Increasing costs and changing consumer behaviour are two of the key drivers in the modern French hotel industry according to leading hotel consultant Philippe Doizelet, and represent the greatest challenge in mature markets.

Mr Doizelet, Managing Partner of Horwath HTL France, the worlds oldest and largest hotel consulting network was making a presentation in Bucharest, Romania at the 5th Annual Hotel Tourism and Leisure Investment Conference being held at the JW Marriott.

Mr Doizelets' presentation, ‘The Future of European Hospitality, the case of France' used the current state of the French Hotel Industry as an example to highlight overall European trends in the industry.

These trends include a change in the consumer demand patterns towards more family oriented travel that involves multi generational trips, and a much greater emphasis on the environment and sustainable travel that is being mirrored in the hotel product.

Mr Doizelet said, "On an operational level, France show the same polarisation that is evident in the rest of Europe, namely a booming luxury market with a weaker midmarket whose underinvestment has created the opportunity for new build budget hotels to gain an increasing market share.

The challenge for all these hotels is on the one hand how do you manage an increasing cost base, and at the same invest in creating a product that resonates with the demands of the modern traveller? Hotels developed now have the advantage of course in being able to design in levels of flexibility in rooms and F&B that can take advantage of that and we fully expect the market to become more segmented"

A copy of Mr Doizelets' presentation can be downloaded from www.horwathhtl.com

About Horwath HTL
Horwath HTL (Hotels Tourism and Leisure) is one of the 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 organization specialized in the hospitality industry, 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 400 cities in 88 countries.

For more information, contact Philippe Doizelet on pdoizelet@horwathhtl.com or James Chappell, Global Marketing Director of Horwath HTL at jchappell@horwathhtl.com