Editorial
Dear Insiders,
Creative minds have a new focus - on Food & Beverage. There hasn't been this much lateral thinking in a long time. The future lies in vegetables, not in meat. The latter will only be produced from cell cultures anyway in a not too distant period. Vegan is here to stay. Local and exotic will no longer be a contradiction in terms.
Susanne Stauss asked German restaurant professional Jean Ploner about new concepts, as well as former Rotana CEO Omer Kaddouri, who now drives forward mainly vegan food chains from Amsterdam. The examples provided by the two interviewees form a veritable cascade of ideas, with the appropriate links attached for your perusal. Ploner is also worried about the future of gastronomy though. Among other things, he could imagine systematising restaurant kitchens in a kind of cooperative model.
In the F&B sector, a lot revolves around sustainability, and at the French hotel group EKLO, it's all about that. Founder Emmanuel Petit builds and operates urban green hybrid and eco-friendly low budget hotels under this brand. He himself comes from Accor and is now co-financed by the two Accor founders Dubrule and Pélisson. A charming detail. They also seem to affirm what our writer Sarah Douag presents to us as an opening question today: Can aggressive pricing be reconciled with style, award-winning interior design, sociability and sustainability? An extremely interesting article with a lot of concrete information about construction and materials.
"Sustainability must be honest". Neil Jacobs, CEO of Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, knows it: The wellness pioneer of the global wellness scene sells its guests wellness, health and now follows their new lifestyle where life, work and play merge. We introduce Neil to you today on our front page, and you can find out how he and Six Senses put this into practice on the second day of the HospitalityInside Think Tank in September. Another top speaker of international renown. We are very happy about his acceptance.
Meanwhile, German hoteliers will continue to move between relaxation and tension in the coming months. The state aid has been extended until the end of September and the limits have been significantly increased. But is all this enough to keep city and MICE hotels alive? Dehoga Managing Director Ingrid Hartges sees herself in the commentary for us between joy and frustration and wants to continue fighting in August for an extension until the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Austrian hoteliers have already celebrated their survival at the ÖHV congress this week, the first physical meeting since corona. 450 hoteliers were in attendance. The industry has received €4.5 billion in funding.
At Booking.com, government aid is now flowing in the other direction. The OTA is now "spontaneously" paying back support from the Dutch government of some €65 million and €40 million more - after a massive outcry: Last week, the U.S. holding company announced it was giving three executives €28 million in bonuses.
Europeans cannot understand the ups and downs of Chinese state-owned companies. It has now come to light how very deep in debt the former and now insolvent giant HNA is: Creditors are claiming €153 billion.
Amadeus Hospitality asked which of thecorona trends are here to stay, and Ascott is already providing its guests with telemedicine. More industry news in our News Mix.
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief
Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
The sheer joy about the restart is everywhere, yet the uncertainty remains. This is just as true for Germany as it is for Austria and Dubai. Once again, it makes clear just the great levelling across the whole world in the wake of the virus. From now on though, it’s positivity that counts. Positivity coupled with a plan like in Dubai or Austria.
The Arabian Travel Market and Dubai were respected by the surveyed hoteliers for the simple reason that it was held as a physical event and was handled in a professional and disciplined manner. It's the signal that counts! Everyone is now highly motivated. There's even a gold rush atmosphere again.
Meanwhile, the general conditions remain tense: Room rates are catching up, some faster some slower, depending on the hotel location. Another 60,000 rooms are set to make their way into the market and owners are starting to test chain brands against each other. Yet Dubai always has treats in store for investors, tourists and the new species of "remote workers". The "Star of the Orient" is in restart mode. As of Wednesday, it even has a new Urban Master Plan 2040.
The EU Covid Certificate, which promises "total freedom of travel" from 1 July, is hotly anticipated. So far though, holiday-hungry potential travellers are a bit more cautious than expected. In Austria, for example, there are still quite a few beds available in June, and in Germany the picture is "varied", as Thomas Edelkamp from Romantik Hotels puts it. We have collected voices from holiday hoteliers, consortia and associations. So far, only July and August are as good as fully booked in Germany. Positive trend: Hoteliers are raising their room rates. If not now, then when?
Still, some restarts are accompanied with much more uncertainty: The purchasing company Progros reports serious bottlenecks and delays on the part of the suppliers.
The new price awareness must continue, not only because running costs have increased, but also because new costs will be added in the future - foreseeably in the field of sustainability. "Travel must remain affordable," demands London-based investment professional and tech investor Wes Paul. "Sustainable tourism in its current form is an expensive premium product, we need to introduce technologies that make it affordable so that the mass of tourists can reduce their impact on the environment."
A new networked way of thinking is therefore developing in the fields of construction and operation: Technologies and alternative energies are capable of driving down costs and securing the future of tourism. Wes thinks outside the box. That's why he'll be opening our Think Tank on 13 September. The article about this high flyer can be found on our homepage at www.hospitalityInside.com, the complete programme and more on www.hitt.world.
Our shorter news today also have it in them: Sarah Douag asks why Booking.com is rewarding three top executives with EUR 28 million in bonuses during the crisis. And the EU is trying to tighten its control over digital markets with stricter legislation.
From Italy there are current figures on job losses in the industry, in Spain one wonders why so little interest and money is flowing into tourism tech start-ups, and, in view of the next steps for its opening, Austria is considering how long the now common tests and test roads will continue to make sense.
Contemplation and pushing forward with new things is always good: The new initiative "Business Union" has been founded and its presiding members elected; it wants to give the industry more lobbying clout - as set out in detail in our last two issues. It'll be interesting to see how that develops. We also have sad new as we report on the unexpected death of Pandox CEO Anders Nissen. With varied mix this week, we say goodbye until next Friday!
All interested parties for Expo Real 2021 should keep an eye on the registration deadline for co-exhibitors on 23 June. Those who still want to secure a place at the "World of Hospitality" stand for October please register with our trade fair team by 11 June. For information and download click on the Expo Real banner on our homepage or in the newsletter.
Stay in positive spirits!
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief
Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
Social media posts and emails this week were overflowing with joy at the reopenings in the restaurant and hotel industry, even if Europe itself remains an unmanageable, inhomogeneous patchwork. It's not the weather app I now open each morning on my phone, it’s the infection rate in my local area that I want to know: Are we still under 100 or already under 50? What's permissible at each particular stage has to be researched on the internet each time.
But people are becoming increasingly positive - a good thing. Adieu Tristesse! At the same time, GfK reports that consumer sentiment is on the rise: Vaccination and relaxation of corona measures are certainly having an effect - beer gardens and shopping centres were already full again in many places.
All this makes city hoteliers who are still lacking international guests and MICE all the more testy. They still worry as the governments - e.g. in Germany, Switzerland and Italy - remain unpredictable. Will they extend the financial aid and short-time working support until the end of the year? For some medium-sized affiliated companies, this is becoming a question of survival. 2021 remains a brutally tough year.
This is very clear from our correspondent Massimiliano Sarti's report on the restart challenges in Italy. How do you expect to attract tourists when curfews are still in place? Cities worry: They'll probably struggle for another year and a half.
Corona loans will take many businesses further into debt. Banks are no longer providing finance, so leaving opportunities open for other types of investor. These could also be attracted with deals secured through Blockchain. An Austrian model promises transparency and security for all involved. A new, still unfamiliar topic, but Fred Fettner sets out to provide a clear and comprehensible description.
Such future topics will not be capable of being avoided for long. Nor will hoteliers be able to escape BIM/Building Information Modeling. But this is just one aspect that will impact on sustainable hotel construction in the future. Alex Duckworth of AECOM, a gigantic global services company in the construction sector, will be looking outside the box and at the new competition at the HospitalityInside Think Tank on 13/14 September. You can find this article on our page 1, all further HITT-infos are available directly on www.hitt.world.
And: We are very pleased that Deutsche Hospitality will support our Think Tank as a sponsoring partner! Another good name next to Accor, Drees & Sommer, IDeaS, uniper and Hotelschool The Hague. We will introduce you to all of our sponsors shortly, as well as our Advisory Board, all of whom have contributed to the "making of" the HITT.
Exchange among colleagues and with experts will become even more important given the intense dynamic post-corona. The hotel construction boom seems to be continuing, at least in Europe the pipeline is full; in Germany there is currently more delay than drive. And Serviced Apartments will play a role in the market change. The new Market Report by Anett Gregorius has been available since yesterday; we touch on key topics. A new, international wellness study shows how well-being and health will change post-corona - and how hotels can benefit from this.
I wish you an exciting read, with your eyes on the future!
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief
Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
The first guests have arrived, are on their way, are packing… The market is showing positive signs of movement, also the German market – even if the most severe problems have not been solved yet. But especially with the latter, a solution for hotels and hotel groups of all sizes seems to be within reach, as Ingrid Hartges, Head of Dehoga, optimistically told us yesterday.
Those who are able to show their status as tested, vaccinated or recovered – on paper or digitally soon – at the door of a hotel or restaurant, will be able to exhale, take a deep breath, eat, drink and enjoy themselves. Fred Fettner reports how Austria has been organising and controlling its opening starting this week, and how the country - just like Switzerland - profits from a confused Germany. And the EU has been pushing the EU vaccination certificate further since last night, with an eye on the summer travel season.
In Germany, the federal system is blocking equality again. At the coast of Schleswig-Holstein, people are allowed to go on vacations since May 17, while in the neighbouring state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, hotels are only allowed to open on June 14. This way, economic survival depends on the goodwill of state premiers.
Our egos will be our fate. This has also been voiced in frustrated posts. Large hotel groups, reformed Dehoga critics, and the founders of the new "Union der Wirtschaft" – hotelier Alexander Aisenbrey is currently creating new facts here – are also giving constructively critical or restrained statements today. The initiative will officially be founded as a new association next Friday. It is to serve as a complementary think tank to Dehoga and warm up the direct lines to politics. However, it is exactly this lobbyist proximity that the hotel association has claimed for itself until now.
One thing is certain: They all want the same thing – more community internally and more pressure externally! Our little foray through the world of hotels and associations shows that a cooperation between Dehoga and Union would be possible if profiles are aligned. In any case, nobody is getting anywhere with the old structures; everybody knows this even if not all are ready to admit it right away.
Dirk Iserlohe, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Dorint, considers a discussion about the future and more as completely inappropriate at this point of time; he sent us a letter to the editor after last week's article, which we are publishing today.
Despite the silver lining on the horizon, 2021 remains a difficult year where banks have to struggle too: with the increasing number of non-performing loans and with insolvencies. In any case, the standards for hotel loans have been tightened significantly. Our specialist on finance and fonds, Beatrix Boutonnet, took a closer look into the matter.
The victory over Booking.com and the best-price clause in the German courts gives rise to celebrate: After eight years of litigation, the industry is getting its pricing sovereignty back. Another positive aspect is that three German hotel groups have been selected by the federal government to test the "digital ID". And our report about the expansion of Holiday Inn/Express and voco shows, as well as numerous news in the news mix, that development is starting to emerge again. Expo Real has also just announced easement for the construction of stands at the trade fair in October; this way, it sends a first signal of return to normality.
Our think tank is also facing up to the "new normal": Fflur Roberts, researcher at international data analyst Euromonitor, will deliver one of our keynotes at HITT, showing how much consumer behaviour is changing. And the new sustainable natives will force companies to adapt and be transparent, via digital platforms, blockchain and the circular economy. And why are travel and tourism lagging behind again? Because the CEO is asleep.
Learn more from data experts such as Fflur Roberts about trends that will change the world in the near future even more. An appetizer, for everyone accessible on our page 1. You will find our programme and registration directly at www.hitt.world! Save the date: September 13/14 in Munich, live and virtual.
Panta rhei, everything in the flow.
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief
Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
Today, I'd like to recommend that the Corona Chaos Club in Berlin takes a moment for self-criticism. As of Monday, all holidaymakers returning to Germany, including those from risk areas with infection rates of between 50 and 200, will be able to test themselves free. Quarantine will also no longer be necessary. Holiday regions in Bavaria, on the other hand, must first wait until the area achieves a 7-day rolling infection rate of less than 100 before their hotels are allowed to receive guests.
