Editorial

Dear Insider,

Imagine that you, as a hotel owner, do not receive any rent for three years. Around one million euros are lost every month. This is what happened to Deka Immobilien, the tenant was/is Liran Wizman's Sircle Collection. The hotel: the W Amsterdam. This week, the court ordered the Sircle Collection to vacate the hotel 15 days after the judgment was signed. But that probably won't happen. A curious story with an open end. And I ask the question again - in the mist of the Revo insolvency: Why do owners/investors put up with this? 

The next story won't save the industry's reputation either. Imagine you have bought an apartment in the Austrian Alps. Is this your main, secondary, work or leisure residence? This may just be a tax issue. However, the locals see this as "cold beds" and reject investments in tourism real estate. This is precisely where the residential market collides with the tourist market, where hoteliers would also like to build more apartments. "Buy2let" is the name of this Austrian specialty that nobody likes anymore. Fred Fettner provides the details.

Dear Insider,

The logic of Revo Hospitality in the last press release two weeks ago was not quite clear to me: The original 125 insolvencies under self-administration suddenly jumped to 175. Our inquiry was answered properly. 

At the same time, I asked the Berlin insolvency law firm Anchor - which has no hospitality clients - whether the (Revo) procedure, which now involves five experts (lawyers), is justified and whether the measures are proportionate. Real estate expert Nicole Riedemann has shed light on a number of points. 

And I can offer you even more transparency today: We have an up-to-date list of about 150 Revo companies affected, which we are publishing today. In addition, Wyndham made its first public statement about the Revo insolvency as part of its 2025 balance sheet presentation. The world's largest franchisor has invested $160 million in Revo. Was that all key money? 

The world keeps turning, dear readers. This is how "a little Italian" gets started: the 15-year-old AG Group. The Group pushed its way through Covid on its own steam, now it wants to grow via white label and attract well-known global luxury lifestyle brands (Accor, Hyatt) to the country. And the majority of its guests are already international. 

Dear Insider,

The first big success of the young partners IHG and Ruby was achieved after just eight months: The global chain gave the lead to the 412-room Ruby Chicago, the first of the Lean Luxury group in the United States. Ruby founder and operator Michael Struck then immediately took over the realisation. The America connoisseur and fan was meticulously prepared. In an interview with me, he describes, among other things, how his US partners are clear, tough and demanding when it comes to securing risks and standards. And he praises IHG for the fact that the chain is always working on the "how", on solutions. The integration of the IHG systems into the 21 operational Ruby Hotels will still take a long time though. IHG partner Novum Hospitality has been saying the same thing for two years. But both also understand the complexity.

After the hard facts, today it's all about "human AI". Meanwhile, robots are flirting with their little eyes and AI software voices are gently cozying up to you. Martina Mara, a respected researcher and robo-psychologist - yes, there is such a thing - warns against this dangerous human warmth! But the new "AI natives" are already on the trip. Nobody is as nice to them as ChatGPT.

And back to the facts - and Revo. Our list of known insolvent Revo Hotels is growing. Since the list was launched a week ago, 15 more hotels have been added, bringing the total to 52. As there will not be an official overview of the insolvent hotels, which is why hospitalityInside does its own research. Support us!

Dear Insider, 

Last Friday we discussed the "collective failure of asset owners, banks and brands". Today we're going into more detail, leaving the head bashing aside. Union Investment and Art-Invest, which have since terminated both Revo contracts, soberly describe their options for reaction. The UI focuses on monitoring and alternatives but will also continue to work with white label operators. Art-Invest clearly demands that owners must generally take on more responsibility. For Hotour Consulting, portfolio deals tend to exude more toxic scents than individual deals, and the consultant and developer Christian Buer criticises the high equity ratios of banks and the role of key money. Susanne Stauss has posed questions and written sensitively on the issue. 

Yesterday, Revo Hospitality wrote a few lines on the status of the insolvency situation for the first time, and our editorial team has started to compile a list of affected Revo hotels in Germany; it does not claim to be complete, but could become a small guide. There will not be an official, complete list, as the responsible Berlin court informed us two weeks ago. 

Change of subject: Spain continues to boom, including in hotel investments, and is keeping its foot on the accelerator. The Netherlands, on the other hand, is much more cautious and selective. Two dynamics in one Europe, compared by Sarah Douag. 

Dear Insiders,

We need to talk. The industry needs to talk to each other after Revo's insolvency (under self-administration); it needs to be honest, to lay itself bare. Why? The German hospitality industry is currently tearing itself apart: "Operator insolvencies are the collective failure of asset owners, banks and branded companies." All stakeholders are sitting in the same shaky house of cards – and are tumbling into the abyss together. They are profit-centred, scale aggressively, and operate without controlled data.

Tigran Manvelyan analyses the structural system error with razor-sharp mathematical logic. He is 28, studied AI, is breaking down the data silos of the hotel industry with the help of AI, and sees the toxic structures of the operator model. Read first, then talk! Meanwhile, we continue our research. Everything takes time, especially in the complex case of Revo Hospitality.

This makes the 2026 forecast for the hospitality industry across Europe all the more positive. The sector is already in a "new cycle" thanks to new value-adding elements, namely revenue, operational performance, and asset quality. UN Tourism also promises sustained tourist flows worldwide. In 2025, 60 million more tourists travelled than in the previous year. Looking at the Global Hotel Alliance's figures for 2025, one is equally amazed by the willingness to travel and spend.

