1. What, in your opinion, have been the main agents of change for the hospitality sector during 2015?

Digitalisation has remained a key agent of change, as online booking keeps developing and ruling the market. 2015 saw national competition authorities intervening in France, Italy and Sweden by negotiating commitments with Booking.com, while on another hand the French Assembly banned parity clauses as did the Italian Parliament, following the German ban. HOTREC calls for the complete ban of parity clauses in Europe. Another significant agent of change has been the uncontrolled development of the so called “sharing” economy in tourism accommodation for which HOTREC has developed a set of principles to be addressed at European, national, regional and local levels.

2. Could you please explain us the impact of the “sharing” economy on the hospitality industry and what HOTREC proposes?

The regulated accommodation sector (i.e. the hospitality industry) has to comply with numerous regulations to reach the highest levels of standards on safety, security, health and environment which the non-regulated accommodation sector (short term private rentals) has not to comply with; therefore putting consumer safety and security at risk. In Barcelona for instance, a three stars hotel has to comply with 244 regulations while a private property has to comply with only 12. This is one of the reasons why HOTREC developed a policy paper to raise policy and decision-makers awareness on the necessity to level the playing field and has defined 10 steps towards a responsible and sustainable “sharing” economy. We hope that it will be of use for the EU Institutions to develop a customised regulatory framework and recommendations for the Member States.

3. What are the main priorities of the hospitality industry for 2016?

The impact of taxation (VAT, levies and taxes) has to be assessed in particular on competitiveness, investment and innovation. We are pleased that the European Commission and the European Parliament agreed to launch a study to measure its impact on the competitiveness of the tourism sector. We must also cut red tape and reduce administrative burdens. The Digital Single Market which is also a key priority must set the rules for fair competition and practices. SMEs must also do their homework to be more visible and make use of ICT. Our third priority is to promote the attractiveness of our sector, and develop skills and competences. The adoption of the Visa package remains of utmost importance, notwithstanding the current context, as more tourists mean more jobs and growth and therefore more peace. Finally, the integration of migrants and refugees will also necessarily have to come on top of the 2016 agenda.

2016 OUTLOOK AND PRIORITIES

EDITORIAL BY CHRISTIAN DE BARRIN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

While Europe still remains the number 1 destination with an annual average growth of 4% in tourists‘ arrivals, it will be essential in 2016 to boost the competitiveness of its 2 million tourism businesses.

HOTREC looks forward to the Digital Single Market to provide the industry with the necessary framework for a fair and competitive online market and to level the playing field on the so called “sharing” economy. Equally important will be the development of a workable fiscal environment, for SMEs to keep investing, innovating and creating jobs for the benefit of society. Lastly, and thanks to the European Parliament’s report on the promotion of tourism, HOTREC calls for a set of actions by the European Commission to develop a vivid and sustainable European tourism industry.

We warmly thank the European Commission and the European Parliament as well as UNWTO and our project partners for our excellent cooperation throughout 2015 on issues of crucial importance among which the Package Travel Directive, Interchange Fees on Payment Cards, Official Controls in the Food Chain, Skills and competences, as well as Visa and Data Protection; and we look forward to an even more fruitful cooperation in 2016.

AN INTERVIEW WITH SUSANNE KRAUS-WINKLER, PRESIDENT OF HOTREC

DEFINING THE KEY DRIVERS OF SUCCESS FOR 2016

12016 HOSPITALITY EUROPE OUTLOOK AND PRIORITIES

A LOOK BACK ON 2015

HOTREC ExCom and CEO with UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai, MEP István Ujhelyi and MEP Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar

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UNWTO Secretary General Talebl Rifai and MEP Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar at HOTREC Press Conference

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Ms. Anna Herold, member of the cabinet of Commissioner Oettinger, and Mr. Patrice Chazerand, Director at Digital Europe, debating during the joint HOTREC-UEAPME event

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European Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska with MEP Claudia Tapardel and HOTREC President and CEO

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Susanne Kraus-Winkler, President of HOTREC, addressing the European Parliament SME intergroup about the Package Travel Directive

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1. HOTREC signs the Private Sector Commitment to the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism

On November 5th on the occasion of its 71st General Assembly, HOTREC joined the 441 signatories to promote a responsible and sustainable tourism sector. HOTREC had joined in March the Executive Committee of the World Tourism Network on Child Protection.

2. HOTREC / EFFAT join the European Alliance for Apprenticeships

HOTREC together with its trade union counterpart EFFAT has joined the European Alliance for Apprenticeships to strengthen the quality, and image of apprenticeships schemes in hospitality establishments in order to boost youth employment.

