Quotes of the Week: Hilton, Wyndham, H World, Accor

“We have long had a high bar for adding brands to our portfolio, whether organically or through acquisition, and Graduate will be another driver of growth for us, presenting a unique opportunity to serve more guests in more sought-after destinations. With thousands of colleges and universities around the world, we believe the addressable market for the Graduate brand is 400 to 500 hotels globally.” – Chris Nassetta, Hilton  Read story

“Wyndham is focused on moving ahead with the execution of our strategic plan, building on our success and generating meaningful value. We look forward to doing so without the unnecessary distraction of this situation and disruption to our business.” – Geoff Ballotti, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts  Read story

“I am in the camp that any rate cuts will be purely tied to the lead-in to the the election I do think we will see cuts mid-year as the financial system is nowhere near as healthy as is being reported in the mainstream media; in fact, it is teetering, in my opinion.” – Christopher Ropko, McNeill Investment Group  Read story

“You have Shangri-La, Rosewood, Mandarin Oriental – these are niche ultraluxe players with wonderful Asian roots. But there isn’t a scaled Asian player that is also in the economy, midscale and upscale segments with a myriad of fantastic European heritage brands and Asian heritage brands.” – Oliver Bonke, H World International  Read story

“Our focus is the Sun Belt, which has been a great market for us. We’ll continue to invest there. There’s so much to like about the economic and political landscapes we think this is the heyday and will continue.” – Greg Perry, RREAF Holdings  Read story

“The reality is settling in that the world has changed and if you want to sell an asset it has to come at a reasonable price. People’s expectations around pricing have definitely changed over the last year or two.” – Ramsey Mankarious, Cedar Capital Partners  Read story

“Over the past few years, investors have adopted a ‘wait and see’ approach to hotel investment, meaning that substantial amounts of capital remain available and, as has been demonstrated again in 2023, hotels remain a strong investment option as a good hedge against inflation.” – Clemence Sennavoine, HVS  Read story

“Latin America presents a large opportunity for us because we stand out among our competitors as being the only established, institutional, third-party management company, which is critically needed throughout the region. Part of our value proposition is leveraging our unmatched brand expertise through our brand relationships to create consistent experiences for guests who want a high standard of service during their stay and for owners who rely on us for generating strong performance and bottom-line results.” – Leandro Castillo, Aimbridge Hospitality  Read story

“Due to our investment in creating and building a deep network of owners and developers in EMEA, there hasn’t been a need to offer master franchises.” – Talene Staab, Hilton’s Home2 Suites  Read story

“We are massively working through technology and AI to really get rid of the reporting and data collection stuff, improve our forecast accuracy, our personalization and then allow our staff to be really where they belong - with the guests.” – Maud Bailly, Accor  Read story

“With a per capita GDP of 238 million Indonesian rupiah, East Kalimantan ranks second in the nation, trailing only Jakarta. This economic and demographic expansion presents a fertile ground for hotel development.” – Pierre Marechal, JLL Hotels & Hospitality  Read story