80 families with 5,000 employees in the Allgäu, all hotels of the Allgäu TopHotels consortium, cried out to media yesterday: "This is as bad as it gets!" Germans are now free to take their holidays almost anywhere in Europe, but not in the Bavarian Alps. How illogical can these rules get?
Politicians in Berlin have learned nothing from the Easter travel frenzy to Mallorca. "Morally, physically and mentally, we just can't take any more. We family businesses can't stand it anymore!" says Dr Anna-Maria Fässler, head of the legendary Sonnenalp Resort in the Allgäu region and a member of the consortium. She calls on Berlin to suspend the 'emergency brake' on domestic tourist travel - and: Get rid of the infection rate!
From 10 June, at the next meeting of the heads of the federal states, there will finally be uniform holiday rules nationwide, for hotels, restaurants and holiday homes as well as for testing, the well-informed magazine Business Insider reported a few days ago.
Dehoga boss Ingrid Hartges assures us in an interview today - quite credibly - that she is dealing with politicians who understand the plight of the industry and who have contributed a lot to ensuring that aid is granted at all. But the view from the hotel is very different. Deutsche Hospitality CEO Marcus Bernhardt is excoriating in his criticism in the same article: "We are feeling quite painfully that our lobbying for the sector in Berlin is not having the desired effect." Ruby CEO Michael Struck gets just as excited about the know-nothings in government, but also takes a swipe at himself and his colleagues...
It's time for self-criticism. For the industry association as well as for the hoteliers/gastronomes. Each side must ask itself if it wants to avoid a drama like this in future. Why is the hospitality industry neither heard nor understood? Today, I am throwing the first criticisms into the ring: wrong priorities, missed opportunities, semi-professional media appearances and PR, embarrassing newspaper advertisements... You all have to talk to each other, debate, look for common solutions together...
Next week, we will deal with the future of the industry and the new "Union of the Economy", a kind of counter-initiative to Dehoga - also then again accompanied by hoteliers' comments.
The moment of truth is also fast approaching for the banks. In the three-man team, we first held confidential background discussions, Beatrix Boutonnet summarises today how precarious the never-ending lockdown may become also for the financial institutions. Government intervention has meant standard risk assessment tools no longer work. Looking in from the outside, the banks still look solid, but... We'll have a follow-up on that next week as well.
In our shorter articles, as always, we pick up on the current movements in the market and report on expected openings, though experts also warn against too premature optimism. Market studies, personalia and news from the colourful world of real estate round off our issue.
Have you already had a look at the programme for our Think Tank in September? "Sustainability & Digitalisation" will also continue to busy the hotel world... Take the next step with us, with international experts and in-depth market analysts! Leaf through the programme, study our high-calibre speakers - and register, virtually or live. Everything can be found at www.hitt.world! What the 4th HITT is and wants is set out on the first page of www.hospitalityInside.com.
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief
Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
I am vaccinated! These rejoicing messages from acquaintances are being heard more often now; finally, there is some movement in the vaccination campaign in Germany. Nevertheless, it is still a minority and all people who want to dine together or go on vacation at Whitsun have many open questions concerning safety and testing strategies. The hoteliers and restaurateurs are by no means better off, though: How should they react if the incidence skyrockets over night?
There is still chaos everywhere when it comes to communication and implementation, which alone becomes obvious in our collected opening messages. Accordingly, the bookings are coming in hesitantly.
Dirk Iserlohe, Chairman of Dorint's Supervisory Board, relentless fighter for all his colleagues, told me in a phone conversation two days ago that he does not expect an opening of the hotels until mid-July. This is one of the reasons why he has just filed a constitutional complaint against the non-extension of the suspended insolvency filing requirement; it expired exactly one week ago. He is demanding full compensation from the state that deliberately closed the hotels and promised compensation, but has not delivered yet.
Yesterday, he even spoke of an expected "triage" for the medium-sized hotel groups. The latest figures from the current Dehoga flash survey strongly underline this impression.
The situation in the industry remains critical, all are in dire need to open – and of turnovers and aids to survive! The biggest handicap is the incidence value, which has been stretched by some politicians like rubber according to their taste. They should look at the dramatic figures of the current Meeting & EventBarometer of the German Convention Bureau for the year 2020 – and how fast this industry is able to adapt. The data show that where there is hope, frustration is never far behind.
