Dear Insiders,
What a week! A battle of David against Goliath: The world's second largest franchisor (Choice) wants to acquire the largest (Wyndham). Now the poker between lawyers begins. The question is whether Wyndham is currently worth only $7.8 billion or significantly more. We already provided detailed coverage on Tuesday/Wednesday via Breakings News and a further update.
It's all very reminiscent of Marriott and the 2016 bid from state-controlled Chinese insurance company Anbang, which tried to prevent Marriott from buying Starwood hotels. At stake in this battle was $12.3 billion. Eventually, the Chinese government put an end to such ambitions.
Now, two publicly traded American giants are facing off, and no government is going to call the companies off this time. After all, profit first is the American economic credo. It's getting exciting.
As luck would have it, we recently had an interview with Wyndham CEO Geoff Ballotti and were set to publish it today anyway. We do that now with especial pleasure, given that Geoff reveals many details about the franchise model and how more can easily be made out of the 9,150 hotels worldwide. He talks about the fees used to motivate owners and new brands like Vienna House that bring in new guests. The interview now takes on a special flavour with the takeover game in the background, perhaps showing that Choice Hotels will not have an easy time of it after all.
Another drama is unfolding in the midst of the Dutch hotelier family, the Van der Valks. Refugees are more profitable that tourist, one nephew discovered and cashed in. Professional companies earn millions because they see refugees as cash cows and are able to charge governments additional 100 euros per night. Hotels, holiday parks, cruise ships and others are all in on the game. Sarah Douag describes the family squabble that became public in court, shining a spotlight on a mega-moral issue.
Sarah also takes up ethical and moral issues with her short story for homeless people, to whom Dutch hoteliers open their doors - in stark contrast to America, where in Los Angeles there is a public debate about whether the homeless can be accommodated in the hotel alongside "normal" guests.
There is one thing that Dutch hoteliers are not happy about at the moment: they are complaining loudly about the tax increase for every guest from 2024: from 7 to 12.5%! The city wants to control overtourism this way, but the MICE sector will be hit the hardest. The waves are running high.
Owners and developers would also like to make money, but here through serious business, more specifically though emission-free existing real estate and its increase in value. The panel at the Expo Real hotel conference with Rubus Development, Art-Invest Real Estate, B&B Hotels and PKF hospitality showed that it works. All the same, a multitude of little things and the ever-present bureaucracy frustrate such ventures in practice. It was a very honest discussion about costs, wood modules, heat pumps, lousy communication, and an appeal to owners as well as to operators: Sit down together at last!
Premier Inn has published its H1 and MHP Hotels its Q3 figures. On the new website (Home), we now publish the balance sheets of the chains as soon as they become available. And before we start: On the universally accessible pages you will also find current and diverse news, this week on a planned underwater train as well as the next Hospitality Symposium in Heilbronn, and more.
Otherwise, Accor has been chasing MICE trends, and Hilton has again been researching the needs of different generations of travellers. Not everything is new, but there are a few numbers accompanying the publications. Every Friday we also publish personalia and our News Mix; there, among the little articles, there’s perhaps big news for you.
One personalia you’ll miss today: Kempinski CEO Bernold Schroeder, otherwise rather publicity-shy, announced the day before yesterday in the Süddeutsche Zeitung that he will not extend his contract, "surprisingly", according to the newspaper. Following a little deeper research yesterday, I can only say: A surprise is different. We'll stay tuned and will filter out the important news. We are no copy cats.
With us, you'll certainly not get bored! Today is your last chance to participate once again in our Investment Barometer. Just click here!
And again, the direct link to our new website! Behind the scenes, things are still a bit bumpy, as usual. But that’s no reason to shy away from contacting us if you have any problem logging in.
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief
