Editorial

Dear Insiders,

After this week's talks, I note that the Germans fear the Delta variant. The Delta share was at 74 percent yesterday. Mainly people returning from Spain are bringing the variant along with them. But that goes unnoticed in everyday life. So don't panic, please! Before we get proactively hysterical and start cancelling the fall meetings and trade fairs in our minds, we should wait and see how the British do when all coronavirus restrictions are lifted next Monday after the "infectious" European Football Championship.

Stay positive – as everybody needs business again. Particularly the Germans. Last Tuesday, July 13, marked the so-called tax payers' memorial day – the moment the Germans work for themselves again. Up to this date, every German has given 53% of their annual income to the state. Almost nothing will come from the hotel industry this year.

Professor Stephan Gerhard no longer has any desire to experience such desolate figures, and certainly no more pandemics. The investor, who also acts as a tenant and operator in his company network, is taking precautions: He has enforced special clauses covering pandemics and hyperinflation in all agreements. No more agreements without these clauses! he says firmly. Today, you will read what this looks like and the hardship that went into it. The Graf von Westfalen law firm provides its neutral legal perspective on this issue.

Hotel operators are also sweating for another reason during the start of the peak season: They lack personnel! This topic will remain a constant issue as highlighted by us on many occasions. So start attracting trainees and secure the next generation at an early stage! But a cross-industry study turns out to be completely frustrating: Youngsters google for apprenticeships while employers do not place any ads on this channel. Furthermore, companies whitewash the working reality. Shame on you! But Petra Barta, General Manager of the Die Wasnerin hotel in Austria, would certainly receive excellent feedback: Only three of her 90 employees quit their job during the corona crisis.

Human resources is a "sustainable" topic and even part of the ESG Goals. Hyatt's idea to publish data on its employee diversity on a newly developed mega platform, to raise awareness against human trafficking in training sessions, and to increase workplace quality through well-being may once again seem overly American from a European perspective. Globally, however, it is becoming all the more important with respect to a more sustainable, i.e. social, world as a basis for flourishing tourism. Covid-19 clearly reveals how unequal the world actually is.

This is why small steps are so important at the moment: In Venice, mega cruise ships will be banned from October 1 on. That's good and it is a start. The German Alltours tour operator wants to welcome solely vaccinated and recovered guests at its allsun hotels – which is being criticised by hoteliers. Germany wants to replace the infection rate factor by a new, not yet existing value – okay, at least they are thinking about it.

Xenia zu Hohenlohe from the Considerate Group and sustainability expert Tony Williams have thought a lot about innovations, systems, benchmarks and certifications. And about the new, still invisible drivers from the world of finance who collectively want the same thing: Making sustainability measureable in order to give investors peace of mind. The hospitality industry is one of the sectors that is most quickly targeted by the new "Masters of the Measurement". Xenia and Tony will be discussing this topic on September 14 at the HospitalityInside Think Tank. Please find more about this on our first page and at www.hitt.world.

The storm disaster in Germany on Wednesday is a consequence of climate change and doing nothing. 80 people have paid for this with their lives by this morning, and complete infrastructures have been destroyed in the affected regions. Nature strikes back. 

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

The world keeps turning between science and madness: The European Football Championship has been responsible for more than 2,500 corona cases, but nonetheless, Boris Johnson has been cordially inviting crowds of fans to the island and since yesterday, other double vaccinated people. Despite vaccinations and tests, 180 Dutch people got infected after attending a party. Everyone simply wants to party – and go on holiday without a mask! And even though some schools will soon open up again, there are still no air filters in the second year of corona.

Once again, there is perfect chaos. There is again no strategy for dealing with a potential fourth wave. A fourth lockdown is currently impossible as well, as courts would rebuke the government due to the basic rights. In September, there will be elections. So better open all the borders, remove all restrictions and dodge the virus variation storm! And off into the recess of parliament...

None of these "top managers" would survive on the free market. Those bearing real responsibility in the crisis do not run away. Instead, they keep working non-stop, thinking about new concepts and sustainable ideas.