At the same time, the International Monetary Fund raised hopes of a strong economic recovery in its World Economic Outlook. How should we believe this if we read simultaneously that each hotel room in Germany has just lost 17,400 euros in value compared to 2019?
The virus is paralysing the politicians' brains and keeps the industry on a roller coaster ride; however, the lowest point has inspired a few: those with conservative financing, a good cash cushion from the boom years, brave enough for a change.
One of these businesses is Adina. The premium brand among the Serviced Apartments is in a transformation process from operator toinvestor. The new Europe CEO Simon Betty explains the new appetite for mixed use, peppier F&B and wellness concepts, second and third brands: Adina Residence is already in sight. Also in sight are other alternative resort hotel concepts: Today, we present you with Vela Resorts, Salt & Rocks and Hohwacht.
And in your view, there should certainly be the 4th HospitalityInside Think Tank! The website www.hitt.world has recovered completely from its crash last week: Now, you are able to delve deeply into the programme and the colourful vitae of our international experts! You will not recognise every name right away – but I can promise you the following: The knowledge of these driving forces give the Think Tank real power. After all, it is about "Sustainability & Digitalisation: The Change Drivers". A Think Tank is about a fresh breeze and new ideas.
Important for your planning: The two-day event is taking place in Munich – live AND virtually! 40 to 50 people are able to meet there "corona-safe" in a co-working space. Of course, more people are able to attend virtually!
Hopefully, our article on page one on www.hospitalityInside.com will spike your curiosity! We will gradually introduce you to all initiators as well as sponsors and partners in the course of the next Fridays: There are five by now and we would like to thank Accor, Drees & Sommer, IDeaS, uniper, and the Hotelschool The Hague today!
They all help us to understand how sustainability is dictating the agenda for the next decade of hospitality, and how digitalisation is helping the industry to achieve it. When looking at this week's climate news, you know that this HITT on September 13-14 will be red-hot.
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief
Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
The 4th HospitalityInside Think Tank, which will take place in Munich in September, can now be booked. The programme is available online. The title: "Sustainability & Digitalisation: The Change Drivers." Behind it all: the power package of the future, also for hospitality companies. In these difficult times, it offers a real positive perspective.
The HospitalityInside Think Tank has never been so comprehensive, international and top-class. This year, the Think Tank will also present itself in hybrid form for the first time. Put simply, the HITT 2021 forms a bridge from sustainable and connected hotel buildings to a digitalised hotel operation. It will confront classic concepts with the demands of the new "sustainable natives" and new lifestyle paths and look at mixed-use developments and technology opportunities at high speed. Day 1 identifies the general picture. Day 2 breaks things down and focuses in on concrete day to day situations.
Today we present the first seven Impulse Generators, further illustrious names and companies will be added in due course. Join us for a discussion with internationally networked investment experts Wes Paul of Gemin-i Analytics, Six Senses CEO Neil Jacobs, Euromonitor's Head of Research Fflur Roberts, Gesa Rohweeder of Drees & Sommer, Xenia zu Hohenlohe of Considerate Group and Wolfgang Neumann of the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance. And our moderator again is Tim Davis from Pace Dimension, Researcher, Advisor and Hotel Specialist.
On the homepage of www.hospitalityInside.com you will find detailed information today; the programme, the profiles of the speakers, the prices and the registration/booking forms are also available on the Think Tank's own site www.hitt.world.
Learn from experts who you have not yet had on the radar, but who are already helping to set the course for the future or who have detailed knowledge of it. It will be a relaxed but challenging event, as always in English and in a smaller group, with plenty of room for conversation and exchange of ideas. This programme should appeal to cross-border and cross-sector hotel real estate and finance experts, developers such as hotel operators, as well as lawyers, architects, tech, digital and sustainability experts.
Save the date! HITT 2021 from 13-14 September in Munich, live and virtual.
With a bit of luck, there will be two successful holiday months before September, even if in some countries the hotel sector still doesn't have a clear view of what the rules might be. Austria, which opens on 19 May, will put pressure on its large German neighbour. Fred Fettner summarises the current state of affairs. German operators also face uncertainty as to whether the temporary suspension of the requirement to file for insolvency, which expires today, will be extended or not. Our bankruptcy lawyer says: The wave will be pushed back into 2022.
