Dear Insider,

The French government has now placed hospitality on its "shortage occupation list" and, among other things, is accelerating the hiring of undocumented migrants. The situation is urgent: Since 2021, there has been a shortage of 100,000 employees with 150,000 vacancies unfilled. Every country, city and hotel group now has the same trauma: Maritim and the Rosewood Amsterdam are currently jointly looking for 700 employees; the planned openings are just around the corner.  Both offer a lot of flexibility and perks, just like American hotels. But can this be implemented in practice? Sarah Douag brings us the details. 

Is the software I just bought any good? Every operator hopes so, but who can see through the IT jungle at the ITB alone? And now AI too... We see: Millions of dollars in capital are flowing towards the tech-giants, which in turn are investing again themselves in order to remain the masters of distribution. "AI" now consists of networked "agent tools" - digital helpers in specific areas. In his commentary, Martin Kemmer, a tech-savvy hotelier, warns his colleagues "not to be mere spectators of this development again".  

Dear Insider,

Each year, the ITB sees a veritable flood of figures, analyses and forecasts on the global travel market bubble up from many sources. Performance in 2024 is impressive, and the outlook for 2025 is promising. Despite the tense political (and economic) situation, the tourism industry shows "hardly any signs of disruption", as Fred Fettner notes with regard to current studies. Above all, air travel with a sun guarantee is a perennial favourite. Too expensive? Doesn't matter Holidaymakers tighten their belts in other areas of everyday life.

The mood in the business travel segment is one of upheaval rather than optimism. This is where the economic downturn hits. Experts had expected a permanent 10 to 30 percent reduction in business travel in Germany in the post-coronavirus period. Apparently too optimistic. The nervousness grows. New forms such as Bleisure Travel and Travel in Motion as a way out? Let’s wait and see.

Anyone travelling on business needs accommodation that is budget-friendly and central. Modular hotels are springing up, not least for this target group. Novum CEO David Etmenan and Carsten Fritz, Managing Director of NXTbau, explain in an interview just how fast and sustainable "Lego-style" construction works out in practice for investors and operators. 

Dear Insider,

This week, Ruslan Husry expanded his HR Group by a third of its previous size: by 64 H-Hotels and 10 Intercity and Steigenberger Hotels. The newcomers in the network are showing the multi-brand operator the way from Germany to Europe; no one is currently expanding as fast as Ruslan and the industry is still wondering how he will manage all the new additions both operationally and financially. Read our Breaking News. 

AI for everyone: A free training programme called AI Skills Passport is available to anyone over the age of 16, digitally of course and in five languages. This could secure jobs. Sarah Douag explains the background. Learning AI is becoming a must, after all, the "intelligent colleague" may also mean 300 million jobs in tourism disappear worldwide and that those that remain are then redistributed geographically in Europe. Macy Marvel sees a lot of movement in the jobs and tourism markets. 

What is longevity? Long life. We have already published several critical articles on this tech-driven trend but have also presented serious concepts. Today, the Europe-wide spa expert Dagmar Rizzato motivates hoteliers not to follow this dubious trend, but to first explore the existing potential for well-being. Data alone does not make you healthy.

Dear Insider, 

For two years, Ruby and IHG have been working together on the deal announced this week. Ruby founder Michael Struck sells his Lean Luxury brand for €110 million. Ruby is to grow globally with IHG, but Ruby remains Ruby, across the whole globe. Standard changes, for example, can only be made jointly by the parties involved. Struck has fixed many of the finer points in the contracts, as he told me. And he is delighted with the giant’s global system power. Ruby is the seventh brand born in Germany to be sold to a chain in a decade: Innside to Melià (2007), Steigenberger to Huazhu/H World (2019), prizeotel to Radisson (2019), 25hours to Accor (complete takeover 2020), me and all to Hyatt (2024), Novum (2024) and Ruby (2025) to IHG.

While some are looking ahead, France and Germany, among others, are calling on the EU to row back when it comes to taxonomy. The financial burden of implementing the regulations is generating deep frustration. Experts warn against wanting to spare 80% of companies from the taxonomy - this could lead to two-tier competition, to the detriment of the climate. Sarah Douag brings us the details. At the same time, the WTTC published the announced new roadmap for Travel & Tourism - combined with a call to implement more climate measures and faster too. Simply paradoxical.

Dear Insider,

The Germans cultivate their German Angst, the Spaniards simply roll up their sleeves. This week, real estate experts warned Germany against de-investment and a decline in consumption. Nevertheless, the hotel asset class could salto its way over many an abyss if it looks at urban/local development, thinks about mixed-use, embraces technology in operations and builds regional, sustainable supply chains. However: The cost cocktail remains toxic, says our finance correspondent Beatrix Boutonnet. But the situation is not hopeless.

Sarah Douag was hugely impressed by how many sustainable solutions Spanish destinations, tech experts and hoteliers came up with at Fitur. Nothing works without data and AI, but Benidorm, Valencia and hotels on the Balearic Islands are happy about intelligent water meters, AI-controlled room temperatures and shrinking mountains of waste. We need more of these positive examples!

