Editorial

Dear Insider,

Is it possible to think like an Indian and act like a German? In theory, yes, but the differences in culture and in how quality and profit are defined do tend to come to the fore – in the 'little' things of working life. Our first article today explores the structure of PRISM in a little more depth – to help us understand the size of this tech giant and what drives the hotel operator. What are 'storefronts'? This unusual method of counting (for Europeans) shows, amongst other things, just how small the hotel sector is in Europe compared with all other types of accommodation. So, they will acquire even more hotels in Germany than the 24 that PRISM confirmed this week. Yes, the contracts have been officially signed, according to the Indian PR manager. We checked the list of names to see if all the hotels were still available for booking.

PRISM's managers are open and answer questions in a friendly and polite manner. However, due to the IPO application, much of the information provided to the press is severely restricted, so we have turned to our own extensive network. We noticed a great deal of nervousness and some odd behaviour during the first 'blind transfers of undertakings'.

Suddenly, an auditor from India turns up unannounced in the lobby; ad hoc requests for system access are made; the hotel staff are frustrated; and those who have spontaneously been handed their notice are still trembling. And just as it was back when US chains first ventured into Europe, it is now the Indians who are struggling with German law, for example with German works councils and the GDPR. Our sources point to weaknesses in operational implementation – more than we are describing today. That’s why most people call it chaos, speaking confidentially.

Dear Insider,

Latest from the court: In proceedings in Amsterdam, the Pension Fund of the Berlin Dental Association (VZB) had applied for an investigation into the business practices and management of Grand Metropolitan Hotels Holding B.V. (GMH), for the suspension of the chairman and for the appointment of an independent person (a lawyer) to the board. The court granted this request yesterday. Both companies are linked through a joint venture.

GMH Holding B.V. announced the "split" yesterday in a press release of its own. The general consensus was that an agreement with the VZB was clearly no longer possible. Smura points out that B.V. is an investment holding company within the existing structure and should not be equated with the GMH Group.

And we're staying in Amsterdam for a while longer. This time, Dutch hoteliers have taken the city to court – because it is set to raise taxes relentlessly and consistently until 2031. The first step was to increase VAT from 9% to 21% on 1 January this year. Then there's the tourist tax on top of that. Already, instead of paying €100 for the room, they're paying €133.50, and by 2031 it will be €141. Crazy. The first impact is already apparent.

Dear Insider,

A ranking of hotel chains has piqued our curiosity: India’s OYO has moved up three places in terms of the number of rooms, placing it between IHG and Accor. OYO has grown by around 350,000 rooms year-on-year in 2025/26. How do you grow so quickly? Through takeovers, yes. But in this case, it's also due to a franchise model that is considerably less rigorous than the American one. Whilst Wyndham and Choice also place importance on room quality, this seems to be less of a priority for OYO. Our author, Macy Marvel, has uncovered this and many more figures on the subject. I’m sure we're all keen to see how a tech company can become a competitive hotel operator in the European market.

A lively discussion on technology and AI lasted two and a half hours at our HITT Think Tank in May. We learnt: AI is not a strategy, but a toolbox. And that the big chains are not neutral players in the data debate. Franchisees therefore find it difficult to familiarise themselves with the entire AI toolkit. Details like these is the spice in the data lake soup.

Dear Insider, 

The Swiss countryside is as colourful as the Swiss hotel schools. The majority of them are owned by profit-making companies. There were also M&A deals in this segment. The number of students from Asia and Russia is falling; this is partly due to the strong Swiss franc and the relaxation of banking secrecy. Some hotel schools have also done themselves a disservice, for example through overly ambitious construction projects. Our author, Prof. Macy Marvel – who lectured at the EHL for 18 years – describes the changes and the current pressures facing these world-renowned educational institutions.

Charlie MacGregor, the founder of The Social Hub, loves disruption. He’s been thinking out loud where the revenue figures will be and what social communities and with what values will continue after his death. As well as two of his 21 "hubs" (hotels), he has also built a "Social Park" next to them in Rome and Florence. He sees a new "purpose" that brings locals and visitors together. The Social Hub in Rome is worth €13.8 million. How does it all fit together? Sarah Douag listened intently to this socially minded maverick. 

Max Schlereth too once went his own way; he set up Derag Serviced Apartments in Germany. These have long been known as Living Hotels – and now this courageous entrepreneur is converting a historic building from the Nazi era in Hamburg into a luxury boutique hotel. In addition, a new upscale brand for living has been announced. 

Dear Insider,

Please cool off – in the hotel! Seven hotels in the lovely little town of Mainz (near Frankfurt) are offering a cool double room during the hot weather, for just €55. It must be at least 33 degrees, and the weatherman must have forecast the heat five days in advance.

The German hotel industry has been smouldering since January this year. Behind the scenes, the sell-off continues as part of the Revo insolvency proceedings. The leading insolvency solicitors have everything under control – or so they believe. Four weeks ago, they announced five groups of bidders, but they still haven't revealed their names. The only thing that helps is media research. Thanks to the Federal Cartel Office, Motel One has now been ‘officially’ identified as intending to take over 10 properties. An interview in Israel reveals a new player entering the fray: the developer and investor Israel Canada plans to enter the German hotel market through its company “Brown Hotels” – via five operating agreements and one property (four of which are H Hotels from the Revo estate), according to the newsletter tageskarte.

