MIPIM 2022 (21 MB)

“Sustainability hasn‘t really
been an issue in hotel
transactions in the last two
years.“
Melanie Waraschitz,
Christie und Co
be a focus on sustainability among private individuals,
and if guests demand sustainability or
even ESG, owners and operators will respond.
Harald Galla adds, „I think awareness will
become more prevalent. If people live sustainably
in general, they will also consider how and
where they go on vacation. The price will still
remain a key decision criterion nevertheless.“
wants his hotel to be fully occupied,“ Galla says
realistically. But for investors, soft tourism is
not an option anyway; they may have shifted
from city hotels to resort hotels, but hidden regions
are off their radar, Waraschitz confirms.
What is going to happen when the Corona recovery
kicks in? Will Hallstatt and Florence be
packed with people again? „I think tourism will
come back the way we had it before Corona,“
Christian Pillwein says, „but you can steer it
through quality, through new ideas, and make
it sustainable that way. I‘m not sure whether
everyone must fly up to the Mehlsack in a helicopter.
But if you allow it, people will do it - and
some of them will be taken to the hospital right
away by the next helicopter.“
All that glitters is not gold
2019 was a boom year for tourism in Vienna.
Accordingly, many hotel projects were in
planning or already under construction. The
question is whether Vienna is missing out on
the market?
„There will be a big shifting-out because of
the pandemic. Hotels whose presence we
have questioned in recent years will likely
disappear,“ project developer Anton Bondi
de Antoni (Bondi Consulting) sums it up. „In
Vienna, we can see that hotels in all categories
are being developed and built, so I don‘t think
we have an overcapacity, but we will see strong
consolidation in the market,“ interjects Wolfgang
Fessl of Reinberg und Partner. Hotel consultant
Frans-Jan Soede (HAM independent
hospitality & tourism advisor) is of the same
opinion: „I also expect a market shakeout; hotels
without unique selling features will have
an even harder time in the future. However,
where I see the biggest challenge is in the congress
business. Vienna is a convention city;
the international events won‘t come back for
another four or five years when the airlines
have resumed their full-scale intercontinental
flights.“
Huge oversupply
„In the record year of 2019, the average rate
in the Vienna hotel industry was around €109
net. During Corona, the rate has dropped to
When we think about tomorrow, a different
generation with different values will decide,
points out Christian Pillwein. The challenge
is that vacations must be considered as a complete
package, says Pillwein: „It‘s about getting
there, the leisure activities, the environment,
the people, etc. For me, the super-efficient
property alone is of no use if the rest is not right
- for example, if the ski hill is 500 meters above
sea level.“
Opportunity for new destinations?
If sustainability, deceleration and recollection
become essential vacation decision criteria,
this would also offer an opportunity for previously
remote or underdeveloped regions.
Markus Steinböck cites Admont and Johnsbach
as well as Defereggen valley as examples.
„Of course, this is a double-edged sword,“ as
Melanie Waraschitz puts the idea into perspective.
„Yes, for many regions it‘s an opportunity,
but as soon as it becomes a successful model
and interesting for tourists, many people start
going there.“ And the spiral begins to turn -
more and more, bigger and bigger, more and
more awesome. „A rational investor naturally
“With every new hotel project, you
have to think carefully about what the
guest needs very specifically at this
location.“
Anton Bondi de Antoni,
Bondi Immobilien Consulting
“We expect online meetings to reduce
business travel by up to 10 percent in
the future.“
Rochel Sarikov,
CBRE
MIPIM | 2022
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