3. HOTREC defines 10 steps towards a responsible and sustainable “sharing” economy

Based on an in-depth desk research and a call for contributions through an online questionnaire to its Members, the European tourism sector as well as peer to peer online platforms and online travel agents, HOTREC unveiled its policy paper during a press conference with UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai and MEP Claudia Monteiro de Aguiar on November 5th.

4. UEAPME / HOTREC foster the debate on the digital challenge

During a joint event sponsored by MEPs Tapardel and Karas on September 15th, HOTREC and UEAPME provided 50 EU stakeholders with the platform to discuss competition issues in the online market and the engagement of SMEs in ICTs, including MEP Paunova, Ms. Herold from the Cabinet of Commissioner Oettinger, Mr. Carlo Corazza from DG GROW together with representatives of the ICT and tourism sector. See Press release: link.

5 HOTREC part of the coalition which brought down interchanges fees

Thanks to a long-standing lobbying campaign, millions of SMEs now benefit from lower interchange fees capped at 0,2% for debit cards and 0,3% for credit cards since 9 December 2015.

6. Commissioner Bieńkowska attended HOTREC 70th General Assembly

In her opening speech on April 22nd, Ms. Bieńkowska promoted the need to ensure better regulation to streamline the regulatory and administrative framework for tourism. She also mentioned the need to help foster the competitiveness of the sector and create a favorable environment for tourism to grow in a sustainable and responsible manner.

7. HOTREC engaged in the revision of the Package Travel Directive

Following its necessary revision to encapsulate digitalisation, the new Package Travel Directive updates consumer protection rules, while keeping a balance for the hotel industry.

8. Key success registered in the discussions on the financing of official controls in restaurants

HOTREC convinced the Council not to impose a European obligation to charge fees for official controls in restaurants, therefore confirming a similar position from the European Parliament.

2016 HOSPITALITY EUROPE OUTLOOK AND PRIORITIES

A LOOK BACK ON 2015 2016 HOSPITALITY EUROPE PRIORITIES

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Bring taxation down to raise competitiveness

Building on the positive call from the European Parliament to look into the economic impact of the taxation on tourism, HOTREC will  carry-out a study on the impact of reduced VAT rates on the hospitality sector and of the reduction in number and levels of different tourism related taxes and levies on its competitiveness. Such study will feed the activities of the European Commission’s agenda for growth and jobs and will provide national tourism stakeholders with the necessary elements to plead for the reduction of VAT.

Make the adoption of the Visa package a reality

In order to keep Europe world’s destination number 1, it is crucial that visa facilitation procedures are implemented. This should be done through the adoption of the Visa Package and through the establishment of visa waiver agreements with third countries, especially the BRICS. One should remember that the adoption of the visa package will not reduce the security procedures currently in place but only give access to a potential of 6 more million tourists as per the 2013 European Commission’s study, and an amount of 125 billion Euros of additional expenses on 5 years.

Make the most of the Digital Single Market

With the fundamental role of digitalisation in the tourism industry, HOTREC will keep actively participating in the EU discussions on the Digital Single Market (DSM) with a focus on two issues. First of all, HOTREC will pursue its efforts to help hoteliers regain fair conditions in online distribution in the headwind of the dominant role occupied in the market by a few online platforms. As the European Commission’s DSM strategy rightly identified this issue as a key challenge, HOTREC will feed the debate on how to achieve a fair and balanced DSM for all players alike.  HOTREC will also continue its pro-active engagement in the discussions in relation to the “sharing” economy.  Along the line of the HOTREC Chart towards a sustainable and responsible “sharing” economy, the aim is to ensure that commercial activities are treated as such and to recognise their increasing role in the economy with all the benefits and obligations it implies, notably in terms of consumer protection.

Promote sustainable and responsible tourism

Further to the recent signature of the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, HOTREC will keep promoting sustainable and responsible tourism, with a twofold focus: Food waste and accessibility. Indeed HOTREC will proactively engage with EU policy makers on the circular economy package, with a focus on the promotion of food waste reduction, while avoiding un-necessary legal and financial burdens for hospitality businesses. Accessibility: as an active partner in the recently kicked-off Erasmus+ project AppTourYou, HOTREC will raise awareness and help hospitality service providers to evaluate and communicate the accessibility of their services. Moreover, HOTREC will engage with EU policy-makers on the European Accessibility Act to find reasonable solutions for enhancing the accessibility of services, while taking into account the microenterprise specificity of the sector. Finally, the hotel industry will keep engaging responsibly in sustainability such as through the Nearly Zero-Energy Hotels initiative (neZEH), while taking into consideration its specificities such as heritage buildings and that 75% of the industry are microenterprises; therefore calling for EU funding and financial incentives and tax reduction by national governments.

