Georges Panayotis: Tables have turned and the market righted

Life is an eternal new beginning, but the cycles follow one another with changes we may learn from. Forty years ago the advent of hotel chains and their economic model adapted to the 20th century cast a cloud over the community of independent hoteliers. With an innovative, standardized, secured, marketed product, hotel chains drew customers toward them that were looking for a good value for price and a pertinent location along communications axes and in business centers.
In order to provide countries with the modern hotel supply needed to assuage their ambitions for tourism, public authorities have facilitated development and provided subsidized loans while inflation equally lightened the cost of reimbursements.
The Poujadist reaction of so-called independent hoteliers was all the more vehement since the State no longer wanted to close an eye on a gray economy, fed by cash flows and arrangements with taxes and social charges. Through the transparency of their computerized management methods, chains seriously upset an ancestral model and also attracted a new clientèle that had never been tempted by commercial accommodations, due to a lack of means or desire.
Forty years later, a new revolution has upset a model that had gotten a little too big. The quest for optimum profitability, the increase real estate, fiscal and social charges, real estate speculation and many other independent factors of the market have led the hotel industry into an inflationary bubble that the "sharing" supply is painfully reabsorbing.
The pattern is comparable with newcomers that are appreciated by clients. These new actors shrewdly play on the rejection of a certain hotel supply that saw its price skyrocket with the supply shortage, whose quality was damaged by the absence of regular capex. The backlash is brutal and severe, but is it time for a war?
Legislators will always lag behind societal changes and, while it is necessary to guarantee fair competition, the State will dictate the behavior of and choices made by customers. Regulation is necessary and possible through the intelligent application of existing laws and regulations. Cooperation between all members of the Hospitality family will be more efficient and beneficial than rear guard action.
The essential marketing principal in which supply creates demand may also be applied to the New Economy of Hospitality. Not all AirBnB guests have been embezzled from conventional commercial accommodations, although the impact on occupancy rates is real. The cake has generally been growing over the years and the hotel industry must ask inquire as to why its relative market share is down.
Adjustments are underway and involve strategic considerations. We are already creating a trend among leading hotel groups that are focusing on the strength of their distribution, globalization of their presence and multiplication of management and franchise contracts to accumulate a maximum of fees. Those that will be outpaced in the race for size may opt for the niche market, by recovering what brings strength to the hotel trade through lifestyle, hybrid and avant-garde concepts. On the other hand, banality and mediocrity will have trouble finding takers.
New alliances should not be excluded, partnerships between old enemies are even desirable provided the customer finds what he wants. Because there is one truth that has not changed in the last forty years: the market will always have the final say.
Source: Hospitality On
GEORGES PANAYOTIS, PRESIDENT & CEO - MKG GROUP
Georges Panayotis is President of MKG Consulting. Born in a family of hoteliers for three generations, Georges Panayotis, 51, left Greece at the age of 18 to pursue his studies in Political Sciences and to obtain his Master in Management at the French University of Paris Dauphine. He then joined the Novotel chain, which will become the Accor Group, to manage the International Marketing Division. After developing specific marketing tools for the hotel industry, he left the group in 1986 to start his own company, MKG Conseil, now MKG Group. In twenty years, the group has become the European leader in studies and consulting for the Hospitality industry. The company employs over 100 people in four departments: marketing studies, database, quality control and trade press, with two publications HTR Magazine and Hotel Restaurant Weekly. The company helped the development of over 2,000 hotels in France and in Europe, with offices in Paris, Cyprus, London and Athens. Georges Panyotis is the founder of the Worldwide Hospitality Awards and the Hotel Makers Forum, and the author of several publications on Marketing and Operations in the hotel business, He is a regular consultant for several television channels, among which Bloomberg Television, and radio networks.
08/07 19:35
08/07 18:47
UNESCO | Postponement for the Inscription of the Minoan Palaces on the World Heritage List
08/07 17:43
08/07 17:39
Targeting the Turkish market: Press and fam trips from the Thessaloniki Tourism Organization
08/07 17:23
Waterways | Ministry of Shipping: Positive opinion for 29 – The process for another 5 is underway
08/07 14:51
08/07 13:54
08/07 13:45
Free transportation for visitors to the beach of Schinias - Marathon National Park
08/07 12:31
Shocking fine in Spain for British tourists without health insurance
08/07 12:26
Gastronomic Tourism in Crete: Elounda Collection at the Center of International Attention
08/07 11:59
Thomas Cook Bankruptcy in Germany: Sentido Hotels Creditors Fully Compensated
08/07 11:47
Germans on holiday: Who they travel with, what spoils them, what they would do in a... shipwreck
08/07 11:18
KEDE: Proposal for a financial program to upgrade the thermal springs
08/07 11:15
08/07 11:15
08/07 11:04
08/07 11:02
Michael O’Leary: Ryanair vs von der Leyen | “Protect flights over France or resign”
08/07 10:21
08/07 10:21
08/07 09:04
Marriott: Asia-Pacific Luxury Travelers More Demanding Than Ever
08/07 09:04
Marriott: Asia-Pacific Luxury Travelers More Demanding Than Ever
08/07 08:32
Advertising promotion of the Cyclades, Mykonos and Santorini to TUI Netherlands customers
08/07 08:29
Austrians are excellent tourists: They travel and spend a lot...
