Editorial

Dear Insiders,

Careful management, competence and just plain luck are three factors that are helping entrepreneurs through this pandemic. Germany's largest hotel project developer, GBI AG, likely benefited from a little bit of everything, as our long interview with Chairman Reiner Nittka shows today.

GBI didn't chase 30x multiples in 2019, but looked around in its own pool of ideas. housing became an engine for business early on, "but we didn't switch asset classes on any of the hotel projects planned before corona," he says proudly. Things continue with duo and trio projects, but also with greater love for serviced apartments and new flirtation with senior living. New constraints come from securing leases and from old ones as well as from competition that really just keeps prices high. A tour d'horizon with an industry professional.

Prof Christian Buer and Marco Nussbaum also contribute to the broadening of horizons today. Each developed their own employee model, but the idea behind it is the same: to give young employees management responsibility at an early stage, to support them and keep them on board and with the company through shareholdings. Buer is implementing this model for the first time at a new Moxy hotel, with the owner accepting lower rents and Marriott accepting lower franchise fees. He would like to invest the 'money won' in his employees.

Nussbaum will establish a new stock company on Monday, and shareholdings will soon be part of the compensation package for its employees. "With our vision, sooner or later we will sweep other hotel companies out of the market!" the two "brothers in mind" are convinced...

Tourism statistics for 2021 in Germany show a slight recovery, but we all know how crucial liquidity is for the vast majority of hotel groups this winter/spring. Perhaps Scandic and Pandox's 2021 balance sheet figures will reassure; the two Swedish CEOs also see demand to return in a flash as the pandemic situation improves.

Along European travel routes, 7.5-square-meter container rooms are slowly building up, and it's probably not just truckers who will be using them. Munich is currently pursuing a different idea: converting vacant hotels into "flexi-homes."

This week's market news take us through the digital world and the real estate market, rounded off by interesting personalia.

We hope to provide you with new "insides" again with this issue.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief 
 

Dear Insiders,

Long live European chaos! Just when so much developing for the better and travel is supposed to start up again, every country once again goes off on its own. Together, this fuels all the more uncertainty and complicates any vacation planning with ever new, sometimes absurd and contradictory rules. What we are all experiencing now is worse than the chaos of the first summer. And the consequences of it all are even more serious today than in 2020.

In Austria, the winter season 21/22 is about to be cancelled - a nightmare for large parts of the resort hotel industry. Compared to the winter 2019, the number of guests has halved. Reserves are completely depleted everywhere, including in the city. And the same applies to Germany: There, the large and mid-sized hotel companies are suffering particularly. They, the largest employers in the industry, face an exodus if the financial support is not adjusted and extended.

We asked ten LMEs in Germany to tell us about their situation. Only Honestis AG/Dorint Hotels and Novum Hospitality were prepared to speak out on the matter. Motel One confirms the key points. The rest remain silent and continue to hope: The number of hotels that need more money has grown larger, as we hear from Dehoga chief Ingrid Hartges.

If politicians leave the industry out in the cold in the final phase of the pandemic, could the following scenario come about: Good German hotel groups - the backbone of the MICE and business travel industry - begin to go bankrupt. Then they would be broken up, presumably by foreign private equity companies. They are lurking outside the door anyway. They will promise the government all sorts of things, but after a while they will lay off employees and gradually siphon off all value. All of it quite legal, of course...

And now to sports: Just in time for the start of the Olympic Games in Beijing today, we explain why 2,000 hamsters had to be killed and why foreign packages may only be opened with protective clothing. China's zero-covid strategy is no longer credible, the "bubble" could burst and Omicron could become a deadly curse for the country. The Chinese hotel industry is certainly facing a tough first quarter. And other countries too: The hoped-for influx of tourists from China will remain absent for even longer.

China is playing roulette, with itself and the world. A Chinese financial investor describes his own life in this world of string-pulling and playing with power and corruption. The author wants the "naive" of this world to read the book to see the true face of China. Bärbel Schwertfeger has read it for you.

In other news today, we introduce you to the next investment platform that wants to track down Europe's hotel bargains. In contrast, the Italian government is now putting together survival packages worth billions until 2029. This and more in today's issue, which already "weighs heavy" again - even though February has only just begun.

