Editorial
Dear Insiders,
Berlin's newest 5 star hotel, the Rocco Forte Hotel de Rome, is finally able to shine in the glory for which it was destined. And that not entirely unduly: Yet the British won't be leaving London just yet: The society sparkle of the English capital that Sir Rocco is so used to with its well attended lunches and tea times will not be seen at dumping price-Berlin.
Late at night, gathered around their last glass of wine after dinner, branch insiders know: "This hotel won't turn up a ROI". "Nice, but not possible." "Just one restaurant in which occupancy stood at a mere 30 percent in the first couple of weeks, that won't last long." The new General Manager Thies Sponholz was also the source of a little commotion. As colleagues in Berlin reported the next day, he managed to free himself from obviously still existing contractual obligations as Managing Director of a medical Park in Bad Wiessee. The 37 year old must have realised that Rocco Forte and Berlin look much better on a CV than some no-name hotel in Bavaria.
Now, the second Rocco Forte has opened. The third in Munich is to follow, if all goes to plan in July 2007. But the more Forte managers we spoke to, the more varied the dates became. Sir Rocco will know: My impression is: In terms of style and concept, the hotels are very well tailored to their local market, but the English overestimate their position and influence in the German market. I remain sceptical despite wishing new ideas and new hoteliers in Germany well. In particular I wish Berlin and Sir Rocco Forte all the best - time will tell, and without a doubt we'll soon have to review our first impressions printed here today.
In Wiesbaden meanwhile, the Nassauer Hof is thinking about its future. Choice Hotels Europe, on the other hand, have already made their decision. The European, little known Luxury Lifestyle Hotels see their future in the USA, the German City Partner Hotels in Eastern Europe. And the intellectual property court in Alicante has set a new precedent in the interpretation and use of the word "Spa" in brand names. Above all, their last judgement will have repercussions for the future.
Lots to be read in the large articles then, and more exciting news in the small news. And all for you!
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief
Remarks? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
Is Starwood Hotels delirious? They are now looking for a "Chief Beer Officer"! As all Four Points Hotels are to serve the best beers worldwide in future, they are in desperate need of an experienced master brewer. To put it in American terms: a CBO! However, he will not take his place at the board table - he will start as a consultant in January, and will work only part-time....
Apart from this, the news of the week was not that "full of beer": the Spanish NH Hoteles are about to take over the Italian Jolly Hotels and thus become the biggest group in Italy. This also corresponds to NH's urge to expand further in Germany. In Switzerland, Luitpold von Finck from Germany wants to take over all shares of Moevenpick-Holding, but there would be no consequences for the hotel business. After Raffles and Four Seasons, it seems to be Moevenpick's term now. This also means: Should more hotel groups be delisted, a comparison of figures and performances between hotel groups will become very difficult in future.
Today, we take a close look at Marriott's European Courtyard concept and learn: the medium-class brand fits exactly between 3 and 4 stars, and in this way competes with full-service hotels despite its limited service. The presentation in Paris, however, showed the entire dimension. But, Courtyard obviously has a tough competitor as our small comparing table shows.
Geographically, our focus will be the inconspicuous island of Madeira today. But even their, we come across hotel news. The issue of merchandising is often neglected in hotels. But it comes with huge revenue chances - as you can read. And finally, the Americans confront us with the spa trends of next year. Some of them might also hit our market here! And last but not least - further news!
Have a great week,
yours, Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief
Questions? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insider,
A single topic this week dominates the majority of this edition: Benchmarking! In the flurry of congresses and conferences of recent weeks, we've all gone home with our heads full of figures. And at least at some point the thought is bound to cross everyone's mind that the only statistics capable of being trusted at all are the ones you fiddle yourself. The secrecy of large bench markers like Deloitte London and MKG Paris, on the other hand, only generates further mistrust: Transparency doesn't seem to be a priority for the supposed market leaders. Competitor The Bench in London showed itself to be much more willing to share in its expertise and the small and new providers are always forthcoming.
Exactly how credible the benchmark systems are, dear Insider, has to be decided by you and you alone. And if at the end, all of this still leaves a bitter aftertaste, you can still place hopes in the new and fresh now springing up both internationally as well as nationally to once again bring new life to the scene. Competition even here breeds more business. I'm sure that we'll come back to the topic after this introduction and will take a closer look at its application and success in practice. If today you can already point to any weaknesses of benchmarking - don't hesitate to write to us! The button "E-Mail to the author" is to be found at the bottom of each article.
Because the topic of benchmarking is become increasingly important, the largest part of this week's edition is dedicated to exactly this. The introduction should be a little more than just quick and painless, the articles you find should also allow you to delve a little deeper into the themes and problems. I hope this fits with your expectations?
On Monday the announced sale of the Four Seasons chain was even worth a "Breaking News" article for the midnight hour. Read today Atef Mankarios' impression from the USA. The former Chairman of Rosewood Hotels and from St. Regis works today as consultant for luxury hotels and luxury investors and hits the nail on the head when he says: "Perhaps one day we'll once again have hoteliers that lead hotel companies!"
I hope that this week too, we meet the demands of your media benchmark..
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief
Benchmark remarks? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
Creativity is not a question of national affiliation, as was recently demonstrated by the "Future Forum" of design hotels in Vienna. The discussion was about innovative and more or less shrill projects as well as "container hotels" and alternative housing concepts. Share a view visions of design hotels. hospitalityInside.com was there.
design hotels have literally been hot on our heels until today's issue. Another article picks up a topic of last week's "hotelforum" conference. The "2006 European Hotel Real Estate Award" went to a cleverly designed budget hotel, the history of origin of which I had already been marginally observing over the past few years. A small Austrian family business has proven courage with a "less-is-more" strategy. The new budget design hotel Daniel in Graz fits in perfectly with our series of examples of creative concepts in Austria. It is a member of design hotels just as the far nobler Loisium near Krems. You will probably already know it as "cube in the vineyard". Guy Dittrich, our architect specialist, took a close look at it, while I myself carefully checked the Daniel for its savings plan. The analysis clearly shows: design is not a question of budget.
Moreover, we looked across the industry's borders last week right into the sector of leisure real estates. Our findings: problems, financing and discussions about target groups are quite similar. Heuer-Dialog organised an excellent conference in the VIP facilities of Munich's Olympic Stadium.
hospitalityInside.com is always looking for issues that give you new inspiration for your work. In this respect, international and intersectoral conferences are an ideal platform. Our media partnerships - with the International Hotel Conference in Rome, the design hotels' Future Forum in Vienna and Heuer-Dialog about Leisure Real Estate in Munich - have proven to be a unique platform for new contacts.
This also includes the Cornell University/Center for Hospitality Research with which we are working together in a close partnership. As of today, Cornell supports hospitalityInside's concept over and above editorial issues. The institute presents itself on our new hospitalitySolutions.info platform. The next Solutions partners have thus already registered. In this respect, you should always look at this second pillar of hospitalityInside as of today. By the way, all new contributions on that site will be indicated in our Friday newsletter.
As the end of the year is approaching and you are probably still looking for a destination outside of your hotel group, we offer you a smart, brand new destination on Sri Lanka today. "hospitalityTRAVEL" is starting - exclusive holiday offers from hoteliers for hoteliers. Just click on hospitalitySolutions.info.
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief
Any comments? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
This week's Expo Real in Munich is becoming a real meeting point for everybody from the hotel development sector. The world's booming markets are in attendance here as well - audible in the discussion forums and visible at the mega stands with giant models of the skyscraper silhouettes that are being newly created. As regards content, this year's "Hospitality Industry Dialogue" was weaker than in the past years. Nevertheless, the hotel industry is slowly taking its place at Expo Real.
The developers of Europe's newest 7-star hotel in Italy, however, shun publicity. Nonetheless, the concept resembles a typical Italian "Hotel La Mamma", caring for its guests with great dedication so that they do not want to leave.... Of course, such a load of family sense on a luxury level has its price. Even with hotel rooms of average size. Our second article about the changing spa hotel on Ischia is proof of the Italians` belief that they are able to keep up with "world standards". Some hoteliers only smile to themselves.
Our articles about the ongoing timeshare boom and the new fractional model, highly acclaimed in Portugal, belong to the promising and profitable development sector. An interesting parallel to the current discussion at Expo Real: the initiators of these timeshare models for Europe are building increasingly on Anglo-Saxon contractual models, similar to real estate representatives, who see British financing methods influencing the German market more and more.
