How European Leisure Travel Is Evolving

BERLIN — Much like the U.S., albeit a few months behind on the curve, European hotel operators are seeing a massive jump in leisure travel demand heading into this summer travel season.

But as that travel comes back, hoteliers are realizing the last two years have changed how consumers broadly view the world and how leisure travel fits into it.

To put that into context, Alexander Schneider, president of Nikki Beach Hotels and Resorts, said it's important to remember that demand never went away during the pandemic.

"I wouldn't say we saw a dip in demand," he said, while speaking during the "New Leisure" panel at the 2022 International Hospitality Investment Forum. "We saw a dip in the accessibility of locations."

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May 16, 2022 10:26 AM

2022 International Hotel Investment Forum

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Because of that, the last two years have showcased or even heightened the "resilience" of the leisure traveler, particularly in the lifestyle, luxury segments, he said.

"People want to have experiences, and they're more willing than ever to take hardships to reach their destinations," he said.

Grégory Lanter, chief development and construction officer for Club Med, said that while the traveler might be willing to work harder to get to a destination, they also want the hotel or resort hosting them to work harder to help them relax.

He said leisure can be defined as "what you do outside of your day-to-day life," and that day to day has worn down people to a greater degree over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic than any other point in modern history.

"Now that [travel] is possible there are more people looking for 'I don't want to do it myself,' which gives an all-inclusive resort — when it's well-organized and well-done — a great field for action," he said.

Karin Sheppard, managing director of Europe for IHG Hotels & Resorts, said IHG is seeing signs of international travel recovering for European destinations, although there will be continued impacts from slowdowns in China and the Russian-Ukrainian war. But she noted leisure-driven hotels will continue to benefit from a new mentality from travelers, who are trying to also fit more leisure activity into their day to day.

"It is happening, this concept of more flexibility working, which has become a norm very quickly, provides the opportunity to provide both business and leisure, particularly to younger generations," she said. "They're going to ask of us that we enable that and perhaps what might have happened a bit more covert before is now an overt statement, to say 'I'm going to Berlin, and I'm taking the weekend.'"

Gabriele Burgio, president and CEO of Alpitour World, said all of that makes this a good time to be in a vertically integrated travel company like his because it provides additional insights into travelers, whose behaviors seem to be changing almost constantly.

"It's a business model that has always been criticized ... the complexity has always been criticized," he said, noting the flexibility of controlling airlift during pandemic disruptions have been helpful.

Ramón Aragonés Marín, CEO of NH Hotel Group, said loyalty programs are also key at a moment where leisure is the dominant demand stream.

"There is no better tool than loyalty programs" for converting sales, he said.

Aragonés Marín said the silver lining of the pandemic has been the hotel industry was given a chance to hit the reset button for operations.

"Now we know we have to build a new framework, because it's impossible with the previous model," he said. "Now [owners] are ready to go ... trying to find a sustainable model."

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