Editorial
Dear Insiders,
Today, we end the topical year 2017 with a Kempinski story, which is not that uncommon at the moment: owner and operator are parting ways. In this case, the agreements for the Atlantic Hamburg and the two properties in Koenigstein near Frankfurt will expire in two years' time. Bernold Schroeder, the COO of the luxury hotel group, explained the background and Kempinski's strategy for the near future exclusively to us. Yesterday afternoon, the owner Bernard Gr. Broermann made public that he wants to start off into the future with Marriott's Autograph Collection.
Rethinking and reconsidering are in right now; therefore, the Global Hotel Alliance is presently focusing more on Europe. The association, which is based in Dubai, bundles 35 small and medium-sized hotel groups from all over the world; they share customers and technology via a common loyalty programme. This "sharing" model increases the number of direct bookings.
Why does 25hours have smart, nice and well-informed staff members? Is the lifestyle group doing something special concerning HR? COO Michael End explains the new sensitivity within the company and the training programme. And remains very matter-of-fact concerning the question about the career of youngsters: "Very young of age and a lot of responsibility is difficult".
Varied news about Booking.com's new chatbot, future rooms, Facebook trouble with the German cartel office and much more rounds off today's last edition in 2017.
For many in the hotel industry, a good but strenuous year comes to an end. Booming tourism and affluent investors at least put a smile on the people of Continental Europe. At the same time, many frowns are to be seen: in the back office, costs are rising mercilessly, for HR and technology alike. What does 2018 have in store? Very good that we don't know in advance.
We only know for sure: Expo Real Munich will be back next October. Thus you will find the new terms for our joint stand "World of Hospitality" today on page 1.
The team of HospitalityInside wants to thank all readers, exhibition and event partners for their loyalty and great support in 2017! In 2018, we would like to try out something new again with you, in particular with our new Think Tank, and make all of us part of the innovation in and for the industry. We are going into our 13th year with hospitalityInside.com and continue to keep an unwavering focus on quality, inspired by the encouraging online and offline communications with all of you.
Our next edition will be published on January 12, 2018; the office is open again on January 8.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems & the hospitalityInside team
Follow us on LinkedIn / Also see www.hitt.world
Dear Insiders,
Just before the end of the year, we, HospitalityInside, would like to share some exciting news: HITT – the HospitalityInside Think Tank, the first of its kind and the beginning of a series of think tanks on the subject of Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence. It won't be a rigid conference with superficial content, but rather a relaxed though intensive personal talk with around 60 to 80 participants. And all of this on a solar-powered seminar ship in Berlin. And just as inspiring as it is new: Non-hoteliers provide the input and impulse, and we also include our sponsors with their special know-how. What’s more, we ensure "post-event communication" with the aim of establishing a "learning community". SAVE THE DATE: June 10-11, 2018 in Berlin.
Click here for our new website HITT.world and register for further information. The programme is underway, further details will follow in January. If you’d like to know more, contact us at editor@hospitalityInside.com.
You can also learn more from our correspondents today. They've been following discussions on the fallout from Brexit, the contracting hotel market in France and the brand strategy of Romantik Hotels. All three articles reflect the massive waves washing over the European hotel industry at present.
In other news, France is now moving with greater severity against Airbnb, Pandox and Fattal are increasing their presence in Great Britain and Ireland, and Italy is already leasing hiking trails... In other news, France is now moving with greater severity against Airbnb, Pandox and Fattal are increasing their presence in Great Britain and Ireland, and Italy is already leasing properties along hiking trails... Accor sent Laurent Picheral from Paris back to Munich and from AccorInvest to AccorHotels - why?
Dive into our colourful new edition this week. Next Friday will be the last edition of hospitalityInside.com before the Christmas break.
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor in Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com
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Dear Insiders,
This week we have both big and small names alike. Peter Fulton, Group President EMEA, explained Hyatt's European plans to Susanne Stauss: The 42 hotels in Europe are to more than double over the next three years, primarily through new select service brands, Hyatt Place and Hyatt House. But so the chain's 5-star claim isn't forgotten, the luxury lifestyle brand Andaz will also set a high bar and colourful emphasis with culture, music and F&B.