The hunger for holidays remains, especially for "contactless" holidays. Susanne Stauss has taken a look at some rather idiosyncratic niche players: Tiny Houses, barrels, water villas and cubes. They all have what it takes to shake up the classic hotel industry a little more. Meanwhile, more hotel groups are preparing to reopen and vaccinate employees. Sylvie Konzack reports. More news about real estate, sustainability and operators round off our publication today.
Till next Friday!
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief
Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
German hoteliers are disappearing into the nirvana of permanent lockdown now: Yesterday, the new Infection Protection Act was passed, which is supposed to apply the "emergency brake" coherently throughout the entire nation. This break will be rather soft than hard. But it will be enough to slow down the hotel industry again: Only regions below the incidence value of 100 will be allowed to open outdoor gastronomy at some point. There is still no perspective for hotels.
The permanent sadness of autumn is shared by the neighbouring countries in spring again: Austria's government has also promised openings wholeheartedly from the end of May, but the hotel industry does not know anything specific yet. Italian hoteliers are suffering just as much: Yesterday, the state of emergency has been prolonged until July 31 – however, the new road map includes relaxations starting on April 26. Fred Fettner and Massimiliano Sarti describe the current situation in Austria and Italy.
What a crazy, contradictory world – conducted by strategic incompetence. Holidays at Whitsunday and even in June seem to recede into the far distance again. Therefore, everybody is hoping everywhere for vaccinations, which will give us back our civil rights and our lives.
Nevertheless, Dirk Iserlohe of the Supervisory Board of Dorint, will file a constitutional complaint again, just as representatives of the retail industry have decided to file a group action in the supreme court after the "emergency brake" decision. Politicians continue to argue, now again over the topic whether the suspended insolvency filing requirement should remain suspended or not; the current regulation expires next Friday, April 30. Will the big wave of insolvencies start then?
Let us take a leap forward, look at brand creators and browse digital progress. Accor, as you know, recently acquired a stake in Ennismore, a London-based creative forge. Its founder, Sharan Pasricha, and Accor's former chief developer, Gaurav Bhushan, passionately told me how to let 13 unconventional brands such as 25hours, Mama Shelter, SO/ and The Hoxton grow by 100 units without them falling behind with charm and EBITDA. How do you scale creativity? The two lateral thinkers have created a construction kit for lifestyle investors.
And it is also positive when Baerbel Schwertfeger critically looks at headline-grabbing events. Facing an increasing lack of employees, companies like to rely on tools that help filter. AI is supposed to make things even faster and more accurate. But that is exactly the fallacy. Videos and tests have shown: the same woman wearing two different pairs of glasses, different T-shirts or even changing the colour of the background for a job interview will not be evaluated in the same way.
Our Digi News present you with even more digital craziness and developments... We have to keep an eye on that, too, just as we have to keep an eye on the quantum Internet for Europe and the taxonomy for existing properties that has just been decided.
There is just a lot happening every week right now. Every jab in the arm will help weather the new week. See you next Friday.
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief
Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
In today's headlines, I have used ugly words: We are talking about sleights of hand, an industry crying for SOS, and about politics that is letting the industry die miserably. There are no polite words to describe the way the German government is treating the industry.
Eight hotel groups finally vented their anger at a joint press conference convened at short notice yesterday. Dorint, Lindner, H-Hotels, Leonardo, Dormero, Centro, Althoff, and the GSH Group spilled the beans: Some of them are still waiting for the November/December aids, they have been fobbed off by mean lump sums, they are financially suffocated by caps or the addendum changes of the requirements are causing them to gasp for air.
Many politicians are no longer role models – and they no longer tell the truth. "They describe subsidies as gifts," says Rolf Seelige-Steinhoff, CEO of Seetel, furiously about the deception of the public. These are no gifts – the entrepreneurs are paying back everything.
In a separate interview, the tested businessman and figures analyst takes the financial aids apart, which are no aids at all. "These are sleights of hand," he tells the Bazooka Boy Olaf Scholz. And he enumerates how much the state still earns with every subsidy or loan. "Congratulations, three cheers for politics!" - We are putting this article in front of the paywall today, send it on to your colleagues and MPs!
