5 Things To Know: 18 December 2012

　　1

　　While the macroeconomic environment is still shaky, there is reason for travel and hospitality companies to be optimistic, according toDeloitte’s 2013 Travel, Hospitality and Leisure Outlook.

　　Companies should be able to utilize technology to help transform the customer experience and there also are opportunities to take advantage of emerging markets.

　　Travel, hospitality and leisure companies “may better manage operations and help to achieve growth in the year ahead by attacking business complexities to improve cost structure amid heightened competition and by enhancing the consumer experience to build loyalty," said Adam Weissenberg, vice chairman and U.S. leader of Deloitte’s travel, hospitality and leisure sector, in a news release.

　　"Additionally, companies should consider the growth potential of new markets, such as those in Asia and South America, and harness technology to improve operations and increase hassle-free experiences for customers,” he said.

　　2

　　Whitbread PLC has announced the sale and leaseback of seven Premier Inn properties. The deal was completed with NFU Mutual and Standard Life Assurance Limited.

　　The transaction is expected to close 19 December. NFU and Standard Life will pay £51.04 million ($82.79 million) and enter into 25-year leases with Whitbread, which will continue to operate the properties.

　　"This sale and leaseback is a continued evolution of our overall funding portfolio, and follows our successful 2011 U.S. private placement and bank refinancing,” said Nicholas Cadbury, Whitbread’s group finance director, in a news release. “The significant book profit is a useful reminder of the value we create from our freehold developments and the strong asset backing to Whitbread"s balance sheet."

　　3

　　A lack of suitable sites in London is forcing some global brands to instead look to Paris for luxury hotel development, reports HotelNewsNow.com correspondent Tamara Thiessen.

　　Asian brands such as Raffles Hotels & Resorts, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, and The Peninsula Hotels, for instance, have chosen to bypass the British bottleneck for their European debuts, overhauling stately historic buildings in Paris’ chic left bank neighborhoods instead.

　　Finding a suitable site in London is a major factor in the later opening of these brands, said Patrick Angwin, associate director of Horwath HTL London.

　　“I believe that all of them are very keen to establish a presence in London, along with countless other brands. But one of the biggest challenges in successful hotel development is finding and securing an appropriate site. Whilst there is a lot of hotel development in London, the majority of available sites are simply not suitable for the development of these luxury brands—and those that are, are usually fiercely fought over,” he said.

　　4

　　More than one in four Americans, approximately 93.3 million people, will travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday season, according to AAA’s 2012/13 Year-End Holiday Travel Forecast. The figure would represent a 1.6% increase over the 91.8 million people who traveled over the holidays a year ago.

　　Other highlights from AAA’s report include:

　　Nine out of 10 people will travel by car.

　　Holiday air travel is predicted to increase 4.5% to 5.6 million travelers.

　　The average distance traveled is expected to increase to 760 miles from 726 miles.

　　5

　　Louvre Hotels Group is looking to add up to 16 new hotels in France,according to a Caribbean Journal report.

　　The company, owned by Starwood Capital Group, has already firmed up to eight of the properties. Three of the projects will be in Martinique and Guaeloupe. The properties added to the French market will be branded under Louvre’s Premiere Classe and Campanile brands.

　　“This agreement will help us to establish and speed up the expansion of the Group and of our brands in these French departments by harnessing Groupe ACI Outremer’s first-class knowledge of and experience in the local hotel markets,” said Matthieu Evrard, chief development officer of Louvre Hotels Group.

　　Louvre has more than 1,100 hotels in 42 countries.