Pandox Upgrade - Nr 1 2011 (Eng)

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M A R K E T I N F O R M AT I O N F R O M PA N D O X – O N E O F E U R O P E ’ S L E A D I N G H O T E L P R O P E R T Y C O M PA N I E S

A fantastic year for Swedish handball9P.

Theme: Social projects8P.

Where are we heading? Report from Hot.E!6P.

Recovery on most markets

S P O T L I G H T

2011

Aut

umn

T R E N D S | S O C I A L M E D I A I N C R E A S I N G I N I M P O R TA N C E

The trend for the last three economic down-turns in the hotel industry is clear. The declines are becoming deeper and deeper, but the downturn is becoming shorter.

If we look at New York by way of example, we can see that the downturn in the early 1990s lasted about two and a half years. The decline that occurred in the early 2000s lasted for about two years, while the latest crisis persisted for one and a half years. The opposite is true as regards the depth of the declines, though. During the first downturn, income fell by 12 per cent, it fell by more than 20 per cent during the second, and by almost 30 per cent during the latest, accelerated downturn.

So why is this? Most professional commenta-tors are of the opinion that this is a result of an increase in the economic imbalances in the world. The problems with gigantic mountains of debt are growing. The shortening of the course of events is thought to be a result of overstimulation of econo-mies, with lower interest rates in order to counter-act economic downturns. A sophisticated form of doping, you could say! We are now facing an uncertain future, despite the fact that most busi-ness sectors are experiencing excellent results. This time, weak finances in certain countries in Southern Europe are haunting us, creating turbu-lence in the financial systems, butchering market prices and causing doom-laden headlines in the business press. There is now a risk of the epidemic spreading to all corporate sectors, with a tangible risk of a reduction in economic activity impacting on demand in the hotel industry. Anything else would be surprising. The main question, which all should give some thought to, is how the econo-mies will be stimulated this time. The interest rate gun probably won’t be as effective, given its already historically low level...

Birds, fish or somewhere in betweenIf we look at current market trends, 2011 will be a relatively good year for the hotel industry in spite of everything; particularly for the markets which are a long way ahead in the economic cycle, such as

New York and London. The situation for these metropolises has now reached such a high level that most of the growth consists of an increase in average price. This is healthy for productivity, as well as for profit and property values.

But there is a lot of uncertainty for next year, and there are three main scenarios: The optimists believe we’ll see an increase in demand in the hotel industry and are focusing on at least retaining their share of the upswing. The pessimists are preparing them-selves for a deep recession, focusing on reducing company costs. The people in the middle are fore-casting a certain decline in 2012 and then anticipat-ing low criteria for growth over the following years. If you belong to the latter category, your priorities will probably involve increasing the company’s market shares. This is not unlikely, given a dynamic pricing and segmentation strategy.

Popular day with an important themeA new Hotel Market Day will be held on 15 Novem-ber – the 16th consecutive Hotel Market Day in 16 years. Who’d have thought we’d still be holding these when we launched the concept back in 1996?! The reasoning behind it at that time was that the company needed an introduction to the capital market prior to the new stock exchange listing which took place the following year. Since then, Hotel Market Day has developed into a dynamic meeting place for the hotel sector. We often have the pleasure of welcoming no fewer than 300 guests, of whom more and more are coming from markets outside Sweden. This is fab-ulous!! I’d like to take this opportunity to repeat the fact that here at Pandox, we’re extremely proud to see so many people taking the time to attend our event. This year, the seminar is all about CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility – a topical subject which we all have to take extremely seriously and take greater responsibility for. I believe that these issues will become a natural part of the DNA of all modern companies. They belong to the values which each and every company must embrace in order to remain attractive to customers, staff and talented people that they want to recruit.

The list of speakers at this years Hotel Market Day is probably the best we’ve ever had. I probably

don’t need to tell you that we’re particularly proud of our main speaker, Lars H. Thunell, formerly the CEO of SEB and now in a top international position as Executive Vice President of the World Bank Group and Chairman of IFC, the International Finance Corporation. Thunell will be discussing the latest global macroeconomic trends and providing both his own and the World Bank Group’s views on how to use active measures to support developing countries and the battle to wipe out poverty and suffering among people. And what’s more, I know an official secret about Lars H. Thunell which also involves Pandox. Want to know more?

Three Ms – Mega-agreement, Montreal and Mr HarryBig things are happening at Pandox too. A mega-cooperation agreement has been entered into with Scandic which will involve us upgrading and devel-oping 40 existing hotels. These include 30 classic motels which will be having makeovers and taking on completely new styles. The Hyatt in Montreal has also been given a facelift, with a new “Food and Beverage” concept with an entertainment pro-file. This is pretty logical, given the fact that the hotel is situated in the heart of the city’s entertain-ment district. And last but not least, we’ve recruited ourselves a new Corporate Dog who goes by the name of Mister Harry. Mr. Harry is a well trained boxer with a gorgeous woof! He’ll be reporting directly to our highly respected staff member and team captain Staffan Olsson.