Whether this will be enough to be able to keep up as an established chain in the global race forward? The competition is swelling, and above all getting more creative. "Alternative accommodation will become the new norm!" This was the message Macy Marvel took from London, supporting it with many facts on new brands and trends from the world of microtels, hostels and serviced apartments: Point A, Qbic, Z Hotels, NoCo, Bloc Hotels and Hub by Premier Inn are making brands such as Yotel, citizenM and easyHotels competition. And these groups are not old yet...
Names and concepts push markets: Rosewood Hotels will open its first hotel in Germany, in a Schoerghuber property in Munich, in direct vicinity of the Bayerischer Hof. Rosewood President Radha Arora wants to go right to the top, to the ultra luxury level – and announced further locations in Europe. He is happy – though Bayerische Hausbau as owner isn't quite. The legal dispute that has simmered for years between it and the Bayerischer Hof will not be finally put to rest until February.
This week, the Kempinski name was dismantled from the roof of the Bristol Berlin. The famous hotel will in future only be connected to the group through a distribution and marketing partnership. The owner company, Octavian, wants to continue to invest, but only gradually.
The OTAs can also keep pace with the current tempo in the world of hotel brands. Expedia and TripAdvisor have been working up Germany's IHA with notable court decisions and dubious warning badges for guests. And HRS has provided apartment owners access to Airbnb via its booking platform HRS Destination Solutions. The OTA, based in Cologne, simply adds its sharing economy platform to the existing channel manager lists.
Apart from this, this edition also includes ideas on real estate finance – and also draws attention to persisting uncertainties as regards the implementation of the EU Package Travel Directive in Germany and Austria.
But to finish off, something more motivational today: Pupils at the HLTW13 school in Vienna – all between 14 and 19 years of age – have turned their Theatre Hotels into the biggest school charity event in Austria over the last ten years. In February 2018, so it will be again. This time, the highlight will be a concert by the internationally renowned singer-songwriter Konstantin Wecker. hospitalityInside.com supports the school's engagement with a media partnership. More on our Page 1. Till next Friday!
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor in Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com
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Dear Insiders,
40 percent more units in the Serviced Apartment segment by 2019 – in Germany alone. Such forecasts are staggering and they are attracting large operators more than ever now, especially hotel groups. Classical hotels and apartments for long-stay guests are quite similar – and will soon be comparable in room size too: The apartments are becoming smaller, counterbalanced, amongst others, by creative service offers and smartly designed public areas. Here, the small operators are up front. Figures and new ideas from the industry event "So!Apart" in Berlin.
Italy's thermal spas have stopped growing. They are old, tired and boring – therefore, they have to undergo a rejuvenating cure themselves. Experts in the country are presently arguing whether these legendary oases of health should focus on medicine or rather on relaxation and well-being in future. Massimiliano Sarti about the steaming-hot discussion in the thermal world.
Vienna and St. Moritz have been turned upside down recently – because the imperial backdrop of Vienna and the majesty of the Swiss Alps have managed to attract wealthy Indians to celebrate their weddings there. Congratulations to all hoteliers: The Indians have booked out entire and in some cases even several hotels at a time, and that for periods of days. Irrespective of this, in Ireland a sort of wedding OTA has been established, an online platform which aims to bring bridal couples together with suitable hoteliers, Facebook marketing included.
From the news: The French Maranatha group with 60 hotels is not a small group in the country, and it is in serious financial trouble. Good to know for everyone who wanted to sign a lease agreement before the end of the year: A growing number of investors are reacting positively to this form of agreement, as experts found out. More hotels are still needed as tourism continues to boom, according to trend figures provided from Pisa and by other market experts. And some good news from Switzerland concerning the winter season: Swiss ski passes are no longer more expensive than Austrian ones. However, this comparison is inappropriate in Fred Fettner's eyes.