Yes, it's February and we're already thinking about Expo Real! This week, the trade fair opened the online registrations for its exhibitors. Reason for us to point at the joint stand of the World of Hospitality. Even if the current pandemic development is currently affecting the industry again, optimism prevails that we will leave the virus behind us this year. Investors have by no means given up on the asset class! And the exuberant desire of people to travel, who want to be in touch again, in business as well as leisure, is also encouraging. Talk to us about your Expo Real presence! We offer compact workstations and individually designable larger spaces. More on our homepage. 

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief 
 

Dear Insiders,

A few days ago, the Prime Minister of Spain, Pédro Sánchéz, described Madrid’s FITUR as the "most important tourism fair in the world" - ahead of the ITB. Their success in the transition from corona year 2 to corona year 3 gives the long-suffering Spaniards, who are now breathing a sigh of relief, a fresh boost. In Berlin, the ITB has now been cancelled for the third times.

This is a mistake, believes Christian Andresen, President of Dehoga Berlin and a hotelier himself. In our interview with Sylvie Konzack, he calls on the city of Berlin and the trade fair to make a completely fresh start. The particular model Berlin used for the trade show up to now is no longer fit for purpose. The Spanish have long since recognised this: Time for new times, they say to themselves, and create new facts.

I think it's outstanding that Andresen is openly fighting against the slow, reticent and sometimes cowardly nature of German civil servants in the capital. His word carries weight in Berlin and he has already sensitised Berlin’s state government to the needs of the MICE industry. Berlin will have to set an example! Otherwise, even the last of the mega congresses will soon be gone. Since the start of the pandemic, the trade fair/MICE disaster in Germany has resulted in a loss of some €46.2 billion.

Choice Hotels also wants to set a new focus and get the EMEA region afloat from Amsterdam. Yet this one wasn't that slow. EMEA CEO Jonathan Mills has meanwhile put together a 50(!)-strong team that is truly pan-European, and now wants to steadily push the four main brands in Europe more strongly, to talk more to franchisees, and bring more first-class tech tools from the USA across the Atlantic to Europe. Sarah Douag tried to get details out of him.

Both the EU and the UNWTO express optimism, but the figures still betray the truth: The lean period is still long. 4% more tourism in 2021 is de facto only 15 million more travellers. Every country is missing international travellers. Overnight stays are still 72% below what they were in 2019. Facts and figures that show the way.

The investors and real estate traders are the ones who still believe in the future. L+R of London is in the process of setting up a €1 billion fund for European hotels. It is understandable that they want to use the crisis to do good business. L+R chief Desmond Taljaard wants only "added value" returns.

Oyo, on the other hand, wants everything. Through the pandemic, the already opaque company laid off 20,000 of its 30,000 global employees, has problems everywhere, but is still looking forward to its upcoming IPO, which is expected to value Oyo at $12 billion. Can someone please put me in touch with a psychologist who understands how analyst and VC minds work?

The biggest problem in the industry will not be finances, but human resources. Technology is supposed to help here, as we know. For example, "Automated Personalisation”. But a red-hot study says: More than 80% of chains are overwhelmed with this technology. Why? Even for this, there is a lack of qualified personnel.

The classic hotel industry, and with it the destinations, are struggling for every step to make tourism attractive again - for employees as well as residents and the tourists. Barcelona is now approaching this goal with modified criteria in the new city plan. The hoteliers are probably swallowing, but they are going along with it.

As usual, we say goodbye with interesting personalia and a wealth of market news, in which the next hotel closures stand out. But corona is not to blame for everything.

Till next Friday!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief 
 

Dear Insiders,

Acquisitions are a milestone in any corporate story, and the billion-heavy Thai multinational Minor International is no exception. Many people in Central Europe only heard this name following its acquisition of NH Hotels in 2018. CEO Dillip Rajakarier even struck Hyatt at the time, although the US chain stepped in last minute and even offered €1.70 more per share.

Dillip is a sensitive strategist: "We always think 10 steps ahead, not two". The bright-faced Thai manager views chains with 30 and 40 brands as dreadful. He doesn't acquire assets for the profit, and the commitment of his GMs pays off better than the computers forecast.

