Which segment of the hospitality market was the most stable and crisis?

Reassuring statements about the economic crisis is over, apply to the hotel market is only partly: the demand has not yet returned to previous levels. But assured the Russian bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2018 100 000 hotel rooms in 13 cities of Russia can be called the beginning of a hotel boom. At present, according to various statistics, the country has a total of 200-220 thousand hotel rooms, and, according to STR Global, in June 2010 in Russia were in various stages of construction have about 16 thousand rooms. Defining the format that is most in demand at all times, we can predict the main direction of the market. On the shortage of "beds" middle price segments of the budget and said a lot. In a downturn in demand segment should look like the least affected ... Experience as hoteliers has confirmed and questioned the truth. Thus, the experience of the company - an international hotel operator Accor Group, according to CEO "ACCOR Russia and the CIS," Alexis Delaroff indicates that mid-priced hotels in the Ibis crisis proved to be more profitable than those in higher-end brand Novotel: "With more low transaction costs in the Ibis income number (RevPAR - index, calculated as the ratio of revenue from the sale of rooms to the number of rooms available), they remained at Novotel ". Thus, according to Mr. Delaroff, less expensive hotels can be beneficial to investors because it paid off faster. However, in several cities in the competition "trehzvezdnikam" hotels were a higher price category, providing guests with a significant discount. Head of the Department of Regional Sales AZIMUT Hotels Company Valeria Rayts noted that if in the past year decline in average load on hotels, "AZ", focused on business segment amounted to about 15%, in some regional and regional centers, the figure was 20-25 %. Of course, to blame slowdown and reduced corporate spending, but also competition from the more expensive "neighbors in the market," also played a role. "The price of four-five-star hotels was often comparable to the cost of living in" trehzvezdnike ", - said Valeriy Rayts. - But it is worth noting that this decline in prices was observed, usually in stock and special offers." This year, according to Valerie Rayts, was more successful: "For the year download all the hotels network is almost recovered, an increase of 17% over the previous year. Backlog of 2008 the order of 1.5-2%. Almost the same situation with returns: turnover reached nearly results in 2008. This year, prices fell on average by 15% compared to the previous one. I note that in 2010 it was almost impossible to predict all expecting an even stronger decline than in 2009, what did not happen . Moreover, the number of tourists almost recovered, the share of foreign tourists. In the near future we can expect an increase in tourist traffic by 5-8% and a slight increase in tariffs. " Redistribution of demand towards the upper segments of the hotel was also observed in the capital - though at the beginning of 2010. According to experts Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, this is due both to psychological causes (part of the client segment after the "belt-tightening" in tough times again went to the usual level of consumption), and operating factors: the rate of price growth in the segment mid-market/upscale 17.5% compared to 3.6% in the segment of luxury. That is, the more expensive the hotel, offering a "product" at a discounted price appeared to be more competitive. In this segment there is growth and income by the number while all other traffic on the average price of room in different directions, which makes the dynamics of income at room (RevPAR) less pronounced. Further growth of the market associated primarily with the development of mid-priced and ekonomsegmentov, however, in the capitals and major regional centers scheduled appearance of objects and the higher price categories. About the expansion into Russian regions primarily networks mid-priced hotels have a number of international operators. Thus, the company Accor associates further development in Russia, it was the expansion of networks of mid-priced hotels (Ibis - in 2011 plans to open hotels of this brand in Samara, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod), and budget hotels (Etap Hotels). In 2011, the Courtyard by Marriott opened in Kazan and Irkutsk, the hotel is built the same brand and in Moscow in 2012 the first scheduled opening of the Hilton Garden Inn in Yaroslavl in 2014 - Hilton Garden Inn in Kazan. According to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, in Moscow from 12 opened in 2009-2010, half of the hotel belongs to the mainstream and ekonomsegmentam (as a whole during this time total capacity of the capital has increased by 2664 units). This is a good indicator: the market becomes more mature. However, as the senior vice president, director of consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels Marina Smirnova, in terms of numerical growth of room stock, the capital of the most significant "addition" was held in the upscale segment and luxury (about 2000 units). Should expect increased competition in this segment, which will allow the consumer to choose a quality product at a reasonable price. As the trend coming years, experts say the construction of hotels as part of multifunctional complexes that include the hotel in addition to office and / or retail space. As noted by Michael O'Hare, managing director of Horwath HTL Hungary and Russia, if before the crisis, building Class A offices was considered less risky than the construction of the hotel, now the "hotel component" in the multifunctional complex - a factor of stability. Curiously, for example, in Moscow a number of recently discovered (for example, Lotte Plaza, Renaissance Monarch Centre) and preparing for the opening of the objects (Courtyard Paveletskaya, "Azimut Hotel Moscow") were built according to this principle. "Hotels that are part of the IFC to diversify investors' risks and bring cash, so now these projects become more popular, - said Valeriy Rayts. - Hotel in the IFC adds some payback period, but allows the investor to make a portfolio more secure. But it is worth noting that the hotels included in the IFC and the "standing", designed for different segments, so is unlikely to compete with each other. "