My very best wishes to you all,Anders

PS! If you happen to have missed the news, the ladies’ handball team will be playing at the World Championship in Brazil in December. Can the team repeat their success from last year’s European Championship? The men’s team are competing at the European Championship in Serbia in January, followed by Olympic qualifiers in Gothenburg in early April. We have an exciting year of handball ahead of us!

Is there any new miracle cure for the crisis?

JUST A WORD

Address: Pandox AB P.O. Box 15 SE-101 20 Stockholm, Sweden Tel.: +46 (0) 8 506 205 50 Fax: +46 (0) 8 506 205 70 E-mail: [email protected]

Visiting address: Vasagatan 11, 9th floor, Stockholm

Graphic design and production: Hallvarsson & Halvarsson

Photos: Ulf Blomberg, Peter Hoelstad, Getty Images, Shutterstock, iStockphoto et al.

Printing: TMG Sthlm, November 2011. May be reprinted only with the permission of Pandox.

Cover photo: The Hotel, Brussels.

Upgrade can be ordered from Pandox or read at www.pandox.se

Pandox Upgrade. Market information from Pandox – published approximately three times a year.

Editors: Anders Nissen, Marika Hilldoff, Annelie Sundström Aguilar

2 MARKET INFORMATION FROM PANDOX

SEPTEMBER Victoria Towers, the tallest hotel in the Nordic region, is opened. The property was constructed by Arthur Buchardt, with Peab as the contractor, and is home to both offices and a 299-room hotel. Scandic is hiring floors 1–22, as well as 33–34 for conferences. There will be a sky bar at the top. “It feels great to be helping to open this new land-mark. Scandic now has five hotels between Stockholm and Arlanda, and Kista is part of Stockholm with a com-pletely new infrastructure,” Anders Ehr-ling, Group President of Scandic, told Travel News at the opening ceremony.

Finnish hotel chain Omena Hotels will be opening a new hotel on Torsgatan in Stockholm in March 2012. The new hotel will have 251 rooms and be the eleventh hotel for this chain. The busi-ness concept surrounding Omena hotels involves a self-service concept in city locations, offering low prices by cut-ting back on staff and other service. For instance, there’s no reception; customer service is given over the phone. When booking online, guests are given codes which give them access to the rooms they’ve booked.

InterContinental to be ten times big-ger in Russia. InterContinental is pub-lishing ambitious plans to open 100 new hotels in Russia by 2020 – ten times as many hotels as the chain has at present. The new projects include the biggest Holiday Inn in Europe, a 1,000-room hotel to open in Moscow in 2014.

Qatari company acquires London’s W Hotel. Al Faisal Holding Company is acquiring W London Hotel, Leicester Square, for almost GBP 200 million, thereby implementing one of this year’s most prestigious hotel transactions.

NewsHOTEL WORLD

JULYHome Properties is selling Radisson Blu Strand Hotel, the Måns Bok 6 property, to the Frimurare Barnhuset foundation in Stockholm. The under-lying property value amounted to a record SEK 600 million (SEK 95,000 per sq m). Radisson Blu Strand Hotel has 152 rooms and covers a total area of 6,300 sq m. The vendor, Home Properties, is continuing its strategic cultivation of its property portfolio, aiming to own only properties run by Nordic Choice Hotel.

Skanska is building a new property for Winn Hotel Group at Lindholmen in Gothenburg. This hotel will have 266 rooms and is projected for completion in early 2013. Winn Hotel Group has entered into a 25-year rental agreement with Skanska, which will be starting con-struction work in the spring of 2012. The investment amounts to approximately SEK 400 million. Publication of this pro-ject comes just a few weeks after the Swedish Exhibition and Congress Centre announced that it would be building one of the biggest hotels in Europe, with around 1,200 rooms in Gothenburg.

Diligentia is selling the Klockan 1 prop-erty in the heart of Stockholm to Norwe-gian company KLP Eiendom AS. This property covers an area of 18,600 sq m and includes the Scandic Grand Central hotel with its 391 rooms, which is open-ing on 1 October, along with two shops. The purchase price is SEK 1.1 billion, with an option of an earnout. KLP is also the owner of Radisson Royal Viking, which is just a stone’s throw away.

Scandic first company in Sweden to offer direct booking on Facebook. Social media have become popular channels in the hotel industry. People can plan a weekend away and book both a rooms and a table for dinner at Scandic Grand Central, among others, just by clicking. With this, the hotel hopes to be able to reach out to new target groups that use social media frequently, daily even.

Elite Hotels is to buy the old Grand Hotel in Gävle from Diös. The purchase price is SEK 40 million. The property will become a hotel once more after 70 years of other activities. This hotel will be opening under the name of Elite Grand Hotel in the autumn of 2012 and have 123 hotel rooms, a restaurant and a conference facility with a capacity of 130 people. The total investment amounts to SEK 150 million.

New hotel started in the Arenastaden district. Peab has won the contract and started construction of the new hotel next to the Swedbank Arena in Solna. The contract is worth a total of SEK 502 mil-lion. It’s thought that this hotel, which will be 94 metres high and have 399 hotel rooms, will be completed by August 2013. The developer is Pasab Fastighets-utveckling AB, which is owned by Petter Stordalen and Arthur Buchardt. The hotel will be run by Nordic Choice Hotels.