08/07 07:57
Saladi Project: New €266 million tourism and housing investment in Ermionida
08/07 07:57
Saladi Project: New €266 million tourism and housing investment in Ermionida
08/07 07:57
Saladi Project: New €266 million tourism and housing investment in Ermionida
08/07 07:49
WTTC | Scary losses if tourism is limited in 11 cities in Europe
08/07 07:36
"Save Papoura Hill": The emblematic monument of Crete is in danger from the airport in Kastelli
08/07 07:36
"Save Papoura Hill": The emblematic monument of Crete is in danger from the airport in Kastelli
08/07 06:42
08/07 06:39
Spain's tourism arsenal grows with Netflix's €1 billion investment
08/07 06:39
Spain's tourism arsenal grows with Netflix's €1 billion investment
07/07 18:55
Labor Inspectorate: New tool for detecting violations in the use of the digital labor card
07/07 18:52
Kastelli: The progress of work at the airport is approaching 60%
07/07 18:05
AADE: Extension of Airbnb declarations for specific properties in the Municipality of Athens
07/07 18:05
AADE: Extension of Airbnb declarations for specific properties in the Municipality of Athens
07/07 17:09
Sustainable Tourism in the Mediterranean | International Conference "Paths that Last" in Split
07/07 17:05
Greece - Turkey: New cooperation protocol to strengthen bilateral tourism
07/07 16:25
Rethymno: The port will be decongested by migrants by Friday, as G. Skordilis says to TN
07/07 16:11
MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys: Developing cruising in Greece
07/07 14:16
British parents are skipping school terms for cheaper holidays
07/07 12:33
07/07 12:33
07/07 12:22
07/07 12:22
07/07 12:17
07/07 11:56
07/07 11:56
07/07 11:53
New cruise passenger record in Souda – Triple ship arrivals today
07/07 11:42
Overtourism | Barcelona: At the limit of endurance with 15 million tourists in 2024
07/07 11:42
Overtourism | Barcelona: At the limit of endurance with 15 million tourists in 2024
07/07 11:28
Athens Airport | Passenger traffic up 4.6% in June, +7.6% in the first half
07/07 11:26
07/07 11:18
07/07 06:33
From Journey to Emotion: The Power of Fun Facts in Cruising | Ioannis Brass
07/07 06:29
Santorini back in the spotlight: Promotion campaign in the UK via Jet2holidays
05/07 16:08
Ryanair increases free cabin baggage allowance on European flights
05/07 07:14
05/07 07:12
Germans drink water at the name “Greece” – Record positive impressions driven by tourism
05/07 07:00
05/07 00:27
Promotion of Greece in the United Kingdom for luxury tourism
04/07 21:02
04/07 19:55
Journalistic trip to Mykonos of a popular British television channel
04/07 18:59
6 hotel investments in Milos, Livanates, Kassandra, Zakynthos, Petalidi, Eastern Mani, and Livadia
04/07 18:22
04/07 18:18
Electra Hotels & Resorts Receives Gold Award at CRI 2024 - 2025
04/07 17:15
Region of Crete: Ierapetra is safe and ready to welcome visitors
04/07 17:10
Which OPEKEPE? Olive tourism can take Crete off the ground...
04/07 15:58
easyJet supports UNICEF: 2025 summer in-flight donation campaign launched
04/07 15:02
04/07 14:52
04/07 14:49
04/07 14:43
ETC | +3.3% international arrivals in Europe in Q2, +13% spending in 2025
04/07 14:42
04/07 10:22
NJV Athens Plaza renewed its sustainability certification from GSTC
04/07 09:17
Ministry of Tourism: Coordination Group on fraud and corruption issues
04/07 07:10
G. Timotheatos: “There is no neighborhood in Argostoli without Airbnb – the city is deserting”
04/07 07:08
Hotel Grande Bretagne | Facade works on Sunday - Where will there be a traffic disruption
04/07 06:21
03/07 18:58
03/07 18:58
03/07 18:58
03/07 18:58
03/07 18:09
Peloponnese "starring" in the international series "Journey to Europe"
03/07 18:09
Peloponnese "starring" in the international series "Journey to Europe"
03/07 17:13
When the mountain becomes a screen: The highest cinema of the summer in Agios Ioannis Sfakion
03/07 14:21
03/07 14:18
03/07 13:24
03/07 13:24
03/07 13:24
03/07 11:30
George Tzarakis in Tornos News: Anxiety about the next day in Ierapetra tourism
03/07 11:30
Fire in Ierapetra | Evacuation of settlements - safe removal of 1,500 tourists
03/07 11:27
03/07 11:27
03/07 10:34
03/07 10:32
House of NYNN opens at THE ILISIAN, offering wellness experiences
03/07 08:37
Heraklion Airport: +5% international arrivals in June - What were the main markets
03/07 08:05
Fast-paced training for new tour guides at the Universities of Crete and Ioannina - All the details
03/07 07:47
Municipality of Kalavryta: Action plan to address water scarcity
Shocking fine in Spain for British tourists without health insurance
Gastronomic Tourism in Crete: Elounda Collection at the Center of International Attention
Targeting the Turkish market: Press and fam trips from the Thessaloniki Tourism Organization
Waterways | Ministry of Shipping: Positive opinion for 29 – The process for another 5 is underway
Thomas Cook Bankruptcy in Germany: Sentido Hotels Creditors Fully Compensated
UNESCO | Postponement for the Inscription of the Minoan Palaces on the World Heritage List
ELSTAT: Hospitality enterprises' turnover grows 28.6% in Greece during Q1
KEDE: Proposal for a financial program to upgrade the thermal springs
Michael O’Leary: Ryanair vs von der Leyen | “Protect flights over France or resign”
Kastelli: The progress of work at the airport is approaching 60%
Labor Inspectorate: New tool for detecting violations in the use of the digital labor card
Greece - Turkey: New cooperation protocol to strengthen bilateral tourism
AADE: Extension of Airbnb declarations for specific properties in the Municipality of Athens
Sustainable Tourism in the Mediterranean | International Conference "Paths that Last" in Split