Dear Insiders,
We use the internet as a way of regularly supplying reliable information - like many others as well. However not all information found on the internet is as reliable as it may seem. Ever increasingly the internet is also being used as a tool for manipulation. Media experts are already warning of systematic manipulation through faked internet postings of consumer opinions or ratings by private individuals.
A dangerous trend is taking form: manipulating the decision to buy though bogus consumer ratings, forged experience reports and fraudulent recommendations on blogs and other consumer forums. The originators of such faked entries generally remain anonymous and any loss of credibility rests solely with the internet. Our reporter, Baerbel Schwertfeger shows that "Web 2.0", the new interactive internet portal, has already reached the travel industry.
Today we stand up to our reputation as European and international magazine particularly well. This winter in Austria sees the opening of more chalet villages than hotels, in Dubai the first tenant quarter has sprouted up through the area for the Festival City, and in Spain Alma - the new owner of the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in Berlin - announces its plans for its boutique hotels.
An unusual contribution this week looks at the Arctic explorer Mike Horn: The adventurer and conqueror of North Pole has a message for managers! I have seldom heard such a clear lecture on management principals as the explorer's speech this week in Bad Ragaz. His book - our reading suggestion - would certainly make a useful addition under any manager's Christmas tree.
The smaller announcements cover many other trends. One is worth a particularly close read in today's difficult times of capital procurement: The public offering of Rezidor. The share offer was signed nine times over! In Stockholm the champagne corks should already be popping, in Brussels Kurt Ritter's favourite Rothschild be open.
We wish you a good start into a hopefully busy December,
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief
Remarks, wishes? maria@hospitalityInside.com