AUGUSTRica to open a new hotel in Gothen-burg. Rica Hotel No. 25 will be the name of Rica’s new hotel on Burggreve-gatan in Gothenburg – a concept in the very heart of Gothenburg. The hotel has had an extra storey added and all 112 rooms have been freshly renovated and fitted out to please business travellers, families and larger parties alike.

Best Western is to open its first hotel in Russia. Best Western Vega Hotel & Convention Center in Moscow is now the biggest of more than 4,000 Best Western hotels all over the world. The hotel has 970 rooms and the capacity to handle more than 1,000 conference guests a day. The hotel also has a num-ber of restaurants, a coffee shop and a Turkish bath and Finnish sauna.

InterContinental is continuing its expansion. ICH, with brands such as InterContinental, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Stalybridge, is planning to open another 28 new hotels in the United Kingdom. These include a new InterCon-tinental flagship hotel in Westminster and a Holiday Inn and Stalybridge, near the Olympic Village. InterContinental already has 269 hotels in the United Kingdom.

OCTOBERScandic Grand Central – giant new hotel in the heart of Stockholm. The first weekend of October saw the opening of another hotel in Stockholm, this time on the corner of Vasagatan/Kungsgatan. This hotel has 391 rooms and will be the most expensive Scandic hotels in the city, but cheaper than the Nobis and Elite. Scandic’s aim is also to be a new entertainment centre, and the hotel will be offering free shows three to five times a week.

First Wyndham Hotel in Turkey. Plans are afoot for the opening of the new five-star, 21-storey Wyndham Petek Istanbul in the autumn of 2012. The hotel will be conveniently situated less than seven kilometres from Atatürk, Istanbul’s inter-national airport.

Hotell chains stepping up the pace in China. International hotel operators such as Hyatt Hotels and Carlson are now competing for new markets in China, mainly in the medium price seg-ment. Hyatt is planning to use its brand name to open Hyatt Place hotels and Hyatt House hotels. Carlson, which also owns Radisson, is planning to introduce its midrange class hotel Park Inn.

Victoria Tow

ers, Kista.

MARKET INFORMATION FROM PANDOX 3

Increased business travel and a general increase in the leisure and conference seg-ments have led to increasing occupancy and higher average prices in most major hotel mar-kets. However, economic development and uncertainty regarding the world economy are of major significance to the hotel markets. Despite a weakening of the economic situation, many commentators are expecting to see RevPAR continuing to rise, driven by an increase in average prices. However, the growth rate is expected to diminish over time.

Still strong in the USAThe year got off to a strong start in the USA, with a RevPAR upswing of 8.5 per cent over the first two quarters compared with the previous year, due pri-marily to increased occupancy. However, this trend reversed slightly after the summer, most likely due to the situation on the financial markets of the world. RevPAR for the first three quarters of the year ended up at 8.3 per cent.

New York is demonstrating weaker develop-ment than the average for the USA, and RevPAR has gone up by 6 per cent over the first three quar-ters of the year, compared with the same period last year. The price represents more than the entire growth as occupancy has reversed slightly. This loss of occupancy is due mainly to the fact that the hotel is choosing not to work with low price groups as the high price market has increased significantly.

London – how much more is there to recover?London normally comes after New York in the eco-nomic cycle, but this pattern appears to have been broken now. Recovery from the latest downturn began with an increase in occupancy in the autumn of 2009, and the price followed pretty soon after. It is evident that this downturn was shorter and less

Recovery ongoing on most major hotel markets

FAST RECOVERY AND INCREASING RevPAR DESPITE UNCERTAIN CONDITIONS

FOCUS ON THE MARKET

harsh than expected, and London continues to remain at the forefront of the economic cycle for hotels in Europe.

The current RevPAR in London has passed its historical peak and stood at GBP 110 after Sep-tember, which is almost 10.5 per cent better than for the same period in 2010. This increase has mainly been driven by increased prices, but also by an increase in people visiting the UK due to the weakened pound.

The question is, does London have any more to give?Despite the fact the views of households and com-panies with regard to the economy are worsening as a result of the uneasy times in Europe, there is still reason to remain optimistic about the hotel market in London. A report from PwC lists five rea-sons as to why:• Business travel continuing to increase. Most

companies, particularly in the data and software industry, believe the future is bright and think they will be continuing to travel.

• The leisure segment is continuing to attract visitors and encourage hotel bookings. Travel remains an important factor for our well-being and will be given priority even though many people may find themselves financially challenged as a result.

• Major events in 2012 are driving prices and demand. The Olympic Games, Farnborough airshow, the Paralympics and the celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth are all major events taking place in London next year.

• Relatively few new hotels and hotel projects. Although there is still a lot of competition, things could be worse. The number of new hotel pro-jects is limited, probably as a consequence of the ongoing problems with regard to finance.