Dear Insider,

Bold aspirations, shattered dreams, green buildings, a windfall, the courts, AI and mega-projects are the focus of today's edition. Marriott's management in Bethesda is unhappy that 51 Marriott owners, who own nearly 1,000 hotels, want a larger share of Bonvoy’s revenue and are also demanding transparency. Sarah Douag has taken a look behind the scenes.

Saudi Arabia has lost face. The colossal NEOM project is scaling back, and with it, its financial clout. There is a shortfall of $16 billion needed to terminate the contracts that are still in force. The damage this project has caused to nature, the environment and people is incalculable. Sarah – who was in the mood for writing this week – was on the hunt for figures.

The architects at the renowned Japanese firm Kengo Kuma & Associates quarried the material for the façades of the new Silk Towers from a tuff quarry – right on their doorstep in Batumi, Georgia. Local resources, wood and precise wind measurements, for example, point the way to the future of urban life. This is about the harmony between nature, living and social. Susanne Stauss reports: The presentation and discussion were part of our HITT Think Tank in Brussels.

Dear Insider,

There was no new news from Revo Hospitality this week; it appears that the contracts with the five identified operator groups have not yet (all) been signed.

There are other topics though, positive ones too: For example, independent hotels that are weathering the crises successfully thanks to their KPIs, cost management, investment strategy and staff. Karin Leeb and Martin Klein, the third generation to run the Wellnesshotel Hochschober in Carinthia, are disruptors and innovators in their own right. Since taking over the business 12 years ago, they have invested €41 million. This 116-room hotel is one of Austria’s pioneers in wellness: it boasts a perfect lakeside location, complete with a lido, a pool and sauna area, and a Chinese tower as an exotic landmark; it is a trailblazer in vegetarian-vegan cuisine, and employs 130 staff from 22 countries. Plus over 100 free (!) services and activities included exclusively for their guests. From yoga to herb walks and cold baths to dance classes… No, it's not a commercial "All-in" package; quite the opposite: This hotel is a cut above the rest and thinks differently. It is outgrowing its values. And the calculations are precise. And with success.

Dear Insider,

Since the recent headlines about Revo and the break-up of the company this week, we have been contacted by owners who do not trust the insolvency proceedings. If any other owners or (potential) operators have anything to share on this matter – in confidence, of course – then you know where to find me. Everyone is now waiting to find out the names of the five groups that wish to operate the 120 hotels in future. In the meantime, we are continuing our research.

To change things up a little, today we're bringing you entertainment from Mews, home of the mavericks. At its annual "Unfold" event in Amsterdam, the software company first brought a quirky solo guitarist onto the stage, followed by a cartoonist who coaxed "the child" out of the 700-strong audience and sketched their emotions and dreams. This paved the way for the great 'magic' of the hotel industry, which still embodies the unconventional, but no longer lives it. The receptionist is the one who shapes that first impression; it's just that they've been trained out of being creative. It's just wonderful to see how man and machine come together here. Mews is redefining "AI" (Artificial Intelligence) – as "Authentic Interaction" (AI). Sarah Douag was delighted.

Dear Insider,

Airbnb is on the rise again. Indian tourists, for example, booked 50% more overnight stays in the first quarter of this year than in the same period last year. Given such sharp fluctuations in the markets, another piece of news would almost have gone unnoticed: The key performance indicators for hotels on Airbnb are growing at twice the rate of the overall business. That means: Hotel bookings are making up for the decline in short-term rentals. It is not yet clear exactly what the hotel strategy will look like. But this: Airbnb has a technical infrastructure that helps to integrate hotels on a large scale at low cost and keep booking fees down. Sarah Douag on the quiet overhaul of the Airbnb platform and the power of its data. 

The Raiffeisen Association of Salzburg (RVS) is also quietly making its way through the region. It provides funding for almost 70 percent of tourism businesses and tourism infrastructure, such as cable cars. Tourism makes a significant contribution to the gross regional product and is responsible for 40,000 full-time jobs. Great: at last, a main bank for SMEs! Yes and no: The bank acts as a hotelier itself and can compare its own figures with those of the independent hotels applying for credit. No wonder the RVS continues to encourage hoteliers to invest in its own "forum". And two success stories are presented: that of the Brandlhof in Austria and that of Europapark in Rust.

Dear Insider,

Things are really heating up in the industry at the moment. Sircle Group and Revo Hospitality are finding themselves increasingly mired in negative headlines, and their misconduct is no longer an isolated incident. No, their behaviour is becoming the norm – and not just in Germany, but across Europe and internationally. Property owners and landlords are facing empty coffers. The only recourse left is the courts, which Deka Immobilien and Pandox are now also turning to. Everyone wants their rent arrears, in some cases amounting to millions.

As my colleague Sarah Douag has noted, the Sircle case – involving over € 30 million in lost rent – is the largest to date, the longest-running and the most structurally complex. Revo's debts are not yet known.

Gradually, a picture is emerging of a chain that begins with a complex web of holding companies, through which subsidiaries apparently pass on fees and other revenue through so many layers that, by the time it reaches the owner at the end of the chain, no money remains. Insiders are familiar with such "intercompany structures", which are often set up for the purpose of money laundering. Landlords will therefore be under greater pressure than ever before to monitor the tenant and their behaviour. Furthermore, the so-called 'good old' sale-and-leaseback process needs to be redefined; at present, when misapplied, it is one of the root causes of the problem. Dive right into this fascinating article.