What is next for London Hospitality?
EP Business in Hospitality together with our friends from AlixPartners, Bird&Bird and HVS were delighted to host a webinar on the London Hotel Market - What's Next?
With a scene setting presentation from Muniya Barua, the Managing Director — Policy & Strategy at London First, and who is responsible for the thought leadership and member engagement for London First explored how London, like many gateway cities around the world, has been disproportionally impacted by the pandemic. The reduction in international travel, cancellation of large scale events and work from home mandates all contributed to the precipitous fall in hotel demand from business and international travellers. Additionally, Muniya explored the following;
• What does Government need to do to accelerate London’s recovery?
• What role does London play in acting as gateway for the rest of the UK – from business investment to tourism?
• How concerned are we about levelling up diverting spend from London, particularly on arts and culture?
What are the other battlegrounds which the hotel market as well as businesses need to focus on?
- The employee and customer journey
- Winning new audiences
- Sustainability
- Digital innovation
But this opens doors to many opportunities and Hospitality has a central role to play in the rebuild and recovery because consumers do want strong hospitality experiences. This means that many destinations understand there is a need to invest in their F&B in order to attract audiences. Service too will be central across all markets and it will be essential to see how the industry adopts digital innovation. Research has suggested that spending on international conferences and business events for the UK is estimated to have been worth £19.4bn in 2019 and by 2026 is forecast to be worth £27.6bn.
After the scene setting presentations, distinguished members from various parts of the hotel industry participated in a fascinating panel discussion which explored RevPar recovery possibilities, the return of international tourism, some of the key challenges facing the London hotel market, with reference to business travel as well as their thoughts on when to expect a full industry recovery.
The recovery picture is complex with many moving parts. This webinar explored what the future holds for London and provided views on the shape of the recovery, how different channels might behave and what should London hoteliers and investors be doing to take advantage of the recovery.
Well worth a listen.