"We need to stay as flexible as possible," says Volker Kraft answering the crisis in the retail sector, and considering the chances provided by the crisis regarding the initial hotel fund by ECE Real Estate Partners. The company's core business revolves around shopping malls, but trade and hospitality will be reconnecting differently in the cities. City malls will stay strong! Only ordering and picking up will adjust themselves. Not only does he support his store tenants via lease reduction, but also via a digital mall. And the lobby of the first acquired fund object in Venice will be turned into a mini mall. Thinking differently, thinking out of the box, creating new things: Ascan Kókai, hotel investment expert, explains how and where ECE aims at investing its millions in the future.

But small players can also make it big in the crisis: The German spa town of Bad Muenstereifel used to lead a spiritless existence, but then the real estate professionals arrived. In 2019, a total of 2.4 million shopping fans visited the town, all of them chasing fashion brands among the half-timber house idyll. Hotels and restaurants greatly benefit from this.

The radical conversion of the Pierre & Vacances Center Parcs Group is a totally different issue: A big mountain of debt burdens Europe's largest leisure provider. The strict 5-year plan is full of promises. Everything is becoming green, local, sustainable, slow – with holiday huts and homes full of Millennial families. Committed to pure nature and simple, but more frequent trips per year, this target group is just the right booster CEO Franck Gervais needs. He did his homework at Accor.

All that requires a lot of courage, strength and vision. The movers & shakers that are participating in our HITT Think Tank in September know that as well: Adrian Flueck from the Invesco Real Estate investment company, Executive Olaf Demuth from the multi-billion Zech construction company, and Thomas Schlereth architect, developer and owner of the sustainable Serviced Apartment Hotel Soulmade in Munich will be discussing their ideas and financial viability of sustainable hotels intensely and controversially! All of them hate green washing. I am aware of this and more since our briefing. Let me present these gentlemen to you today on our first page.

In addition, it feels great to be able to say today: The HITT programme is complete! All of the experts have accepted their invitation. You can find the final version with all the names on www.hitt.world. This is the result of - so far - 10 months of research and thinking out of the box with our team and advisory committee. So far, I've learned a whole lot of new things. Now we just need you - people who passionately discuss with us for the sake of a new sustainable era! arly Birds still benefit until next Thursday, 15 July.

And this is why I hope that you will also learn more from our news today, for example, on the global Covid-19 consequences, the hotel transaction during the first half of the year, about NH's Recovery Plan, the allure of Spanish resort destinations and the slowly returning life in German cities. By the way, the change also reflects itself in the personnel news today and, as usual, in our news mix.

Expo Real decided to close one hall after the registration deadline. Therefore, the "World of Hospitality" will move to Hall A1. In the meantime, ten companies have confirmed their participation in the joint stand. With the move, space has become scarce, so talk to us if you still want to exhibit.

Have another good week,
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

The corona state aids might be enough to survive, say the CEOs and CFOs of the German hotel groups HRG, Motel One, Deutsche Hospitality, RIMC and Solutions Holding today – however, in combination with a big "but" … They all welcome the extended bridging aid III but still remain very cautious. The crisis is far from over yet.

The government is less cautious when it comes to travel rules: Yesterday, Germany lifted general travel warnings for 80 corona risk areas, and no longer advises against tourist travels abroad in principle. However, no agreement could be reached on entry rules for returning vacationers this week – which annoys many citizens, especially because of the threatening delta scenarios, which are conjured up on a daily basis. I contend: The politicians in Berlin are now just going hunting for votes, and the German population is becoming victim to egoism and greed for power again, based on incompetency and the inability to make decisions.

The Plaza Hotel Group, however, was able to decide very quickly to help the now ailing Maritim Hotels and buy some of their floors, in order to provide the old but large rooms with comfort and a kitchenette. Susanne Stauss talked to Managing Director Yonca Yalaz about this off-market deal.

Also in Italy, it's the small and silent changes or the big announcements that describe the shift in the market. The signals are being sent out by wealthy owners and hotel groups as well as individual players. Massimiliano Sarti on the Mediterranean hunger for investment and expansion.

And we cannot ignore Asia: Louvre Hotels first tried out their new smart hotel concept in Shanghai, now it has been transferred to Lyon. The heart of the concept: A web app, which allows guests to control many features via QR code. Many more innovations will come from Asia – or from the US: Apple is in the process of making the hotel app superfluous. In this country, however, the focus is still on new apps and not on automated process chains, which make life easier for hoteliers – as they will have to manage with even fewer employees in future.

