Dear Insiders,

A medium-range rocket launched from Kaliningrad would take just 4.5 minutes to reach Berlin. Since reading this, corona no longer seems so important. And I'm not alone here. Many people meanwhile think this too. The war in Ukraine is affecting the whole economy, and tourism and the hotel industry in particular. The question mark now stands over the previously anticipated summer boom. The signs are still contrary: Does the fear of war increase or decrease the desire to travel?

The hospitality sector, itself in distress, has opened thousands of hotel doors to refugees from Ukraine, and has done so for free. This can only be praised! Looked at positively, this gesture creates an international social glue that can be very valuable for society general as well as for the employment situation in tourism in particular.

On Sunday, Germany will relax the corona rules - at a moment when new infections are skyrocketing. Vaccination helps to ensure symptoms are milder, as we all know, but not always. This means every hotelier, restaurateur and citizen must take greater responsibility for their own actions. The appeal to everybody should be to voluntarily wear the mask just a little longer. It does not hurt and helps. Only 35% of the Ukrainian refugees have been vaccinated; after their experiences at home, we must now do all the more to help protect these "travellers". After all, the husbands, brothers and fathers of the refugee women and children are currently also protecting us here in Europe.

These pictures already illustrate the great social responsibility that is often mentioned in discussions about sustainability. The middle letter of ESG, S for Social, is currently the most important, the first creates the framework for future interaction. That's why today I can only praise the fact that a panel discussion at the digital ITB managed to break the mega-topic down to a pragmatic level.

Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin criticised emissions trading, saying: We must stop compensating and instead contribute to positive value! A luxury hotelier reported how he convinces his owners of "green investments", and Wolfgang Neumann from the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance - which increasingly links hotel groups with partners from project development and real estate - passionately advocated simply starting with initial measures in everyday life. This is how the small things lead to the big! Today we are making this article public, accessible to all.

But intellectual support from universities and business schools is also needed. There, students line up to learn more about ESG & Co. But the institutions themselves are moving at a snail's pace. Bärbel Schwertfeger asked questions of various universities and business schools. Pretty much everywhere, a comprehensive integrated approach is lacking. The Hotelschool The Hague is the most committed.

Beyond Green, the young sustainability brand of Preferred Hotels and Beyond Green Travel, also aims to make each individual hotel a local sustainability champion. 30 lodges, hotels and resorts worldwide are already part of it and submit to an audit. Founder Costas Christ and his CEO explained how it all worked to me. Some questions are still open.

I just know: At our HITT on 27/28 June, we will delve significantly deeper into the world of sustainability, help refine strategies, and discuss them in terms of implementation. We presented the first impulse generators with great expertise last week already. The next will be introduced shortly. The current status of the programme and speakers can be found at www.hitt.world.

By the way, people keep asking me, why our Think Tank is held in English. Quite simply: Otherwise, we limit ourselves in the selection of speakers and guests. And: Sustainability, bundled in the three letters ESG, is an absolutely transnational topic and needs collaboration without borders for a humane future. See above.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief 

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com 

Dear Insiders,

War in Ukraine has meanwhile pushed corona into the background and tends to be driving the desire to travel. At least, that's how travel researchers see it in a 50-year retrospective: Tragedies far from home have never changed the basic travel behaviour - only the destination. And this war will only become relevant, the researchers continue, if it spills outside the borders of Ukraine...

This sounds cynical in view of the daily images of bombs and despair. But the figures from travel analysts are clear: Despite massive increases in energy prices as a result of the war, German desire to travel still remains unabated. They even accept the drastically increased hotel prices without so much as a grumble. And despite all the camping, glamping and serviced apartment booms, hotels remain the No. 1 accommodation, figures make clear. Fred Fettner has turned the dry figures of the travel analyses into an exciting and detailed trend report.

Meanwhile, Austrians are looking for new solutions for profitable tourism after the corona malaise. Hoteliers' equity has collapsed, so they can hardly invest in innovation. This is not the only reason why tourism professionals are now calling for a "scrapping premium" for around 60,000 dead beds on the market: This refers to hotels that have not been operating economically for a long time, but still hang around because of tax hurdles, dragging down rates as they do.

