Editorial

Dear Insiders,
For Sir Rocco Forte, the year hasn't begun so well: In February, a new operator will take on "his" hotel in Prague; he decided - unwillingly - to make an exit. Real challenges, however, face other hotels. It looks as if high leases, his inconsistent location strategy and inflated self-confidence are now making themselves felt – and with a vengeance. A mood report on the situation of the luxury boutique hotel operator.
Sonu Shivdasani, the pioneer of the eco-luxury chain Six Senses, now seeks his fortune in real estate. Last year, he had to sell the brand due to operational difficulties. Now, Sonu is making a new start with Soneva Private Residences. Details.
Lorenz Adlon also had a vision as proved by the three-part TV series that aired last week on German television. It kept the telephone ringing for an entire week in today's Adlon Kempinski Hotel Berlin. Last news last night in the Adlon context: Again, owner August Jagdfeld fights against new criticism after Fundus Funds' annual report 2011 became public yesterday.
The World War events featured in the "Adlon Saga" are viewed by experts as the cause of German Angst. They also contribute towards Germans looking at demographic change with concern rather than viewing it as an opportunity. The effect of an aging society are summarised today by our colleague Beatrix Boutonnet.
And other news: In Hamburg, InterConti will check out its last guests on February 1 - and will leave the city after 41 years. The hotel will be closed, the real estate will not emerge from the insolvency. Real estate consultants meanwhile report rising transaction volumes over the final quarter of 2012. This can also be viewed as a dangerous signal ...
The year has just begun and the ITB Berlin is moving ever closer. If you want to be right in the thick of things in the middle of Hall 9, we recommend a table at our joint stand "World of Hospitality". We also have suitable offers for small hotel groups and service providers.
Also, save the date please for the annual ITB reception in Berlin hosted by Cornell and EHL/Ecole hotelière de Lausanne on March 5th. For details see our front page or click the Cornell banner. – The full editorial ...

Dear Insiders,
First and foremost, the hospitalityInside team would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! What will 2013 bring? Looking back on 2012, we see that the industry has been buffeted by many small issues, and that many battles are fought in areas which have nothing to do with hospitality at all.
The new Steigenberger CEO Puneet Chhatwal has been in office since January. I met him shortly before Christmas. Since then, he has been "looking behind the scenes" for six weeks and has drawn a number of conclusions. He will challenge managers who do not understand competition and profit margins, he questions the grand hotel strategy, and in his view, InterCity is growing too slowly. Chhatwal - a cosmopolitan man with a developer's mindset.
Our update on bed tax and VAT in Germany looks back on 2012 as well as forward to 2013.
In our "Small Chains" section, the developer of Loisium Wine & Spa Resorts explains why she would like to expand outside Austria: "Every small and cult brand can be used to make money today."
Our issue today summarises news from the last few weeks; Orient-Express Hotels is currently seeking "Associates" - similarly structured luxury hotels.
hospitalityInside will appear 47 times this year, hopefully always with hot news and interesting background articles from interviews, trade fairs, conferences and events. We will also continue to build our own trade fair activities: The ITB 2013 is only eight weeks away. Starting into the new year, we are pleased to welcome a new co-exhibitor at our joint stand: meinpep; TUI 4U will join the "WORLD of HOSPITALITY" at ITB. Are you looking for a presence in hall 9? There is still room at our joint stand. More on the front page of our website.. – The full editorial …

Dear Insiders,
How quickly the year has passed again... But are we all capable of keeping the speed? Are we able to reach proper decisions quickly? Many conversations towards the end of the year have centred on these two questions, and I detect an element of scepticism and even despair. All the more positive then is this sentence from a Christmas mail: "It's nice when you can count on your family, friends and business partners." I would agree: Especially because everything seems to be speeding up, confidence will ultimately win through. Despite Facebook, face-to-face business is more important than ever.
hospitalityInside hopes to be able to accompany you once again on this path in the New Year, both online and off. Since we were founded in 2005, we see ourselves as an "information network" in a dual sense. And that our sense was right is proven by the current media change. But we too would like to see more sources of objective and researched reporting. Speed must not be the only deciding factor and "I like it" must not be reduced to a mouse click.
The last edition for the year includes many year-end deals and news, including interesting personalia. As speaker for the German International Hotel Association and for HOTREC, Markus Luthe describes the challenges for 2013. My colleague Beatrix Boutonnet looks back and ahead at hotel property. Furthermore, she cites the ex-Swissair manager and author Rolf Dobelli, who analyses errors in reasoning and who believes: the world is now too complicated for our brain.
We would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all our subscribers for their loyalty and to all our media, event and trade fair partners for their support in 2012! We also thank our own staff, authors, expert and translators... The next edition of hospitalityInside.com will appear on January 11, 2013.

Dear Insiders,
In Berlin, local media have raised the pressure on Waldorf Astoria this week as an opening date has still not been announced. It will be "around the New Year"... That does not sound like an excellent start!
Whether Accor's new brand organisation will be a success remains to be seen. COO Yann Caillère, who presented the plans in Paris, described them as "not urgent but important". Accor's motivation is understandable, but the structure is complicated. All you need now, is an Accor organigram...
The Suvretta House in St. Moritz will also scratch at its old structure: With a bold master plan and a CHF 300 million investment, the Candrian family aims to make the world famous luxury hotel fit for the fifth generation. The Grand Hotel was exactly opened 100 years ago. An interview with the hotelier, gastronome and Head of Catering Martin Candrian, with his son and economist Reto as well as with full-blooded hotelier and Director Vic Jacob.
Change is the buzz word for this edition. A change in the media industry also demands change in company PR. The hotel industry though remains again slow and conservative in its response. PR agencies and managers describe the attitudes of their clients today.
Hotrec, IHA and OEHV also have the future in their sights: The industry associations are currently observing the allocation process for the new global internet domain ".hotel" - and for good reason!
The 3rd World Tourism Forum Lucerne will take place in April 2013 and hospitalityInside.com will again be on board as media partner; the ITB Berlin will in March for the first time allow travel packages to be sold; the Swiss Competition Commission has launched a probe against HRS, Expedia and Booking.com, and Unister has caused a flood of headlines this week. Discover the background issues! – The full editorial …

Dear Insiders,
For most hotels, public relations has become a fixed component of their business, even if budgets are small and the sector is universally known for being quite stingy. However, the PR flood of recent years will in future stand against ever decreasing media: In Germany, media are in clear decline. Today, a flagship of the economic press will appear for the last time - Financial Times Deutschland. Media struggling for survival are therefore upping the pressure: Without advertising, there is often no reporting. We asked 11 renowned and experienced PR managers from agencies and chains how media behaviour has changed.
The French are also subject to economic pressure, though Paris' hotel industry is doing well in the international comparison. Of course, things are different in rural regions. A background report on the current hotel situation after France's downgrade by ratings agencies.
Marriott's environmental activities read like a huge sustainability catalogue. Structured as the chain is, it has also established a global network here and included a whole range of external professionals in its campaigns. The focus is squarely on staff, as well as on the people in Marriott locations.
The Swiss operator of thermal baths and spas is not thinking globally, but certainly very regionally: It has opened its first thermal spa hotel this week in Germany's Spreewald region, right next door to an already popular public thermal spa. Just how such specialist hotels are filled was explained today by the Kannewischer brothers. And they intend to continue building thermal spa hotels.
In Spain, Barceló intends to grow to become the country's biggest tourism group, and in Paris Accor yesterday presented its new organisational brand structure for Europe, effective from January. The first appointments on executive level are announced; more next week. – The full editorial …

Dear Insiders,
Kempinski is pursuing its own agenda in Korea. At the beginning of this month, CEO Reto Wittwer brought things to a boil when he announced that he wants to become the first luxury hotel manager in totalitarian North Korea. This sounds cool. Wittwer's governor for China, Michael Henssler could not – or was not allowed? – to reveal all ingredients for this special broth. Nearly unnoticed by the great attention caused by the monster hotel in Pyongyang in North Korea, where Kempinski wants to move in, were Kempinski's plans to move into a mega leisure complex in Seoul as well. Hopefully, Kempinski will realise that too many cooks could spoil the broth.
In any case, the calculations and plans for serviced apartments and student apartments were accepted well. They promise "hot" yields for investors and operators. This subject was already discussed at Expo Real's hotel conference, The Living Hotels' 3rd "Serviced Apartment Camp" revealed weaknesses as well as opportunities, and GBI Board Member Reiner Nittka today compares parameters of serviced apartments and student apartments. In this issue, we are focussing on these profit-promising types of accommodation.
From today's news: Online agent HRS implemented a new search algorithm this week. A frustrating and intransparent "innovation" in my opinion. Or maybe not?
Last but not least: Even if it is still early for most people to think about ITB 2013 – for the organisers, it is approaching with rapid strides. For the second time, HospitalityInside will initiate a joint stand in Hall 9 with hotels, service providers and suppliers. Half of all the tables are already booked. If you want to participate in the "World of Hospitality" at the ITB, please contact Managing Director Michael Willems at michael@hospitalityInside.com. – The full editorial …

Dear Insiders,
After three postponements, it seems the luxury hotel Waldorf Astoria in Berlin is now finally set to open in “mid December”. But GM Friedrich Niemann is still unable to specify a concrete date. Why do other hotel chains manage to give a date, yet Hilton seems unable to? The task ahead is to resurrect its image and regain lost confidence.
Despite the obvious difficulties, I'm prepared to give the Waldorf Astoria a chance on the market. Two weeks ago, Friedrich Niemann gave me a tour through the near finished hotel: It certainly didn't draw an enthusiastic "WOW", but I did see many subtle details as well as expensive, highly sensitive materials and discreet elegance.
The 117 metre high Waldorf Astoria heralds the start of a new era in Berlin's City West: The cityscape will slowly change around the Memorial Church. At the end of 2013, the restructured Bikini complex will be followed by an integrated 25hours Hotel, and by 2016 there will be a second mega tower "Upper West" with an integrated Motel One: Low budget in absolute 1A location!
A performance comparison of luxury and budget hotel segments also fits in with these two Berlin reports. Which segment has performed best in the four large German cities looked at?
In Paris, our correspondent Sarah Douag met the President of Relais & Châteaux. Jaume Tàpies' concerns meanwhile come from Europe.
Hotelier Marco Nussbaum draws attention to a risk and an opportunity in our social media column - to the mixing of evaluation portals and sales. And much more. We wish you pleasant reading! – The full editorial …

