There is enormous potential to develop hotels in Russia, but that potential continues to be hampered by bureaucracy and a regulatory framework that is not conducive to growth.

This was the key finding at the Russia round table discussion held at the second annual Hotel Investment Conference held in London last week. The Panel was hosted by Michael O'Hare, Managing Director of Horwath HTL Russia and was joined by Patrick Fitzgibbon, Senior Vice President of Development for Hilton Worldwide (Europe and Africa) and Arlid Hovland, Senior Vice President for Business Development for the Rezidor Hotel Group.

The session covered several topics that are key to the current investment climate as the three experts gave their view on the current situation and what needs to be done to improve it. Russia was also compared to two other development hot spots, Russia and Turkey to compare and contrast business practices and ease of use in getting business done.

In addition to the challenges of dealing with a young and relatively bureaucratic country, Russia also struggles with a negative image of a place that is difficult to do business and subsequently harder to attract foreign investors. However, the group used the tremendous amount of development around the Sochi Olympic site as an example of what can be achieved in the right conditions.

Michael O'Hare said, "The panel highlighted all the attractions and all the frustrations of doing business in a country like Russia. The fact of the matter is that Russia has enormous potential, with huge numbers of secondary and territory markets with populations well in excess of 1 million with very little brand presence. Some of the international brands, including Hilton and Rezidor, have pipelines in some of those markets, but Russia still needs to do more in order to fully realize the potential.

In addition to the bureaucratic challenges that investors face, there are some touristic challenges to be overcome as well, with Visa's causing problems and no open sky agreement that would attract larger air carriers into these secondary attention. Having said that, all the development currently being done around the Olympic site at Sochi is a very clear indication of what can be achieved with the right conditions are in place."

Horwath HTL (Hotels Tourism and Leisure) is one of the world's pre-eminent consulting specialists in the Hotel, tourism and leisure industries, providing unequalled experience and expertise for client projects around the world through a combination of detailed local knowledge and international understanding. Horwath HTL is currently the world's largest consulting organisation specialised in hospitality, with 50 offices in 39 countries.

Horwath HTL is a member of Crowe Horwath International, a professional association of accounting and management consulting firms founded in New York in 1915. Crowe Horwath International is currently ranked among the top ten international professional service groups with offices in close to 586 cities in 108 countries.

If you have any questions, please contact James Chappell, Global Marketing Director at jchappell@horwathhtl.com or Michael O'Hare, Managing Director of Horwath HTL.

www.horwathhtl.com