• Trendy new submarkets in East London. The London Olympic Stadium and many of the Olympic events will be taking part in the east of London. Renovations are taking place prior to this, and new hotels are being built. Above all, the new hotels are expected to fall within the boutique and design hotel segment.

Explanations:

RevPAR = Income per room available

YTD = Year-to-date


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The figures are based on statistics from STR Global.

New York, RevPAR development, January 2010 – September 2011

Uneven hotel market in EuropeThe market for Europe is uneven, with the strongest development being seen in the growth markets in the east. However, for most of the major hotel cities development is being driven mainly by an increase in average prices. Occupancy is also continuing to rise due to the fact that the capacity increase has been relatively limited. For Europe in total, RevPAR amounted to almost +7 per cent for the first three quarters of the year compared with last year. Istan-bul, Venice, Paris, Amsterdam and Gothenburg are seeing the best development at present.

Onwards and upwards in ScandinaviaThe major Nordic cities are all showing a positive RevPAR growth for the first nine months of the year. The Gothenburg market is showing the strongest trend and heads the lists in Scandinavia with an increase of no less than 13 per cent compared with last year. Then comes Copenhagen with 10 per cent, followed by Helsinki with 6 per cent and Oslo with 3 per cent. Stockholm is last, with a RevPAR increase of 1.5 per cent.

Gothenburg and StockholmThe Gothenburg market has seen very strong development over the first three quarters of the year. Demand on both the private and corporate markets has been strong. Many private individuals have seen improvements in their financial situations and been able to enjoy hotel stays. Liseberg has also enjoyed very good results over the year. Com-panies have also increased their travelling and con-ference arrangements in the city. Another factor which may have influenced these strong figures is the indicator of a seasonal shift in terms of confer-ences and congresses. Gothenburg has seen more, bigger conferences in the spring of 2011 than was the case in 2010, which may mean that the autumn will pose a little more of a challenge. February 2012 also sees the opening of the new Clarion Post, with its 500 rooms in central Gothen-burg, which will probably not go unnoticed on the market.

Stockholm is demonstrating relatively weak development in 2011, which may be due to the fact that the market is being compared with a strong

2010. Among other arrangements for 2010, a major congress for cardiologists took place in August which drove up the market. This congress was the biggest arranged at Stockholm Interna-tional Fairs to date, and was attended by around 27,500 delegates. September last year was also a strong month for congresses, with – among others – a major medical conference on diabetes taking place. However, this had no major impact on the hotel market. A congress of similar size, on cancer, took place in September this year as well.Stockholm’s RevPAR has also been adversely affected by an increase in hotel capacity. Around 1,200 new rooms are anticipated to be available to the market for 2011 as a whole. Among other things, Scandic has opened its new hotels Victoria Tower in Kista and Grand Central in the city. Earlier this year, All Seasons also opened in Järva Krog, Elite Eden in the city and Best Western in Bromma. However, in absolute figures and from a historical standpoint, Stockholm is still in a good position. Its RevPAR is on a par with 2010 and 2008, and aver-age prices are up to the same level as in 2008.


Hotel Berlin, Berlin

Hilton Docklands, London

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The figures are based on statistics from STR Global. Oslo CopenhagenStockholmHelsinki

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Scandinavian capitals, RevPAR – YTD September 2011

Europe, average price and occupancy, change from 2010 – YTD September 2011

THE MARKET ON THE MARKET

It is obvious that the increase in capacity in the market will continue. The first of the new hotels will probably be Omena Hotel on Torsgatan in Stock-holm’s inner city, with 250 new rooms, which will be opening in March 2012. Clarion Hotel Arlanda will be opening later in the autumn, with 400 rooms near to Sky City. It is not yet clear when the new Quality Hotel Arenastaden next to the Swedbank Arena in Solna will be opening, but this is expected to take place some time in late 2012 or in spring 2013. This hotel will also have 400 new rooms.

It is also evident that Stockholm International Fairs is expecting fewer visitors next year after a number of strong years of really massive con-gresses. Both 2012 and 2013 are expected to be weaker in terms of the number of major con-gresses, while the number of trade fairs is expected

to improve slightly. This is because a number of the trade fairs held every two years are due to take place in 2012. However, it remains to be seen just how all this will affect the hotel market.

OsloThe Oslo market, like Stockholm, is dominated by major domestic demand. The year got off to a strong start as a consequence of the World Ski Champion-ships in February and March, when much of Oslo was fully booked. Development since then has been more uneven, and has been affected by the fact that the year is being compared with last year’s strong summer of conferences. Another contributory factor is the fact that more rooms are now available in cen-tral Oslo. Another two hotels will be opening in 2012, offering a total of 600 new rooms.

CopenhagenCopenhagen’s hotel market has recovered quickly, primarily due to volumes, and its levels are starting to catch up after the trough year of 2010. RevPAR stands at 10 per cent above the level for 2010 at YTD September 2011, distributed evenly over price and volume.

HelsinkiHelsinki has also seen good recovery, but is emerg-ing from low levels. Just as in Copenhagen, the volumes are what have reinforced the Helsinki mar-ket, while prices are lagging behind. The city’s Rev-PAR is up almost 6 per cent after September, 4 per cent from occupancy and 2 per cent from price increases.