13 months after the virus outbreak, Merkel still cannot offer any perspective to the industry; just the same way that she is unable to uphold her vaccination offers… She is only able to offer constantly new mutations, cancelled deliveries of vaccine doses, insufficient numbers of rapid tests, and finally there are these disobedient people…
Her yoyo lockdown game will continue well into July; then, the politicians will drop everything, go on their holidays and only return shortly before the election in September… Did we forget something? The people? Or responsibility?
Those who survive the year 2021, will be happy again at the latest at the turn of the year 22/23, forecasts STR's Managing Director Robin Rossmann after the big Global Data Conference, in which I participated for the region of Europe. Currently, Europe ranks last in a comparison of the global recovery, however, it will stabilise much faster because of its domestic pillar in many countries – but this only affects the leisure segment. Rossmann stays positive.
Unfortunately, this is a corona edition again, in light of the current events. Anger and frustration in the German hotel industry and gastronomy are finally audible. As critical and questioning companion of the industry for 30 years now, I have to ask you, however and here: Why are you voicing your frustration now, that late? 13 months after the pandemic outbreak and 5 months prior to the political shutdown in Berlin?
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief
Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
"I admire the patience of the Germans," said an analyst from London to me this week, referring to our snail's pace when it comes to vaccinations. However, patience is definitely over now. This Wednesday, the psychologist Prof. Stefan Gruenewald from Cologne said in the Markus Lanz talk show: "The shadow routine is becoming more and more anarchic." He probably stood – as many gastronomy insiders do – at a takeaway in a busy street and counted, how often 20 pizzas were carried off in a cardboard box. Well, where are they going?
The number of frustrated, impatient juveniles are joined by an increasing number of frustrated people who obey the rules. Enough is enough. The government is not keeping its promise, it just keeps on discussing. Within two weeks, it failed to reach a decision on the - now necessary - hard lockdown. According to yesterday's poll "ARD-DeutschlandTrend", 67% of those surveyed think it is "rather right". However, almost two-thirds are also dissatisfied with the work of the federal government.
Politicians say, "let's have a look" and the virus says, "let's get started". Israel, Great Britain and the US are simply doing something. In New York, people at the age of 30 are already getting vaccinated! While we are being gently prepared for our summer holidays that might even start as late as August… While the EU already presented a model of its "Green Pass".
The German yo-yo lockdown goes on, after all. There are still no large amounts of vaccines, and the few tests we have are always sold out. And hardly anyone is talking about the hotel sector and its hardships among all this chaos. The entire industry is ready for the re-launch, but they are experiencing a different disaster at the same time: Employees leave the sector to find jobs that provide both better payment and more perspectives. Young talents are turning away and skilled employees are refusing to go on. In the second part of her HR analysis, Sylvie Konzack elaborates on this aspect of the misery. And by the way, university education is also suffering badly.
Fred Fettner digs into another strongly neglected topic: sustainability. However, a new global ranking shows how absurd it can be to put this issue into PR-heavy pigeonholes.
From the news section: Hotel properties have lost less value than expected during the pandemic in Central and Northern Europe. In Italy, corona has stirred up individual hotel groups in a revenue ranking. Accor implements its digital customer journey at an ibis in London for the first time. Under the umbrella of the IHA hotel association, 2,000 hoteliers have now filed a suit against Booking.com.
The dispute between Kempinski and its former CEO Martin Smura continues with high media interest. This week, details emerged about criminal charges against Kempinski representatives in Munich. The source of this information, an English-language website, has been down since yesterday with the note: "This account is under investigation or was found in violation of the Medium Rules." It was not possible for us to get serious information about backgrounds and connections in the short time available. We stay tuned.
At the end, I would like to draw your attention to two positive things: Hotelschool The Hague invites everyone interested to its science symposium on "business resilience" on 15-16 April, free of charge. For details just click on the banner on our first page!
And we publish information and package prices for companies today that want to participate in the World of Hospitality joint booth at Expo Real in October. A "real" Expo Real is planned again. Please find details also on our first page.
Happy Easter – in the shadow routine!
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief
Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com