks and e-reputations, much work remains to be done. Return to evangelization, therefore."

Isabelle Rochelandet, VP Choice Hotels Europe, Philippe Marguet, Chairman of the management board, the originals Human Hotels & Resort, Marc Plisson, President, Akena Hotels and Karim Soleilhavoup, CEO, Fédération international des logis.

Check back soon for the second day of the Global Lodging Forum 2019!