2014 OUTLOOK KEY OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES Christian de

2014 OUTLOOK KEY OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES Christian de Barrin Chief Executive Officer © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

WHO WE ARE • Founded in 1979 • An Umbrella Association which brings together 42 National Associations in 27 European countries • The Voice of the hospitality industry (Hotels, Restaurants, Cafés and similar establishments) in Europe © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

WHERE WE ARE • 27 European countries © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

OUR MISSION • Achieve a favourable regulatory environment to develop a sustainable hospitality industry across Europe and beyond • Foster best practice sharing amongst Members for the industry to remain at the forefront of innovation © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

OUR SERVICES • Monitor strategic information on key EU legislative and market issues • Develop effective lobbying on key EU legislation and provide our Members with guidance for implementation at national level • Offer a unique platform for best practice sharing across 27 European countries Portorož, 4 June 2014

OUR ORGANISATION § General Assembly (2 per year) § Executive Committee (9 members) § Brussels Secretariat (6 people) Working Groups + Tasks Forces - Quality Board WG (EHQ, standards, classification) - Nightlife establishments - Copyright, Sustainability, Digital Issues Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee Portorož, 4 June 2014

Dialogues & Networks Co-operation within umbrella organisations • NET European Institutions • Commission • Parliament • Council • Food alliance • CUP With horizontal organisations • BUSINESSEUROPE / EEN • UEAPME • NORMAPME With associations with special expertise • • ECTAA EUROCOMMERCE BREWERS OF EUROPE CEEV FERCO ETC IH&RA Etc. HOTREC National Associations International organisations • UNWTO • ISO • Other Standardisation bodies • CEN • ISO Permanent Dialogue • EFFAT Portorož, 4 June 2014

BROAD POLICY PORTFOLIO Tourism Standards Hotel Classification Food related issues: • food hygiene; • food labeling • Health related issues: • alcohol, smoking • • Social Affairs Taxation – VAT Quality Online travel agents/ Hotel review sites • Fire safety • Sustainability • Consumer protection • • Portorož, 4 June 2014

BRIEF INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 2014 © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

Europe ranks 1 st in 2013 world tourism © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

Europe ranks 1 st in 2013 world tourism - 51% of world tourists chose Europe → 563 million arrivals on 1 billion worldwide - World tourism grew by 5% - Europe received 5% more arrivals - 50% increase by 2030: i. e. 730 m tourists © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

Hospitality industry contribution to EU’s growth is key: • 3 rd largest socio-economic activity in Europe • 3, 7% of the EU’s GDP • 10, 2 m jobs (direct) and 16, 6 m (indirect), 2, 5 m more jobs in 2010 versus 2000 (+29%) • 1, 8 m businesses (99% of which are SMEs) • 91% micro enterprises (< 10 people) → HOTREC’s push for tourism means more growth for the hospitality industry © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

MEETING THE INDUSTRY’S OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE INDUSTRY • • Visa TOURISMlink Payments cards Copyright Data protection Hotelstars Union Social dialogue © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

NEW VISA PACKAGE The new visa rules will boost growth and jobs in the hospitality sector © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

NEW VISA PACKAGE • One year touring Visa • Online visa • Tempory visa at external borders • Multiple entry visa → This concretely means: • More tourists from 3 rd countries, especially BRICS Portorož, 4 June 2014

TOURISMlink • A 2 m€ industry driven EU funded project • B to B Platform linking tourism actors • Pilots in Italy, Croatia and Spain → This concretely means: • An independent business platform from OTA more interactive and less costly © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

PAYMENT CARDS’ FEES • Interchange fees capped at 0, 3% for credit cards and 0, 2% for debit cards • Also includes commercial cards → This concretely means: • Less fees paid to Visa and Mastercard © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

COPYRIGHT • Public and up-to-date info on website (incl. standard contracts and fee policy) • Tariffs shall be reasonable and justified • Licensing terms to be non discriminatory → This concretely means: • A framework setting reasonable tariffs and dispute resolution © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

DATA PROTECTION • Framework for personal data processing to protect consumers privacy • HOTREC position: - Opportunity for companies to contact former clients - The Data Protection Officer shall not be compulsory for SMEs © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

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• An harmonised hotel classification with common criteria and procedures • 15 countries are part of the partnership • Initiative supported by the Commission → This concretely means: • An approach acting as a label by creating transparency and security for guests © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

SOCIAL DIALOGUE • The official representative association for the hospitality employers to the EU • Together with EFFAT, deals with issues of common interest, e. g. first Hospitality Skills Passport to facilitate job mobility in the EU → This concretely means: put forward issues from an hospitality perspective Portorož, 4 June 2014

CHALLENGES FOR THE INDUSTRY: • Online distribution (OTAs) • Private accommodation • Google case © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

ONLINE DISTRIBUTION (OTAs) • Dominant position by few players • Most Favoured Nation clauses prevent Hoteliers to propose booking incentive directly to their guests • German case on MFN clauses WON (TFEU Art. 101) • Dutch and French cases on misleading information: WON! (Unfair Commercial Practices) → Next steps: EU or case by case regulation? © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

ONLINE DISTRIBUTION (OTAs) PARIS (Reuters) - The French Minister of Economy, Arnaud Montebourg, said on 27 May that a legal action against the Booking. com group to be initiated in order to "end the imbalances" in relations between the OTAs and hotels. © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

PRIVATE ACCOMMODATION • New worldwide trend • 2 times more properties already listed than existing hotels • No existing framework → Next steps: • Assessment workshop in Europe © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

GOOGLE CASE • Brand bidding and domain grabbing • Natural search results vs. paid results • Misleading to the consumer which believes being on the provider website → Next steps: • Letter to Commissioner Almunia / calling for setting fair online search practices © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

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CONCLUSION • Opportunities linked to tourism pave the way to a brighter future • Challenges/threats have to be dealt as far as unfair competition is concerned Next steps: • Intergroup on Tourism at EU Parliament • Newly appointed Commission © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION! Contact: Christian. debarrin@hotrec. eu © HOTREC. All Rights Reserved Portorož, 4 June 2014