Global tourism has grown at an almost constant rate for the past two decades, thanks to simpler and less expensive travel. Between 1997 and 2017, the number of foreign departures more than doubled, from 687 million to 1.57 billion per year, according to the World Bank.
With the global middle class growing at a rate of up to 160 million people each year, it’s perhaps unsurprising that departures from low- and middle-income countries accounted for nearly half of the increase in tourist numbers, increasing from 121 million in 1997 to 564 million in 2017. The number of visitors to low- and middle-income countries increased significantly during this time, rising from 163 million to 515 million, demonstrating the rapid growth of their tourism industries.
There is a clear need for adequate tourism facilities with more people on the move than ever before. Despite the emergence of accommodation-sharing websites such as Airbnb, the majority of travelers prefer to stay in hotels. There are a lot of boutique hotels in Rabat,Morocco and the rest of the country. Story Rabat is one of best hotels in Rabat, Morocco. Deloitte, a multinational accounting company, forecasted a 5% to 6% increase in gross bookings in 2018, bringing the total to $170 billion, an all-time high.
Furthermore, according to STR Global, an international hotel industry data and benchmarking company, the number of hotel rooms worldwide rose by 17.7% from 2008 to hit 17 million in 2018. More than 184,000 hotels offered these rooms, up 8.4% from 2008. The fact that the number of rooms is increasing at a rate more than double that of hotels means that the average hotel size is increasing.
Investment Landscape
In 2017, cross-border hotel investment totaled $10 billion, or 15% of the global total ($62.5 billion). Hotel investments in Europe ($4.5 billion) and North America ($4.4 billion) accounted for approximately 90% of the total, with South America and Asia (excluding mainland China) earning around $800 million each. Even as the influx of outbound capital from China slows, Asian investors are expected to account for the majority of hotel assets in the near term. Southeast Asian investors, in particular, are becoming more important players in the international hotel industry.
New avenues for investors to gain exposure to the hospitality sector have become more popular in recent years, in addition to the conventional approach of direct hotel acquisitions. Both debt funding and merger and acquisition activity have increased significantly in recent years. According to JLL’s “Hotel Investment Outlook 2018,” this has enabled non-traditional players such as insurance companies, pension funds, and private equity firms to enter the market. Despite the low-interest rate climate that existed for most of the previous decade, they were drawn by the reasonably high yields on offer. Generalist investors accounted for 71% of total hotel sector investment in 2017, up from 62% in 2014, according to JLL, and this trend is expected to continue as the asset class matures.
Middle East and Africa
Hotel room development in the Middle East and Africa accelerated in 2017, according to JLL results, second only to mainland China. This encouraging trend can be attributed to the region’s significant economic growth and the emergence of the middle class, which has resulted in increased travel demand.
The rapid expansion of hotel room supply in Sub-Saharan Africa has increased competitive pressures in the region’s hospitality market including the hotels in Rabat, Morocco. In 2019, JLL expects $1.7 billion in hotel investment in Sub-Saharan Africa, with investment revenues of $400 million.
Morocco has been leading the charge in North Africa in terms of both tourist numbers – estimated at 12.5 million in 2018, up more than 10% from the previous year – and hotel infrastructure. In Rabat, for example, a slew of new high-end resorts and hotels are providing luxurious accommodations, attracting tourists to stay longer. A traditional Moroccan spa and hammam, a state-of-the-art gym, and a 25-meter swimming pool surrounded by sculpted gardens and water features are among the leisure facilities available in Rabat. It’s the ideal location for small corporate gatherings, retreats, and other exclusive activities. The Luxury Lifestyle Award in New York has named story rabat the “best luxury boutique hotel”in morocco for the year 2020.
Emerging Asia
According to JLL’s survey, there is a significant disparity between hotel room construction patterns in mainland China, which accelerated in 2017, and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region, which slowed, owing to “emerging regions seeing a slowdown in new growth.” However, Vietnam appears to be one of the few countries where demand for new hotel rooms is outpacing supply. In 2018, it is expected that 15.5 million international tourists will visit the country. Since 2010, Vietnam has seen an increase in international visitors. The number of hotels owned by international chains more than doubled between 2010 and 2017, from 30 to 79, with more on the way. According to Savills, a global real estate services firm, an additional 30,000 rooms will be delivered by the end of 2019. Despite the tourist numbers, there are fears that the construction boom will create intense competition in the coming years.
