The first Atlantic Ocean Hotel Investors’ Summit (AOHIS) was held on 16–17 January at the NH Collection Eurobuilding in Madrid. The event’s organisers have hailed AOHIS as a great success in several ways:
■ The audience breakdown shows hotel owners (36%) and owner-operators (24%) comprised more than half of the room.
■ This is significant as it makes AOHIS the most investor-concentrated, paying hotel conference held to date in Europe.
■ Furthermore, the attendance was senior, with 38% of attendees being company owners and families,
■ Finally, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive; over 97% of respondents rated the content discussed as either ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, and 91% gave the same scores for the ability to network.
On the agenda
The audience enjoyed a competitive pitch from four major European hotel funds, each extolling the benefits of their strategy, and then voted to allocate €100m of ‘theoretical’ funds across the platforms according to their preferences. The narrow winner was Archer Hotel Capital, whose strategy was brilliantly expounded by managing director, Guy Pasley-Tyler.
Attendees also enjoyed an entertaining conversation on whether inflation is a salvation or a curse for the hotel real estate sector; an examination of the attitude of lenders to new and existing projects; and a discussion of the potential role of ESG in impacting capex and operating standards going forward. Several experts in the fast-rising all-inclusive resort sector also analysed what makes these resorts so appealing. The first day finished with a truly excellent reception at the host hotel, sponsored by Minor Hotels and Resorts, where attendees enjoyed a sushi station, seared scallops and foie gras balls.
A breakdown of proceedings On the summit’s second day, topics that were featured included the merits of different African markets, the relative benefit of being a public or private hotel owning group and the impact of Covid on hotel leases.
In the top-rated session of the conference, Christophe Vielle from GCP Hospitality, Dimitris Manikis from Wyndham, Dillip Rajakerier from Minor and Omar Romero at Six Senses (who dialled in remotely) reflected on what it is like for a hotel company to acquire another, or to be acquired, and whether this has driven shareholder value.
The conference then divided into two sessions of six round tables where attendees could delve in greater detail on more specific topics and in a highly interactive format. Topics included things like: ‘With the supply cost bubble, how can owners keep capex and FF&E costs down?’ and ‘Are the big brands taking away owners’ rights over the annual budget and how can owners push back?’.
AOHIS concluded with round tables focused on various countries, a look at how hotel property investors can diversify into related fields and an analysis of whether hotel prices in Spain have advanced too far.
Delegates then moved on to another reception hosted by Hyatt at the new Thompson Madrid, where oysters and truffle tortillas were on offer, before a brief welcome by Hyatt’s Global CEO, Mark Hoplamazian.
Key takeaways
For hotel owners’ alliance HOFTEL, it was a triumph. CEO Simon Allison noted, “With almost a quarter of the room being HOFTEL members and sponsors, it was our largest ever gathering, albeit in the context of a conference open to all; and we achieved what we set out to – we produced an event focused [on] investor concerns and [brought] together an entirely senior group of people to discuss them.”
“With almost a quarter of the room being HOFTEL members and sponsors, it was our largest ever gathering…. We produced an event focused [on] investor concerns and [brought] together an entirely senior group of people to discuss them.”
Simon Allison, CEO, HOFTEL
Planning for next year’s AOHIS is now under way and is scheduled for the two days prior to International Tourism Trade Fair (FITUR) 2024, also held in Madrid.