The staff shortage is severe: In all conversations I have on this topic, I hear from nearly every Central European country that every business or group has lost one third of their staff members due to the pandemic. Hotels in Vienna are now able to provide figures for this misery: 38% of the employees want to stay and 38% want to leave – also because they do not have enough money to secure their livelihood.

Human resources will decide about efficiency and competition in future. And HR is even becoming a focus of state regulation – against the backdrop of climate change and sustainability. This is made clear by our two legal experts from the global law firm of Baker McKenzie. At the HospitalityInside Think Tank on September 13, Xavier Junquera and Dr Ulrich Hennings will explain the enormous pressure that is created by state regulation and the consequence for cost calculation, agreements and partners. Please find more on this on our first page and all the details on www.hitt.world! We are looking forward to your registration! In Munich, only 50 people will be allowed to take part in person...

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

July and August are approaching, the travel months of the year. The Delta variant is equally mobile and fears of a relapse into restrictions and quarantines circulate. Hoteliers in the Balearic and Canary Islands will be hit again. In Menorca, for example, everyone is desperately waiting for the British: They make up 80% of the tourists there. Positive news from Italy: Some regions report "sold out", at least for the month of August. Beatriz de Lucas and Massimiliano Sarti let us know how the season is going.

Such contradictions are probably the norm at the moment; there is still a long way to go before we can speak of safe travel in Europe. The EU Covid certificate, which is supposed to make life easier for travellers from next Thursday, has also not yet been implemented in all member states. There is also a six-week transition period here.

In Switzerland, too, not everything is fixed yet. From tomorrow on there will be more relaxation and entry permits for third countries, but only for those who are vaccinated and not for those who have recovered from infection or who only have tests to show. Another small detail that makes a big difference in everyday life...

In Switzerland, by the way, the para-hotel industry will catch up significantly with the classic hotel industry this year: While bed & breakfasts, mountain huts, campsites and youth hostels suffered greatly in 2020, the increase in bookings is now exhilarating. According to one study, self-catering accommodation in the mountain region of Andermatt has even caused property prices and rents to shoot up. Macy Marvel provides facts and figures.

It's nice when business is good. But employees are lacking everywhere. The "employees recruit employees" model offers an opportunity to find employees faster and with even better qualifications. Ask your employees to post job openings on their own social media channels! It works, the technology and healthcare industries are already demonstrating it. Frequent personnel changes can even become an advantage! The hotel industry is ideal for this, Thomas Bittner says encouragingly, an experienced organisational psychologist, and has benchmarks to back up his statement.

Creditreform has certified that the industry has a high risk of insolvency, but two specialist lawyers dismiss the warnings: No insolvency tsumami currently in sight in Germany! However, it can still happen if the over-indebtedness increases in the next few months.

The pandemic hit hard: The top 50 hotel brands recorded massive losses in brand value last year. It fell from $70 billion to $47 billion. Hilton remains the best in the loss year. We bring you further reports on the capitals of the four Nordic hotel markets, on the repositioning of the operator Primestar and, of course, lots of information on the market.

And last but not least, it's "Urban Hospitality under Fire"! Not today and here, but on 14 September during our Think Tank. Gesa Rohwedder, Head of Hospitality at Drees & Sommer, will discuss Mixed Use and new hotel concepts with the participants, combined with an exclusive live premiere: She presents a demonstrator that can be used to plan "mixed use concepts" digitally. More on this on page 1!

Munich Trade Fair has also extended the registration deadlines for exhibitors to 30 June. So you still have a chance to enter the "World of Hospitality" 2021 for a reasonable registration fee!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

Finally, infection rates and the weather are in sync – and the mood is clearly brightening up. The run on pharmacies in Germany to transfer the paper vaccination pass into a digital version tells a lot. But nonetheless, the situation is still fragile. Entrepreneurs as well as each individual still have to be mindful about their responsibility. Vaccinations are no carte blanche, and not every vaccine provides the promised effect as we learned from Curevac this week.

Again and again, there are incalculable depressions. Wearing masks a few weeks longer is nothing compared to the dangerous Delta variation that is currently cutting new corona paths and could lead to increased travel restrictions.

Everyone still in the Covid-19 grip is afraid of the latter: business and MICE hotels. Fairmas recorded a pitiful 13.8% occupancy and 10.60 euros of RevPAR in its statistics for May across Germany's A cities.