With this varied issue, I likewise wish you the best for a week of variety,
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief
Questions? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
In the past few weeks, I have visited conferences for you in Vienna and Rome and next week Expo Real in Munich is on the agenda. There, the general mood of the two industry meetings visited will probably be reflected: the mood is great in the industry itself, but not in Germany. Examples: In Vienna, a lively Swiss talks about the new gigantic "rock resort" he plans to build; his Austrian colleague is waiting for the building permit for his third hotel. After building a hotel for kids and a design hotel, he is currently planning an innovative city hotel. In Rome, international consultants and project developers are grunting and groaning about too much work. Asian and Arabian investors are even fetching consultants from the US in order to manage their endless project lists. European know-how is only demanded in terms of spas, at best. Apart from that, only one thing in particular can be said about Germany: it is an important market - from a bargain hunter's perspective!
When it comes to investment and financing, trends are intensifying at best: financial monotony is spreading. The influence of funds is dramatically increasing. But their money seems to be spent at the same locations and on the same hotel types that are always operated by the same global players among the hotel management companies again and again. In Rome, an American fund manager was not proud for publicly saying that he had too much money to distribute in order to finance individual hotels.
A punch in the face for the European medium-sized businesses and into the pit of the stomach of creative hoteliers like those of design hotels... Another statement from Rome is suitable here: most medium-sized companies in Europe were too weak to be "branded".
I suggest waiting and seeing about the quality that fund financiers will produce out of thin air with their exchangeable brands of their exchangeable global players.
Today's issue offers more market news and highly interesting, brand new staff issues in numerous long and shorter articles. Our Swiss editor, Silvia Pfenniger, met an UBS manager in Zurich, our colleague Susanne Stauss visited a wellness conference at her door in Wiesbaden. Last but not least there is the latest Insider news about Dorint Hotels' new structures. Researched yesterday, published today.
A successful week,
yours, Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief
Remarks? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
While you are reading these lines, I am still at the International Hotel Conference in Rome that combines top issues and speakers in a casual ambience. A pleasantly different concept that attracts more than 400 participants from almost 30 countries after only four years. At the same time, you'll read about Expo Real in Munich in this issue: nice to hear that this growing commercial real estate fair takes hospitality seriously as an industry and even plans to internationalise its hotel theme day in future. The reason: today, trade fairs are facing the same competition as every other industry. This is reflected by other news: professional trade fair organisers from Italy are trying to establish a "new ITB" in 2007. Their concept is quite clever. It links exactly what is mentioned here: issues from tourism and finance - combined under one roof! In addition, Rome is highly attractive with a brand new and easily accessible trade fair area and it "guarantees" reasonable rates in terms of hotels and airlines! Who will draw the joker in the European trade fair poker game? The cards are being reshuffled at present .....
The fact that operators and investors think across borders in terms of geography as well as brands is reflected in our articles about the strategies of the international chains in the Middle East and in the portrait of the project developer of GBI. But what about all those hotel operators who only sell their name, but no longer their real estate? A consultant from Great Britain predicts fierce battles between investors and operators!
Right in the midst of all this, we present the portrait of the design and spa hotel Mavida in Austria - as a sort of counterpoint. A private hotelier demonstrates once again how to pick up trends and surpasses the limits even in classic ski locations!
In Berlin, two new hotels were able to be admired: the new Melia and the new Rocco Forte de Rome! The first one has a GM, the second one not. Since Monday, the Kempinski Adlon has had a new GM - after the "Stasi" affair of the former GM Thomas Klippstein. After this issue came up in talks with you again and again, I would like to summarise: it is astonishing that a 44-year old trips over his brief "Stasi" activitiy, although the triggering TV report dealt 99% with the GDR hotel Neptun in Warnemuende and its "makers" back in the GDR. Not one of the journalists goes on with his research. There are voices that say: Thomas Klippstein is a victim of the media and a pawn in the game, and his downfall was "prepared" well in advance.
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief
Questions? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
Not every week can be as eventful as the last: In connection with the Stasi affair and Klippstein, I'd like to mention here that we received various calls and mails from hotel colleagues all wanting to express their understanding and sympathy for Klippstein's situation and wishing him all the best for the future. We at hospitalityInside.com would like to pass on these sentiments to him here. Next monday Kempinski CEO Reto Wittwer will personally introduce Klippstein's successor in Berlin.
