Editorial

Dear Insiders,
The strong Swiss franc continues to weigh on the hotel industry as the year draws to a close: Will hotels begin to close in Switzerland in 2012? The persistent strength of the Swiss franc against the euro does not only affect the Swiss though, but also Austrian and German hotels that have taken out CHF denominated loans.
Social media specialist TrustYou has surprised hoteliers this week with a free tool for hotel ratings. Prior to that, we spoke with TrustYou founder, Benjamin Jost, on the challenges of the semantic search.
Mundane but important: How can you ensure that notice of dismissal is served in good time on an employee where time is short? Our legal specialist leads us through an important judgement on the matter.
hospitalityInside is already deep in the process of organising the 7th "ITB Hospitality Day". The themes and initial speakers for the hotel conference set to take place on 8 March 2012 are already fixed. A short overview.
And in the press releases this week: Starwood Hotels is now minority shareholder in Design Hotels. And in a comparison between Google+ and Facebook, Google+ does surprisingly well.
Four weeks ago, I hosted the "Leadership Conference" held by the German Hotel Directors Association. At its 30th anniversary celebrations, the HDV focussed on the subject of "brand". Star guest was a non-hotelier: Uli Hoeness, President of FC Bayern giving interesting statements about entrepreneurship and people management. A video of this talk can be seen online at www.hdvnet.de.... - The full editorial...

Dear Insiders,

Two weeks ago, we made the change to our new IT system: If you haven't requested your new password yet, please do it now! Please don't hesitate to get in touch in case of any questions.
In today's edition: Managers will in future only have to take their decisions on the base of uncertainty. A study on leadership and business management 2030 highlights this - and draws some very interesting conclusions.
Austria is taking a good look at itself. Attention has now moved to whether the guest nationality mix is the right one. Whether higher advertising budgets will help here?
Credit Suisse has few worries, at least in terms of its hospitality fund. It's been on the market for a year.
Columbia Hotels are less transparent in this respect. The subsidiary of a Cypriot company is very secretive in general.
HRS launched its "bargain hunt" à la Groupon yesterday; protest from French hoteliers with respect to an additional tax has paid off, and Rezidor and Swissôtel gave us a brief insight into their current activities.
Our idea to launch the first hospitality "X-PERTS Lounge" at the ITB has also found its first friends. If you are interested in this "Creative Room" in which companies can present hotel trends, technology and more, please don't hesitate to contact us... - The full editorial...

Dear Insiders, In London Marriott presented a model of its new "European" prototype for the Courtyard brand: Room cosmetics for business travellers. They are the main target group. But breakfast, and above all Internet, are not included as standard. Whether Courtyard will become the carthorse of the European expansion remains to be seen.
Quality expert Franz-Josef Koenig sees a vicious circle between expansion and quality. Mystery checks deal only with the symptoms and not the causes, he explains. Romantik Hotels on the other hand operates a system of anonymous tests and open audits.
The Leading Hotels of the World have begun to hike the minimum number of points a hotel must achieve to pass its quality tests by two percent each year. Chief Inspector Trent Walsh explains how this can be done and compares luxury quality standards in different parts of the world.
The Austrian Verkehrsbuero Group will focus its future expansion on Austria and on Vienna in particular, no longer on Central and Eastern Europe. For this reason, its joint venture partners Motel One will go it alone in the CEE region.
And the trends in the press releases this week: The Chinese are moving in on Europe and in the US, on the other hand, investors are still struggling. - The full editorial...

