BERLIN — After roughly of decade and a half of building a hotel operating business across the U.S., the U.K. and the Middle East, Valor Hospitality Partners co-founder and CEO Euan McGlashan believes his company is poised to grow in new spots around the globe, with a focus on Asia and Africa.
Speaking to CoStar News Hotels during the International Hospitality Investment Forum EMEA, McGlashan said the hope for further global growth isn't simply to see the numbers tick up for Atlanta-based Valor's portfolio — which currently sits at more than 100 hotels across 22 countries. Expansion into Africa, specifically, could be a learning experience for Valor team members across the globe to help improve their level of hospitality delivered on property, he said.
"When our teams go and they meet around the world, and let's say they go to Africa, there's amazing, beautiful, wonderful things about the African culture," he said. "Our teams from around the world will go there. They'll learn some of that. They'll leave some of their culture, but they'll take some of that, and they'll adopt ideas and learnings in other parts of the world. And you can actually feel that in Valor, and I have so many people that say to me that they stay in Valor hotels around the world, and they know it's a Valor Hotel, which makes me so proud."
Valor previously had a presence in Thailand but pulled out of that property around the COVID-19 pandemic. McGlashan said returning to that part of the world represents a big opportunity for his company.
"We've got really good friends that are based out of Australia that have a large company there that we've been talking to them potentially about some sort of strategic alliance, which could be great," he said.
In the short term, McGlashan said the biggest headwind for Valor's existing portfolio is obviously the conflict in the Middle East, which has already took what was slated to be a strong year in that region down to pandemic-era lows.
"Our expectations were great," he said. "Occupancies were up. Business was starting to really pick up. We were picking up a lot of new projects, a lot in Saudi, more in Dubai. So we had a fantastic plan for the year. And again, just like with COVID when 2020 should have been one of our strongest years ever, and then we went into lockdown for two years. So let's hope it's not two years. I'm really praying that this is as short-lived as it can be, and life can get back to normal."
Watch the video above or listen to the podcast version for more from Valor's Euan McGlashan.