Hot.E, a hotel seminar, was held in London for the first time this year For three days in September, inves-tors, analysts, advisors and

property owners from the hotel world met up to discuss trends and research future investment opportunities in Europe. The hot topic for dis-cussion was the problem of debt in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland. What will the con-sequences be for the hotel industry, and what will be the next steps in the economic cycle?

Positive towards futurePrior to the seminar, 100 delegates were asked a number of questions about future hotel develop-ment, rate of expansion, projects and transaction

activity. The results were overwhelmingly positive, with no fewer than 80 per cent expressing positive confidence in market development over the next twelve months. Compared with a similar survey carried out during the ALIS conference in January, this is a considerable improvement!

Market reviewThe seminar began with an in-depth analysis from STR, which was able to establish that growth in Europe has begun to take hold. Volumes have increased to levels much higher than before the credit crunch. The major European cities are now seeing occupancy levels of over 60 per cent. Lon-don is at the top of the list, with more than 80 per cent. Europe’s pricing is more divided. Venice and Paris are the most expensive, with average prices

in excess of EUR 230 per night, compared with Budapest and Prague with their average prices of less than EUR 70 per night.

Future trendsThe main speaker at the seminar was Rohit Talwar, CEO of Fast Future Research. Rohit talked about various trends, future scenarios and the potential consequences for the hotel industry. Topics for dis-cussion included the increasing population, the growing number of elderly customers, sustainabil-ity requirements, the increasing number of female decision-makers, future technology and the grow-ing and travelling middle class. Key concepts to take on board include being innovative and getting to know customers!

Where are we heading? Hot.E! About hotel trends

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Unanimous panel – Europe to remain fragmentedLater on the second day of the seminar, a panel debate took place in which leading investors from Starwood Capital Group, London & Regional, Black-stone, Canyon Equity and Pandox all expressed their concern about the prevailing economic situation in Europe. Above all, they are concerned about less stable hotel markets, suburbs and regional cities, where recovery is late in coming and occupancy has still not taken an upturn. The panel also agreed that recovery after the recession may take a long time, up to five years or more for some markets.

However, Ian Livingstone, Chairman of London & Regional, maintained a positive outlook and expressed his opinion that corporate travel and major conferences have made a massive come-

back, mentioning the fact that the Grand Prix in Monaco attracted as many visitors as in 2008.

So, are people now buying in the crisis-beset countries of Southern Europe? According to the panel, there is definitely value in hotel assets for inves-tors looking for opportunities. However, there are lots of questions as to when will be the right time to go in and buy. Homi Vazifdar, CEO of Canyon Equity, reck-oned in any case that it wouldn’t be a good idea to try to pinpoint the nadir, instead to rely on analysis and dare to buy if investment opportunities meet require-ments. The situation quite simply seems to be com-pletely normal. Everything is for sale – at the right price. And we all want to buy, too – at the right price. So what deals are of interest? Among major hotel prop-erty companies, debt-free assets in the higher market segments are what seem to be at a premium.

Trend: Growing and travelling middle class.

Trend: Increasing number of female decision-makers.

Trend: Future technology.


Hotel 27, Copenhagen

Scandic Grand Marina, Helsinki

Park Aveny, Gothenburg

FREESET – employment for freedom in IndiaPandox has also opted to support the fair trade company Freeset in Calcutta by buying its prod-ucts. This company offers employment to women who’ve become trapped in prostitution in Sonagac-chi, the biggest, mostly unknown district for the sex trade and trafficking in Calcutta. In this district, more than 10,000 women are forced into prostitution every day. These women come mainly from Bangla-desh, Nepal and the Indian countryside. Many of them have fallen victim to trafficking, while for others this is their only way out of severe poverty. Freeset gives these women the opportunity to learn to sew, and they’re able to make cases, fabric bags and t-shirts which are then sold to companies. They’re

also given the opportunity to learn to read and write.Josefin Bergqvist from Pandox worked as a volun-

teer in Calcutta earlier in the year. Last summer, she travelled back there to make a documentary about the work of the organisation and to order self-designed products for Pandox. Josefin had this to say:

“Supporting Freeset by buying their products is really making an amazing difference! The aid goes straight to the women without passing via middle-men. These products are eco-friendly and flexible, and special designs can be ordered. I can see there are lots of applications for them in the hotel industry, and I hope that more companies will implement similar initiatives.”

THEME SOCIAL PROJECTS

This year’s theme for Pandox Hotel Market Day is CSR and corporate social responsibility in the hotel industry. In line with this theme, here’s a presentation of the social projects which Pan-dox has been involved in over the year and which we’ll be continuing to work with in future.

Sport important to child development!Since the autumn, Pandox has been supporting the development of Kenyan handball thanks to active commitment and support to the Mount Kenya Sports Group (MSG). This club trains around 200–400 children and young people aged between 4 and 18 in the town of Nyeri, north-east of Nairobi. This project is being run in cooperation with the

Partille Cup, the biggest, most international youth handball tournament in the world.

