Editorial
Dear Insiders,
How do you handle your money and the money of others? This question could stand above this week's topics.
Money and glamour: In London, once sought-after awards are skipped, because the hoteliers lack the necessary budget to take part in the glamour events! They are desperately saving money. They even spurn the discounted room of their colleague next to Hyde Park. Instead, they prefer taking the train to Paris in the evening - at a special rate - returning back the next morning.
Money and the grand hotel business: Reinhard Baumhoegger, freshly advanced to master franchisee of Accor's Mercure brand, is supposed to evade payment of taxes worth millions.
Money and size: Theo Waigel, former financial minister, is proposed to become a member of Accor's governing body that will be newly elected.
Money and greed: The Hilton Group is emulating InterConti and Starwood - the sale of properties continues. 15 Hilton hotels were just affected in the UK. Cash is floating in millions. And as it proceeded so perfectly, numerous other hotels are up for consideration!
Money and desires: The concept of the Leading Residences arouses a desire for quick money. As the customers more or less "finance the property in advance", the investors sense mega chances. However, timesharing in the luxury sector has its vagaries - and critics. Not every Leading hotelier is fascinated by the new business model of the Leading Hotels of the World. From the chains' point of view, it will cannibalize the management companies.
Money and deals: Distribution via the Internet systematically drags the price of the hotel industry down through the floor. Online room rates are more than 30% lower than those of a standard travel agency.
Money and feelings: A well-performing spa can be a delusion. Without standards of comparison, no benchmarks. Without benchmarks, no intelligent analyses and turnover increases. A basic lesson about spa figures.
Money and money: The Dutch bank NIB Capital is still willing to finance German hotels. Yes, that still exists!
Money and good wishes: That is what those developers need who naively convert a hotel into a residence for elderly people. However, the combination model putting hotel guests and home residents side by side has its traps. An introduction into a topic of the future.
Have a great week!
Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief
Your comments? Please, address to maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
The opening celebrations at the new Radisson SAS Media Harbour Hotel in Duesseldorf this week were marred by the unexpected: Just a few hours before, Al-Qaida bombers attacked the Radisson SAS in Aman killing attendants at a wedding celebration as well as hotel service staff. Rezidor CEO Kurt Ritter and wife flew to Jordan within hours - a decision which guests and staff at the Duesseldorf celebrations naturally accepted as of utmost importance. It was certainly an appropriate gesture at a time when in Germany talks centre exclusively on the figures. The Jordanians were certainly thankful for such a clear sign of solidarity.
In spite of the terrible events, Martin Rinck, Kurt Ritter's new right hand man, still found time to explain Rezidor's approach to risk distribution, a strategy that's allows the company to grow so dynamically and still manage to bring the group out of the red. The top news: a new, fifth brand is to complete their success: Rezidor SAS fixes its future on Missoni - not on Cerruti!
Last week, for the first time in the company's history, Rezidor SAS had to put together a crisis plan; and Germany's hotel lobbyists are unlikely not to need it. The "grand coalition" screams permanent crisis for the German hotel industry. Almost all the experts, associational representatives and directors described the developments as a "slap in the face" for the industry.
Leading Hotels of the World are likely to view the fact that by the end of the year further hotel groups are to leave the exclusive marketing association with similar feelings. Significant opinion leaders in the international hotel industry such as Peninsula Hotels prefer to trust in their own marketing ability that that of Leading. The circle of Leading hotels thus shrinks back to its original members: a collection of privately run hotels.
And because individually run hotels are generally thankful for all the help they can get in marketing, research undertaken by the Austrian Hotelier Association on internet reservation is therefore all the more interesting. Although not able to report the findings in full, we've certainly been able to give enough details to spark curiosity. The study is available at an affordable price.
A pleasant and crisis free week,
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief
Your comments? Please, write to maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
No, it was not a fata morgana in the desert: The Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi is the most boring hotel in the world. It seems that Kempinski no longer see itself as a hotelier, but rather as an administrator of sights out of marble and gold. Read more about this strange palace. There is nothing more to add to this article.
In contrast to that, the talks about the new flood of seniors in over-aged Germany seem to be outright banal. Today, such discussions are much more helpful to the industry than to the ego trips of individual rich investors. Susanne Stauss brought precise tips for the hospitality of the future from a highly interesting HDV conference and bustling discussion forums.