Dear Insider,

There is far too little of the positive these days, so let's start with something motivating and relaxing: The program for our 8th HITT Think Tank on 26/27 May in Brussels is ready. And the title has been decided too: "Nature's Appeal: Can hospitality be regenerative? Risk, Resilience & Innovation." Yes, this time we are focusing on nature conservation, because preserving biodiversity - the absolute basis for life - is now more important than reducing CO2 emissions. Investors and operators are facing new framework conditions: Projects are increasingly dependent on infrastructure, transportation/mobility and supply. How do nature conservation, project development and tourism growth come together? 

On Day 1, our focus on Sustainability, there will be two long discussion rounds with a large circle of experts, including a tourism politician from the EU Commission. Specific names will follow shortly. Our regular guests know: HITT is the ideal environment in which to ask your own questions. The same applies to Day 2, Innovation. We look for the connection between AI and human work, we discuss how much sense and nonsense AI generates and provide comfort with working examples from augmented reality.  You can register now still with the Early Bird discount!

Dear Insider,

Next week the GMs of Kempinski will meet in Istanbul. There, the new Group CEO Barbara Muckermann will introduce herself and her far-reaching plans. In conversation with me, she described the rough framework: The luxury hotel group is to shrink by around a third of the hotels, dull 5-star hotels will be weeded out and only ultra-luxury gems will survive. Residences will be reduced, the management company should become asset-heavy. So again upheaval, again uncertainty. Why is the former cruise manager presenting such a dramatic change in strategy after just eight months in office? The shareholders from Bahrain have allegedly approved everything. But what do they really want to achieve? Perhaps peppering the management company with trophy assets, then selling the real estate at a high price and leaving the operator standing? I did a lot of research. 

The world apparently only knows extremes and disruption: first smash all the china, then build on the broken pieces. This is also the approach of the Trump administration. It does not want any "climate assets" or green financing. And warns the largest banks in the US not to resist. BlackRock is still holding out. However, European banks could also find themselves in a quandary.

Dear Insider,

Travel is booming and will continue to do so in 2025, despite Trump's whims. This week, the most important institutions have trumpeted this message out to the big wide world: International tourism has finally overcome the pandemic (UN), Travel is booming as an escape from the reality of life (analyses from Austria), the hospitality industry is losing out, but tourism is booming (Germany)... The Austrians were already investing significantly more in hotels in 2024, and a strong upswing is driving massive investments in the new mega-trend of camping, glamping & co - worldwide. Luxury cabins and tents are set to triple in value by 2032! Macy Marvel presents the major camping providers in Europe, including some chains with outdoor fever. 

That's why Franck Gervais is also hyper-positive: The CEO led Europe's largest holiday park provider, the Pierre & Vacances Center Parcs Group (PVCP), from severe financial difficulties back to profit. The increase in revenue is due to higher brand standards, digitisation and the popularity of outdoor holidays. In addition to apartments, there are now cheaper and more expensive cabins and wooden houses, all of which are sustainable. A new price ticket from Comfort to Premium to VIP rooms now hangs on every door. Sarah Douag interviewed the CEO.

Dear Insider,

Forecasts and bare facts, that's how every year begins. But one thing is already changing from my perspective: The future of the industry is increasingly dependent on strategies and decisions over which hoteliers and investors have little or no influence. Taking the Netherlands and Great Britain as examples, we see today how the state is attempting to fill its empty coffers at the expense of tourism and the hotel industry. The Dutch government plans to increase VAT on overnight stays from 9% to 21% in 2026. The hoteliers will lose guests, employees and even investors, while the OTAs will gain. The UK government, on the other hand, will exert even more pressure: Britain is set to increase national insurance contributions from employers by 75%. This will hit part-time employees especially hard. Just two examples from a dangerous game with fire in two countries. Read it yourself!

For political decisions, entrepreneurs often have to take long-term risks. When things get tight, there is a risk of insolvency. Experts predict that insolvencies will increase drastically in Germany in 2025, particularly in the hospitality industry, but now also among the supposedly stable hotel groups. Insolvency under the debtor-in-possession rules may well be the last resort. What strategies will insolvency administrators use and how do they approach their job? To what extent do they take responsibility, for whom and what? We spoke to the Hanover-based law firm Anchor about this - chosen because it does not have any hospitality clients and is therefore unbiased in its response.

Dear Insider,

This week's biggest package comes from the German Lindner Hotels AG: News is that it will send 13 problem hotels (from a portfolio of 41 in total) into self-administered insolvency. The hope is that the hotels will be rehabilitated within just months. Christmas brings calm to a difficult and confused situation. The first meetings with creditors is set to take place on 6 January. Susanne Stauss and I have collected snippets. 

The Lindner case is the third insolvency (in self-administration) of a major German group, after Achat Hotels (in November) and arcona Hotels in 2023; the latter are back on the market after being restructured. They all suffered and still suffer - presumably - from the same cause: excessive lease agreements. Germany's old drama, but always home-made.             

We are a long way away from Christmas fairy tales this year. Heart rates continue to race.