Dear Insiders,

This week's code is REVO. These 4 letters have been worrying many people since last Friday; they fuel emotions, and people are waiting for positive signals or at least some information. Exactly one week ago, the largest German and pan-European hotel operator, Revo Hospitality, filed for self-administered insolvency. The telephones were ringing nonstop (no e-mails!) as I heard from nearly all conversation partners this week. However, no information from Revo.

This week, we were able to collect only a few facts, and we can publish only a little. However, it is more important to prevent bashing of the entire hospitality industry right now. In our article, Hotour asks the market to remain calm and patient. The restructuring of the 140 affected companies could take until fall or even winter, as it can only start on April 1, after the current "pre-insolvency phase" of three months. In addition, we talked to the Napp Group (R+V) about rental and lease guarantees. 

The Revo story hasn't been transparent; it is rather complex and chaotic. But everyone is entitled to learn from mistakes. Therefore, hospitalityInside will question this large insolvency and the behaviour of other stakeholders step by step in the coming weeks. This disaster is a great opportunity to confront the industry with itself. Please share your Revo story or your reflections on the industry with me.

Dear Insider,

Welcome to the 21st year of HospitalityInside. Thank you very much for your congratulations on LinkedIn and your praise for our 20th anniversary! Every Friday, we provide you with news and background information. For the first time, Revo Hospitality did not respond to our questions. Fact is that COO Jonathan Mills and Chief Developer Martin Stegner left the company. And the Pullman Schweizerhof in Berlin, whose planned sale we reported on December 19, is no longer bookable on Booking and the Accor website. But there are other reasons for this.

Blackout in Berlin! 45,000 households were without electricity for four days. That was a New Year's shock. And a learning for the Berlin Hotel Association. The hotels wanted to help those affected (even more), but the city only informed the public on the last day that it would cover the costs of hotel accommodation. Long live bureaucracy. Susanne Stauss researched the background and learned just as much about tricky insurance issues.

The snow is white, winter sports guests are transparent, and the future of alpine sports is bright. Thanks to a large-scale study, the resourceful Austrians know that the season can be successful even with less snow and significantly more winter sports enthusiasts from the USA. "Winter made in Austria is going on a world tour," enthuses the head of Austrian Tourism, who is hoping for higher prices. Fred Fettner was closely following the latest analysis and future plans.

Dear Insider,

After such an exhausting year, I wanted to give our last issue today a more relaxed tone, but then sober reality caught up with us. This week, Union Investment put the Pullman Schweizerhof Berlin up for sale and intends to part with the tenant Revo Hospitality, the largest white-label operator in Europe. The operator is already taking legal action against the termination and plans not to move out. I have spoken to everyone involved. Positive: An experienced hotel manager joined Revo a few weeks ago as Chief Transformation Officer. Will she be the new CEO? Ruslan Husry continues to work intensively on consolidating the company. 

Negative for Treugast, regardless of current events: The Munich-based consultancy had removed Revo Hospitality from its investment ranking at Expo Real and commented on this. It has now signed a cease-and-desist declaration against Revo Hospitality.

The rumours will abound again today. Stay cool! Use the Facts & Figures as a guide. The German hotel market is under more stress than it has been for a long time, for many reasons. The result: more opacity, less credibility. The fast-paced media, but also PR agencies pushed into a corner, contribute to this. My colleagues Susanne Stauss, Sylvie Konzack and I have found examples. 

Dear Insider,

The German operator market is currently buzzing. For months now, we have been seeing a steadily growing wave that is driving smaller operators in particular into the (supposedly) safe haven of the large white label operators. Susanne Stauss asked well-known and very active hotel consultants: Who stands out in the market? Which operators are in demand? Which operators have lost out? Where are the opportunities? Do we need so many brands? Is there added value for international franchisors in micro-locations? Our questions have been answered: Hotour, Nemis, Härle Hotel Solutions and mrp hotels. Their analysis is critical.

Many in the industry have been following the changes at Steigenberger Hotels with raised eyebrows for a while. A restructurer has been on the case for a year now: Dr. Stephan Hungeling. Hospitality is new to him; he judges the industry by efficiency, not from rumours. He is currently weeding out unprofitable businesses, but Steigenberger will continue to grow healthily from 2027. The first synergies with the Chinese parent company H World Group are already taking effect. This starts with significantly lower procurement conditions for all hotels in his area of responsibility, EMEIA. He beams. He has even more plans.

Dear Insider,

Tourism is a cash cow, easily milked by European governments. They have already sharply raised taxes for the hotel industry and airlines or have announced it for 2026. It just keeps coming. Two glaring examples: France wants to introduce an extra VAT of 33% on luxury goods - no more popping of champagne corks. And the British cry "Taxed Out". Passenger tax will rise again by next April, while the 20% VAT for the hospitality sector will remain. This has destroyed 89,000 jobs in the last nine months alone, UKHospitality says. Only in Germany does the VAT on food appear to be being rolled back. 

Investors and operators have already switched to other markets due to the cost explosions, and the hotel market could freeze over, at least in areas, after such a cold tax bath. 

At the end of the day, it's all a question of proportion: The US franchisor Choice Hotels no longer wants to expand in the United States, only in Europe and EMEA. In a mega-interview spanning ten pages, Ricardo Losada Revol, Senior VP International, and David Beers, CEO EMEA, stress: They want to write a new chapter in history with Europe. They are stepping on the gas, already taking over entire hotel bundles in individual countries; only Germany is on hold - too expensive.