MEDIA CENTRE - Events

THREG, London (10.23)

Philip attended The Hotel Real Estate Group (THREG) event and brought back the following take-away nuggets:

• ESG needs a template to help funders and investors as currently their application and regulation are too broad and vague.

• For lenders, although ESG is growing in importance, ESG does not trump repayment of loans.

• Green loans are in development at many banks but still very much in its infancy for hotel sector.

• Leumi UK no longer simply a bank and is morphing into a corporate finance house, providing funds and advice.

• Leeds was identified as one of the stronger and more resilient UK Regional markets (which is good news for our Hyatt project there, opening July 2024).

• Those hotels that are thriving in these challenging times are those hotels which sweat their square-meterage and find additional keys within a given envelope and adapt F&B spaces to better meet market requirements.

• Green Key International (based in Denmark, an international eco-label awarded to accommodations and other hospitality facilities that commit to sustainable business practices) is better than Green Tourism (based in Scotland, working with people, places and our planet, their expert advice, eco-development programs and internationally respected accreditation scheme have helped many developers).

• Tech is a solution to many issues in the modern age, however, many guests are now complaining that the human touch in hotels is falling to too low a level. The human touch in our industry is still important to success.

• Many cost saving measures were suggested: no more telephones in rooms, auto-self-remote check-in options, repurposing of redundant areas, hoteliers must constantly seek out innovations, greater use of AI (particularly in Head Office and Central Services levels), no chairs for THREG attendees (we had to stand whole time).

Many thanks to the hosts (Cushman & Wakefield) for opening their arms to so many hotel industry professionals and for allowing us to enjoy their breakfast buffet.