Following the insolvency filing by the FTI group and some of its subsidiaries, many tourism professionals are wondering what the future holds for Meeting Point Hotels (MP Hotels).
According to a report by the German website touristik-aktuell, which attempts to take a position on the matter, it points out that, as things stand at present, the subsidiary Meeting Point Hotels is not affected by the bankruptcy. The hotels under the Labranda, Lemon & Soul, Design Plus, Kairaba and MP Hotels brands are open and accepting bookings.
“As long as the hotels are open, our guests are travelling as normal,” TUI said. Should the hotels close – for whatever reason – guests will rebook at other hotels. FTI’s most important brand in TUI’s portfolio is Labranda Hotels.
Many MP hotels continue to have good bookings
Hoteliers in the Canary Islands, one of MP Hotels’ key destinations, confirm that they are still taking bookings.
After a slight drop shortly after the announcement of FTI’s bankruptcy, they are again recording high bookings, which are coming either from tour operators such as TUI, Dertour and Vtours, or from online portals such as Booking and Holidaycheck, or directly from customers and travel agencies.
Only a minority of the more than 50 hotels are actually owned by MP Hotels. It remains to be seen whether these hotels, which include the popular Club Aquaworld Belek, will be affected by FTI’s bankruptcy. If necessary, another operator will be sought.
Hotel owners are looking for new partners
Many hotel owners are already looking for new partners. This is because MP Hotels usually has a management contract with the hotel complexes, which it then manages as Labranda and promotes internationally. Many owners are now increasingly looking for alternative management solutions.
Hoteliers with high occupancy rates, good yields and year-round destinations such as the Canary Islands are likely to quickly find what they are looking for. According to information from the Spanish hotel service Hosteltur, the owners of the Labranda Sandy Beach, Sandy Villas and Mythos Palace hotels have already decided to terminate their contracts.
In the last few months before FTI’s bankruptcy, some hoteliers had already decided to change operator. The former Labranda Bronze Playa, in the south of Gran Canaria, recently reopened as Hotel Akeah Broncemar. Last May, Spanish group H10 Hotels announced that it had acquired Labranda Costa Mogan, which was renovated in 2021.
What will happen to Greek hotels
As reported in an article by the Corfu-based website corfupress, the situation with the 5 leased hotel units in Greece, which FTI has long-term leases, is reportedly as follows:
The owners of the units in Rhodes and Corfu have stated that they will continue to operate their hotels on their own and are already in negotiations for the next day. The businessman and owner of the hotels in Corfu has even started discussions with the US fund HIG, which is already cooperating and has sold hotels in the past. The two sides are considering all possibilities for the next day.
The hotels for this year, apparently, can continue to operate normally, since they are receiving clientele not only from FTI, but also from other tour operators.
