MR&H is the continent's only focused hotel and resort investment conference.
The MR&H newsletter is sent out every Wednesday, providing our esteemed audience with regional and targeted coverage of the Mediterranean on topics ranging from hotel investment, development and brand strategies to how geo-political events are impacting the hospitality and travel industries and what the lending market's appetite is for the region.
MR&H 2019 - A Healthy and Robust Investment Climate for the Mediterranean with Sustainable Development Vital
Over 400 delegates gathered at the Hilton Athens this week for the 5th Mediterranean Resort & Hotel Real Estate Forum (MR&H). Hosted by Questex Hospitality Group, MR&H 2019 was the largest gathering of hotel and resort investors, owners and operators – making MR&H the industry’s premier mixed use resort and real estate forum.
Strategic investment in hospitality will sustain Greek tourism into 2020, Questex’s MR&H and Enterprise Greece finds
Following a welcome from Questex and Enterprise Greece, the press conference opened with a presentation by Xenophon Petropoulos, Country Director, Horwath HTL Greece. Petropoulos stated that between January to July 2019, the Greek travel and tourism sector increased international air arrivals by 3.4% and enjoyed revenue increases of 9.7% from residents from within the EU. This revenue increase jumped to 29.6% from visitors originating outside the EU. 1 in 5 Euros spent in the country are from the travel and tourism sector which has a net worth of €37.5bn.
One of the most pressing issues was clearly the recent collapse of the Thomas Cook empire and its wide-reaching affects across the region. It’s suggested that the fallout from money due from the 2019 season plus the value of forward bookings for 2020 could be approaching €1bn in Greece alone. Speaking on behalf of Enterprise Greece, Mr Elias Eliades during the Q&A session, stated that the Greek State, provided immediate support to all Greek enterprises affected by the incident.
The Mediterranean Resort & Hotel Real Estate Forum (MR&H) is proud to announce the official launch of the 3rd Edition of “Branded Residences: An Overview” authored by Chris Graham, Managing Director at Graham Associates, at our Athens conference later this month. With 56-pages featuring expert insights, opinions and latest data from industry leaders across the globe, it remains the most comprehensive study of this burgeoning sector.
With the Mediterranean in an interesting transitional period, STR is excited to share with you an analysis of the region’s hotel performance.
Natalie will be presenting an overview of the performance of hotels and resorts across the Mediterranean and Southern Europe in “ Win, Lose or Draw - Hotel & Resort Trading Update” on Wednesday 30 th October at 11.50am.
The MR&H Top Resort Awards 2019
The Mediterranean Resort & Hotel Real Estate Forum (MR&H) are pleased to announce the launch of the 2019 Top Mediterranean Resort Awards. The awards, now in their third year, were created to recognise outstanding mixed-use resorts and developments across the Mediterranean region.
Alexander Schneider is President at Nikki Beach Hotels and Resorts. Alexander has been working with Nikki Beach since April 2016 heading the opening of Nikki Beach Resort Spa Dubai, a project that broke the mould of existing resort concepts in the Middle East. Alexander is currently leading the Nikki Beach Hotels and Resorts plans for expansion in Europe and the Middle East.
Roger is the Founder and Group CEO of Resources for Leisure Assets (RLA), a recognized global advisory specialized in hospitality, leisure, recreation, wellbeing and health tourism related to hotels, resorts, residential, mixed-use, healthcare, active living communities and destinations. RLA works closely with investors, owners, developers and management companies across four continents from its offices in Sonoma, Vienna, Budapest and Dubai to provide conceptual planning, financial analysis and asset management of complex properties, such as resorts and destination assets. For more than 20 years, Roger has been working on multiple levels of project developments in the hospitality and leisure industries, developing singular expertise in various activities ranging from project planning to operations and asset management.
Xenia zu Hohenlohe is the Managing Partner and Founder of The Considerate Group. The business was created, with her business partner Benedetta Cassinelli, in order offer a platform of services for responsible business solutions to the hospitality sector.
Pablo Suárez is Chief Executive Officer of hotel management company, Roxa Hospitality. Pablo joined the group in 2018 as the Managing Director of Blau Hotels for Holidays with the mission of transforming the company. His vision has materialized today with the birth of Roxa Hospitality, the hotel management start-up. In his own words "in 2018 we began a new phase at Roxa Hospitality that we expect to see flourish this year. We didn’t start from zero though, the company has been in the hotel industry for over 30 years. What we did was to take all that experience, all that knowledge, and we embraced it with the spirit of a start-up." This spirit is evident today as the company continues to flourish with new openings, a strong pipeline and determined outlook.
Ioannis Orfanos is a Partner of Arbitrage Real Estate and heads its Asset Management practice. He has more than 15 years of experience in real estate investment, management and advisory. He brings to the firm development, sustainable investing and asset management expertise. Ioannis is currently based in London, where he is working closely with international and institutional investors to originate, structure and manage large-scale value add real estate development and asset management investments in commercial and hospitality sectors across SE Europe as well as high yield opportunities in NPL and REO portfolios in Greece.
