Tourism executives want government to play a larger role in ease of travel
Tourism executives want government to play a larger role in ease of travel
Radisson CEO says no one takes responsibility for inconsistent airport experience
Radisson Hotel Group's Federico González Tejera speaks with World Travel & Tourism Council's Gloria Guevara and Bloomberg's Chad Thomas at the 2026 International Hospitality Investment Forum EMEA in Berlin. (IHIF EMEA, Simon Callaghan Photography)
https://www.costar.com/article/191686335/tourism-executives-want-government-to-play-a-larger-role-in-ease-of-travel
BERLIN — While hoteliers are ultimately responsible for the on-property experience of guests, there's a large portion of the travel experience they have no control over, and Radisson Hotel Group CEO Federico González Tejera said he wishes government officials would take the same level of responsibility for their piece of the travel journey.
During a session at the International Hospitality Investment Forum in Berlin, González Tejera said the airport experiences across the globe need to be more uniform and seamless, but ultimately that's not what government officials answer for.
"Nobody owns it," he said. "If any of us have to wait today for three hours in the airport, who pays? Who is responsible? ... When we work on public-private collaboration, you need either ownership and responsibility from the public sector or ownership and responsibility from the private sector that comes with concrete initiatives. But if there is no concrete responsibility, things cannot be moved, and that's why we've suffered."
The lack of collaboration isn't just an issue between private entities and governments but between governments themselves, said Gloria Guevara, president and CEO at the World Travel & Tourism Council and former Mexican secretary of tourism.
"After 9/11, governments didn't work together, and we implemented different protocols," she said. "If you go to airports today, in some they ask you to remove your shoes. In some airports, you [remove] your shoes. In some, it's the water. The protocol is different, and we need to catch up in that regard."
Globally, there are technologies that can help make travel more straightforward, including biometrics and digital passports and visas, Guevara said. But she reiterated that the approach has been scattershot, noting it's more streamlined in parts of the world such as Asia.
"I think there needs to be more political will, and at the same time, more collaboration between governments and with the private sector," she said.
González Tejera pointed to Saudi Arabia as a government that has strongly prioritized travel and had made decisions that support that.
"What Saudi has done in [recent] years, I haven't seen in many other places," he said.
Some markets that have struggled with overtourism problems, such as Vienna and Barcelona, also need to come to terms with the fact that their problems stem less from having too much demand as they do from a lack of infrastructure and planning to support it, González Tejera said.
"Nearly any town in the world today could be doing a forecast of how many people are going to be there," he said. "In Madrid or Venice this weekend, you can have the planes that are arriving, the transport, the hotels. So the point is you need to take [that information] and make a decision of what is good, what is bad, when you stop.
"It's not the tourist who is [creating the problem]. It's the lack of decisions and the lack of definition and planning for what you want that creates that problem."
Guevara agreed the common thread in those markets is a lack of planning, and they have largely done municipal planning separate from tourism.
"If you don't plan for the travelers, if you don't plan for the water, electricity, waste, all these things, then suddenly you have the [high] number of travelers, it will have an impact," she said. "If you don't plan for when the cruises are going to come, or you have someone approving all of them to come the same time today, then it's complicated."
She pointed to New York City as an example of a large, global tourism market that largely handles these issues through collective planning without major overcrowding issues, outside of the primary tourism district in Times Square.
Guevara said it's incumbent on both sides — the public and private sectors — to recognize the value and importance both bring to the table in establishing partnerships and plans.
"It's very clear to me that the private sector is the one that invests, that creates jobs and is the one that needs prosperity," she said. "Without that private sector, the government has no value."
Accor sells stake in Essendi for up to $1.1B
The long-discussed deal will see Accor sell its stake in Essendi (formerly AccorInvest) to a consortium including Blackstone.
The Sequana Tower, Accor's headquarters in Paris. (CoStar)
https://www.hotelinvestmenttoday.com/Deals/Mergers-and-Acquistions/Accor-sells-stake-in-Essendi-for-up-to-1-1B
PARIS — Accor has signed a memorandum of understanding to sell its stake in Essendi (formerly AccorInvest) to a consortium including Blackstone for up to €975 million ($1.1 billion).
Under the agreement, Blackstone and Paris-based Colony Investment Management will buy Accor’s 30.56% stake in Essendi. As part of the deal, Accor could receive up to €975 million (€675 million upon closing and an earn-out of up to €300 million).
