Dear Insider,

You're probably already saving water at the hotel, are your guests too? If your guest showers for 25 minutes, the climate target has already been missed. Carbon reductions cannot be achieved single-handedly, sustainability expert Prof. Willy Legrand reminds us. Today, he vividly describes why and how guests and suppliers need to be brought on board - part 2 of our series on bringing down CO2 emissions.

The new "Green Stay Audit Platform" from HRS, with which sustainable hotels can increase their bookings, is also very important. You can think alternatively in so many ways. That's what a hotel manager did and designed a "jungle room" in a Swiss Lab Hotel. Anyone can spend the night in this and five other themed rooms. Instead of plants, there's a vertical garden in the room, for example. And the VR glasses are practically on the bedside table. Nicola Kübler took a look.

European tourism will benefit from the hostilities between the United States and China, data experts predict. Antalya, Florence, Berlin, Brussels, Prague, Vienna, Milan and Stockholm can expect average annual growth of 10-12% in overnight stays between 2024 and 2026. The most important performance indicator this year will be occupancy.

It is astonishing that, despite the dance of the political giants around us, even the big stockmarket-listed chains almost uniformly report sustained growth and positive KPIs in their full-year or quarterly figures. The balance sheets of Choice, IHG, Marriott, Hyatt, IHCL and Whitbread/Premier Inn can be found on our page 1. However, hotel investment manager Cody Bradshaw puts the brakes on the general euphoria: He forecasts the end of ADR growth. And the shares of the chains are plummeting. By contrast, real estate AIFs are recovering again, but not in every European country.

There is a "yes, but" in many reports today. Premier Inn UK teeters, but in Germany things are finally picking up: CEO Erik Friemuth explained the current situation to us this week. In Austria, where Premier Inn is now also sensing good business, insiders are wondering whether there will also be a wave of insolvencies there - especially after the fog surrounding the privately managed Alpin Family Group.

A week ago, Sir Stelios Haj-Ioannou happily announced that Tristan Capital, an investor focused on budget hotels, was buying his easyHotels. It was another hour of market adjustment. Who will be the next appetizer? This question alone (to myself) shows that market shrinkage is already accepted as "normal". Or does it?

If you get bored, you can find other hobbies: Serviced Apartment pioneer Max Schlereth has just bought the third local TV station. From serviced apartment to service for locals. The mayor of a Lake Garda community, on the other hand, couldn't care less about the locals and even less about the tourists: He has issued a ban on alcohol in public. From overtourism to undertourism? If you're smart, you drive to the next village to drink.

You can still toast with us at HITT. Only 16 days until Brussels! If you would like to come at the last minute, there are still a few places available. www.hitt.world

And four weeks after the HITT there's the HOT in Paris for us. Puneet Chhatwal from IHLC in India (Taj Hotels) is coming to the first European conference because he wants to expand in the region. He takes a seat in a CEO chair. Stay tuned! www.hotelstomorrow.eu

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief