Dear Insider,

Can you imagine that there is a shortage of staff in the Indian hotel industry? With 1.4 billion people and 500 million potential travellers? Puneet Chhatwal, CEO Taj Hotel Group, has to find 100,000 employees within five years in view of the planned expansion. He is currently building 50 "skilling" centres in the country. It will be incredibly hard work. But it increases the ethical value of the company, the economic value of the properties and the added value in market capitalisation. Taj's market cap has risen by 850% in the past five years, he says.

Why am I telling you this? It is always worth thinking outside the box. Puneet made his career in development at Rezidor, was CEO of Steigenberger Hotels for five years and is now a VIP in India himself. The Indian European or European Indian has his own opinion on real estate: Asset heavy secures every company, Asset light does not pay off.

Fittingly, Gilles Clavie, CEO of Essendi (ex Accor-Invest), announced during the new "Hotels Tomorrow" unconference in Paris three weeks ago that he would once again become the stronger owner. This is just one lesson from the near bankruptcy of Europe's largest hotel investor and operator. Gilles sat next to Puneet on stage and next to Serge Trigano, the inventor of the Mama Shelter lifestyle brand. There, values are lived in a pragmatic way - through love for the locals around the corner, fancy food on the plates and beautiful pictures on Insta.

If you read both articles today, you will recognise the role that culture, instinct and responsibility play in shaping today's hotel industry. These are priceless values that will slowly but surely contribute to market capitalisation. So we need more emotional and networked CEOs again, less cool and rational heads. The brain of the latter type is being replaced by AI anyway.

And that brings us to Professor Egger this week, who tells us how AI is about to revolutionise the travel market. It will even push OTAs and search engines like Google to the side: After all, AI can advise, book and even solve complex tasks, just like a personal assistant. Hotels therefore need significantly more reach in their own direct sales.

There is no end to the market-clearing deals: Now Pandox, Ejendomme and Scandic are buying the Irish Dalata Group - in phases and in pieces. It's a new, record-breaking constellation in the real estate market - worth €1.4 billion. Hotels remain interesting: Two new partners now want to enter this colourful world of real estate, and they have €500 million to play with.

Can booking platforms like Booking still look at themselves in the mirror? Once again, France is threatening the OTA with mega-millions in fines, now per day if it does not adjust its contracts.

Our personnel news and the new, once again very extensive News Mix are part of our weekly standard. Four companies are reporting back at the end of each quarter and half-year: MHP/Munich Hotelpartners, Pandox, Scandic and GHA - all on the road to success and can be found on our Page 1.

Our Public News on the "Marketplace" and under "Picked" warns every new week about new bans for tourists: don't walk around half-naked, accept toll payments for hiking and please book Mallorca again: After all the protests on the holiday island, the hotel association is now taking a stand: They want to make up for the bad boos and save the summer season.

Immerse yourself in profound topics!

Ihre Maria Pütz-Willems
Chefredakteurin