City hotels are truly suffering. In this respect, the initiative of the four hotel groups of 25hours, Motel One, Accor Northern Europe and Vienna House that aim at starting a joint marketing campaign to boost business travel is a great idea. They are also calling on other hotels to join in!

And this news from Wednesday is extremely pleasing: Expo Real will be taking place again in October! Finally, things are getting physical again with roughly 300 main exhibitors from 25 countries so far divided across six halls. Only vaccinated, tested and recovered visitors are allowed, which will provide safety among all those ups and downs.

Our "World of Hospitality" will be located in hall A2 next to the restaurant and is happy about the initial eight co-exhibitors. Until June 23, you can join us as a co-exhibitor at a reduced fee. You will find all the details on our page 1.

The pandemic has set back everything and everybody. It is a long way back, also for Novum Hospitality. CEO David Etmeman is granting us the first interview after slipping under the umbrella of the Economic Stabilisation Fund in December 2020 – as the only hotel group so far. He talks with Susanne Stauss on the fund, the aids and a selected pipeline. He aims at paying his full lease again from January 1, 2022.

Full resort hotels will likely be seen in Austria in July and August – also because many guests prefer to go on holiday right in front of their doorstep instead of travelling to far places. Many guests were thus only "borrowed" this year say Austrian tourist experts and hoteliers who simultaneously ask: How many of them will we be able to keep? Fred Fettner attended the discussions at the ÖHV congress.

I would be very happy if you would join us at our HITT in September. Additional names were added to the top-class programme this week: accordingly, the Accor Paris CTO accepted our invitation, as well as the globally acting Baker McKenzie law firm, Invesco Real Estate and the Zech Group from Bremen. To win over such renowned companies, our Advisory Committee of four put its contacts and passion for the think tank and the issue for debate to the test. I will introduce you to these four people today on our page 1. Or you can check them out at www.hitt.world. Only three more names are missing now, then our programme will be complete.

This issue, too, would not be complete without the latest reports on the modified Ringhotels strategy, the no longer standardised Novotel brand, the new German Travel Insurance Fund, the latest personnel news and our market news mix. 

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

Creative minds have a new focus - on Food & Beverage. There hasn't been this much lateral thinking in a long time. The future lies in vegetables, not in meat. The latter will only be produced from cell cultures anyway in a not too distant period. Vegan is here to stay. Local and exotic will no longer be a contradiction in terms.

Susanne Stauss asked German restaurant professional Jean Ploner about new concepts, as well as former Rotana CEO Omer Kaddouri, who now drives forward mainly vegan food chains from Amsterdam. The examples provided by the two interviewees form a veritable cascade of ideas, with the appropriate links attached for your perusal. Ploner is also worried about the future of gastronomy though. Among other things, he could imagine systematising restaurant kitchens in a kind of cooperative model.

In the F&B sector, a lot revolves around sustainability, and at the French hotel group EKLO, it's all about that. Founder Emmanuel Petit builds and operates urban green hybrid and eco-friendly low budget hotels under this brand. He himself comes from Accor and is now co-financed by the two Accor founders Dubrule and Pélisson. A charming detail. They also seem to affirm what our writer Sarah Douag presents to us as an opening question today: Can aggressive pricing be reconciled with style, award-winning interior design, sociability and sustainability? An extremely interesting article with a lot of concrete information about construction and materials.

"Sustainability must be honest". Neil Jacobs, CEO of Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, knows it: The wellness pioneer of the global wellness scene sells its guests wellness, health and now follows their new lifestyle where life, work and play merge. We introduce Neil to you today on our front page, and you can find out how he and Six Senses put this into practice on the second day of the HospitalityInside Think Tank in September. Another top speaker of international renown. We are very happy about his acceptance.

Meanwhile, German hoteliers will continue to move between relaxation and tension in the coming months. The state aid has been extended until the end of September and the limits have been significantly increased. But is all this enough to keep city and MICE hotels alive? Dehoga Managing Director Ingrid Hartges sees herself in the commentary for us between joy and frustration and wants to continue fighting in August for an extension until the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Austrian hoteliers have already celebrated their survival at the ÖHV congress this week, the first physical meeting since corona. 450 hoteliers were in attendance. The industry has received €4.5 billion in funding.

