Some of the exchanges that took place at Global Lodging Forum

Keynote: Jean-Michel Wilmotte, architect, urbanist and designer

"I have memories of waiting in line to register, and even worse, it was necessary to wait in line to check out as well! They were kind of accommodations machines."

"Clientele are quite accustomed to all that is beautiful. There is a great deal of coverage when it comes to interiors, decoration."

Keynote Mercedes Erra, VP Havas Worldwide

"Consumers think they are the focal point of everything ." 

"Building a brand requires real leadership."

 

MKG Insight, Vanguélis Panayotis

"Human capital: people have something to contribute: empathy. But the sector and how employees are treated can be discouraging."

 

Panel: Franchisees

How to justify compensation? What are the brands' values? How can savoir-faire be shared?

Olivier Pelat, Europequipements - "We need franchisers but they need us too. We are the ones with the raw material." 

Loïc Giroud, SOGEPAR - "We are this close to giving up the brand." 

Aaron Greenman, Interstate - "The brand is key to distribution."

Arnaud Fayet, AccorHotels - "Franchise royalties are growing, our profitability is shrinking." 

 

Face-to-face security

Georges Fenech - "Thus is fundamental! If the hotel industry does not take this into consideration, it is directly threatened."

Thibault de Montbrial - "The boss is criminally responsible if he has not done all that is necessary to guarantee safety. The hypothesis of a terrorist act must be analysed cold-heartedly, working with specialists, former State services for operations, audits must be done."

 

Keynote: Oussama Ammar, Co-Founder of The Family

"There is a societal divide, those who understand technology, those who do not understand it."

 

Hospitality leaders

Georges Sampeur B&B Hotels - "We must be careful to develop our brands for the end customer, not just the client investor." 

Olivier Chavy Mövenpick - "The political instability in the Middle East is a real threat for us."

Karin Sheppard IHG - "Demand continues to grow significantly, we will need human resources and talent to work in our hotels." 

Peter Kerkar Cox&King - "We have broken the traditional mold. At our hotels no one holds a specific title, everyone welcomes guests and shares time with them." 

Thomas Willms Deutsche Hospitality - "The development of mobility will upset our way of life and that of our clients'."