We’re convinced that developing sport in this part of the world will pay off in many regards. Invest-ing in communities for children and young people will create greater interest in the sport, which we feel is a key to greater self-esteem, increased motivation to study, active and healthy lifestyles and opportuni-ties to play their part in a wider social context.

Handball in KenyaHandball isn’t a big sport in Africa, and Kenya is no exception to this. People in Nyeri began to show an interest in handball in 2003, when the MSG first sent a team to take part in the Partille Cup. Since

then, interest in it has just grown and grown. De-spite a major shortage of materials and training op-portunities, the MSG has managed to send a num-ber of teams to take part in the Partille Cup, thanks to passionate and talented leaders with positive at-titudes and plenty of commitment. The summer of 2011 saw no fewer than 60 Kenyan boys and girls visiting Gothenburg to compete against other teams from Sweden and the rest of the world!

Pandox Youth Handball MovementFor a long time now, Pandox has been looking for a social project in which our network, knowledge and project management experience can be used as effectively as possible. A project centred on a

KENYA

• Number of inhabitants: 38 million.

• Capital: Nairobi (3 million inhabitants).

• Area: 580,000 square kilometres (Sweden 450,000).

• Constitution: Republic (independent since 1963).

• Language: All Kenyans speak English, Swahili and one of the 55 local languages.

• Religion: About 70 per cent Christian, about 10 per cent Muslim, minorities Bahai, Hindus and Sikhs.

HANDBALLIN KENYA


Freeset started in 1999 and now has 180 employees. Its ambition is to expand and open another centre in North Calcutta. Find out more about Freeset on their website at www.freesetglobal.com. If you’d like to know more about how your company can help, or to place an order, please contact Josefin directly:

Josefin Bergqvist Senior Analyst Acquisition & InvestmentPhone +46 8 506 205 50 Direct +46 8 506 205 81 Mob +46 709 150 581 [email protected]

What a year for Swedish handball!World Championship 2011 – how did it go?

Results, World Championship 2011

1 France2 Denmark3 Spain4 Sweden5 Croatia6 Iceland7 Hungary8 Poland

9 Norway10 Serbia11 Germany12 Argentina13 South Korea14 Egypt15 Algeria16 Japan

17 Slovakia18 Austria19 Romania20 Tunisia21 Brazil22 Chile23 Bahrain24 Australia

The World Handball Championship is one of the biggest sporting events in Europe, and by far the biggest event in Scandinavia in 2011. This year’s World Championship, which took place in January, was the 22nd of its kind and involved participants from 24 nations and all continents. The arrangers set their sights high – to create the best World Championship ever…!

So how did things go?• Major interest from the media! Around 2 billion TV viewers from 160

countries watched the matches. 1,600 journalists monitored the event. More than 100 TV channels broadcast over 2,200 hours of footage.

• The crowds and the arenas created the atmosphere! Around 600,000 people went to see 98 matches, equivalent to 222,000 tickets over eight World Championship cities; Malmö, Gothenburg, Kristianstad, Lund, Jönköping, Norrköping, Linköping and Skövde.

• Trade and industry discovered handball! 14 sponsorship agree-ments were entered into…

• And most importantly of all – the teams surpassed themselves! The Swedish Men’s team recovered their place in the hearts of all Swedes and came fourth. This year, the Swedish Ladies’ team also took second in the European Championship, the Girls’ team came out on top in the World Championship, and the Boys’ team took bronze in the World Championship!

• Financial success – surplus of SEK 35 million!

This mega-event was also a huge success for its arrangers – in terms of the sport, the public, the media and the finances!

“The fact that the World Championship ended up being such a success means that we have more chance now of improving Swedish handball in a variety of ways, at all levels, from the very youngest players to the senior teams,” says Hans Vestberg, Chairman of Svenska Handbollsförbundet and Group President of Ericsson, in a sports supplement to Dagens Industri on 3 October 2011.

Of course, Sweden has a lot to be very proud of when it comes to handball. And we have a very exciting 2012 to look forward to!

Around 600 000 people went to see 98 matches.

PARTILLE CUP

• The biggest, most international handball tournament in the world.

• More than 1,000 teams took part this year, involving 20,000 players from 50 countries.

• The matches were played in 60 locations in central Gothenburg in July.

• Every day, 35,000 visitors attended the matches during competition week.

• The mission of the Partille Cup is to pass on interest in handball in the international arena.

concept close to Pandox’s own “DNA” and corporate values – team spirit, passion, development, expertise and creativity.

Following a very memorable visit to Nyeri, our belief that sport plays a vital part in the development of children has been reinforced. While we were there, we were able to see all the positive things that sport brings with it, as well as the difficult conditions in which these children often live. We now hope to be able to help out with the development of the club by means of training camps and by training trainers through exchange programmes with Swedish clubs, and to provide project management experience and other support to the local management in Nyeri. To start with, it’s also important that we make sure the club has access to a clubhouse.

Pandox are proud to be able to help out in any way we can in order to ensure future success for the sport and also to help improve the living condi-tions of these young people! On our website and here in Upgrade, we’ll be keeping you up to date on what’s happening with the initiative – Pandox Youth Handball Movement – and how things are going with it.

