ISRAEL 21C
With Covid killing hotels, flexibility is key to survival
by Abigail Klein Leichman
August 3, 2020

The hospitality industry has been hovering at death’s door since March. Even as hotels slowly and cautiously reopen amid waves of the pandemic, normal is still a distant dream. “The harsh side effects of Covid-19 will remain for several years,” predicts Leon Avigad, founder of Leopard Hospitality and the 50-property Brown Hotels chain rapidly expanding through Israel, Greece, Germany, Croatia and Cyprus. “We’ve actually lost between four and five years,” Avigad said in a July 14 webinar for hotel professionals from 13 countries.“My guess is that 2020 is dead, 2021 will hopefully be balanced out on a GOP [gross operating profit] level, 2022 we will maybe balance out on an NOP [net operating profit] level…READ MORE