Hotel industry likely to consolidate further: Blackstone

New York

THE hotel industry will continue to consolidate as operators seek to drive efficiencies and capture more customers, said Jon Gray, global head of real estate for Blackstone Group LP, the largest shareholder in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.

"It's more efficient to be a big hotel company," Mr Gray said on Monday at the New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference in Manhattan. Travellers want "one big relationship" with a single lodging provider, not multiple ones, he said.