As of today's issue, we strategically approach another quite controversial topic: timesharing. In discussions about luxury hotel financings and mixed-use projects, this term definitely cannot be overheard anymore. That is why, as of now, hospitalityInside.com will provide the difficult facts and many facets in the easiest and most neutral way possible. The biggest and smallest "players" in this international market will be introduced, legal issues will be explained and a lot more. Recently, a representative of the scene said slightly disparagingly: "The knowledge of the hoteliers regarding timesharing comes from the nineties!" You can now change that - with us.
We also care about those who do not necessarily look for the bright spotlights and prefer working quietly in the background. That is also why we have asked the Dorint resorts about what happened during the first months after the "renunciation" of Accor. After all, here, a new German resort hotel group is quietly emerging.
Your Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief
Your opinion? Write to me under maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
Did you already know? More than a third of the working hours worldwide are ineffectively wasted. Main causes are mistakes and weaknesses of the management and more precisely: inefficient meetings. Today, we will get to the root of the matter - even if some hotel groups think they already practice efficient meetings! We will provide some basic rules to all of those who have not yet thought about this topic.
If rules and regulations are not being kept, surfing in the internet may cause serious consequences. What to do, if the television reveals the password for the e-mail account of the last guest? Recently, an IT hunter from London pointed out security leaks in hotels at a hacker conference. We appealed to the honesty of the hotels and asked for information about these reproaches. But no one in the industry - who wonders? - admitted knowing about it. Despite that, we have found an expert, an external IT professional, who definitely knows about facts.
Our new author Macy Marvel followed the rules of the Travel Search Engines. He claims: search engines like Google or Yahoo are developing into a further distribution channel.
In case you long for some relaxation after all that demanding brain food: several articles deal with the nucleus of the Thalasso therapy of Accor in Brittany and with their changing concept.
Until next Friday,
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief
Your comments? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
The news of the week was definitely provided by Cendant. The giant company from New Jersey clearly justifies the splitting of its group into four independent companies: the restructuring is necessary, as the shareholders want to see more yield. Good-bye hospitality! It is hardly possible to show narcissistic hosts and long-serving patrons more drastically that their noble convictions no longer count, but that it is solely the "dough". It is no longer about hospitality, but about business, regardless of what kind. Excluding Cendant's hospitality part from the corporate structure will leave it exposed to a harsher wind on the market. In the end, the company will become a much easier target for the takeover bids of the Blackstones and Colonys of this world... That is my opinion. Two of our external hotel experts provide a commentary about the current situation from their point of view.
The news from Starwood has to be seen as well in this respect: the profit of the quoted company suffered a massive slump in the third quarter and immediately, CEO Steven J. Heyer announces the selling of property worth between two and four billion US dollars. Here, somebody is also in desperate need of "cash in his till" - for greedy, yield-hungry shareholders.
The pressure to make money is closely connected to the compulsion to save money. Not only is this reflected in the big international context, but also in the small German one. The purchasing companies are experiencing a boom! Every cent counts, from ordering salad to buying cars or paying for energy. Behind the scenes, the hoteliers are becoming ruthless traders demanding more and more services from the purchasing companies. Here, a change is taking place as well, in the name of the cash register.
In this issue, you'll read how the Brenner's Park-Hotel & Spa in Baden-Baden is separating its cash register from that of the physicians of the medical spa. Read also about the new advance by the Rosebud group to finally change the Swiss mega resort Buergenstock into a profitable hotel. And regarding Kempinski's MBA, it is naturally about the "cash in the till", too. Its realisation causes some confusion, at least in our heads.
Enjoy reading.
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems
Any comments? Please, address to maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
The hotel business is always complaining about lack of professionalism. But only the very few complete their training. Kempinski for years has been an example to the whole branch with the MBA. ArabellaSheraton celebrated its first 18 MBA graduates two weeks ago. All the same, there's still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Master of Business Administration. Baerbel Schwertfeger, special reporter for Management and Training, takes the subject to task.
Since the turnover collapse in the wake of 9/11, more and more hotel chains are beginning to look for alternative sources of profit. One of them is online shopping. Not all of them are able to produce concrete figures, but first attempts show that demand does indeed exist. And that the Americans have particularly mastered the marketing game is once again clearly apparent. "hotluxury.com" is the name of the website on which all hoteliers can sell their entire interior design programme.
To sell and to sell yourself are very obviously two very different kettles of fish. The Maybourne Group - the remaining hotels of the former Savoy Group in London - made little professional impression in Munich. All the same, the Irish owner's should certainly not be lost from sight.
To walk through your own spa with open eyes is the advice of our expert, Judy Singer today. She's put together a number of tips that can help turn every corner of the spa to a small profit zone.
This and much more in today's edition of hospitalityInside.com. Have fun discovering!
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-chief
Your comments? Welcome! maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
The ExpoReal trade fair in Munich that ended on October 12, experienced another huge crowd of visitors. The inexpensive German real estate market is attracting foreign investors like the land of milk and honey. The introduction of G-REIT that would make investments much easier is being eagerly awaited. In the meantime, hotel developers are committed to a common trend: budget and design.
The international real estate fair ExpoReal in Munich confirmed the feeling that could already be felt throughout the industry in the run-up. The drop in prices in the German real estate sector has been registered by many foreign investors, and on the desks of agents and consultants, the requests for suitable objects are piling up, even for hotels. According to the investors, those who have enough time will be able to benefit from the medium-term recovery of the German real estate market.
Insiders of the German hospitality industry, however, do not expect the price structure and therefore the success of the industry to change in the short term. Meanwhile, this has resulted in numerous concepts that have got underway as to how to make budget hotels attractive to thrifty guests. The solution: combining budget and design.
While the next generation of budget hotels tries to make up for a lack of room size and decor through highlights and brightened up public areas, only those concepts will survive that provide special experiences/adventures in the resort hotel industry. This includes authentic Ayurveda treatments introduced by our author Baerbel Schwertfeger and vacation concepts that bring people into harmony with nature.
An example of this is the Six Senses Resorts. Their hideaway Soneva Fushi on the Maldives that opened ten years ago is among the most famous resort destinations in the luxury sector. In this issue of hospitalityInside.com, we will highlight how consistently the symbiosis of the exotic, luxury and ecology is realised there.
The content of our online magazine today also encompasses different topics concerning this vivid industry.
Enjoy reading and discovering.
Yours, Susanne Stauss
Senior Editor
Your comments? Please, write to susanne@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
Almost at the same time, two German hotel professionals are founding research institutes: the one in Munich concentrates mainly on hotel real estate, while the second in Heilbronn focuses more on hotel management. Both are dedicated to making the industry more professional. This is urgently necessary, not only because the image of the hotel industry is bad and the entire industry as such is hardly noticed in public and politics.
On an international level, German hoteliers are considered to be disciplined, perfect organisers and are therefore "taken on with pleasure". But in their own country, things are different. Here, many hoteliers are considered provincial as well as immune to travelling and consulting. And the younger ones are regarded as being entirely focused on their career. As long as the industry supports two-year contracts and the young hotel industry professionals are rushing up the career ladder, the high fluctuation will continue. In this case, fluctuation means running away - running away from their own professionalism. What is easier than giving in the first time their boss turns up his nose? Those who are forced to stay longer have to put up with unpleasant things. They have to learn about markets and certain topics - and therefore they have to invest time in their professional training.
The practice automatically leads to research then. Linking these two aspects can only be welcomed by the industry. That is why we are keen to see the issues that are to be analysed by the new Treugast Institute in Munich as well as the Executive MBA programme that is being initiated, among others, by Prof. Dr. Christian Buer in Heilbronn.
Wherever professionals are no longer in a network or see themselves at a disadvantage, new networks are forming. The recently founded "Industry Travel Club" in Frankfurt is a good example of this, even though the names reaching the public are always the same. But from this idea, a vivid industry platform may evolve.
Professionalism is demanded in every field: Only then do the Achat Hotels that have already been written off on the side grow to become a franchisor. And only then can mega chains like Marriott manage to introduce room concepts on a group level and at controlled cost.
Improve your professional networks! hospitalityInside.com is happy to help you achieve this. We too are in a continuous improvement process.
