Bird & Bird
Private Equity Steps Up Its Interest in Hotel Assets, Hears Webinar
HVS | May 2, 2023
2 May 2023, London: A webinar held last week [27th April 2023] heard a topical discussion from a line-up of expert speakers on the increasing participation of private equity in the hotel investment landscape, the outlook for these investors and what private equity investors are looking for in the hotel sector. The webinar, organised by global hotel consultancy HVS, Bird & Bird, AlixPartners and EP Business in Hospitality, kicked off with positive feedback from an audience poll in which 41% of attendees said they expected investment in hotels to grow by 10% or more over the next 12 months with city centre, full service hotels and ...
Hoteliers Must Adapt to Change and Innovate, Hears Webinar
HVS | December 6, 2021
London – December 6, 2021 – The pandemic has prompted faster change and the hotel sector must be part of that, according to speakers at the 14th hotel webinar, held this week [1st December], organised by consultancy HVS, legal expert Bird & Bird, publishing group EP Business in Hospitality and restructuring advisory firm AlixPartners. Citing innovations such as smart rooms, digital reception, and keyless entry Oliver Freestone, a director at AlixPartners identified the time people spend online and the role of smart phones as being the biggest catalysts for change. He said: “Users spend four times the time on their phones...
Rising Costs, Staffing Shortages and Multi-Speed Recovery Play Havoc With the UK Hotel Sector
HVS | October 7, 2021
06 September 2021, London: Resetting the hotel balance sheet to be fit for recovery was the theme of the latest conference organised by global hotel consultancy HVS, legal expert Bird & Bird, publishing group EP Business in Hospitality and restructuring advisory firm AlixPartners. Addressing both in-person and online delegates yesterday [5th October 2021) Graeme Smith, EMEA head of hospitality & leisure at AlixPartners considered the support received by hotels from lenders, resulting in limited restructuring activity, despite disruption that the pandemic caused. “There are now a number of different lenders, the landscape ...
Hotel Sector Has Weathered the Pandemic Storm but Financing Remains Tough as Lenders Become Cautious
HVS | May 12, 2021
London - May 12, 2021 - Hotels have weathered the pandemic storm well with support from lenders, with a bounce back of trade expected, although for some this may take three to four years to achieve. This was one of the key conclusions heard at a webinar on hotel financing held yesterday [11 May 2021] attended by over 400 senior industry executives organised by global hotel consultancy HVS, legal expert Bird & Bird, publishing group EP Business in Hospitality and restructuring advisory firm AlixPartners. The webinar, moderated by Bird & Bird’s James Salford, kicked off by polling the audience, finding that most expected a 0.5% ...
Pandemic to Prompt Rise in UK Hotel Insolvencies According to Webinar Experts
HVS | November 25, 2020
London, 25 November 2020: Hotel insolvencies caused by the pandemic are likely to increase through 2021 according to experts speaking at a global webinar held yesterday [24th November] organised by HVS, AlixPartners, Bird & Bird and EP Magazine. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic there have been relatively few insolvency situations in the UK’s hotel sector. However, most of the speakers expected this to increase next year, while a poll of the 400+ executive delegates revealed that 77% expected levels of insolvencies to start rising in Q2-Q3 2021. Graeme Smith, managing director of AlixPartners was more upbeat as lower l...
Hotel Investors Across Europe Have ‘Wall of Money’ and Confidence in the Sector’s Ability to Recover, Hears Webinar
HVS | September 17, 2020
17 September 2020, London: A webinar held this week [15th September] hosted by HVS, AlixPartners, Bird & Bird and EP Magazine, heard a distinguished panel of experts debate the impact of the global pandemic on hotel values across Europe and whether it had in fact, created an investment opportunity. HVS London chairman Russell Kett kicked off the session by noting the improved performance of hotels in July, compared with April of this year, despite many properties remaining closed. “Things have started to move in those properties that have re-opened,” he said, “business is starting to come back. These are good signs with strong in...
Hotel Operators Must Be flexible, Be Lean and React Quickly to Change, Says HVS Webinar Panellists
HVS | July 9, 2020
09 July 2020, London: Financing the cost of re-opening the hotel sector was the hot topic tackled in the second hotel webinar organised by global hotel consultancy HVS, legal firm Bird & Bird, EP Hospitality and AlixPartners, which was held yesterday [8th July]. The seminar, with nearly 350 industry executives attending, kicked off with an overview from EP Hospitality chief executive Chris Sheppardson, who said that Covid-19 was “the greatest catalyst for change for the last 60 years”. It’s vital, he said, to share information and communicate as noone has ever experienced anything with such a far-reaching impact.AlixPartners’ m...
Creativity and Flexibility Become Key for the Hotel Sector’s New Normal
HVS | June 17, 2020
17 June 2020, London: An international hotel webinar held last week [10th June] to discuss the hotel industry’s journey out of lockdown, warned of the long road ahead for hotel operators to reach full recovery, and the likelihood that the hotel sector and the way it operates will be forever changed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The webinar, organized by global hotel consultancy HVS, legal firm Bird & Bird and EP Hospitality, attracted nearly 700 industry executives from across the world, with 18 senior industry experts presenting as speakers, panellists and moderators. A session addressing post-lockdown re-opening strateg...