Oversupply in Thailand’s hotel market has become a source of concern, as the country has risen to become the most popular international tourist destination in Southeast Asia, attracting more than 35 million foreign visitors in 2017. The proliferation of unlicensed and uncontrolled accommodation has exacerbated the problem; the National Statistics Office reports that there are 457,000 official hotel rooms available, with an additional 500,000 rooms available in unauthorized hotels and unregulated residences.
Latin America
Mexico has Latin America’s most established hospitality market, with 392,000 hotel rooms at the end of 2017 – ahead of Brazil’s 257,000 and Argentina’s 60,000. International hotel investors are increasingly looking at Chile, Colombia, and Peru. Infrastructure constraints, according to Carlos Trujillo, executive president of the Mexican Association of Tourist Developers, restrict the selection of high-quality products and services available in the industry, echoing challenges faced by less established hospitality sectors throughout Latin America. “The Mexico Tourism Board is working on bringing more high-purchasing-power tourists or premium tourism to the country, but infrastructure limitations need to be tackled and overcome to provide the resources that high-end tourism demands,” Trujillo said
Disruptive Business Models
Accommodation-sharing technology sites, such as Airbnb, as well as more existing alternatives, such as timeshares, have increased the competition for hotels. According to JLL research, the number of accommodation-sharing listings is higher in cities with high hotel occupancy rates. According to JLL data, while a growing number of cities are imposing restrictions on accommodation-sharing platforms, there has been no discernible effect on hotel performance in cities where such platforms have already established a foothold. This implies that hotels and shared housing might not be competing for the same market.
Technology has also resulted in significant gains. Hoteliers can attract a larger pool of potential buyers and increase occupancy by providing discounted rates through online booking sites like Expedia and Hotels.com. Oyo is a good emerging market example; since its inception in India in 2013, it has grown to become South Asia’s largest hotel chain by room count. Oyo is a web-based platform that unites a large number of small, independently owned budget hotels under a single brand with shared standards. Hotels that join the franchise will then benefit from some of the larger hotel chains’ economies of scale. Since collaborating with Oyo, hotels have been able to deliver more competitive rates and double or even triple their occupancy. Oyo had built a wide footprint in India and China, as well as expanding to Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, the UAE, and the United Kingdom, by September 2018, with a network of roughly 211,000 rooms in 349 cities.
Prospects
The hospitality industry is cyclical around the world, influenced by macroeconomic conditions as well as its internal dynamics: strong demand contributes to high occupancy and positive financial results, which causes a supply response, increasing available rooms. This puts a strain on occupancy rates and financial results, dampening investment and repeating the cycle. The last big decline occurred in 2009-10, following the global financial crisis. Global occupancy rates increased to about 66 percent in 2018, and hotel room development increased, indicating that the industry is nearing the end of its cycle.
Despite this, global hotel investment reached $43.3 billion in the first nine months of 2018, down 5% from the same timeframe in 2017. Except for the Americas, which saw a 9.2 percent increase, the slowdown can be seen in all areas. With the global economy facing headwinds in 2019-20, there could be knock-on effects on business travel and disposable income, resulting in poorer results in the hospitality industry. This could cloud the hotel investment picture in the medium term, particularly in oversaturated markets. Global trade wars, higher interest rates, and a recession in the world’s most important economy, China, are all factors that could reduce transaction volumes in the future.However, there are reasons to be optimistic. In the long run, the UN World Tourism Organization predicts that foreign tourist arrivals will surpass 1.8 billion by 2030, representing an annual growth rate of 3.3 percent between 2010 and 2030. Despite any near-term cyclical headwinds, continued growth in income levels in emerging and developed economies, combined with the expansion of the global middle class, is likely to underpin longer-term demand for hotel rooms.