Dear Insiders,
Large chains such as Accor are pushing forward with the implementation of the new ibis brand in their second most important market, Germany, and presented the new style in Berlin last week; in Paris, the Asian serviced apartment giant Ascott has launched a suite version for its Citadines brand, and in Germany, the mini budget design chain prizeotel is expanding - and with New York star designer Karim Rashid at its side.
The hotel world produced some colourful stories this week and such movements show just how "limitless" actions within the hotel industry now are - irrespective of geography or size.
Remaining operative and competitive is also the aim of the fund sector. Last week the German Ministry of Finance published details on the revised AIFM draft – the summary.
Without real estate there would be none or certainly many fewer asset managers: Just how their role in relation to owners and operators is to be viewed is set out in the summary reports from two talk rounds. Should asset managers meddle in operations? Kempinski Board Member Markus Semer knows three types of asset manager: the wife of the investor, the consultant with the Excel table and the professional with competence team …
About real estate: At B&B Hotels, the sale of over 160 hotels completed this week and prospective buyers have already registered their interest for the InterConti Hamburg, which filed for insolvency two weeks ago. Apart from that: German tour operators have posted record results, and the Austrians want to establish a network for hotels with electric charging stations.
I would also like to draw your attention to the 2nd joint stand "World of Hospitality" at the world's largest tourism fair, the ITB, in March 2013. Hotel groups, suppliers and services providers are welcome as partners to our stand in Hall 9. Further information on page 1! – The full editorial …

Dear Insiders,
He is one of the real estate angels: the young Austrian billionaire René Benko, investor of the Hyatt Hotel Vienna, among others. But now he has been convicted of corruption in a totally different matter. He has filed an appeal, but once again the hotel industry and its image have received an undeserved negative grazing shot due to such incidents.
The Austrian leisure hotel manager is experiencing a similar trend right now. Today, we report about the new financing twists: those looking for loans have to offer rooms, almost exclusively – dreams of great spas are bursting like bubbles.
"Stealth Luxury" is about concealed and discreetly hidden luxury. The term describes a new style of consumption of the rich who spend thousands on wooden bikes or on limited edition watches. Those who are familiar with the "codes" of these rich kids are able to make money as well.
While trend issues always catch the spotlight, the EU legislature has switched off the light for light bulbs this fall. Energy-efficient solutions have to be found. A factual article in today's issue reveals what these might look like.
From the news: Orient-Express announced a new CEO and still rejects the offer by The Indian Hotels to acquire shares; German Solutions Holding expands by means of takeover of Horwath HTL Austria; the real estate industry sighs with relief because of the publicly announced draft of the AIFM Directive – and much more.
The starting flag for the next ITB has dropped: The HospitalityInside joint stand is planned once again at the same place in the "Hotel" Hall 9. Partners are welcome. A mix of service providers, suppliers and hotel groups is targeted. Talk to us! - The full editorial ... 

Dear Insiders,
The last week was driven by pitiless decision-makers, skilful tacticians and criminal desires: In Hamburg, the InterConti owner has applied for insolvency. On the other hand, the argumentative funds initiator August Jagdfeld suns himself in the early contract extension for the Adlon Kempinski in Berlin. In Paris, Relais & Châteaux has officially expressed itself for the first time on the - persistent - fraud of the former president, and organiser Thomas Cook is almost frantically attempting to sharpen the profile and sales of their new or newly modified hotel brands. Meanwhile, the hotels in New York and New Jersey are still battling with the results of hurricane Sandy.
The tone in the scene is becoming visibly rougher. Meanwhile we have been reporting almost regularly about breaches of agreement, cancellations, expulsions and hard disputes.
It is also such turbulence and massive pressure that allows CEOs like Kurt Ritter to submit their final resignation. Rezidor's "Power Package" is shifting back. And he looks back today.
Leases have also always been a worry factor for Rezidor, but does one fare better with franchises? Grand City, RIMC, Choice and Jung & Schleicher Solicitors discussed the tricky triangle between owners, tenants and franchisees at Expo Real four weeks ago.
The A&O Hotels and Hostels strategies are also ultimately aiming at an increase in ownerships. CEO Oliver Winter describes the mind-set of the successful supplier with 12,113 beds in 3,942 rooms.
Austria expects revenues and overnight figures at a record height for this winter. Skiing remains the mainspring of the winter business, but the investment desire in the funicular business outside the centres is decreasing in parallel – to the lowest investment status in twelve years. This dampens the euphoria. – The full editorial …