Today, the pre-Christmas season begins… Have a good start! If you are still looking for an exceptional present: The entire hotel world presented to you in a box by a hospitalityInside subscription…
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor in Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com
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Dear Insiders,
Sustainability is a long way off from being a sustainable issue in the hotel industry. As far as hotel real estate owners are concerned, the profit motive still dominates. Hotel operators will have to put pressure on owners in future though. Why not build in an environmentally friendly way based on new models right from the very start? Have you already heard of the "material passport" or the cradle-to-cradle recycling approach? Drees & Sommer – and others – are already betting on it.
The International Tourism Partnership has the objective of pushing sustainability across the sector internationally. The partnership, which includes 14 global chains, focuses on making water consumption and CO2 emissions measurable and is developing programmes focused on combating youth unemployment and on the promotion of human rights. For example, the hotel industry currently accounts for around one percent of global emissions.
For this reason, today’s edition includes no less than three articles on sustainability. In the background, much is in flux, as we experienced on the Expo Real panel, at the 2nd Invesco Real Estate Sustainability Roundtable and from ITP Chairman Wolfgang Neumann. Neumann personally, cares a lot about staff. For this reason, the former Rezidor CEO this week took on a further suitable job: He was appointed Chairman of the Hotel School The Hague.
Back to real estate: The hospitalityInside Investment BAROMETER Autumn 2017 has been evaluated. The current sentiment in the hotel real estate and investment sector remains good. Demand pressure on A locations does not mean that C locations become more attractive though. An initial summary can be found on our Page 1, further details can be found in the magazine, and all who took part have already received the full assessment.
And in our news this week: Barcelo CEO EMEA Raúl Gonzales spoke to us about the takeover offer for NH. Prince Alwaleeds Kingdom Holding has obviously lost the confidence of the banks after his arrest in Saudi Arabia. And hotel groups based in Barcelona have now chosen to move their headquarters out of a restive Catalonia and to Madrid. Airbnb, as business savvy as it is, is now focusing on the sector for disabled travellers; at the same time Morgan Stanley has stated that the platform has reached a saturation threshold.
This and more today in an especially varied edition. Enjoy reading!
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor in Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
AccorHotels will in future again exclude independent hotels from its distribution platform. For Sébastien Bazin's idea, the group was only able to win over 2,200 hotels instead of the planned 10,000. This means a wasted expenditure of some EUR 22 million. In Paris, the CEO has let heads roll. This is his first defeat on a very ambitious path to turning the hotel chain into a world-leading travel & lifestyle group and digital innovator. On the other hand, the statements made by disappointed individual hoteliers who describe their experiences with AccorHotels' distribution as a "nightmare" don't really fit with this hyper-confident formulation. Sarah Douag brings us the background.
By contrast, the mood was excellent at the CEE-focused IHIDFC conference in Vienna last week: The Eastern European markets are flourishing and are even driving development for the whole of Europe. Today, initial figures. We'll provide more detailed information shortly.
The mood is mixed when it comes to the issue of cancellation. In contrast to come US chains, Europe-sensitive groups are not prepared to introduce stricter rules. They fear losing valuable corporate clients. And rightly so. Managers at BestWestern, AccorHotels, Louvre and Choice explain their approaches.
The experience recently announced by Marriott sounds very interesting. It wants to test out the Internet of Things in a room. Its experience will help the market to find its feet in the prevailing tech chaos. Four Seasons is also doing its bit here. It chats with its guests via many channels and can already report initial positive results on acceptance. The digital service is now being introduced worldwide.
In the personnel section today, some sad news: Henk R. Oosterhuis has died. During the pre-opening phase of the Estrel Hotel Berlin, he was Managing Partner of the 1,125-room property which is today an event and convention giant.
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor in Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
Big party at 25 hours: Yesterday, the lifestyle group opened its 10th hotel at Munich's central station. "The Royal Bavarian" offers "Royal Chambers" and "Box Rooms"… And there are royally pompous paintings opposite the reception: In rank and file, the "highly decorated" partners of 25hours hang in golden frames – and amongst them, 25hours' shareholder AccorHotels in the person of CEO Sébastien Bazin. Petit Napoleón – a royalist? That's the question here. Simply humour with style.
Munich is also home to another young lifestyle company, which wants to diversify its portfolio with co-working spaces in future. Michael Struck at Ruby Hotels fully relies on Ruby Works; sometimes with, sometimes without a hotel. He is testing this model via a joint venture with Europe's largest advertisement agency Serviceplan. Fittingly, an up-to-date co-working study taking Hamburg as an example, was published today. Struck's vision and bare market figures, recorded by Beatrix Boutonnet.
Rome is "out", the rest of Italy is "in": This is what Giuseppe Rojo, CEO Coldwell Banker Commercial Italy, a large real estate intermediary, is experiencing with regard to the current demand of investors. International funds recognise the present investment opportunities, Italian funds don't. The scene is slowly coming into motion now. The banks have started to provide the market with non-performing loans, as Massimiliano Sarti observed.
A leap to Vietnam, to the Austrian hotelier Herbert Laubichler-Pichler, who has to establish the new luxury resort The Anam in Cam Ranh. And one thing became clear: The demands in Asia have increased drastically. The Asian guests want to know more about fine dining, and the Asian staff members are demanding three times higher wages. In return, foreign chefs have to furnish proof of a university degree or similar if they want to work in the country. The Vietnamese learn quickly: They are also provided with knowledge by the ICM University of Applied Sciences Krems, as Fred Fettner found out.
This week, the internet vaulted some news around the globe: Prince Alwaleed of Saudi-Arabia has to defend himself against accusations of corruption, just like other ministers and princes in the country. His jail is the Ritz-Carlton. However, the investor, who is very respected in the hotel world is not happy: His Kingdom Holding has lost two billion US dollars in value this week.
We are talking about only one billion at Wyndham. The chain wants to sell its European Vacation Rentals: Airbnb and others are lining up. At Meininger Hotels, only hotel media will probably line up, after the hotel company appeared on the list of the "Paradise Papers" this week. Investigative journalists are accusing the hotel group and its parent company Holidaybreak, based in London, of a borderline approach concerning tax avoidance. Of course, there is no statement available on this matter, but a "bad taste" remains.
HNA has to do some serious thinking now: How do they want to continue with NH Hotels? Apparently, the Chinese conglomerate plans a slow withdrawal. The group has already sold the first 1.14 percent of its NH shares. Do they want to sell all their shares? Interested parties are lining up here as well.
Interesting news concerning personnel matters: Christoph Mares has been promoted to COO at Mandarin Oriental, while the German Novum Hotels and their COO Mario Pick are going separate ways again after just nine months.
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor in Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
The segment of Serviced Apartments increased by 17 percent in Germany in 2016, and the current year should end with another increase of 14 percent. No wonder the hotel conference at Expo Real was overflowing with more than 200 participants. Even conservative investors are flirting seriously with the new darling. Against this, student apartments or micro apartments have no chance. However, it is alarming that every operator of Serviced Apartments is defining "long-stays" continually shorter. This way, the model is becoming diluted, and in the long term, the ROI will decrease. But does this concern anybody right now? No.
It is no coincidence that open-end real estate funds want to include Serviced Apartments. The hotel boom brought these products to the fore, too. Within two years, open-end funds increased their investments in hotels by 12 percent, also in foreign countries. Deutsche Bank, Deka, Union Investment, and CommerzReal explain why.
In Brussels, the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, praised tourism as an overall job creator in the presence of lobbyists, experts and media, and wants to further promote this great industry with – a ridiculous – 25 million euros. Hotrec's President Susanne Kraus-Winkler, however, demanded something concrete and useful, such as flexible employment legislation for the industry. Fred Fettner captured the buzzwords and statements hotly debated in Brussels.
