A lot of movement at a standstill

Dear Insiders,

The discussion on finance and the EU taxonomy requirements at the Expo Real hotel conference involved some very expert participants. Some names will not be known to everybody (Jean-Jacques Morin/Accor, Ufi Ibrahim/EEA, Manuel Ehlers/Triodos Bank), though others will certainly be familiar (Andreas Ewald/E&V and Roland Paar/Soravia). All of them wish to go down the ESG path together. If, yes, if the politicians finally manage to clearly regulate the financing standards! There was a lot of criticism on this point. 

Everyone wants to set out into this new era, but they are being thwarted. Ufi Ibrahim from London did his best to provide motivation, to take away the fear of ESG: "It's simple, it's business in a smart way!" 

Incidentally, this clear language ran through all the conference panels. We will summarise all of them over the coming weeks. For the first time, the Hospitality Industry Dialogue was dedicated to just a single topic. And the stream of visitors showed that it was high time to communicate more about sustainability. I, for one, still saw many sceptical faces in the hall though. At the other extreme though, the first masters of greenwashing were also noticeable. 

The next few years will show who has understood the challenge ahead and how much of it has been implemented. And that goes for those who still need to look up the word cybersecurity. I hosted a panel on this topic at Expo Real 2017 (!). Now, it’s hitting one hotel group after the other. Quite arbitrarily. 

Sarah Douag took a broad look at the issue of cyber-attacks, grilled Booking.com and heard from experts: AI and other innovations à la ChatGPT will make hacking attacks even more refined in future. 

Motel One gave us a brief statement on the status quo following the cyber-attack it suffered at the end of September. Alexander Fitz, the CEO of H-Hotels, and his team were unlucky enough to fall victim to an attack in December 2022. "A nightmare," he says. Within 10 minutes, 90% of the front office system was scrambled; after that, employees were reduced to pen and paper for months. Thank you, Mr. Fitz, for providing invaluable details and advice on the experience to your colleagues today! 

The sector is certainly experiencing ups and downs these days, as reflected in today's issue. What's the surprise of the week? a&o Hotels is being sold for €800 million - as we predicted at the end of March. Insiders confirm this and CEO Oliver Winter did not want to deny our question. In a few weeks, it will be official. 

How was the 3rd quarter in Germany? Transactions are at a standstill. Expansions? More and more hotel groups from Spain want to conquer Italy. ESG & Procurement? Accor, Hilton, IHG, Marriott and Radisson want to form a purchasing syndicate in future and check their suppliers according to common specifications. New fish in Berlin.... There will be none.... The mega-aquarium at the Radisson Collection Hotel will not be rebuilt. Also because it is now clear: There was no clear cause of damage. 

And what else do we have today? As always, the magazine features personalia and a news mix from the real estate market. And on our new public pages you will find a diverse selection of news including: Guide Michelin is now expanding into hotels, Berlin will soon host Germany's first sustainability summit, TUI is building a digital hub in Portugal, and a clever company has invented cement-free concrete block....

At the end of Expo Real week, we also have a personal message: On the "Expo Real" page, HospitalityInside says thank you! We also provide a retrospective and look ahead for 2024, including testimonials from our co-exhibitors. We have also added some nice motifs to the picture galleries from last Friday (start page).

Stay connected with us - also by clicking on our Investment BAROMETER! The online tool is always available and comes with a gift: we are giving away a brand-new book with questions and answers about sustainability. The key to the book is obtained by answering these questions on investments!

Till next Friday! 

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems

Chief editor

Dear Insiders,

Will Expo Real next week be a crisis trade fair? For the asset class Hotel, the sun should certainly shine brighter than for offices, shopping centres or the residential sector. "Hotels are unfairly criticised," says a real estate appraisal expert at a time when devaluations are again rearing their heads. But Birger Ehrenberg warns - everyone - not to panic. For eight years, until June 2022, he was Chairman of the Board of the German Association of Real Estate Investment Experts (BiiS). He compares the current situation on hotel real estate market to the game Mikado: In this market, it’s very much a case of whoever moves first loses.

The numbers expert identifies opportunities and risks for hotel investors and operators, knows the connections between concept and personnel costs, and is aware of the various burdens. Still, he says: There is no solid evidence for massive price and value corrections. Beatrix Boutonnet interviewed him intensively and Ehrenberg concludes with four pieces of advice for those active in the hotel sector.

Claudia Sunderkamp and Philipp Linder from Hotour Hotel Consulting also advise increased sensitivity and case-by-case consideration in the hotel industry, and call on investors, operators and asset managers - of whom there are more and more on both sides - for more transparency and communication. And they illustrate with the use of two charts with two different types of hotels that there are several ways to a positive result. Only one thing must never change: a reasonable rent. Susanne Stauss conducted the interview with the two managing directors.

I also found Peter Krueger, CEO of TUI Hotels, an interesting person to talk to this week. He is an investment banker and M&A expert and has pulled TUI out of the corona-induced misery. He, too, will be at Expo Real and will participate at the Hotel Conference, in which all the panels will revolve around sustainability. What is the strategy behind this hotel company, which today has 420 hotels and will soon have 600? The power vehicles behind this are joint ventures, investment partnerships including the company's first own fund, and flexible distribution, even tailored to individual contracts.

It's also very dynamic this autumn: Europe's hotels report super occupancy figures by global standards, even overtaking the U.S.; at the same time, travellers are starting to save, say two market reports. In the Netherlands, the hotel market is moving only cautiously, but Amsterdam is pulling away - despite all the city's plans to curb tourism.

The EU has thrown a spanner in the works for Booking.com: The OTA giant has been prohibited from acquiring ETraveli, a mega-player in flight bookings. Booking.com gave us to understand that they want to continue despite the ban. Sarah Douag analyses the situation.

In Europe, the number of industrial robots is also growing steadily; it is already the second largest market after China. Numa Group is raising $59 million in fresh capital without disclosing exactly what it plans to use it for. And Jaeder Serviced Apartments and Timehouse are two more real estate- and capital-driven newbees getting in on the action and looking to merge hotel and apartment living.

Just in time for Expo Real the project news is increasing again, we add a few more personalia to this issue and new useful and colourful news on our Marketplace. There you will also find the hospitalityInside INVESTMENT BAROMETER: How do you see the future for investment? Cast your vote, preferable right here, online. What does your gut say?

Our marketplace next week is Expo Real! From Tuesday, the team will be on the road in Munich, and from Wednesday, the 27 exhibitors of the "World of Hospitality" are waiting for you for the agreed talks: All info and contacts can be found on our new Expo Real website!

We'll see each other in Munich. Without crisis mood. Panic is not the order of the day in the hotel industry, as our experts believe today.

P.S. If you haven't found your way to our new website yet, click here!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems

editor-in-chief

Accor, Tristar / Dorint / ECE Real Estate Partner / GBI / Halbersbacher Hospitality Group / IHG / Leonardo Hotels Central Europe / Lindner Hotels / Novum Hospitality / Premier Inn.

More than 70 companies with a focus on the hotel industry are exhibiting at this year's Expo Real (4-6 October). With 27 exhibitors, the joint stand of the World of Hospitality again reaches pre-Corona level and has two premieres to offer: For the first time, a hotel group from Asia will be there (Dusit Hotels) and a company from the Senior Living segment will present itself. Everything will be more colourful.

In the current project developer crisis, the opinion of insiders is particularly in demand. How will investors react? How is the German hotel industry changing? Take part in the 11th hospitalityInside INVESTMENT Barometer, which starts today and runs beyond Expo Real  Munich. For the first time, we are also giving away a highly interesting book that provides answers to questions on sustainability.