Small hotels still have a place in the increasingly globalised hotel market, according to hotel, leisure and tourism management consultancy Pannell Kerr Forster.
Speaking at the PKF Forum ’99 in London, the company’s director of hotel, leisure and tourism Melvin Gold said multinational brands were playing an increasingly important role in the industry.
But he added: “For those hotels which are not part of the big chains, we believe the future will continue to feature avariety of strong, branded, regional and national chains and hotels in a range of niche markets including town houses, country houses, timeshare, boutique hotels and designer hotels.
“These hotels will not need to play in the big global pound a narrower focus will bring the right rewards.”
However, Gold said the big names in the hotel industry will never achieve the same global penetration as brands such as Coca Cola due to the high costs of market entry.
Hotel companies which harness the latest technology will create the best competitive advantage. “Technology will have the greatest impact of all on the hospitality industry in future years,” he added.