Editorial

Dear Insider,

Software (AI) and machines (robots) can become teammates, but they will never inspire guests. Even the researchers who explained the tech world to us at the Innovation Day at HITT in Amsterdam last week were convinced of the value of people working with us. The hospitality insiders in the room breathed a sigh of relief. Our summary today is just a mini-teaser from these four hours of surprising approaches, practical examples from the hotel lab and experiments with augmented reality. Hotelschool The Hague, TU Delft, Accor Innovation Lab and Mews managed to translate confusion into logic. 

The article is freely available on our HITT page, where you can also find the picture gallery. In two further videos, we have captured voices on pressing issues as regards the transformation. Well done to everyone who taught and learned so much in two days! Many thanks to the initiators, our experts, the knowledge-hungry visitors to the old barn, and to the sponsors who once again made this "sharing platform" possible! 

Dear Insider,

With its outstanding experts/speakers and topics, our HITT has obviously once again clearly recognised the mood and stress level of the industry in terms of sustainability... Our guests have been showering us with praise on LinkedIn since Monday - at this point, many thanks from our entire team to all of you!!! Our yellow Catch Box (with the integrated microphone) once again flew back and forth in the discussions, all of which had a lot of depth and clearly described the gap between investors and operators. And the asset risks. Also, the progress that CRREM is making in recording CO2 emissions. And further the circular economy from the perspective of Madaster and MindClick. There was also the professor who provocatively said that the industry should be allowed to "die with dignity" - and then be rebuilt. Every impulse generator spoke plainly and with constructive criticism. Our premier in free-spirited Amsterdam and in an old barn in the middle of an urban biotope was a success. "Listen, guys, we need to start"! 

Dear Insider,

In spirit, we are already present at HITT in Amsterdam and are looking forward to welcoming over 60 top-class think tank fans and experts from all over Europe - starting on Monday. The event is now being brought to life by the next generation: Two student teams, from Belgium and the UK, have recently fought their way through to the final in the current competition of the global Sustainable Hospitality Challenge 2024 and present their ideas to us. The initiator of all this is Hotelschool The Hague. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our Think Tank partners, especially Paul Griep for the Next Gen touch and Prof. Alexander Schmidt for the great teamwork on the Innovation Theme Day. 

Our thanks also go to our sponsors Accor, Arabella Hospitality, Wyndham, Drees & Sommer, Häfele, Expo Real, Proline Systems and The Hague. Six of them have built up the Think Tank with us since 2018. They are behind the concept, which openly and honestly discusses the challenges of sustainability and innovation in a small, exclusive circle, across borders and competition. It is no longer a matter of course that marketing budgets are allocated for quality. Thank you very much!

Dear Insider,                           

Only ten days left until HITT! We look forward to seeing you in Amsterdam, where lively professors will present dynamic trends and best practices on innovations (Prof. David Abbink from TU Delft, Prof. Alexander Schmidt from The Hague). Sylvain Morgaine, a practitioner from the Accor Innovation Lab, and Mews CEO Matt Welle, a visionary from the tech world, will also be present. It’s a really exciting programme. Today, we introduce you to these guests.            

My preliminary conversation with Matt Welle about the Think Tank ended with the former hotelier telling the Mews story: from near-bankruptcy to billion-dollar unicorn. This builds self-confidence, and today he is very sure that his software puts any legacy PMS into the shadows.  

Dear Insider, 

A little summary in advance: Hotel investors are regaining trust in Europe and are beginning to love luxury hotels again. For Marriott's EMEA President Satya Anand, Europe remains key thanks to luxury opportunities and the modified Four Points Express brand. After our conversion, my distinct impression was that Marriott is becoming more flexible. Four leading Alpine resorts (Sacher, Stanglwirt, Krallerhof, Kitzhof) report on how they have survived corona and the cost crises. In Tyrol, the hotel industry is shrinking, in Mallorca there are protests against overtourism and, despite the heat, Portugal and Greece are still popular with travellers. We will head to Amsterdam for HITT in 17 days' time and today we introduce you to the founders of two material databases (MindClick and Madaster) and explain how this all ties into the supply chain.                                                                            

Dear Insider, 

This colourful, global hospitality world is linked to an unimaginable number of topics, regions, scandals and curiosities. A brief foretaste - more below: Booking.com is not only annoyed about its classification as a gatekeeper, but also about the anti-Israel protests outside its headquarters in Amsterdam. Yotel is gaining a foothold in Geneva - and wants to combine its cool tech design with Swedish hygge. CEO Hubert Viriot now finds himself performing a balancing act. Corona has left Austrian Alpine hoteliers with a toxic mix of too much financial support in the pandemic years and too few financing opportunities today. Worry lines everywhere, at ÖHV, ÖHT, but not at Falkensteiner. At Prodinger's "Alpine Hospitality Summit" in Kitzbühel, people spoke plainly. This is exactly what our HITT in Amsterdam wants: We will be discussing radical rethinking there for the first time, because laws - like greenwashing - are taking effect far too slowly. Prof. Graham Miller from Lisbon advocates de-growth, a different way of generating profits. 

