One-on-One with: Pedro Raposo - Director Business Development, Rezidor Hotel Group

In times like these, hoteliers must focus on retaining their customer base, containing costs and improving efficiency to ensure medium to long term success.We are proud to be opening four hotels over the next 12 months: Radisson Blu in Bristol and Park Inn's in Rotherham, Aberdeen and Southend-on-Sea. This will bring our UK portfolio to 44 hotels in operation. We had a very successful recent opening of the Hotel Missoni Edinburgh, which is the first of many fashion hotels, developed in coordination with the Missoni fashion house in Italy. It has already attracted attention from newspapers and magazines from around the world. In addition to the new Hotel Missoni opened in Edinburgh in June, other recent openings include Radisson Blu's in Cardiff (June 09) and Durham (Nov 08), as well as Park Inn's in Belfast (Dec 08), Peterborough (Dec 08), and Manchester (June 09). This is impressive growth considering the current market circumstances. What are the UK's main tourism drivers and are there any niche tourism segments evolving that you can tell us about?With the weakening economy and reduced value of the Pound, UK residents are more likely to holiday close to home. Therefore, destinations like the south coast and the Lake District are becoming more attractive. We have recently added a Radisson Blu and Park Inn in Brighton.How have you seen the UK's tourism and hotel industry progressing over the last few years and what are you expecting for the years ahead?From 2004 to 2007, we witnessed consistent year-on-year RevPAR increases. 2006 and 2007 were particularly impressive, with RevPAR growth above 5%. In the second half of 2008, the market changed quite abruptly and it will take time for it to rebound to 2007 levels. The drop has been larger in provincial markets and London has proven somewhat more resilient. Like virtually all hotel operators in the UK we are witnessing a decline in occupancy and rates. However, despite the continued turmoil, we are expecting a slight improvement in the remainder of 2009, particularly occupancy levels.Of course the UK's hotel market is quite mature. Do you believe it could facilitate additional properties? If so, in which category and in which locations in particular?Cities with strong and diverse demand generators and high barriers to entry offer good opportunities for new hotels. Despite the considerable increase in supply projected in the coming years, London should remain attractive to hotel investors and operators, particularly in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics.What must the industry here focus on over the next six months to one year to make sure it completely recovers from the financial downturn and continue to prosper?In times like these, hoteliers must focus on retaining their customer base, containing costs and improving efficiency to ensure medium to long term success.