Find out more at www.msgkenya.com


Marketing is currently developing faster than ever before, and the hotel industry is quick to act on trends. Over the last few years, develop-ment has headed more and more in the direc-tion of online marketing and the use of social media. New data shows that price and location are not longer the most important factors when we choose hotels – but personal recommenda-tions and reputation are. So what does all this mean for our industry?

Hotel activities on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and LinkedIn are just continuing to increase. There’s a lot of interest in Google+, which is about to be released. There’s absolutely no doubt that smart communica-tion using social media encourages people to book.

When we choose things to see on our holidays, we often put leisure above culture. Neither the pyramids nor the Taj Mahal in India qualify for the list of the 50 most visited tourist attractions. Instead, the list is dominated by American leisure attractions. The classic Times Square in New York comes out on top, with 39 million visits per year, follo-wed by Central Park with 38 million. Compare this with the Great Wall of China, for example, which is visited by around 9 million tourists every year. Travel magazine Travel + Leisure has reviewed statistics from attractions, tourist agencies and other reports and compiled a list of the most widely visited attractions.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXTRENDS: SOCIAL MEDIA

Moreover, this is an excellent way of informing guests of ongoing events, renovations or offers.

Building imageEncouraging hotel guests to share their experi-ences passes on our reputation and interest in our hotels to new groups of people. Surveys show that conversations and personal recommendations on Facebook have more effect on consumers’ choice of hotels than, for instance, the biggest hotel review forums; TripAdvisor, Google, expedia.com, etc.

This offers an incredible opportunity to attract attention and new bookings, particularly for inde-pendent and smaller hotels. To build up a good image online, there has to be a constant flow of new information so that hotels can get people talk-

ing on their Facebook pages. Sites must be wel-coming, include exclusive content, focus on pic-tures and videos, social plug-ins and interesting conversations, and make visitors feel like insiders.

Handling reviewsThe downside of the online revolution is that it’s pretty much impossible to maintain control of brands online. As a result, it’s necessary to have a clear strategy on how to deal with criticism and negative reviews, as well as on how to increase the number of good reviews, giving hotels more of a presence and good reputations online.

Revinate is one of many companies whose business concept involves assisting the hotel industry to maximise its impact on social by check-

Word of mo uth An ever more important channel


Did you know... Europe’s top ten tourist attractions

1. Grand Bazaar, Istanbul (15 million visitors per year) 2. Notre Dame, Paris (13.5 million visitors per year) 3. Disneyland, Paris (10.5 million visitors per year) 4. Sacre Coeur, Paris (10.5 million visitors per year) 5. Louvren, Paris (8.5 million visitors per year) 6. Eiffel Tower, Paris (7 million visitors per year) 7. Versailles, Paris (6 million visitors per year) 8. British Museum, London (6 million visitors per year) 9. Tate Modern, London (5 million visitors per year) 10. Colosseum, Rome (4.5 million visitors per year)

INSIDE THE HEAD OF… an exercising hotel guest

TRENDS: SOCIAL MEDIA

ing and monitoring online reviews, evaluating cam-paigns, etc. According to Michelle Wohl, founder of Revinate, common sense is the most important thing to have when it comes to dealing with reviews online. One cornerstone involves asking what cus-tomers want, understanding customers’ situations and problems and offering a solution on that basis. Michelle lists the basic principles for reviews below:• Respond to all negative comments/online reviews• It’s great if your response is personal and sent

by the right person, ideally the management• Make sure that the feedback is passed on

throughout the organisation• Invite the guest back…• …and make sure your response includes

a thank-you!

“Press the pink button for bigger biceps” was the first thing I saw when I got into the lift at the Scandic hotel in Gothenburg. Could it really be that easy? I thought. The late dinner I’d enjoyed yesterday was making its presence felt a bit behind my frontal lobe, but I was reso-lute. I’d go to the gym today.

Once I got to the gym, I made sure that both towels and water were available. Great! No clock on the wall, no plastic cups. That would have been a plus, but it’s no disaster to be with-out them. I jumped up onto the treadmill and pressed Start. The sound of my feet hitting the belt began to resonate throughout the room. It was almost homely. When I checked out all the buttons on the machine, its name – “Life Fit-ness” – caught my eye. Hm, I thought. Maybe it should be the opposite, “Fitness for life”! I care-fully increased the speed of the machine. The heat began to spread throughout my body and I knew that I’d passed an important threshold, perhaps the most important threshold of all – I was actually at the gym, and exercising.

The best training is the kind you actually do. Keeping up with your training when you’re on your travels is always a challenge no matter what your level – just starting out, exercising every day or majorly keen on the whole thing. As soon as we alter our daily routines, there’s a greater risk of failing to keep up with the training. Take the sum-mer, for example. Most of us do less work, we go off on holiday, the weather is better, the days are longer. So do we train more as a result? Far from it! Instead, we start managing our families with a view to travelling round the world in 30 days, sail-ing in the archipelago, sunning ourselves on some exotic beach or other, or maybe just enjoy-ing a barbecue and a nicely chilled rosé in the company of a few good friends. Now that’s not to say there’s anything wrong with that. Quite the opposite. A place for everything, and everything in its place, as they say. But when it comes to training, this change in our habits leads to us put-ting off our exercise, deciding we’ll just do it tomorrow instead, or – in a worst-case scenario – not bothering to exercise at all.

