Press Release: Andersen
March 11, 2002
LONDON -- The 29th European Hotel Manager's Association (EHMA) annual congress was recently held in Amsterdam.
Andersen, the leading advisor to the international hotel industry released performance data for 2001 and also took
the opportunity to poll the audience on their views as to the outlook for the industry. This revealed that a significant
shift in sentiment has occurred since the gloomy days following September 11.
A similar poll held at the 13th Annual European Hotel Investment conference in London in November was unsurprisingly
much more negative. Six months on, the industry can congratulate itself for prompt action and an innovative approach
to coping with the crisis.
Participants at the annual EHMA congress were asked how they rated the prospects for the performance of the provincial
hotel market in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. The audience overwhelmingly indicated that they believed
the outlook to be more positive than their counterparts in November. The Mediterranean markets of Italy and Spain
were where delegates were most upbeat, with on average 60 percent of delegates believing that these markets should
improve during 2002. This compares with 35 percent and 45 percent of delegates, respectively, in November.
Julia Felton, director of Andersen's London based Global Hospitality Knowledge Services Team and responsible for
the Andersen Hotel Industry Benchmark Survey, commented that "the Mediterranean countries of Italy and Spain
were the industry's real winners during 2001 with many cities, and in particular the resort markets, reporting
positive revPAR growth. We see no real reason for this trend not to continue".
Felton added "fear of flying and the desire to holiday in perceived 'safer' destinations closer to home may
actually benefit these destinations disproportionately during 2002".
The biggest change in sentiment was related to the prospects for the German hotel industry. In November, 85 percent
of survey participants believed this market would decline during 2002, whereas in February just 18 percent of survey
participants believed this would be the case. With the German economy under pressure and GDP estimates for 2001
at just 0.7 percent, there is a real danger that German consumers may well curtail their travel plans during 2002.
With Germany being one of the largest outbound markets in the world, the fact that consumers may opt to holiday
at home could conversely stimulate demand at home during these tough times.
Felton concluded, " We are delighted that the industry's outlook for 2002 is increasingly positive. Following
events of September 11, Andersen suggested the decline should begin to decelerate in November and expressed a view
of cautious optimism for 2002. Whilst 2002 will certainly remain a year of some uncertainty, we reiterate our views
that the outlook continues to improve and we anticipate further mergers and acquisition activity".
Copies of the Andersen Hotel Industry Benchmark Survey Annual Survey - Europe are available for purchase at a cost
of £250 from Andersen.
Please call us on +44 (0) 20 7304 1304 or e-mail us at hotelbenchmark@uk.andersen.com
About the Hotel Industry Benchmark Survey:
Launched in 1996 as the definitive source of hotel performance data outside North America, the Andersen Hotel Industry
Benchmark Survey collates data from more than 5,500 hotels in 300 markets across 140 countries. The survey currently
tracks hotel performance everywhere outside North America. Regional surveys are produced for Asia Pacific, the
Caribbean and Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. These are supported by in-depth country/city reports
for Australia, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, the UK and London. Further surveys are underway for Benelux,
Japan, Scandinavia and Spain. For more information, or to join the survey, please contact Lorna Clarke in London
at +44 (0) 20 7438 2870, e-mail us at hotelbenchmark@uk.andersen.com or visit our web site hotelbenchmark.com.
About Andersen:
Andersen is a global leader in professional services. It provides integrated solutions that draw on diverse and
deep competencies in consulting, assurance, tax, corporate finance, and in some countries, legal services. Andersen
employs 85,000 people in 84 countries and is frequently rated among the best places to work. It is also consistently
ranked first in client satisfaction in independent surveys. Andersen has enjoyed uninterrupted growth since it's
founding in 1913 and 2001 revenues totalled US$9.3 billion. Andersen refers to the brand identity adopted by member
firms of the Andersen global client service network. Learn more at http://www.andersen.com.
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For further information please contact:
Nick van Marken +44 (0) 20 7438 5336 nick.van.marken@uk.andersen.com Julia Felton +44 (0) 20 7304 1785 julia.felton@uk.andersen.com Paul Fleming +44 (0) 20 7304 8243 paul.fleming@uk.andersen.com