The CEO pursues familiar strategies in unfamiliar ways. Whether it's Tivoli Hotels in Portugal, Safari Camps in Africa, serviced apartments in Australia or NH - Minor Hotels is growing with everything that has potential - without diluting or constantly redressing brands to keep the investor happy... NH will become Minor's strongest global brand in any case. For this, everything is set.

Entrepreneurs remain entrepreneurs. They are forever on the move with passion and fire, and convince with intellect and expertise. One such entrepreneur is Michaela Reitterer. The successful hotelier from Vienna brought all these qualities to bear over the past nine years as ÖHV President. Austria owes a great deal to this strong woman in extremely difficult times. She is still happy to help her colleagues, but she has had enough of duplicitious politicians. Fred Fettner spoke with her about satisfaction and disappointment.

The extreme form of disappointment is frustration and despair. Because of corona, nearly every country has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs in tourism - a total of 62 million worldwide. The industry will only feel how painful this will be this year - when the hoped-for surge in demand sets in. In terms of personnel though, no country will be able to replace the lost human capital. Sarah Douag with the figures.

The burden of the virus is visible on both a large and small scale: for example, in the decision to convert the extension of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Munich, as well as the harsh decision of the Swiss Federal Council to keep the industry in the permanent grip of the 2G+ rule despite low hospitalisation rates. And while the Europeans are making life even more difficult for themselves, the Chinese are already thinking about their second master plan for developing their robotics industry.

We bring you a great wealth of news from the real estate market, from the world of brands and sustainability to round off our edition this week. These small news articles reveal: There are many out there who firmly believe in the future of tourism and the hotel industry. They are the entrepreneurs - the people who stand up and do something!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief 
 

Dear Insiders,

Welcome to the new old year! Another great equaliser for European hoteliers. Confusion continues to reign everywhere and bank accounts become emptier and emptier, though at least Omicron doesn't seem to cause as much suffering as its predecessors. And so the first days of January make me feel quite optimistic, also because more and more people are saying that they no longer want to stay at home "because of a cold", but would rather work. Once again, people are faster than politics, which continues to trail after the virus everywhere.

How Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, France and Benelux have fared since Christmas is summarised by our correspondents today - under headlines such as "2021 was worse than 2020", "Disappointing everywhere", "Give and take", "The call to reopen", "Not enough to compensate"... Everyone is experiencing similar things, only with a time lag. And once again, despite all the limitations, resort hotels are still doing better than the struggling city hotel industry.

The Success Hotel Group from Stuttgart filed for insolvency this week - under the self-administration procedure. Managing Director Michael Friedrich explains the background to us exclusively: As he told us, the most recently requested €5.3 million in state support fell victim to bureaucracy, with disbursement delayed enormously.

All requirements were met, yet Success was classified as being at risk of insolvency. Because the company belongs to the hotel industry. Only a rascal would have such cynical thoughts, or see any pattern to these events... Therefore, read for yourself: The article is freely available to all on our page 1.

The pandemic also affects suppliers. Rolf Slickers, former hotelier and now Managing Director of Servitex laundry, realised bitterly: "Our concept is not suited to the pandemic". The more hotels closed, the less laundry was done. Now he is changing his business model - and is also fighting on completely different fronts: against higher wages, horror prices for cotton and containers, and last but not least against Amazon. There's more than one supply chain breaking.

Things sound more optimistic from the world of transactions: With luck, Q4 saved the whole of 2021, but investors are regaining medium-term confidence in the industry. However, the increasing wave of conversions of hotel properties is particularly visible in Berlin.

In our other news we talk about the new all-inclusive approach at Accor, the new classification of vacation apartments, the new "eco-friendly dish" of the Austrians and a recent Federal Supreme Court ruling on the subject of rent payments under corona. And finally, since Christmas there has been a lot of personnel and market news.

We look forward to the new year with you, which will be more positive, if only because our soul is better equipped to face the virus now than before. Do as the trees do: defy every storm and grow solidly, "without haste or rush". You can read what old trees have to do with today from a Christmas card that I was delighted to receive. On our Page 1.

A good start into the new year!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief 
 

Dear Insiders,

An extremely moderate and stressful year is coming to an end. What remains is a tourism sector that finds itself in total chaos without fault, without consistent travel and vaccination rules, even without vaccine and still without reliable perspectives. Mistakes and confusion in the political hotchpotch are drawing on everbody's last bit of energy ...