Today we ourselves make a headline: We have extended out web portal to include hospitalitySOLUTIONS.info. On this public site, partners from the supplier and service industry will present themselves. Their expertise is an important key to successful management - and with that, also part of your approach, dear hoteliers. We present this know-how not simply through another advertisement page, but provide the industry with a platform to present themselves in a content orientated and interactive way. The programming for this site will be completed through the course of the coming week; then also the first page will change. The new site can be found under "Related Sites" in the left bar menue.
hospitalityInside.com, the magazine, remains just as it is and today again brings interesting news: The article on Private Equity and on hotel development in the Middle East are a must-read. The articles broache subjects which are often written about, though seldom provides practically relevant information. Hopefully you view these articles differently.
In Switzerland, Rosebud.Hotels have now decided to give the Schweizerhof in Bern a new lease of life as a hotel. At the Leisure Real Estate Congress of the Heuer-Dialog in Munich the regeneration of urban leisure real estate will be discussed. New additions also give Iberotel, ArabellaSheraton Mallorca and PuroGroup Mallora a new push. Raffles is to withdraw from the stock market and Steffi Graf and Andrew Agassi commence their first hotel-match... and much more.
Stay INSIDE and keep watch with us for new SOLUTIONS!
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief
Questions? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
This week's provocateur is the alleged "Stasi" past of Hotel Neptun in Warnemuende and of today's General Manager of the Adlon, Thomas Klippstein, in Berlin. The past has caught up with both. This week, the media have tried to "shoot down" Klippstein first and foremost. Kempinski is right behind him. We regard all this a bit more objectively and have tried to understand the work environment back then through talks with former "east hoteliers".
Nevertheless, this issue offers even more thrilling news: an ambitious lawyer from Austria wants to drive on the expansion of Romantik Hotels; Switzerland has come up with a second classification system, which can be seen as a defeat for the Swiss hotelier association. Before next week's "Future Forum" in Vienna, Design Hotels explains its concept. Moreover, Deloitte reports on its visions for 2010 - today for general travel developments.
The brief announcements still contain big news in today`s issue! Read for yourself...
The hospitalityInside team apologises for the technical troubles on Monday evening and Tuesday of this week! In the background, we are preparing the extension of hospitalityInside. But you will have to wait until next week for this news.
A week with less confusion wishes
Maria Puetz-Willems
Any questions? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
The Leading Hotels in New York were quite startled when we asked them for a statement about their brand dispute with a South African group. Well, Welf Ebeling & Team have answered, and now we know a bit more about the professionalism of the world's leading marketers with respect to their own brand. Quite fitting: The "Leading Small Hotels" carry their name because someone else was quicker to protect his brand of "Small Leading Hotels"!
Sometimes quickness is what matters. An original idea, too. This week, Small Luxury Hotels attempted once again to make their brand highly interesting via press release. In this way, they are looking for "mystery inspectors". After staying at a hotel, they are to write a 20-page report. Sounds easy. What are you waiting for, jobless and bored hoteliers?! To the front! SLH needs your time and expertise! You will find the details on the website. This leaves me smiling. Instead of discreetly looking for qualified testers, SLH is striking a sweeping blow. They probably know about the huge numbers of unqualified people who will steamroller them. Accordingly, in its press release, SLH apologizes for the fact that "only successful applicants will be contacted".
In Switzerland, someone else has let loose a snappy marketing slogan: Samih Sawiris, a well-known Egyptian project developer/owner of the El Gouna resort, plans to crown the Swiss barren with an 8(!)-star hotel. Currently, cows are still grazing the meadows and the alpine farmers are testing a revolt against the immensely rich Egyptian. Nevertheless, his superlative promises impress most of the people, the politicians most of all. Therefore, nobody cares when the hotelier talks about nonsensical 8 stars! In comparison, Burj Al Arab in Dubai has "only" 7 stars. In Switzerland, this can only mean that the guests of Andermatt will soon be drinking milk from happy cows with golden udders. I would suggest Samih Sawiris open up a "cow leasing" business - see another one of our articles today!
Further news: secretiveness about the buyer of Schlosshotel in Berlin, good marks for lifestyle hotels, bad cards for hotel websites, commercial news from health research... and a lot more.
Have a great week.
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief
Any questions? maria@hospitalityInside.com