Tassos Kotzanastassis is Managing Director at 8G Capital Partners Ltd, a private equity real estate firm. Through offices in London, Nicosia and Hong Kong, 8GCP has activities in property, renewable energy and PropTech. As an experienced property investment professional with 24 years of knowledge and expertise, we sat down with Tassos in advance of The Mediterranean Resort & Hotel Real Estate Forum (MR&H) to discuss sustainable investment, and why Athens is the darling of property investment markets….for now.
Athinagoras Konstantinidis, Director at Atrium Hotels is a new speaker at MR&H 2019. Athinagoras will join the Regional Outlook: Island Markets session exploring investment in islands where infrastructure, incentive schemes and land availability offer interesting opportunities. In addition to being a director with the luxury resort group Atrium Hotels, Athinagoras is also Vice President of the Rhodes Hotel Association.
Joachim Schmitt is the Chief Executive Officer at Orascom Hotels Management and joins a host of knowledgeable speakers at MR&H 2019. Joachim is responsible for the executive management of the Group’s 34 hotels across 6 destinations, ensuring the implementation of board strategy and policies. In advance of MR&H 2019, Joachim shared his thoughts on business in a post-Brexit world, why Orascom are a role model for sustainable development and the benefits of attending events like MR&H 2019.
Vicky Santikos is the Vice President of Santikos Collection Group and joins the line-up of industry leading speakers at MR&H 2019. Hear about how her experience as an entrepreneur in the tourism industry for over 30 years has brought insight and knowledge to the Santikos Group who operate five properties across Greece.
Tourism developments in Cyprus
The Tourism Ministry for Cyprus was created in January 2019 to give tourism, one of the key contributors to the island’s economy, dedicated focus and attention and assist with the development of tourism across Cyprus in a strategic and sustainable way. Learn more about how their unique approach will bolster developments across the island.
Sustainability in hotel investment: Key goal or lip service?
Ever since teen activist Greta Thunberg burst onto the world scene to call for action on climate change, sustainability has been the word on everyone’s lips, including hospitality investors. But how seriously do they take the issue and what does it mean to them? This question has quickly become a running theme at hospitality investment conferences this year.
The boom in tourism across the Mediterranean and the emerging trends
Alexandros Kallantzis is the Chief Executive Officer at Sparta S.A. Part of Libra Group, Sparta S.A. is a newly created structure specifically focused on investment in hotels and resorts across the Mediterranean. Join Alexandros at MR&H 2019 to discuss growth trends and opportunity across the Mediterranean.
Phil Golding manages the acquisition and asset management functions for Cedar Capital Partners. Since the firm was founded in 2004, it has invested in hotels with a value in excess of €3 billion. Phil brings his expertise to the speaker programme for the Mediterranean Resort & Hotel Real Estate Forum (MR&H) 2019.
Thanos Papasavvas, Founder and CIO, ABP Invest Ltd will present ‘Bracing for an Uncertain Environment: Economic and Political Considerations’ during the Mediterranean Resort & Hotel Real Estate Forum (MR&H) being held in Athens this October. In advance of the event we met with Thanos to pose some questions front of mind amongst our investor and developer community.
ABP Invest Monthly Insight October 2018
- Trump to remain in office until Jan 20, 2025
- China to win a trade war against the US
- Italy should not blame the Eurozone
- Still positive USD and negative EUR, CNY and TRY
Designing a Resort to Deliver the Right Experiences
What makes a resort successful? The whole resort must be more than the sum of its parts.
Emerging Markets & Investment Trends with Geoff Ballotti, CEO, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Read on to discover which four destinations Wyndham is eyeing, and what you could be missing.
What are the Opportunities for Banks and Alternative Lenders?
Funds are available and banks have a healthy appetite.
A Shift in the Hotel Investor
From local and fragmented to international and institutional.
Operational Challenges and How to Overcome Them
Taking seasonality head-on.
Where are the deals getting done?
Room for new and updated product.
How does a tour operator adapt to new market trends?
Hear how Thomas Cook remains relevant to holidaymakers.
Travel Expected to Increase Making Leisure Investments Attractive
Hear about the 7Pines concept and values in this Q&A with Lindner Group.
The Residential Market Overview
Developers are looking at mature markets like Spain, Portugal, and Italy while investors are eyeing emerging markets like Greece, Cyprus, and Montenegro.
Hotel Investment in Greece: From a lender's perspective
The Greek hospitality market has matured and is ready to accept sophisticated international capital.
The Lending Market in the Mediterranean
Discover why resorts offer the most attractive ROI.
Hotel and Resort Investment and Development in Italy
From energy efficient buildings to social spaces to hotel pampered apartments, read on to discover the latest trends in Italy.
Exclusive Whitepaper
The EU's Non-Performing Loan Market
Thanos Papasavvas, Founder & CIO, ABP Invest, shares the state of the NPL market in the EU with a focus on Greece and Italy; highlighting the issues but also the opportunities available for investment in this exclusive whitepaper.
How to Optimally Run a Resort in the Mediterranean
What are some of the challenges operators face? Skilled staff, working with tour operators... and how do you overcome them?
The allure of serviced apartments
Hear about Room Mate's distinct personality and how this hotelier became the first to compete with the leisure segment in the Mediterranean.
Investing in Egypt: Supporting the Recovery of the Hospitality Market
Investors continue to face the challenge of financial crises. Learn about Egypt's new investment law.
