Sudheer Sharma, Chair of the Travel, Tourism & Hospitality (TTH) Community, reflects on the last 6 months of 2024, what the Community has achieved, what’s in store for the remainder of the year and plans for 2025.
What’s been going on?
Valuing hotels – insurers vs. accountants and what is market value
Following the success of our previous webinar in which we discussed the impact of COVID-19 on hotels, which reviewed the issues of hotel values, we returned once again to the world of hotel valuations.
We were joined by Jane Lees, Director, Financial Advisory, Real Estate & Consumer, Deloitte LLP, who provides a comprehensive review of how hotels are valued and the data they used. Jane will also comment on USALI (Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry), which the majority of hotel P&Ls follow.
As well as Michael Flynn, Client Director at Howden, who discussed the importance of having adequate Business Interruption insurance; how an insurer will rate the premium; and how vital it is to demonstrate a resilient business to obtain the best possible rates.
Michael also explained the difference between the insurer and accountancy definition of Gross Profit, as well as shared some high-level statistics on the number of properties underinsured and provided you with valuable tips to check your insurance will protect your hotel.
During this webinar, our speakers explored how insurers calculate their premiums on hotels with the various methodologies available, and compared this difference against the accounts version.
Valuation methodology:
- Comparison Approach
- Income Capitalisation
Factors which impact real estate values:
- Assumptions for future trading performance – revenue, costs, FF&E reserve etc.
- Operating structure – lease, HMA, VP/franchise
- Capex
- Competitor analysis
- Cap rate/discount rate
- Transaction evidence
Other hospitality sectors:
- Aparthotels/serviced apartments
- Hostels
- Holiday parks
How technology and generative AI is being applied in the hospitality sector
The hospitality industry has always been innovative in its ways to optimise experiences and improve efficiency, and, with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) in recent years, it almost seems to be an inevitability that AI will play a revolutionary role in the future of the industry.
Whilst the journey of AI in hospitality is still in its nascent stage, it potentially has limitless possibilities to be explored. Yet, as with any new technologies, there will be drawbacks and, without a clear understanding of what these are, there is the increased potential to do more harm than good.
So, what role will AI play in the future of hospitality? How can the industry harness the power of AI? And what do you need to be aware of?
In this webinar we were joined by David Carey, Chief Technology Officer, Popeye’s Louisiana Chicken and Gavin Allison, Head of Technology, Lore Group, who discussed the following:
- What generative AI really is
- The practicality of generative AI and how it can be used in operations and in finance
- The different AI options available, with a look at the tools you can use
- The drawbacks
- What the future could hold
What’s coming up?
Travel, trends and tourism – what the latest could mean for the UK economy – 29 August, 12pm-1pm
With the indication that prices are stabilising and people seemingly returning to pre-pandemic levels of travel, can the sector breathe a sigh of relief or are things not as they appear?
For the last few years, UK air travel has been slowly recovering following the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent news and updates seem to imply that the sector has taken a positive turn, with examples such as Heathrow anticipating the summer season to be their busiest on record and Jet2 announcing that it expects its annual profits to rise over the previous year on the back of strong sales.
Join us for this webinar where our speakers will discuss what they are experiencing and what their expectations are going forward. During this panel discussion we will explore:
- Will the air travel bubble pop? Or will this continue to grow?
- How attractive is the UK as a destination?
- How does this compare against outbound travel?
- What are the latest consumer trends?
- Where and how are people spending their money?
Outlook for 2025 – 25 November, 12pm-1pm
It has been an interesting year for the travel, tourism and hospitality industry, particularly with 2023 being considered such a strong year against the backdrop of the COVID-19 recovery. So how has 2024 faired? And what are the predictions for the year ahead? What will the Government do following their election win? And how will this have an impact on the industry in 2025?
Join us for this webinar where our speakers will discuss:
- Domestic tourism and the hospitality market
- Staycations and UK holiday parks
- Leisure sites such as bars and cinemas
At the end of the presentation, delegates will have an opportunity to have their questions answered.
2025
As we enter the second half of the year, the Communities team are working alongside the TTH advisory group to bring you more content in the New Year. We have been reviewing your feedback from previous events and are working towards putting our event calendar together for 2025.
Please note that these are subject to change and are not guarantees at this time.