In the past 12 months, I have expressed my resentment more often than ever before and also received more feedback than ever before. Particularly during lockdowns, Fridays became a telephone day for exchanging thoughts with you. I would like to thank all of you, dear readers and users, both known and unknown, for the constructive-critical dialogue this year, which motivated us all at hospitalityInside to go on.

In the course of my career as a journalist, I have never reported this negatively for such a long time. But this is why we still refrain from issuing any fake news and painting an exaggeratedly positive or negative picture. The world is the way it is.

I also drew energy from many background talks with CEOs, interviews with foreign hoteliers, exchanges with lawyers, bankers, developers and many others. The great thing about this colourful industry is that optimists never die. Even Covid won't manage that.

This is also why this final issue of 2021 will contain as little corona as necessary and as much future as possible: we talk about the Metaversum, our new life in mixed realities, so that we will no longer want to connect with one another but rather disconnect. Travelling is becoming more precious and hotels could soon live without walls. Such news come from 2b AHEAD, Gottlieb Duttweiler Institut and the futurologists Matthias Horx, Andreas Reiter and Horst Opaschowski.

Moreover, Covid turned out to be a booster for the robotics industry: service robots have thus arrived in the hospitality sector at enormous speed. We have gathered examples of these automated helpers – from cleaning robots to kitchen robots to automated barkeepers. This development can no longer be ignored. By the way, some Germans are already showing enthusiasm for "cultured meat", also called "lab-grown meat".

In pleasant contrast to this future is the concept of Six Senses. The wellness pioneer is now a sustainability pioneer. It demands a revenue share from every investor that is only used for sustainable activities. Or the deal is off. In most resorts, guests experience chickens, ducks, goats and camels and enjoy fresh produce from the property's organic gardens. A cosmos that brings return. And of all the ESGs, it has the "S" - Social - in focus. An interview with CEO Neil Jacobs, who is transferring this spirit to urban locations. 

On January 1, 2022, the taxonomy of the real estate sector will be taking effect resulting in a new year with lots of changes for investors, developers and operators. Deutsche Hospitality introduces its new franchise model and Preferred Hotels hope – just as everybody else – that there will be significantly more international travel.

MRP Consult took a compact look back and into the future. In the meantime, Italy is struggling with tightened requirements when it comes to entering the country, and Germany provided the legal requirements for additional strict measures last week ...

hospitalityInside won more new subscriptions this year than were lost, we successfully realised our 4th Think Tank and a successful joint stand at Expo Real. This is why we are very much looking forward to these two anchor events next year – together with you! And we want to say a big THANK YOU to all our readers, business partners, event participants and sponsors! We highly appreciate your loyalty!

After 22 months of intense corona reporting and a plethora of work in the background, we and our team will enjoy a longer Christmas break to replenish our energy. We will be back in the office on January 10 and our next issue will be published on January 14, 2022.

A Merry Christmas – stay healthy and optimistic!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems & the hospitalityInside team

Dear Insiders,

For weeks now, I have not met a single German hotelier with anything positive at all to say about the old Merkel government. Just in time for Christmas 2021, the industry finds itself pushed to the cliff edge once again. "Business has become brutally tough... Authorities are using hoteliers and restaurateurs as a means of public control..."

These are statements in our article today about the 2G+ rule. Turnover is tumbling very fast, yet almost every hotel group wants to avoid closures. A snapshot: Deutsche Hospitality, HR Group, Ruby Hotels, B&B, Premier Inn and Dorint report. 

Fortunately, in Austria, the lockdown ends tomorrow. Yet the sector's re-opening will be staggered. Totally illogical here is the following: Vienna, with the lowest infection rate, will be the last to open, but hotspots such as Vorarlberg and Tyrol will be the first. The federal states with strong winter seasons are using their power to the fullest: Economic interests take precedence over health. Fred Fettner reports - also on Switzerland, whose winter season is also just starting to falter again.

The mood in many places is becoming increasingly aggressive and adamant. For 21 months, the sector has been knocked from pillar to post in a spectacular show of government failure. This much is now painfully clear. If the industry associations don't put 200 percent effort into this now, everything will come crashing down in the next few months.

