Quotes of the Week: Vision Hospitality, Gencom, Soul Community Planet

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“We’ve seen [a slowdown] in IRS training business. We’ve seen it in government research grants that were frozen. It’s hyper-localized... It’s not a huge amount, but it could be 20% for somebody that’s next to a lot of government business.” – Mitch Patel, Vision Hospitality   Read story

“This acquisition aligns with our strategy of investing in strong urban markets with diverse, multidimensional demand. Like our investments in Chicago and Philadelphia, New Orleans benefits from a mix of smart leisure, university presence, and business travel. Securing high-quality real estate through our established brand relationships makes this a compelling long-term investment for Gencom.” – Alessandro Colantonio, Gencom   Read story

“We're seeing a lot of deals happen. We're seeing, obviously, the big chains. We know them all and we love those guys. We think they're amazing companies. And we and frankly, Pam and I have both worked with many the key teams that are out there and think the world of them. But today we're really not looking to sell the company. We think we've got a lot more to prove. But we're certainly we've had conversations, and we'll continue to have conversations with folks about. Is there a win-win here because you said you hit the nail on the head? We're in markets. We're addressing an occasion of stay. We have physical assets that are very distinct from what is typically offered by one of the major chain families, and I think that that can be highly additive to their system and working with them on distribution, could be highly additive to ours.” – Ken Cruse, Soul Community Planet   Read story

“Keeping the Dorchester Collection renowned culture and values alive was key in the selection of Philippe [Leboeuf] as CEO. Driven by purpose and excellence, he is highly respected globally by many stakeholders including owners, the travel trade, the media and partners, and especially employees and guests.” – Christopher Cowdray, Dorechester Collection   Read story

“We’re only number two in the sense that we’re the second largest in terms of the number of rooms. That’s not how we think about our performance. If you take a lot of other different metrics, whether it’s RevPAR index premiums, top-line performance, unit growth, culture… bottom line performance in the form of EBITDA, free cash flow per share, EPS growth and the ultimate, total shareholder return, we’re number one in all of those things that I just mentioned and that’s how we think about it.” – Kevin Jacobs, Hilton   Read story

“We’re a new player with a long-term mindset and a hands-on, entrepreneurial approach. We’re actively looking for opportunities—whether it’s families looking to sell, co-investors with aligned values, or lenders seeking reliable partners. Our model is built around quality assets, operational control, and the ability to move decisively. While we’re early in our journey, we’re here to build something lasting—and we welcome any conversation with like-minded partners.” – Alexander Hass, Kokomo Capital   Read story

“With interest rates expected to decline further, capital markets should see a resurgence in liquidity, further boosting transaction volumes across key European markets.” – Matthias Hecht, HVS   Read story

“We want our brands – Minor Hotels and our eight hotel brands – to matter more, especially to consumers. By taking a value-driven evolution, we looked for ways to reduce friction points and increase utility for our guests. The repositioning of Minor Hotels as a consumer-facing brand with a new brand essence, look and feel, purpose and refreshed digital strategy, we will increase connectivity amongst our brands, and an easy way to interact with Minor Hotels. All our stakeholders – guests, team members, investors, and owners, will benefit from greater awareness of our brands.” – Ian Di Tullio, Minor Hotels   Read story

“The terminology of co-living bugs me because I spend so much time [with partners] just trying to talk about co-living and everyone has a different idea.” – Serena Lim, Ascott   Read story

“Impressive pipeline expansion [in Latin America] demonstrates that regional tourism infrastructure continues to evolve in response to growing global demand for diverse travel experiences. As additional properties move from planning to completion in the coming year, Caribbean and Mexican destinations are leading what appears to be a transformative period for the region’s tourism economy.” – Bruce Ford, Lodging Econometrics   Read story

“The ongoing supply and demand imbalance across Europe continues to be a key driver for the sector. We’re seeing strong bids from prospective buyers looking to acquire the best assets, reflected in last year’s hotel investment volumes which were up 34% from 2023, the largest year-on-year increase for any sector in the region.” – Kenneth Hatton, CBRE   Read story