Most odd. And being on our travels is a bit like that. We rapidly come up with more excuses as to why we can’t train, overwhelm-ing the arguments as to why we should.

Creating the best conditions possible. We always have a choice. When I decide where I’m going to stay, of course my first consideration is what the purpose of my trip is. If it’s a busi-

ness trip, I give priority to function and location. If the trip is more of a private getaway, I invest more energy and money in looking for a widely reviewed designer hotel that can give me a little bit extra. But almost always, the second thing I look for is what exercise options the hotel has to offer. If I’m travelling on holiday with my family for a week, a gym is a must. No gym, no book-ing. Simple as that!

What I have to do is make sure I pave the way for me to keep up with my training. But as we all know, it’s easier to think about it than to actually get on and do it. What I’ve realised now is that the earlier in the day you decide to exercise, the greater the chances of you actually going and doing it. The more of the day that passes, the greater the risk of us falling prey to our own laziness. If we don’t manage to get to the gym in the morning, we simply have to make the effort to go at lunch-time and hope some our colleagues will help to drag us there! And if we know that none of these tricks will work, we simply have to book a time in our diaries and stick to it. To summarise: a short, “bad” session in the gym is better than nothing, and that old saying “the early bird catches the worm” is every bit as relevant as it’s always been.

Continuity, quality, quantity. In that order. The most important thing is to make sure we do something regularly. Next on the scale of impor-tance is what we do and how we do it, and least important is how long we keep going at every session. And now to finish, let’s have a look at quality. Almost all hotels have treadmills. The ho-tels which have good management teams, have treadmills that work, too. Personally, I’ve given up relying on these machines working, or on hotels keeping their gyms open. So now, when I’ve checked in, I always take a quick peek at the gym and make sure that it’s got equipment in it and that the equipment is working ...

Word of mo uth

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GUEST COLUMNIST

Pandox newsNEWS FROM THE WORLD OF PANDOX

Zlatan visits Radison Blu in MalmöCeleb spotting in Malmö! Zlatan and the AC Milan players visited Radison Blu in August when they were playing a friendly against Malmö FF.

Running in aid of cancer victims in Brussels! Staff and clients from Hilton Brussels City Centre took part in a 20 km race and collected EUR 14,204 for the Belgian Cancer Foundation. This also gave 14 children suffering from cancer the opportunity to enjoy a break in Spa.

Pandox has moved! We’ve now moved into our airy new offices at Vasa-gatan 11, high up on the ninth floor, and we really love it! We’re not far from the Arlanda Express and the Central Station, we’ve got plenty of space for conferences and a large, welcoming staff lounge – and of course, our Corporate Dog, Mr Harry, has his very own beanbag there. Fantastic!

Around SEK 1.6 billion is to be invested in upgrading and developing 40 existing hotels. This massive project, which goes by the name of Shark, is one of the biggest Nordic hotel initiatives ever seen and will be implemented over the next three years. Everything is going to get a facelift and a bit of modernisation! More than half the hotels affected are motels, while others are in central city locations.

Scandic and Pandox to make major upgrade investment

Shark signing: Martin Creydt, Scandic, and Erik Hvesser, Pandox, toast their future cooperation on Arholma in the Stockholm archipelago. A delegation of people from Scandic travelled by taxi boat in order to sign the agreement in the summer.

Congratulations Bernhard and InterContinental Montreal! Bernard Chênevert has been named 2011 InterContinental GM of the year for the Americas during the IHG Conference that took place in Las Vegas in October. “This achievement would not have been possible without my team efforts, Lewis N. Fader’s support and our owners’ ongoing inspiration”, comments Bernhard.

InterContinental Montreal has also been nominated in the TOP 40 best Canadian hotels of Condé Nast Magazine (November edition). It is the only IHG hotel in Canada on the list and it is the first time that the hotel makes the listing of this prestigious magazine.

We send our proud congratulations to Bernhard and his team!

“Welkom in ’t Stad”!September saw the completion of a major renova-tion and upgrade, resulting in a completely new design concept for Crowne Plaza Antwerp. This concept – “Welkom in ’t Stad” – covers the history, structure and architecture of the city of Antwerp. So as of now, the city tour of Antwerp can start right from inside the hotel! Elements from the city can be seen in the new parts of the hotel: the lobby and reception areas, a new meeting room, a new sky bar with panoramic views of the city, and also the big-gest fitness centre in Antwerp, with an infinity pool.

The gorgeous event pool at the new Crowne Plaza Antwerp.

Read more news from Pandox at www.pandox.com

InterContinental Montreal, one of Pandox eleven own operations.

Bernard Chênevert, General Manager at InterContinental Montreal.

Pandox Upgrade - Nr 1 2011 (Eng)

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