Obviously, it's difficult to make any predictions after such a turbulent 2020. But can you give us a broad outline of what you expect for 2021?
Olivier Cohn - 2021 is expected to be a difficult year. Unfortunately, this pandemic is not yet behind us. It will take a long time for things to get back to normals and will be linked in particular to the effectiveness and speed of the roll-out of vaccines. Logically, therefore, the first quarter will be much slower than the rest of 2019, with a gradual improvement expected from April onwards, followed by an acceleration after September.
How do you see business in the Best Western network developing over the year and which establishments will be the first to see their occupancy levels gradually return to normal?
O. C. - Destinations that historically benefit from international traffic - i.e. Paris, the Ile de France and the major French cities - will be the most affected in 2021, as they were in 2020. Hotels in leisure or domestic corporate destinations should fare better. We are also expecting a summer similar to that of 2020, with a predominantly national or local European clientele.
2021 is expected to be a difficult year. Unfortunately, this pandemic is not yet behind us.
With the continuing widespread use of teleworking and the flat activity of the events sector, will the business customer segment be affected for long, or could it pick up again with the vaccination campaigns and the upturn in international travel?
O. C. - The pandemic has accelerated major societal changes. Teleworking and the proliferation of videoconferencing facilities will have an impact on the way we travel in the future, and will therefore have an impact on business travel. However, this period has also taught us that not everything could be done remotely and going back to their customers will be extremely important in the future. So this will be a further adaptation for the sector.
This year you launched a coworking offer. Will it continue to expand in 2020?
O. C. - The answer is yes, of course. Our myWO coworking offer will continue to grow, both in terms of the number of spaces available and the flexibility and range of these spaces. There are high expectations from companies for coworking solutions, and Best Western hotels have every right to be a major player in this new market.
