- After 2 mitigate months in March and April, the French hotel industry ties up again with high growth rate experienced early this year. With an improving occupancy rate (+2.7 pts), price policy’s efficiency (average rate increase 5.7%) leads to a growth in RevPAR of 9.8%.
- Particularly, French bank holiday weekends 1st and 8th may, associated with the Pentecost, have been most favourable to the hotel industry, with an average increase in RevPAR over 20% compared to the results recorded during last year’s prolonged weekend of may 2007.
- The small drop in activity experienced in March and April does not impede the growth performances for the beginning of the year 2008: +7.1% at the end of May, as forecasted by MKG Hospitality earlier in the year.
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- The Bristish group IHG reinforces its first place on the world Top 10 list, according to the MKG Hospitality database, with a significant increase of its supply of 5.2%. From January 1st 2008, IHG represents 3 949 hotels and 585 094 rooms throughout the world and should reach 600 000 rooms in the near future. Its development pipeline is in good shape with more than 1 600 hotels and 225,000 rooms for the years to come.
- Disposal of Red Roof Inns and launching of several new brands for Accor; the sell of Scandic by Hilton Hotels, the latter being acquired by Blackstone: the past year has been an event full one.
- Best Western stays the world’s first brand despite a decrease of its offer.
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The world property market is making more room each year to the investment sector in Tourism and Hotels. Hotel operators, developers and investors are gathering to exchange and discuss during the sessions and conferences organised by MKG.
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- First European group with three time more rooms than its next follower, the Accor Group still leads the European hotel industry despite a rather stable room supply. It has experienced strong restructuring of its brands.
- Now in the process of repositioning historic brands and/or launching new concepts, most of the European groups have undergo a radical review of their networks. Thus a significant number of hotels, that did not fit anymore the norms, have left these groups.
- The ranking of the first 20 European hotel brands is more stable, even though it is the result of an in-depth review of the various brands fundamentals. The British brands (Travelodge, Premier Inn, Holiday Inn, Express by Holiday Inn) have express a remarkable dynamism, going up to the top of the ranking while the Spanish hotels of TUI have gone through a severe clarification.
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- Over the course of 2007, hotel chains in France registered an increase of more than 11% in turnover with 8.5 billion euros, and a 9.2% increase in RevPAR, as predicted by MKG Hospitality at the beginning of the year.
- The French hotel industry, after benefiting from an image overhaul and improvement of products and services, reaps the rewards for these efforts with these exceptional results, unequalled since the year 2000.
- The 3* and 4* categories saw the most dynamic progression in RevPAR, up +9.9% and +11.4% respectively. The increase in average rates, along with occupancy rate growth of nearly 3 points over the year, attest to the strength of the French hotel demand.lidité de la demande.
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Before an audience of nearly 700 leaders and partners of the international hotel industry, the Hospitality Awards 2007 were awarded on November 22 at the Hilton Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Today, the 8th annual ceremony of the Hospitality Awards, created by MKG Group, the European leader in consulting for the hotel and tourism industry directed by Georges Panayotis, has become the reference for rewarding innovation and excellence in the industry. The Advisory Board for the Awards, a panel of international leaders in the industry which determines the categories and criteria for the selection of candidates, was this year presided by Luis Del Olmo, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Sol Mélia Hotels.

In the context of the current global explosion of development of the hotel industry, the Hospitality Awards serve to recognize the great ideas, innovations, and talents of the sector. As a result, the Awards provide a catalyst to push the development of the hotel industry to be more innovative, more dynamic and more responsible. The international jury, presided by Clara Gaymard, President of General Electric France, chose the winners for 10 categories and decided the winners for 2 Grand Prizes: a Lifetime Achievement Award the Best Group Performance in 2007. The Grand Prize for Best Group Performance was awarded by Laurence Parisot, President of the MEDEF (Movement of the French Enterprises).
The winners for 2007 are: click here

For the past seven years, the Worldwide Hospitality Awards, created by MKG Group and HTR Magazine, have contributed in communicating the innovative initiatives and experiences of hoteliers both in France and abroad, while awarding their finest creations. The international Advisory Board, under the presidency of Luis Del Olmo, Executive Vice-President Sales & Marketing Sol Melia Hoteles, has decided upon the 2007 award categories and the rules for selecting the finalists and winners of each award.

There are two main reasons for participating in the Worldwide Hospitality Awards:
• Highlight the efforts of teams and partners that have led to extraordinary results,
• Sharing knowledge that has made the hotel sector a model for economic and social success.

The 2007 competition has begun! Enter the competition by selecting the category or categories (three maximum per brand) in which you wish to present your company’s creations, the innovations of your team, the initiatives of the men and women who contribute to the success of your operations.

• Best Advertising Campaign
The campaign’s strategy and objectives, pertinence and originality of the message, innovation in the tools used, assessment of its impact on image and financial returns…

• Best Internet Site
Graphic quality of the communication, wealth of information supplied on the brand and its hotels, intuitiveness of the tool, coherence of the image with the chain’s identity, …

• Best Professional Career Development Programme
Originality of an existing specific programme towards younger employees to build company loyalty and to make them progress within the company.

• Best Social Responsibility Programme
Exemplarity of a Corporate Social Responsibility programme towards environment, sustainable development, humanitarian activity, involvement of local populations,...

• Best Innovative Concept in Palaces & deluxe Hotels
Accommodation, Originality of the hotel or room concept, in hotel food & beverages, in well-being & fitness or other amenities: technical innovation, architectural innovation, quality of service, innovation in terms of space allocation, equipment, furnishing and design, marketing partnership…

• Best Innovative Concept Midscale Hotels
Originality of the hotel or room concept, in hotel food & beverages, in well-being & fitness or other amenities: technical innovation, architectural innovation, quality of service, innovation in terms of space allocation, equipment, furnishing and design, marketing partnership…

• Best Innovative Concept in Economy Hotels
Originality of the hotel or room concept, in hotel food & beverages, or other amenities: technical innovation, architectural innovation, quality of service, innovation in terms of space allocation, equipment, furnishing and design, marketing partnership…

• Best Customer Satisfaction Programme in Palaces & De-luxe Hotels
Breadth and ambition of the programme, quality of the tools employed to follow and assess the results, performance in terms of loyalty to the brand,…

• Best Customer Satisfaction Programme in Midscale Hotels
Breadth and ambition of the programme, quality of the tools employed to follow and assess the results, performance in terms of loyalty to the brand,…

• Best Hotel General Manager
Managerial abilities, sales performance, social and interpersonal dimension, involvement in the local life, professional recognition,…

• Lifetime Achievement Awards to a personality of the se

Furthermore, the jury’s Grand Prize will be awarded considering the exemplary nature and overall performance of group in 2007..

To convey the new dimension taken by its market studies and database business, MKG Consulting becomes MKG Hospitality and is adopting a new visual identity.
With even more international presence, with offices in Paris, London and Cyprus,
MKG Hospitality is continuing to expand, setting up in Berlin and Geneva, so that it is closer to the large markets and the international hotel companies.