At Booking.com, government aid is now flowing in the other direction. The OTA is now "spontaneously" paying back support from the Dutch government of some €65 million and €40 million more - after a massive outcry: Last week, the U.S. holding company announced it was giving three executives €28 million in bonuses.

Europeans cannot understand the ups and downs of Chinese state-owned companies. It has now come to light how very deep in debt the former and now insolvent giant HNA is: Creditors are claiming €153 billion.

Amadeus Hospitality asked which of thecorona trends are here to stay, and Ascott is already providing its guests with telemedicine. More industry news in our News Mix.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

The sheer joy about the restart is everywhere, yet the uncertainty remains. This is just as true for Germany as it is for Austria and Dubai. Once again, it makes clear just the great levelling across the whole world in the wake of the virus. From now on though, it’s positivity that counts. Positivity coupled with a plan like in Dubai or Austria.

The Arabian Travel Market and Dubai were respected by the surveyed hoteliers for the simple reason that it was held as a physical event and was handled in a professional and disciplined manner. It's the signal that counts! Everyone is now highly motivated. There's even a gold rush atmosphere again.

Meanwhile, the general conditions remain tense: Room rates are catching up, some faster some slower, depending on the hotel location. Another 60,000 rooms are set to make their way into the market and owners are starting to test chain brands against each other. Yet Dubai always has treats in store for investors, tourists and the new species of "remote workers". The "Star of the Orient" is in restart mode. As of Wednesday, it even has a new Urban Master Plan 2040.

The EU Covid Certificate, which promises "total freedom of travel" from 1 July, is hotly anticipated. So far though, holiday-hungry potential travellers are a bit more cautious than expected. In Austria, for example, there are still quite a few beds available in June, and in Germany the picture is "varied", as Thomas Edelkamp from Romantik Hotels puts it. We have collected voices from holiday hoteliers, consortia and associations. So far, only July and August are as good as fully booked in Germany. Positive trend: Hoteliers are raising their room rates. If not now, then when?

Still, some restarts are accompanied with much more uncertainty: The purchasing company Progros reports serious bottlenecks and delays on the part of the suppliers.

The new price awareness must continue, not only because running costs have increased, but also because new costs will be added in the future - foreseeably in the field of sustainability. "Travel must remain affordable," demands London-based investment professional and tech investor Wes Paul. "Sustainable tourism in its current form is an expensive premium product, we need to introduce technologies that make it affordable so that the mass of tourists can reduce their impact on the environment."

A new networked way of thinking is therefore developing in the fields of construction and operation: Technologies and alternative energies are capable of driving down costs and securing the future of tourism. Wes thinks outside the box. That's why he'll be opening our Think Tank on 13 September. The article about this high flyer can be found on our homepage at www.hospitalityInside.com, the complete programme and more on www.hitt.world.

Our shorter news today also have it in them: Sarah Douag asks why Booking.com is rewarding three top executives with EUR 28 million in bonuses during the crisis. And the EU is trying to tighten its control over digital markets with stricter legislation.

From Italy there are current figures on job losses in the industry, in Spain one wonders why so little interest and money is flowing into tourism tech start-ups, and, in view of the next steps for its opening, Austria is considering how long the now common tests and test roads will continue to make sense.

Contemplation and pushing forward with new things is always good: The new initiative "Business Union" has been founded and its presiding members elected; it wants to give the industry more lobbying clout - as set out in detail in our last two issues. It'll be interesting to see how that develops. We also have sad new as we report on the unexpected death of Pandox CEO Anders Nissen. With varied mix this week, we say goodbye until next Friday!

All interested parties for Expo Real 2021 should keep an eye on the registration deadline for co-exhibitors on 23 June. Those who still want to secure a place at the "World of Hospitality" stand for October please register with our trade fair team by 11 June. For information and download click on the Expo Real banner on our homepage or in the newsletter.

Stay in positive spirits!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

Social media posts and emails this week were overflowing with joy at the reopenings in the restaurant and hotel industry, even if Europe itself remains an unmanageable, inhomogeneous patchwork. It's not the weather app I now open each morning on my phone, it’s the infection rate in my local area that I want to know: Are we still under 100 or already under 50? What's permissible at each particular stage has to be researched on the internet each time.

But people are becoming increasingly positive - a good thing. Adieu Tristesse! At the same time, GfK reports that consumer sentiment is on the rise: Vaccination and relaxation of corona measures are certainly having an effect - beer gardens and shopping centres were already full again in many places.