Essendi’s portfolio will be gradually converted into franchise contracts, which Accor said aligns with its strategy to simplify and strengthen the resilience and predictability of its business model. All hotels in the portfolio would remain under Accor brands, and the new franchise agreements would have a 20-year term.
In addition, Accor said the transaction would be consistent with the recurring EBITDA trajectory it presented at its 2023 Capital Markets Day.
The transaction is scheduled to close in the third quarter, subject to the finalization of the shareholders' agreement between Blackstone and the other Essendi shareholders, as well as the usual regulatory and antitrust approvals. If the transaction is completed, Accor said it would return most of the disposal proceeds to shareholders through an additional €500 million share buyback program.
Accor also said the release of this transaction enables the company to immediately launch the first tranche of €225 million of the share buyback program for fiscal year 2026, announced on February 19.
The company is also exploring a potential U.S. IPO for its lifestyle hotel vertical, Ennismore, this year. Ennismore operates over 180 hotels under 16 lifestyle brands, including The Hoxton, Mondrian, 25hours Hotels, Hyde, and Morgans Originals.
Hospitality might not be a lifelong career for young people entering the workforce
Employees increasingly reluctant to reposition, employers ever more conscious of costs
(Getty Images)
https://www.costar.com/article/334575623/hospitality-might-not-be-a-lifelong-career-for-young-people-entering-the-workforce?
The perception of pursuing a lifelong career in the hotel industry is facing fundamental changes.
How younger people join the hospitality business and how long they stick around has never been more varied, said Chris Mumford, managing director, Cervus Leadership Consulting. Mumford was a recent guest on “The Upgrade: EMEA Hospitality News,” CoStar News Hotels' podcast focusing on Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“The world of work is changing. … In my parents’ generation, and to some degree my generation, where you come out of university, you start a career, and that’s what you do for the next 30 years,” Mumford said. “I think this new generation could well do two, three different careers in their lifetime.”
He said that while his area of expertise is the hotel veteran with 15 to 30 years of experience, he likes always to ask a question as to how these executives entered the hotel industry.
There are a couple of answers to that, Mumford said, the first being they had a weekend or summer job in the industry, perhaps working at a bar, and really enjoyed it, and the second being that the interviewee enjoyed traveling with their families when they were young and saw that it might be a worthwhile endeavor.
He said those answers are universal.
The hotel industry remains one that likes to take raw, empathetic talent and then teach them to become a hotelier.
In the United Kingdom — and no doubt elsewhere — cost pressures are enormous for the hotel industry, which affects hiring.
“Over the last five years … a housekeeping attendant’s pay has gone up by about 70%,” he said as one example.
He added most people are now unwilling to relocate, which was always the modus operandi for a meaningful career in the hotel industry.
However, very little is going on at the very top of the hotel industry's C-suite — the CEO level.
“The tenure of the CEO has been extended; it is now up to 12 years,” Mumford added.
He said one reason for this is that CEOs now increasingly are coming to hotel companies from other sectors, “particularly in the luxury environment. I am talking of Mandarin Oriental, Peninsula, Groupe Barrière, the French group; they are taking CEOs from the outside.”
He added that the trend is most notable in the private sector, and the desire is for C-suite leaders with knowledge of luxury retail, which Mumford added is “pretty far ahead.”
For more from Cervus Leadership Consulting's Chris Mumford on labor, hiring, changes in the hotel industry's C-suite, and AI, please listen to the podcast embedded above.
Why ROI in East Africa often mispriced
Opportunities reward investors who align development scale, operating models, and financial structures with the region’s demand patterns.
https://www.hotelinvestmenttoday.com/Thought-Leadership/Contributed-Perspectives/Why-ROI-in-East-Africa-often-mispriced?
By Emmanuel Nsabimana
INTERNATIONAL REPORT – Hotel investors entering East Africa sometimes encounter return gaps that are not immediately explained by weak demand or operational inefficiencies. These gaps often emerge because investment assumptions are calibrated to market conditions that are larger, deeper, or more predictable than most East African cities can realistically sustain.
Observations from hospitality analytics and advisory firms such as STR Global and JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group suggest that hotel demand patterns in many emerging markets differ from those in established gateway cities. In parts of East Africa, demand is often influenced by conference activity, institutional travel, diplomatic events, and seasonal leisure flows rather than by a broad base of continuous corporate demand. When financial models assume steady absorption throughout the year, even well-operated assets can struggle to meet projected returns.