Dear Insiders, First, a note on our own account: We have installed a new IT system this week. For this reason, you must renew your password when you first log on to the new system. To do this, click on the link "Forgot password" in the login field and follow the instructions. Further information on the change can be found here.
In Rome last week, the bed-giant Marriott officially sounded the advance on Europe's luxury provide hotels: with the Autograph Collection. Marriott's distribution power is one thing, but do all hoteliers want to enter a pool which already includes hotels with up to 3,000 rooms?
The poker game in the private hotel industry has begun. How do Accor, The Leading Hotels of the World and Worldhotels see the new competition between chains and consortia? Prof Marco Gardini, brand expert and author, takes a critical view of brand actions: What the industry is doing is name cosmetics and is some way away from brand creation!
The interview with Mandarin Oriental fits well here. Christoph Mares describes how the luxury chain finds its niche, how it calculates costs in Europe and how it motivates its staff. All that is part of the whole brand process.
holidayCheck has begun to publically identify those hotels suspected of manipulating their ratings. A bright red warning sign "Warning Manipulated Ratings" is placed above the hotel photo - The full Editorial…

Dear Insiders, Today, the future speaks. Do investors know the connection between real estate value and social media? Internet expert Bruno Wolf explains. The "Green City Index" already shows investors and hoteliers how closely the construction and operation of hotels will depend on the environmental development of their city district in future. If mega cities are to be created, the infrastructure must follow: e.g. neighbourhood networks for water and energy. Food for thought. That old and valuable structures are still in demand is seen at Almdorf Seinerzeit in Carinthia, Austria. 31 new chalets will now be built - and offered for sale. Hotelier Rupert Simoner drives brand and returns forward. Austria's JUFA Group is one of the quieter market participants. Its focus is on youth and family tourism. Now, its popularity allows it to expand, also in Germany.The health resort Lanserhof near Innsbruck, Austria also plans to expand in Germany. And Motel One has signed contracts for the first project in London. On a different note, Sarkozy's need for cash has meant an increase in VAT for hoteliers; though in Switzerland thoughts turn to a temporary reduction in VAT.And here another tasty piece: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his Managing Director Sheryl Sandberg speak on US TV for around an hour about Google and Facebook. - The full Editorial…

Dear Insiders, The alarm bells have been ringing for years, though nothing has changed. University graduates don't want the low salaries, long and anti-social working hours and miserable career opportunities. A survey looked at the current mood among graduates. Depressing. Yet the hotel industry can still shape a life. Ed Fuller, President of Marriott, has expressed in his book the values the industry has given him after 40 years on the job and how he lives these values. People, passion, values are his key words. Such books should be compulsory reading at university. The Hotel Schick in Austria I would also invite to a lecture: The owner family no longer want any old run-of-the-mill 4-star wellness hotel. They are switching to Ayurveda - with all its consequences. They focus on a niche. And on the subject of niches, Club Aldiana with its 10 resorts still feels at home in its niche; stabilise not expand is their motto though. Managing Director Peter Wennel continues to focus on niche concepts in the individual clubs. Also of interest today are our personalia with renowned names in new chains, there's a new Forecast 2012 for 17 European cities, and more. Last night's news from the U.S.: An affiliate of Hospitality Property Trust in Newton acquired Sonesta Hotels for 174 million USD, according to the "Boston Globe". The trust owns 288 hotels and 185 travel centres in North America. - The full editorial…

Dear Insiders, What advantages and disadvantages will the new Google hotel finder bring to the industry? Our distribution expert, Carolin Brauer describes the great opportunities to the hoteliers and the risks: Google's cash-cow here is also in the linking.Distribution experts everywhere are increasingly choosing costs as a central theme. This is why Choice Hotels is the first chain to rely entirely on a web-based Property Management System. With the 2nd European meeting in Nice the last week, almost everything turned toward the efficient distribution.The 4th ITB Asia in Singapore came to an end the last Friday - with an absolutely positive summary of the trade show.Hotel bosses should look at the message by the American, Joey on YouTube: In front of the video camera, the frustrated Renaissance Hotel staff member throws his resignation notice at the feet of his boss. Our Social Media column today. Today, employers should read the legal contribution about fixed-term contracts: The legal situation has changed here.There is hotel project news today from Switzerland and furthermore, Crowne Plaza has changed its concepts. Adagio will expand by the support of a new sub brand, and TUI launched a new "nature hotel" brand.Also, hospitalityInside reveals some more thoughts about the first planned "hospitality X-PERTS LOUNGE" at the upcoming ITB 2012, see homepage. - The full editorial...