Many feared the same a year ago, but now the situation is much more dramatic: Cash reserves have been fully depleted almost everywhere, repayments are starting and employees are disappearing. And all the while salaries, energy prices and inflation are on the rise. Problems are piling up to mountainous proportions - while revenues continue to be lost.

In moments like these, it's pretty much only the large corporations that manage to keep thinking about the future. We first reported in detail on Green Bonds in October, but have now gone back to Premier Inn - one of the bond pioneers - to find out more about the advantages and disadvantages of this new method of financing. Chief Financial Officer Mark Sommer answered Beatrix Boutonnet's questions.

Among our news items is one about a new "ESG Book" that - launched from within the financial world - will in future meticulously collect "sustainable" data from investors and other financial experts. B&B explains why this budget brand needs three room categories, and, among all the loyalty programmes of the hotel groups, Global Hotel Alliance celebrates the premier for its loyalty currency, the "Discovery Dollar" - an exciting marketing idea for 800 hotels and 11 million members. TUI's annual balance sheet, personalia and lots of new market news in the mix round off this issue.

I wish you all - despite all the frustration - continued strength in this end-of-year spurt, and a great deal of courage.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief 

Dear Insiders,

There will be no nationwide lockdown in Germany at the moment. All the same, a lockdown for the hotel and restaurant industry is not off the table! Behind the scenes, the federal and state governments changed their minds within 24 hours, are now readjusting the - just demonised old - Infection Protection Act so that they can individually decree regional closures, as Dehoga Managing Director Ingrid Hartges reports in our interview today.

All of this depends crucially on infection and hospitalisation rates - and so, once again, there is no predictable framework for business! And just in time for Christmas!

Following the political resolutions yesterday, Germany is now switching to 2G for the most part - and needs to extend it to 2G+ if the health situation demands it. Hotels and restaurants must once again hold their breath: In particular under a tighter 2G+ rule, no one can say how many guests and tourists it will stay at home. Mandatory vaccination for all is not due until February/March 2022.

As the industry's chief lobbyist, Ingrid Hartges must now ensure that financial aid, short-time working allowances and, if applicable, compensation for damages remain in place. The first half of 2022 is going to be pretty darn tough for the industry under all these political circumstances and viral uncertainties.

The same is true for Austria. The representatives of the associations are pushing hard for the end of the three-week lockdown. Businesses there are also in urgent need of liquidity. The mood is catastrophic, because many guests will probably leave for South Tyrol or Switzerland if the lockdown is extended. The chaos continues everywhere.

Still, we plough on and try our best not to sink into despair and frustration as a result of corona each week. We have other topics as well. The new corporate structure around Deutsche Seereederei has ambitious plans: As Managing Director Carsten Wilmsen reports today, as of immediately, no more non-sustainable hotels are to be built. Future partners will also have to support the new concept, which, among other things, relies on BIM and prefabrication; furthermore, the profiles of the three main hotel brands Arosa, aja and Henri Hotels will be changed. If it all works out, DSR would be one of the pioneers in the industry.

Incidentally, DSR is also tackling its existing properties in the process. Real estate professionals also like to call them transformational properties. A new market study has found that half of this type will be implemented as a mixed-use product in the future. It's a topic that will make waves in the field of sustainability.

Booking.com is also thinking about the future - but not in small steps, rather in seven-league boots and acquisitions. The OTA giant wants to market even more alternative accommodations, expand its hotel offerings with flight portal ETraveli and expects more business from the United States with distribution professional Getaroom. The hotel booking site becomes a travel platform. Booking is always good for surprises and acts fast, as we also saw last week in our post about the new "green label".

The reports in our weekly News Mix column keep coming as well. So there's still a lot of movement in the market - and an exciting future. Even if the mood is currently swinging permanently between panic and positivity. Keep your chin up!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief 

Dear Insiders,

In Germany, sheer hysteria clearly dominates as regards corona. One day after the future government presented its coalition paper, there remains more questions everywhere than ever before - also in the hotel and restaurant industry. Yesterday, in any case, things were happening almost by the hour, which also sparked hectic for Dehoga and its members. This morning, we were going to publish an interview with Dehoga Managing Director Ingrid Hartges, but at 6pm yesterday we collectively decided to postpone it.

The likelihood that the previous day's statements might not be true today was/is high. The magic number of 100,000 corona deaths in Germany was clearly exceeded yesterday; it puts an ugly but clear face on the drama.