The independence efforts by Catalonia have decreased the hotel bookings by 20 percent, investments are being placed on hold for the time being. Just recently, Barcelona complained about "overtourism"; now, the industry is already suffering. Sarah Douag describes the first effects. In Great Britain, the watch dogs have targeted OTAs and are presently analysing hostile consumer clauses, discounts and fees. Falkensteiner Hotels collected 2.5 million euros in one month via crowdfunding. Belmond, B&B, and Romantik Hotels show in their current marketing and communications campaigns: The world only wants grand emotions!
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor in Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com
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Dear Insiders,
For years, we have been taking part in Choice Hotels' Europe Conventions. Sarah Douag brought back interesting information on new useful technology tools for the group's franchisees from the convention in Valencia. Everything appears geared to the future, whilst at the same time remaining firmly rooted in practice. The new CEO Pat Pacious also gave an interview. "Europe is full of opportunities", he said. At present, that's truer than ever. Here, Choice has grown by 25 percent over the last two years with its Comfort brand. Now, Pat Pacious is focusing on the soft brand The Ascend Collection. Technology also remains Pat's favourite: Choice is testing its own chatbot.
This brings us to the article by Macy Marvel this week who reports from a conference in London – and who reduces the benefits of the hyped chatbots to the currently feasible. Artificial intelligence currently helps hotels best with the analysis of revenue management, in cost control and for automated front desk tasks. That was it. For PR reasons, the service robot is part of the team, but for the moment, it's no real help.
Following its current quarterly results, Whitbread is eager to expand and to acquire new hotels – and speaks only in millions. Luxury travel is booming more than ever and the world's smallest palace hotel will benefit from this - Alain Ducasse's composition in the Palace of Versailles. In Germany, the Federal Cartel Office has launched an investigation into travel comparison sites.
Our survey on the sentiment in the hotel market in collaboration with Union Investment is still underway! What do you think the trend will be over the coming months? The link in our Friday newsletter directs you to the questionnaire, and will work just once! If you haven't registered for our newsletter yet, please go ahead… Those taking part will receive the INVESTMENT BAROMETER results.
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor in Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com
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Dear Insiders,
A week ago, Hyatt Hotels announced that it had fallen victim to a second cyber attack. In 2015, the virtual thieves gained access to the company's payment system via malware and stole customer data from 250 hotels in over 50 countries. This time, only 41 hotels in 13 countries were affected. The malware was obviously active for almost four months before the IT department discovered it. There can be no better proof of the topicality of this subject. And so today we include a summary from the Cyber Crime Panel at Expo Real, whose high calibre experts issue an appeal to everyone with the warning: This threat can only be limited by prevention and staff training. Costs here are nothing compared to the damage that will result once guests decide to stay away! Read it yourself.
In these days, Google's parent company presents its new smartphone "Pixel 2", whose display shows information on the user's environment, e.g. churches, museums, opening times etc. The point here: Artificial intelligence is pushing ever further into our day-to-day lives – and is taking on an increasing number of functions. Yet despite all the hype, it will still take a while it seems.
The two chatbots from Amazon and Google we tested were by no means as clever as the hype claims. We carried out an interview with Alexa and Siri – and asked both chatbots specific questions as regards hotels. Their answers were comical and embarrassing at the same time. Smile with us when Alexa has a cup of WiFi for breakfast in the morning!
The smartphone has meanwhile penetrated deep into the Human Resources department – but HR managers simply don't want to accept that they lose every second potential applicant when they fail to post job adverts in smartphone-compatible form and/or when they are not prepared to communicate with applicants via the now ubiquitous pocket device. A study reveals some sobering statistics. The industry is once again asleep at the wheel.
Airbnb turns around: Just a few days ago, they announced their first apartment high-rise in Florida – with standardised units. With this, the sharing economy pioneer is changing its business model – and is increasingly beginning to copy hotels. This is a 180 degree turn and the end for their own business model. You can only shake your head...
Louvre has this week also sent an "attack" signal to the world: It acquired the French upscale and luxury group Hôtels & Préférences in order to secure itself a piece of the high-end pie. Further deals are to follow, hospitalityInside.com heard in an interview.
That's all the important stuff – dive deep into the issues of the week!
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor in Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com