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief
Your comments? Please, address to: maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
Even fault loans could mean good bargains! As financial investors will sell their properties in the short or medium term, new chances are opening up for hoteliers willing to buy properties, as a property is not always bad just because the connected loan cannot be serviced. Our editor Anne Wiktorin, an expert on the real-estate and financial service market, describes the development of the non-performing loans. The dimension of this issue can be recognised, among other things, by the fact that there will be a congress on Non-Performing Loans in Germany on October 5 in Frankfurt and on November 9 and 10 in Berlin. And it will surely be an issue at this year's ExpoReal in Munich, which will begin in two weeks.
Last night, there finally was the official announcement regarding the sale of the Aldiana Clubs to the Spanish construction company Santana Cazorla. If the Thomas Cook brand will become a good bargain for the buyer is still open. That decision will bring up numerous questions as Cazorla is also connected with TUI.
NH's future with Buehlerhoehe has already been decided. Dietmar Hopp, otherwise quiet and controlled, doesn't want to clear the portfolio of Buehlerhoehe, but certainly wants to clear Buehlerhoehe of NH. He has, after all, a direct comparison: His golf resort in France is run by Four Seasons, "a super chain" he praises. He's still looking for investment opportunities but more in real estate than in hotels. The multi-billionaire knows what he wants and above all, when he has had enough of difficult partners. Our interview is clear in this much.
Another development comes with a lot less drama: the first hotel chains have begun offering Internet access for free. Here, a new field of competition is becoming apparent, which is mainly about attracting business travellers. However, the whole thing is still nothing but a confusing mess of prices for the moment. Our list comparing Internet access rates points this out. A request to the hotel groups to reconsider their offers!
Currently, the Americans are debating a lot about design hotels and hotels with boutique character. But Germany can keep up with that. Here, the profitable business with the niche hotels is gradually beginning to grow. In this way, individual initiatives aiming at mini lifestyle chains are opening up.
These few issues mentioned here mark a huge general trend concerning the tourism and hotel industry: changes either affect the entire market/great parts of the market or the niches. Executives think and act in extremes. The industry events and congresses in October will surely contribute some issues to that.
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief
Your comments?
Please, write to: maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
The most recent list of HVS International about the best paid hotel manager is somewhat provoking the ego of all CEOs. Who receives how much as a basic income and how big is the bonus on top of that? Those who earn the most belong to the circle of the "usual suspects". Nonetheless, when studying the table, the question for commensurate remuneration remains. Are 3.3 million dollars as basic salary + 15.2 million as a bonus still justifiable for the head of Cendant? By the way, there are certainly no European hotel names in this multi-million dollar poker game. And asking why makes no sense at all.
We give you the profiles of the industry's top managers, not only as pure facts and figures, but also with many personal details. With today's issue, we will start a new series on the travel habits of CEOs and other hospitality managers. And as I myself was a guest at Six Senses Resorts & Spas on the Maldives this week, you will read the details of their frequent travelling CEO Sonu Shivdasani and find out what he cares about most. By the way, the interview about the stressful nature of his job took place in a very relaxing atmosphere - below palm trees in the ecological design resort Soneva Fushi.
A totally different form of positioning can be observed at ArabellaSheraton and its joint venture partner Starwood Hotels & Resorts. As it is now clear that the US hotel group will be managing the hotels of Le Méridien, a triad relationship is created regarding brand and management. What happens, if both brands are pitching for the same hotel in one city? hospitalityInside asked some concrete questions to the responsible managers of ArabellaSheraton and Starwood - receiving nothing but evasive answers from Starwood. Industry experts make up their own mind about Starwood's role with Méridien: and that does not look good for ArabellaSheraton.
The Grand Hotels Bad Ragaz is also working on their repositioning. They want to combine their established main pillar health with wellness. "Medical wellness" is to increasingly fill the hotel beds in future. In contrast, most other health and wellness resorts in the German-speaking market like the Grand Hotels Bad Ragaz, have already had extensive experience with doctors and guests/patients.
So much for today's main topics. But even in our little reports and news you will read more about positionings and market positions.
I wish you an exciting week.
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief
Please, write to: maria@hospitalityInside.com