London, September, 14th 2011

Horwath HTL, the world’s largest hotel consulting network, hosted a round table discussion on Investment Opportunities in Eastern Europe, under the heading ‘Investment Opportunities across the Continent – A taste of Europe’. The round table, which was led by Petr Chitipakhovyan, President, Polis Service Development and Michael O’Hare, Managing Director, Horwath HTL Hungary and Russia was part of the inaugural Hotel Investment Conference Europe, organized by Burba Hotel Networks. The discussion focused on three primary issues, whether Russia could be considered open for business for external investment and the risks associated with that. What lessons could be learned from Petr Chitipakhovyan’s experience of developing and owning a portfolio of hotels in Russia and where the market was headed.
The conclusions reached during then discussions were broadly positive. Russia is now perceived as an easier place to do business due to improvements in transparency, which has lead to an increase in the confidence and knowledge of investors and developers. There are opportunities for mid market hotels opening up, not only secondary and tertiary markets of over a million, but in destinations with over 150,000 inhabitants, despite the fact that cost of construction seems to be back to pre-crisis levels.
Michael O’Hare said, “The overall picture we have is of a market that retains a great deal of interest on all fronts, a market that is underdeveloped. Financing remains a challenge because local banks charge much higher costs that developers will be used to in Europe, but is available. More importantly, as Sochi has shown, there is a desire by the central government to develop tourism that is backed up by investment. As Petr has shown, if you build hotels and attract International Brands, the operating performance stands up”
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 Michael O’Hare on mohare@horwathhtl.com or James Chappell, Global Marketing Director of Horwath HTL at jchappell@horwathhtl.com.