And at the same time, it wraps federalism in the huge shroud with it: Egomaniacs run riot in this country; finding uniform ways out of the crisis seems politically impossible. 3G, 3G+, 2G, 2G+, 1G - and every single announcement comes with countless exceptions across the different federal states. It’s quite simply a farce - no longer comprehensible and above all no longer controllable!

The current power vacuum in Germany could lead directly to the next lockdown for everyone. If the Christmas and New Year business falls away for the second time running, it will spell the end for an untold number of operations.

The contempt politicians show for this industry is incredible: In its 177-page coalition paper, the future government devotes a whole 14 lines to tourism. The words "hotel" or "gastronomy" do not appear once in the entire paper.

I am still amazed at how positive and target-oriented the hotel entrepreneurs are. Three hoteliers from Germany and Austria report on how they are handling the 4th wave as well as on the renewed, massive collapse in bookings. This is now spreading to Italy: Within a week, 11 million bookings were lost there. Within hours though, the Italian government once again tightened the rules for vaccinated/non-vaccinated people.

While operators are struggling to survive, international real estate investors now see the opportunity to outbid national competitors in the luxury hotel segment in Italy with a lot of money. Massimiliano Sarti is torn: But crisis is also opportunity.

And that's exactly how far ahead Booking.com has thought. Sarah Douag took a closer look at how the OTA - which no longer enjoys the best reputation - checks the sustainability concepts of its 28 million accomodations. It sounds well thought out. And yet hotels don't pay anything for the new Sustainable Travel Badge. 57,000 hotels are already identified to get the label. The OTA ist just sparking a new competition.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief 

Dear Insiders,

Austria's government leaves the hospitality industry hanging in the air, in Germany, the sector is a mere pawn between the old now caretaker government and the not yet confirmed new coalition. The 2G rule in Austria has brought with it a huge wave of cancellations: Half of bookings for the Christmas period are already gone. This is tantamount to a lockdown.

A real lockdown could threaten Germany again today if the frustrated voted-out CDU/CSU plays out its majority in the Bundestag... It's all on the line, the future of the industry hangs by a thread yet again. Prof Christian Buer comments on the current situation: "Déjà vu! Déjà vu! The drama loop continues."

Once again I can only shake my head in bewilderment at how short-sighted, incompetent and selfish politicians are. They're not promoting tourism and the hotel industry, they're pushing the sector off a cliff once again. In recent years many countries have longed for a leader like Angela Merkel; now we should borrow Emmanuel Macron.

France's tourism has come through the crisis better than most other countries, confirms the World Travel and Tourism Council in figures. How have they managed that? Sarah Douag explains how - along with a passionate president who believes in tourism and personally drives all players with a 5 point plan to reinvent tourism and hospitality and think ten years ahead. His message to investors: "I need your investment"! The cool Angie never spoke like that and the soon to be chancellor Olaf Scholz won't strain his tender voice either.

Many raised their voices at the serviced apartment congress So!Apart last week in Munich. In the 2nd corona year, the sector must take further hits, but it continues to glance curiously over at ever new concepts, to the new proximity to the residential sector and to the hotel chains chasing them down the extended stay lane. Sylvie Konzack summarises.

The hospitalityInside Investment BAROMETER, in cooperation with Union Investment, shows that the industry is basically on the right track, albeit with adjusted priorities. We would like to express our sincere thanks at this point to our partner. Investors have not given up on the asset class! A general summary can be found on our Page 1, subscribers and all who took part will receive the full assessment.

STR also confirms the Europe-wide upswing in the hotel industry with its latest data: All KPIs are moving in the right direction! Hirmer, the owner of Travel Charme Hotels, also wants to move things up: In the future, two other brands will sail under its umbrella. Hotel operator Edyn wants to stir up Central Europe with its Locke and Cove brands, with the friendly support of its parent, asset giant Brookfield.

There’s little positive in another of our stories: The operator RIMC continues to defend itself against the hostile takeover and against false claims made by the real estate owner of the Seehotel Kaiserstrand in Lochau, Austria. Fun reading comes from the Lausanne Hotel School, EHL: It is dusting off its image and getting rid of its old-fashioned dress code. It is getting all sexy in unisex.

Despite all the turbulence - stay in good cheer!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief