Alta Thoughts (February 2025)
By Rakesh Patel - The global health crisis is complex, multi-dimensional, and alarming. For example, obesity has tripled worldwide since 1975, with over 650 million adults now classified as obese. Additionally, 500 million people globally are living with diabetes, and
Alta Thoughts (January 2025)
By Rakesh Patel - “There are two kinds of forecasters: those who don’t know, and those who don’t know they don’t know”. John Kenneth Galbraith (Economist).
Alta Thoughts (December 2024)
By Rakesh Patel - I have just navigated the heaving festive airport crowds on arrival at London Heathrow airport. According to many reports, it’s going to be a very merry Christmas in the travel and hospitality business.
Alta Thoughts (November 2024)
By Rakesh Patel - How well is wellness doing? Nearly $9 trillion well, according to the latest research from the Global Wellness Institute, that forecasts this size of market by 2028, from $6.3 trillion in 2023. The sector now represents
Alta Thoughts (October 2024)
By Rakesh Patel - It was a pleasure to share a panel on Hotel Investment Returns at HICAP SG. And always good to listen to and exchange thoughts with the hotel community in Asia-Pacific. A few sound bites: 2023/2024 was
Why brand repositioning requires careful scrutiny | Hospitality Investor
Selecting the right brand as part of a hotel repositioning can change the asset’s future in a fundamental way, but plenty of nuance remains around brand choice, delegates heard at the IHIF Asia. Tim Alpe, managing director, TriO Capital, welcomed
Alta Thoughts (September 2024)
By Rakesh Patel - The Federal Reserve kicked-off an easing cycle with a bumper 50bps cut this week. According to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, this is not the Fed hitting the panic button on the economy, and thus far markets
Alta Thoughts (August 2024)
By Rakesh Patel - It was a pleasure to share a panel on sustainable tourism with Liz Ortiguera from the WTTC (World Travel & Tourism Council) and K. Oanh Ha from Bloomberg, at the Sustainable Business Summit in Singapore.
Alta Thoughts (July 2024)
By Rakesh Patel — You will have seen the rise of hotel interest in adding wellness and fitness elements into their product offering, given consumer demand and pressure to effectively utilise spare GFA. Does it make sense financially? Good to
Alta Thoughts (June 2024)
By Rakesh Patel — It’s always great to exchange ideas and learn from others, at a good hotel conference. Here are some soundbites from the recent SEAHIS event in Bangkok.