Develhotel.com, The First Online Marketplace For Hoteliers And Real Estate Developers.

July 5, 2009 - PRLog -- Under the current economic climate, it is becoming more necessary to achieve further efficiencies in the way hotel chains, investors and real estate developers plan, design and deliver hotel and resort projects worldwide. The sudden decrease in hotel occupancy, together with the difficulties in financing ongoing hotel construction projects has lead to the re-evaluation of how the different players in the hotel industry develop hotel assets today. In addition, the hospitality and real estate industries have traditionally relied on extensive face-to-face interaction between developers, investors and hotel companies and in an intimate local knowledge of each geographical market. As a result, the development process of leisure real estate projects and city hotels has historically been expensive and time intensive.
The official launch today of the first online marketplace geared towards hotel development is meant in the first instance to bring efficiencies to the hospitality industry by eliminating its geographical barriers. Also shareholders of hotel companies and real estate groups are looking for ways to dramatically reducing the cost of hotel development. Real estate investors, hoteliers and developers need to achieve reductions in the OPEX of their asset transactions. Develhotel is the answer to this more efficiency-conscious approach.
Develhotel’s Chief Executive Officer, Ivar Yuste, a seasoned veteran of the hospitality and tourism sectors, is convinced that this new online marketplace will significantly benefit the interaction of all the players involved in the development of a hotel or a mixed use project: ‘Develhotel’s users are consulting firms representing hotel owners, hotel chains, private investors, banks, real estate and hotel brokers, construction companies, asset management firms, family offices, investment funds, REITs, developers and absolutely any company contributing to the development of hotels and resorts in any shape or form. Above all, Develhotel is meant to be a community that serves every single company working in the hotel development sector wishing to do business efficiently and cost effectively. Our clients pay an annual flat fee to showcase their assets or projects or to search for projects or properties in any geographic region of the world. Simply by joining this platform, our users can elevate the visibility of their development plans to a global scale. Develhotel’s role is to put all the parties in contact around specific hotel projects and properties. We leave the profits of these transactions and operations to our community of users’.
‘From a technology perspective, the website design of Develhotel allows hotels and developers to use this B2B tool across the entire lifespan of hotel assets in a closed environment, from project design to financial sourcing, throughout the search of investors, the operator selection, the construction phase, a possible hotel conversion, the addition of residential units, a contract change or any transaction type (selling, buying, sale & lease-back, bullet, etc.). We have leveraged technology to take all possible parameters into consideration for version 1.0’, stated Omran Boaira, Chief Technology Officer of Develhotel. ‘Develhotel goes beyond the simple concept of an online professional network based on listing people’s profiles. Develhotel is rather a database of professionals who want to close deals around specific assets. Hoteliers and investors can search for projects or properties and developers can showcase their hotels and resorts in order to find the appropriate business partners. Our development team is already testing version 2.0 with new functionality and tools that we will be unveiling in the coming months’.
But Develhotel’s CEO is adamant to stress the efficiency aspects that this new tool will bring: ‘With Develhotel, hospitality and development companies will be able to interact online, first by logging in into the platform from any PC connected to the Internet, showcasing specific projects and discussing specific demands for these projects on a global basis. And secondly, once the business opportunities have been identified, by matching the different needs of all the actors involved in a tangible hotel deal. The various executives involved in a transaction will be able to agree on meetings and discussions much more productive and conducive to closing a successful deal for all the parties. Face to face meetings are absolutely mandatory, as they are in any other industry. Where Develhotel brings an innovative approach to the way we do business today in the hospitality sector is in allowing the reduction of OPEX for all the parties involved in hotel projects. At a basic level we are talking about optimizing travel expenses, accommodation costs, and T&E expenses for hospitality and real estate executives. However, at a more complex level, Develhotel will have a significant impact in the form of a drastic reduction of the cost of opportunity for hotel development executives. The time that these executives devote to managing existing assets or evaluating new ones is very valuable for their respective companies and shareholders. Develhotel can make the most out of it’, Mr Yuste said.

Contact:
Develhotel
Media Relations Department
press@develhotel.com
www.develhotel.com

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Develhotel is the new tool that makes the development of hotel and leisure real estate projects more efficient thanks to the interaction with leading hospitality specialists worldwide. In the current phase of the economic cycle it is becoming even more necessary to adopt strategies that go a step ahead in terms of optimization of operating expenses (OPEX). A platform such as Develhotel is absolutely essential to increase the viability of hotel projects and assets. Develhotel puts in contact real estate groups that wish to develop a specific hotel project with banks, investors, hotel chains, specialised consulting firms, and each and every one of the companies that make a successful hotel project development possible in any of its phases. These contacts can be developed anonymously through Develhotel or directly between our users.