Dear Insider,

Do you like thrillers? In Germany this week, a real-life courtroom thriller, that would give most screenwriters a run for their money, has finally come to an end. The scene: the Adlon Berlin. The main character: the belligerent Adlon Fund initiator Anno August Jagdfeld. The charge: defamation of character with a claim for almost 1 billion euros in damages. The story has suspense and drama, but certainly no happy ending for the real estate mogul. 

The futuristic cities, which seem to rise out of the Saudi Arabian desert like architectural mirages, are more in the realm of science fiction. Meanwhile though, the desert sand appears to have found its way into the wheels. In view of the sometimes scandalous revelations, one can but wonder what will happen next. Sarah Douag reports.

The Finnish provider Bob W, which sees itself as a digital hotel alternative in the European market and is further sharpening its profile, is also wondering what the future holds. The focus is on sustainability and good storytelling in order to attract financially strong partners. Sylvie Konzack provides an update. By way of contrast, the 25th Tourism Summit in Berlin provided an example of bad storytelling. On the other hand, the German Chancellor's threat the following day to raise the minimum wage to 15 euros has all the qualities of drama. 

Not everything in this issue is film-ready, but there are exciting news about data on both Think Tank days: The (EU) monitor CRREM makes CO2 transparent worldwide and in the hotel asset class. And the tech start-up BeCause sweeps through hundreds of green certificates with a broom. 

Dear Insider,

“I just miss the daily madness!” That was the sentence of the week for me. Nevertheless, here are our topics from today in summary: The new "re-hiring" is taking effect: This is how you get good employees back, even younger ones. In Italy's hotel market, which remains euphoric, the largest groups are continuing to refine their concepts and expansion plans - everyone is becoming bolder and more open. 

Overnight stays and arrivals in Switzerland and Greece continued their success from 2023. And we are also continuing our success story with the HITT Think Tank: Listen to the exciting trialogue between Luc Boschmans (investor, Tristan Capital), Ufi Ibrahim (Investmentclub EEA) and hotelier Michaela Reitterer, the first sustainability pioneer from Vienna (Boutiquehotel Stadthalle). How can everybody’s interest in sustainability be properly balanced? Heidi Schmidtke from JLL goes one better: Where are the asset risks? What to do here? An exciting discussion.

Dear Insider, 

Here are the compact highlights of the current issue - with lots of positives. The travel industry is growing faster than global GDP. Institutional investors are also keen to build their new nests with hotels in the future; they want to spend up to three billion euros. Germany as a MICE destination recovered faster and more positively than expected last year. Four out of five professionals would be willing to work from their hotel: Remote working is picking up speed in the USA. In Europe and Asia, direct bookings will rise sharply between 2019 and 2023. Premier Inn is selling and remodelling its (hotel) restaurants; otherwise, the 2023/24 balance sheet shows good results - in contrast to Marriott's Q1 figures. The German government is once again about to impose higher taxes on the hotel industry, this time on overnight stays. 

About the HI events: In the next two weeks, stand space will be allocated for Expo Real in October. So make your decision quickly; you still have options! HITT Amsterdam is only six weeks away: a mega-interesting program for real estate and finance experts on day 1 and for tech strategists on day 2, where we will spend five hours on innovation alone and give you plenty of room for your questions. Our partner hotel Ruby Emma in Amsterdam is still offering special rates for our participants until 8 May.

Dear Insider, 

Industrial espionage, arms shipments, earthquakes - the world seems to be upside down. The evening news is not a mood booster, rays of hope are rare. It almost makes you happy to hear then Venice is now charging an entrance fee to day visitors so that it may better cope with mass tourism. The hospitality industry is also currently dealing with its own issues. Here too, there is "good" and "bad news", problems and bright spots. 

The latter was announced by a cheerful Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin in an interview with Editor-in-chief Maria Puetz-Willems. Following its transformation, Accor sees itself as very well equipped for the future. In her article today, business and finance expert Macy Marvel looks at falling F&B margins. Fred Fettner uses the Austrian market as an example of how to get a grip on the shortage of employees. And there is plenty to talk from other areas too: The residents of the Canary Islands are also fighting back against overtourism, an initiative is mobilising against fake reviews that damage business, NENI Restaurants and 25hours Hotels are helping young women in Marrakesh to train in the catering and hotel industry and HITT in Amsterdam has a whole range of highlights to offer. Are you on board?