Dear Insiders, Solid visionaries and entrepreneurs like the late Ueli Prager hardly have a chance today. The "rapid fire" CEO is in demand, as Steffen Weidemann's departure form IFH demonstrates. Those left standing get the competition going, as Paris shows: There, one luxury hotel after the other is planning million euro renovations - first and foremost the world famous Paris Ritz. For a long time, there's been no news about the Dutch "luxury budget" chain citizenM. Now, CEO Michael Levie has announced modifications and new projects. Speaking at the Expo Real, experts from the Mandarin Oriental, IHG and CBRE Hotels explained what it means to adjust to different markets and situations: How do Asian businesses adjust for Europe was a key question during their talk round. Benchmarks help in many cases, also when comparing wellness recliners in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Kohl & Partner Consulting in Austria gives some tips. Of course, we have also taken the mood with respect to the takeover of hotel.de by HRS… Today, Solutions reader find a new article about "Cloud Computing": Micros-Fidelio explains the benefits by "software from the cloud". And one more look ahead: hospitalityInside is working on the concept of a new "hospitality X-PERTS LOUNGE" at the ITB Berlin. An interactive platform for innovative subjects and trends will be created under the slogan “Hotel trends, technology & more“. Become a partner/co-exhibitor of the premiere that will ideally take place at the next ITB. Contact hospitalityInside Managing Director Michael Willems, michael@hospitalityInside.com. - The full editorial…

Dear Insiders, The top distribution news of this morning, sent by hotel.de at 7.50 a.m.: HRS takes 61.6% of the shares of hotel.de, effective from this morning! More next week. Baudoin Prot, Head of France's largest bank, BNP Paribas, delivered a piece of pure satire to the German newspaper "Handelsblatt" this week: For four weeks, he revised his interview responses, then withdrew them all. On Wednesday, editors at the newspaper printed the interview anyway, without answers - "on behalf of a wealthy elite who were simply lost for words". What symbolism in such times! Expo Real visitors were anything but lost for words, though statements have changed slightly over the course of the week and is beginning to take different forms. This is reflected in opinions from hotel exhibitors and visitors printed today. Though the finance experts during the Expo Real hotel conference were quite divided on the future of hotel finance. Yet there is certainly no shortage of projects, as our special news mix shows. The restructuring of the Accor brand "ibis" also has a marketing background. Before the Expo Real, we met the Paris-based Head of Marketing, Grégoire Champetier. For the hotel industry, this year's Expo Real was a milestone: Supported by a range of coordinated activities, hotels positioned themselves at the fair as an asset class of its own. Trailblazers here were the hotel conference, the networking event "BRICKS & BRAINS" and special publications by hospitalityInside. The success of the first joint stand "World of Hospitality" and the massive support by Expo Real PR and advertising campaigns for the hotel segment certainly ensured a breakthrough this year. A summary. If you like to listen our well-perceived mini talks "5 minutes of plain talking" at the hospitality joint stand, please click the orange banner on the homepage - and you will end up "live" on YouTube. To enjoy impressions of "BRICKS & BRAINS", open the PDF attached to the fair summary. - The full editorial…

Dear Insiders, The ignorance of politicians obviously concerns investors and hotel operators more than the ever more difficult task of securing hotel finance. Professionalism and pragmatism best describe the mood at the 14th Expo Real which ended yesterday evening in Munich. The hotel industry is establishing a better foothold here - also thanks to the 1st joint hospitality stand whose participants didn't have a free moment from start to finish. The successful premier of "World of Hospitality" was worth several public announcements for Munich Trade Fair. Despite palpable austerity, 37,000 participants attended the event - just as many as last year. Today, first impressions: a mood report supplemented by comments from hotel exhibitors and visitors on the joint stand and on the subject of finance. Also, a summary of the discussion between owners and operators at the hotel conference. Next week we will provide a more detailed report on the hotel industry. Also today, a report from our Dubai correspondent Dania Saadi, who last week visited Cityscape, the real estate trade fair in Dubai. She provides an interesting summary of the change in the Arabian real estate world, a fitting complement to our Expo focus. - The full editorial…