Overcome the challenges of seasonality

HOTREC will further work on solutions to help overcome the challenges of seasonality and in particular foster best practice sharing among its Members. It will consider in order to facilitate the retention of skilled workforce, to promote the development of trainings in the in between period, to upgrade the skills and competences of the workforce. Considering the main challenge to keep establishments to run as long as possible in the low season, focus could be given on the necessary coordination of the industry at national level together with national and regional govern-ments to define appropriate actions.

Promote the attractiveness of the industry and upgrade skills and competences

HOTREC will keep being highly involved in all Commission’s initiatives aimed at addressing skills mismatches and forecasting the skills needs of the tourism sector. Engaging SMEs in ICT will also be a key objective together with promoting the attractiveness of the sector to help fill in the gap and meet the Juncker’s plan for jobs creation and growth. For this reason and this goal in mind, HOTREC, together with its counterpart trade union EFFAT, will keep taking initiatives such as the recent joint statement on the so called “sharing” economy as well the joint pledge to the European Alliance for Apprenticeships to be effective from 1 January 2016.

2016 HOSPITALITY EUROPE OUTLOOK AND PRIORITIES

FACTS AND FIGURES

111 Boulevard Anspach – Box 4 1000 Brussels | BelgiumTel: +32 (0) 2 513 63 23 | Fax: +32 (0) 2 502 41 73 | E-mail: hotrec@hotrec.eu | More info: www.hotrec.eu

AUSTRIAAPHA-Fachverband HotellerieAPRA-Fachverband GastronomieVVAT- Austrian Professional Copyright Users Association

BELGIUMFed. Ho.Re.Ca. Bruxelles-BrusselHORECA VlaanderenFed. Ho.Re.Ca. Wallonie

CROATIAUPUHH-Association of Employers in Hospitality Industry

THE CZECH REPUBLICAHRCR-The Czech Association of Hotels and Restaurants

DENMARKHORESTA-Association of the Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Industry in Denmark

ESTONIAEHRA-Estonian Hotel and Restaurant Association

FINLANDFHA-Finnish Hospitality Association

FRANCECPIH-Confédération des Professionnels Indépendants de l’HôtellerieFAGIHT-Fédération Autonome Générale de l’Industrie Hôtelière TouristiqueGNC-Groupement National des Chaînes SYNHORCAT-Syndicat National des Hôteliers, Restaurateurs, Cafetiers et TraiteursUMIH-Union des Métiers et des Industries de l’Hôtellerie

GERMANYDEHOGA-Deutscher Hotel-und GaststättenverbandIHA-Hotelverband Deutschland

GREECEHCH-Hellenic Chamber of Hotels

HUNGARYHHRA-Hungarian Hotel and Restaurant Association

IRELANDIHF-Irish Hotels FederationRAI-Restaurants Association of Ireland

ITALYFEDERALBERGHI-Federazione delle Associazioni Italiane Alberghi e TurismoFIPE-Federazione Italiana Pubblici Esercizi

LATVIAAHRL-Association of Latvian Hotels and Restaurants

LITHUANIALHRA-Lithuanian Hotel and Restaurant Association

LUXEMBOURGHORESCA- Fédération Nationale des Hôteliers, Restaurateurs et Cafetiers du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg

LICHTENSTEIN LHGV - Liechtensteiner Hotel & Gastronomieverband

MALTAMHRA-Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association

THE NETHERLANDSKHN-Dutch Hotel, Restaurant and Café Association

NORWAYNHO Reiseliv-Norwegian Hospitality Association

POLANDIGHP- Chamber of Commerce of the Polish Hotel Industry

PORTUGALAPHORT - Associação Portuguesa de Hotelaria, Restauração e Turismo

SLOVAKIAZHRSR- The Slovak Association of Hotels and Restaurants

SLOVENIATGZ – Tourism and Hospitality Chamber of Slovenia

SPAINCEHAT-Confederación Española de Hoteles y Alojamientos TurísticosFEHR-Federación Española de Hostelería

SWEDENVISITA-Swedish Hospitality Industry

SWITZERLANDGASTROSUISSE - Verband für Hotellerie und RestaurationHOTELLERIESUISSE - Swiss Hotel Association

TURKEYTUROB-Touristic Hotels & Investors AssociationTÜROFED-Turkish Hoteliers Federation

THE UNITED KINGDOMThe ALMR- The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers

KEY HOTREC FACTS AND FIGURES* AT A GLANCE

→ 43 National Member Associations→ 29 European countries→ 1,8 million SMEs (91% being microenterprises)→ 10,2 million direct jobs (support 16.6 million jobs: 1 on 13 in Europe)→ 20% of the jobs help by people aged under 25→ 33% of the jobs held by relatively unskilled people→ 2,5 million jobs created between 2000 and 2010→ 3,7% of the total EU GDP→ 126 billion Euros of contributions (VAT, taxes) to government treasuries

HOTREC MEMBERS IN EUROPE

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* Source: EY report 2013