All this makes city hoteliers who are still lacking international guests and MICE all the more testy. They still worry as the governments - e.g. in Germany, Switzerland and Italy - remain unpredictable. Will they extend the financial aid and short-time working support until the end of the year? For some medium-sized affiliated companies, this is becoming a question of survival. 2021 remains a brutally tough year.

This is very clear from our correspondent Massimiliano Sarti's report on the restart challenges in Italy. How do you expect to attract tourists when curfews are still in place? Cities worry: They'll probably struggle for another year and a half.

Corona loans will take many businesses further into debt. Banks are no longer providing finance, so leaving opportunities open for other types of investor. These could also be attracted with deals secured through Blockchain. An Austrian model promises transparency and security for all involved. A new, still unfamiliar topic, but Fred Fettner sets out to provide a clear and comprehensible description.

Such future topics will not be capable of being avoided for long. Nor will hoteliers be able to escape BIM/Building Information Modeling. But this is just one aspect that will impact on sustainable hotel construction in the future. Alex Duckworth of AECOM, a gigantic global services company in the construction sector, will be looking outside the box and at the new competition at the HospitalityInside Think Tank on 13/14 September. You can find this article on our page 1, all further HITT-infos are available directly on www.hitt.world.

And: We are very pleased that Deutsche Hospitality will support our Think Tank as a sponsoring partner! Another good name next to Accor, Drees & Sommer, IDeaS, uniper and Hotelschool The Hague. We will introduce you to all of our sponsors shortly, as well as our Advisory Board, all of whom have contributed to the "making of" the HITT.

Exchange among colleagues and with experts will become even more important given the intense dynamic post-corona. The hotel construction boom seems to be continuing, at least in Europe the pipeline is full; in Germany there is currently more delay than drive. And Serviced Apartments will play a role in the market change. The new Market Report by Anett Gregorius has been available since yesterday; we touch on key topics. A new, international wellness study shows how well-being and health will change post-corona - and how hotels can benefit from this.

I wish you an exciting read, with your eyes on the future!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

The first guests have arrived, are on their way, are packing… The market is showing positive signs of movement, also the German market – even if the most severe problems have not been solved yet. But especially with the latter, a solution for hotels and hotel groups of all sizes seems to be within reach, as Ingrid Hartges, Head of Dehoga, optimistically told us yesterday.

Those who are able to show their status as tested, vaccinated or recovered – on paper or digitally soon – at the door of a hotel or restaurant, will be able to exhale, take a deep breath, eat, drink and enjoy themselves. Fred Fettner reports how Austria has been organising and controlling its opening starting this week, and how the country - just like Switzerland - profits from a confused Germany. And the EU has been pushing the EU vaccination certificate further since last night, with an eye on the summer travel season.

In Germany, the federal system is blocking equality again. At the coast of Schleswig-Holstein, people are allowed to go on vacations since May 17, while in the neighbouring state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, hotels are only allowed to open on June 14. This way, economic survival depends on the goodwill of state premiers.

Our egos will be our fate. This has also been voiced in frustrated posts. Large hotel groups, reformed Dehoga critics, and the founders of the new "Union der Wirtschaft" – hotelier Alexander Aisenbrey is currently creating new facts here – are also giving constructively critical or restrained statements today. The initiative will officially be founded as a new association next Friday. It is to serve as a complementary think tank to Dehoga and warm up the direct lines to politics. However, it is exactly this lobbyist proximity that the hotel association has claimed for itself until now.

One thing is certain: They all want the same thing – more community internally and more pressure externally! Our little foray through the world of hotels and associations shows that a cooperation between Dehoga and Union would be possible if profiles are aligned. In any case, nobody is getting anywhere with the old structures; everybody knows this even if not all are ready to admit it right away.

Dirk Iserlohe, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Dorint, considers a discussion about the future and more as completely inappropriate at this point of time; he sent us a letter to the editor after last week's article, which we are publishing today.

Despite the silver lining on the horizon, 2021 remains a difficult year where banks have to struggle too: with the increasing number of non-performing loans and with insolvencies. In any case, the standards for hotel loans have been tightened significantly. Our specialist on finance and fonds, Beatrix Boutonnet, took a closer look into the matter.