Kenya’s hotel sector illustrates this dynamic. National statistics indicate that hotel room occupancy has averaged roughly 40% to 42% over the past two decades, suggesting that peak periods account for a disproportionate share of annual room nights while extended shoulder periods require careful revenue management.
This does not necessarily indicate weak markets, but rather a gap between investor expectations and the demand patterns these markets can sustain.
Familiar investment pattern
Across several East African cities, a recurring investment pattern involves full-service hotels developed to capture year-round corporate and conference demand. On paper, the model appears sound: a modern asset, an international-standard meeting space, and an assumed baseline of weekday business travel supplemented by periodic large events.
In practice, performance can diverge from projections. In cities such as Nairobi and Kigali, hotel demand often intensifies around conferences, diplomatic activity, and institutional travel cycles. Leisure destinations such as Mombasa or tourism gateways like Arusha also experience pronounced seasonal travel flows. Industry observations compiled by firms including STR Global show that such markets can experience strong peak occupancy but more moderate baseline demand during off-peak periods.
Kigali illustrates how event-driven demand shapes hotel performance in emerging markets. In 2024, Rwanda hosted 115 international meetings attracting more than 52,000 delegates, reinforcing the city’s role as a regional MICE destination. Because these events occur during specific periods of the year, hotel demand can spike during conference cycles but soften between them.
This does not imply that such investments are flawed. Rather, demand patterns in many East African cities are concentrated rather than continuous. When hotels are scaled and staffed for consistent year-round performance, operating margins can come under pressure during slower demand periods.
Assumption driving most ROI mispricing
The most common source of ROI mispricing in East African hotel investments is not a lack of demand but an overestimation of its depth and consistency.
Investors often recognize that markets are smaller, yet still model performance as if demand behaves with the stability of larger international cities.
In reality, many urban markets across the region rely on specific travel segments such as government activity, NGO and development sector travel, conferences, and seasonal tourism. Travel purpose data reinforces this pattern. In Uganda, business and conference travel accounts for nearly half of international visits, highlighting the importance of institutional and project-based travel in shaping hotel demand cycles.
As a result, demand tends to produce spikes rather than a stable baseline. When hotel scale, staffing, and fixed costs are structured around assumed average occupancy instead of peak-driven cycles, margins can compress during off-peak periods. Full-service formats can perform well in markets with sustained conference and corporate demand, but in cities where demand is episodic, they often require greater operational flexibility to maintain strong financial performance.
Adjusting investment approach
Correcting ROI mispricing in East Africa does not require avoiding the region; it requires adjusting how investments are structured and evaluated.
First, product scale matters. Developments with moderate room counts, flexible meeting space, and efficient service offerings often demonstrate greater resilience in smaller markets than large full-service formats designed for deeper demand pools. Aligning physical scale with realistic demand depth reduces exposure during slower periods.
Second, operating models should be designed around demand concentration rather than averages. Staffing structures, service offerings, and cost management frameworks that can adapt to event-driven demand cycles often protect margins more effectively than rigid operating models. In many emerging markets, operational discipline frequently outweighs brand prestige in determining long-term financial performance.
Third, capital structures must reflect potential cash-flow variability. Conservative leverage, longer investment horizons, and yield-focused return expectations are often better suited to markets where demand cycles fluctuate throughout the year.
Finally, underwriting discipline remains critical. Stress-testing performance assumptions against scenarios such as extended off-peak periods or delayed event calendars provides a more realistic view of cash-flow resilience. Investors who anchor feasibility studies to achievable average daily rates and realistic occupancy floors, rather than peak performance periods, are better positioned to manage volatility.
Opportunity for investors
Tourism and business travel across East Africa have expanded steadily over the past decade, particularly in countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Tanzania provides a clear example of this growth: international tourist arrivals increased by more than 24% in 2023, reflecting strong demand for safari and coastal destinations even as hotel performance remains shaped by seasonal travel patterns.
The region continues to offer hospitality investment opportunities, especially in urban and gateway tourism markets. However, these opportunities reward investors who align development scale, operating models, and financial structures with the region’s demand patterns. The challenge is rarely a lack of demand; it is understanding how that demand materializes over time.
For investors evaluating hospitality opportunities in East Africa, the key lesson is straightforward: underperformance is often the result of mispriced expectations rather than flawed markets. When investment assumptions reflect the episodic and segment-driven nature of demand in many East African cities, hotel assets deliver stable and defensible long-term returns.
Contributed by Emmanuel Nsabimana, The Boonies Africa, Rwanda
DUHC&S | Strategic Hospitality Consulting & Advisory
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