Corporate Travel Analysis Reports For Europe/MEA

Accor is to deploy an "aggressive expansion effort" in China using the Movenpick brand. In its most significant move with the brand since its 2018 purchase, Accor has signed a master franchise agreement with Sunmei Digital Intelligence Group to open more than 400 Movenpick properties across China from 2023, the same year the brand celebrates its 75th anniversary.

The UK was among the first countries in the world to raise its head above the parapet that has been the COVID-19 pandemic. But, still, the recovery has been slow and comes with tremendous economic and social challenges.

Many see the aviation industry will be key to the recovery of other sectors, including leisure, hospitality, and international conferencing. New research demonstrates the importance of a thriving business air travel sector to the economy and positively and indicates an overwhelming desire from businesses to return to the skies.

IHG Hotels & Resorts will launch its popular voco Hotels brand in Japan for the first time, following the signing of a management agreement with NTT Urban Development Corporation that will see it open the flagship voco Osaka Central in 2023. As part of the planned growth of its global luxury and lifestyle portfolio in 2022 it will also bring the InterContinental brand to Penang, Malaysia and Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts will expand into Malaysia with the opening in 2024 of the Waldorf Astoria Kuala Lumpur. The property in the heart of the city's famed Bukit Bintang hub will be developed and owned by Tradewinds Corporation Berhad and managed by Hilton.

Among key hotel markets in the Asia Pacific region, Sydney's gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) level came closest to its 2019 comparable, according to STR's April 2022 P&L data release. After coming in at just 51% of 2019 GOPPAR levels in Mar-2022, Sydney posted an April GOPPAR of USD52.08, which was 82% of the pre-pandemic comparable.

Building on its 2021 milestone as the most successful year ever in terms of signings, Radisson Hotel Group has ambitious projections for 2022 that includes the opening of 15,000 rooms and achieving the signing of 330 hotels total in EMEA and APAC, as well as planned targets for continued growth of the group's midscale lifestyle brand, prizeotel.

Among the key city hotel markets in Europe, Paris was the only one to achieve gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) that was 100% of the 2019 comparable, according to the Mar-2022 P&L data release from benchmarking specialist STR.

The travel, tourism and aviation industries in the across the globe witness policy and upper level changes on a daily basis. It is important to not only keep tabs of these organisations direction, but to also monitor changes in executive branches to see the wider picture of the travel market. CTC - Corporate Travel Community aims to keep you informed of these movements each month, with a full wrap of the key changes across regional markets, while also featuring key appointments announced for the month.

Here are the key executive changes for Mar-2022:

In Mar-2022, the United Kingdom became one of the first large economies to remove all remaining COVID-19 international travel restrictions, reflecting government confidence in its vaccination programme. In the event of future COVID variants of concern, the UK says it will default to the "least stringent measures". This should give aviation operators and passengers greater security in planning for the future.

Fluctuating energy prices can be a constant issue for businesses across the travel industry, but while a rising trend in pricing can actually be better managed, it can have severe implications. As COVID fears now recede, energy costs are taking over as a major concern for airlines, logistics specialists and tour operators.