The victory over Booking.com and the best-price clause in the German courts gives rise to celebrate: After eight years of litigation, the industry is getting its pricing sovereignty back. Another positive aspect is that three German hotel groups have been selected by the federal government to test the "digital ID". And our report about the expansion of Holiday Inn/Express and voco shows, as well as numerous news in the news mix, that development is starting to emerge again. Expo Real has also just announced easement for the construction of stands at the trade fair in October; this way, it sends a first signal of return to normality.

Our think tank is also facing up to the "new normal": Fflur Roberts, researcher at international data analyst Euromonitor, will deliver one of our keynotes at HITT, showing how much consumer behaviour is changing. And the new sustainable natives will force companies to adapt and be transparent, via digital platforms, blockchain and the circular economy. And why are travel and tourism lagging behind again? Because the CEO is asleep.

Learn more from data experts such as Fflur Roberts about trends that will change the world in the near future even more. An appetizer, for everyone accessible on our page 1. You will find our programme and registration directly at www.hitt.world! Save the date: September 13/14 in Munich, live and virtual.

Panta rhei, everything in the flow.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

Today, I'd like to recommend that the Corona Chaos Club in Berlin takes a moment for self-criticism. As of Monday, all holidaymakers returning to Germany, including those from risk areas with infection rates of between 50 and 200, will be able to test themselves free. Quarantine will also no longer be necessary. Holiday regions in Bavaria, on the other hand, must first wait until the area achieves a 7-day rolling infection rate of less than 100 before their hotels are allowed to receive guests.

80 families with 5,000 employees in the Allgäu, all hotels of the Allgäu TopHotels consortium, cried out to media yesterday: "This is as bad as it gets!" Germans are now free to take their holidays almost anywhere in Europe, but not in the Bavarian Alps. How illogical can these rules get?

Politicians in Berlin have learned nothing from the Easter travel frenzy to Mallorca. "Morally, physically and mentally, we just can't take any more. We family businesses can't stand it anymore!" says Dr Anna-Maria Fässler, head of the legendary Sonnenalp Resort in the Allgäu region and a member of the consortium. She calls on Berlin to suspend the 'emergency brake' on domestic tourist travel - and: Get rid of the infection rate!

From 10 June, at the next meeting of the heads of the federal states, there will finally be uniform holiday rules nationwide, for hotels, restaurants and holiday homes as well as for testing, the well-informed magazine Business Insider reported a few days ago.

Dehoga boss Ingrid Hartges assures us in an interview today - quite credibly - that she is dealing with politicians who understand the plight of the industry and who have contributed a lot to ensuring that aid is granted at all. But the view from the hotel is very different. Deutsche Hospitality CEO Marcus Bernhardt is excoriating in his criticism in the same article: "We are feeling quite painfully that our lobbying for the sector in Berlin is not having the desired effect." Ruby CEO Michael Struck gets just as excited about the know-nothings in government, but also takes a swipe at himself and his colleagues...

It's time for self-criticism. For the industry association as well as for the hoteliers/gastronomes. Each side must ask itself if it wants to avoid a drama like this in future. Why is the hospitality industry neither heard nor understood? Today, I am throwing the first criticisms into the ring: wrong priorities, missed opportunities, semi-professional media appearances and PR, embarrassing newspaper advertisements... You all have to talk to each other, debate, look for common solutions together...

Next week, we will deal with the future of the industry and the new "Union of the Economy", a kind of counter-initiative to Dehoga - also then again accompanied by hoteliers' comments.

The moment of truth is also fast approaching for the banks. In the three-man team, we first held confidential background discussions, Beatrix Boutonnet summarises today how precarious the never-ending lockdown may become also for the financial institutions. Government intervention has meant standard risk assessment tools no longer work. Looking in from the outside, the banks still look solid, but... We'll have a follow-up on that next week as well.

In our shorter articles, as always, we pick up on the current movements in the market and report on expected openings, though experts also warn against too premature optimism. Market studies, personalia and news from the colourful world of real estate round off our issue.

Have you already had a look at the programme for our Think Tank in September? "Sustainability & Digitalisation" will also continue to busy the hotel world... Take the next step with us, with international experts and in-depth market analysts! Leaf through the programme, study our high-calibre speakers - and register, virtually or live. Everything can be found at www.hitt.world! What the 4th HITT is and wants is set out on the first page of www.hospitalityInside.com.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com