Table 1 illustrates significant growth in the major hotel chains over the past 13 years,
reflecting both a growth in the number of mergers and acquisitions and the overall size of
the industry. The number of hotels within the top 10 hotel groups has increased by 86 per
cent, from 1995 to 2008, with a corresponding increase in room capacity of 77 per cent.
This rapid growth reinforces the role that the international hotel chains play in leading the
sector. They are becoming economically more important to the HCT sector, employing
increasing numbers of people across the globe, and are seen as the “standard setters” for
the industry. The remainder of the sector is characterized by small and medium enterprises
(SMEs), all of which benefit from the tools and techniques developed by the larger chains.
This can occur directly through their own use of the tools, or indirectly by employing staff
already trained within larger establishments.