New Study: How the investment landscape in the hospitality industry is shaping up in 2021

DHR Services with the support of Metron Analysis conducted quantitative research on a sample of leading Tour Operators and Travel Agents from Greece and abroad to record the effects of the pandemic, the reactions of travelers and their intentions for the future.

In the white paper entitled “Hospitality Returns” and the topic of how the investment landscape in the hospitality industry is shaping up in 2021, for the first time the views of 26 Greek and foreign leaders of tourism and business, including Giannis Retsos (SETE), Dr. Andreas Andreadis (Sani / Ikos Group), Grace Peters (JP Morgan International Private Bank), Odysseas Athanassiou (LAMDA Development), Phil Andreopoulos (Marriott Hotels International Limited), Alan Mantin (Hilton), Gabriel Escarrer (Meliá Hotels International) and Elie Milky (Radisson Hotel Group).

Key elements of the research

The main elements of the research are the following:

The overall evaluation of the Covid-19 crisis handling in Greece is positive since:
• 8 out of 10 rate the handling in Greece in the summer season as Very good or Good
• Almost 9 out of 10 rate the crisis handling in Greece more positively compared to key competitor markets
• 7 out of 10 think the measures taken by the Greek state had a great or significant effect and were followed for the most part by the Greek people
• Almost all evaluate positively the measures taken by the Greek hotels, 9 out of 10 evaluate positively the measures taken by other hospitality providers and 8 out of 10 evaluate positively the measures taken by the Greek Airlines
• In addition, approximately 7 out of 10 rate positively the effectiveness of the way the measures were communicated either to the travel trade community or the end guest.
• However, most think that the rebound to 2019 levels won’t be happening withing the next year, but will take between 2 to 3 years, especially regarding demand for Greek destinations, recovery of international travel vs. domestic travel and overall demand for all destinations.
• In other areas such as demand for corporate travel, long haul travel and MICE, almost 3 out of 10 respondents expect the rebound process to take even longer.
• Therefore, most expect season 2021 production to decrease compared to 2019, especially in the main urban areas such as Athens and Thessaloniki/Halkidiki.
• Factors that are perceived to contribute most to the rebound process are more flexible cancellation policies, implementation of global common, consistent long term policies, more attractive b2b & b2c payment terms and additional sanitary and hygiene measures from hotel brands.
• The respondents are willing to make changes in the way they address key audiences (8 out of 10 probably to absolutely likely to do so) and most have implemented changes in certain
areas (technological reformations in their business – 8 ou- 8 out of 10, new payment policies – 7 out of 10 and new cancellation policies – 9 out of 10).

Both the research and the views of the participants converge that the next day of tourism will have synergies, digital transformation, improvement of infrastructure, strengthening of health and safety protocols, flexibility of the bureaucratic framework for more investment and sustainability.

Mr. Konstantinos Alexopoulos, CEO of DHR Services, stated among other things:

“It is clear that the recovery is projected to be V-shaped – and investments will play a key role in this, as they bring about significant changes in its operation. The interest of high-end investors is intense, however the country must further facilitate the inflow of such funds through a functioning legislative framework, reducing bureaucracy, developing targeted infrastructure projects by strengthening and facilitating private initiative and always aiming at sustainability, strategically aligned with the axes of the ESG, in a technologically advanced environment for the traveler, investing in natural, cultural and social capital “.