These are pithy, but very true words for markets that are no longer able to rid themselves of extra ballast. The Balearic Islands lead the way and are rigorously cleaning up: By law, they are forcing changes in the hotel and tourism industry over the next few years. The new rules include trivial things such as a requirement that hotel beds can be easily lifted in future, rules on the introduction of professional wellness hotels, and major strategies such as reining in resorts that have grown far too fast. But there is only one goal: Sustainability and quality improvement everywhere - until 2028! Rápido por favor!

Hyperdynamics in sustainability reigns everywhere, you might think. The British - and others - are now punishing greenwashing by law. And our Sustainability News shows what individual initiatives can set in motion. This and more in today's edition.

And the "more" today includes our own Think Tank, which will again take place physically in Berlin on June 27/28. It is designed to provide CEOs with orientation for their sustainability strategy. Today, we introduce you to the first four impulse generators - inspiring experts who are already willing to share their knowledge and discuss detailed questions off the record with you - in a small group: Ross Petar / Global Valuation Advisor of JLL, Anthony Williams and Thomas Kraubitz, two tourism, sustainability and climate specialists from global engineering firm Buro Happold, and Patrick Lüth, architect and partner of Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta, who built the world's first hotel with a positive energy balance.

And what are these experts talking about specifically? About how a sustainable hotel adds value, how to set up new buildings and conversions for the benefit of all stakeholders, and the social function of architecture and design for the benefit of all guests. We will present more speakers and topics shortly.

You don't have to wait for the names of our sponsors for HITT 2022: We are pleased that the 5th edition of our Think Tank is once again meeting with much appreciation. Already confirmed are Accor as the main sponsor, Arabella Hospitality as part of the Schörghuber group of companies, the international project management company Drees & Sommer, Europe's leading investment fair Expo Real, the cross-segment recruitment company LHC, the energy company Uniper and the Hotelschool The Hague!

Full details on the current status of the programme, the expertise of the impulse providers and the sponsors can be found on our page 1 today and at www.hitt.world.


Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief 

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com 

Dear Insiders,

War in Europe. Many hotels in Ukraine are still holding the fort, accommodating the last tourists and an increasing number of media, aid organisations and peacekeepers. Staff operate from basements and underground garages, and the chains' EMEA headquarters provide permanent support via Whatsapp. GPS continues to function. However, headquarters also have to support their colleagues in Russia, where employees are unable to leave due to the closed airspace.

The responses from Accor, IHG, Kempinski, Marriott, Radisson, Wyndham and from Mogotel in Latvia gently hint at what is in truth bitter and, after corona, is an exception burden for everyone. Paul Moxness, former head of security for the Radisson Group, one of the most renowned security experts for the hotel industry anywhere and networked all the way to the UN, explains how hotels should behave in such times. His video may take away some hoteliers' fear of the crisis.

The consequences for tourism in Europe are already becoming clear from the figures: Italy expects the 4.5 million or so overnight stays made by Russians in 2019 could turn into fewer than 500,000. And in Germany, Russians still accounted for €2.2 billion worth of tourist revenue in 2019. Flight bookings to Russia collapsed on 25 February: For every booking for Russia, there were six cancellations.

Fortunately, German hotels at least purchase virtually no goods from Ukraine, so there are no further gaps in the supply chains here. Here corona is still leaving its mark, and brutally lays bare all the weaknesses of the industry. "The hotel industry must buy differently in the future!" says Progros Managing Director Jochen Oehler bluntly. "The purchase price is no longer the decisive factor!" adds his colleague Tommi Huuhtanen.

On a more positive note: Under the current, increasing cost pressure, hotels are finally demanding digital and fully automated processes! The insight has grown. Yet German hoteliers can still pick up speed, especially in sustainable purchasing.

All the same, hoteliers will never become as fast as ski jumpers. That's why we're letting Manuel Fettner from Austria tell the story today. The 36-year-old "oldie" was the sensation in Team Austria: He came back from the Beijing Olympics with gold and silver - and now finally had time to celebrate here. His father is bursting with pride, of course, but you wouldn't know it from the text written by my colleague - our Austria correspondent Fred Fettner.  This gives us a small glimpse into the famous "bubble" and we are amazed at how unexcited sports professionals see everything. A wonderful, light read in these gruesome days.

By the way, as of today, more and more corona restrictions are falling in Germany and Italy. We are also looking into this, as well as the news in the market and in the digital world.

So until next Friday, hopefully in a more peaceful world!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief 

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com 

Dear Insiders,

Russia's attack on the Ukraine hits Europe and particularly Germany in a difficult moment: exhausted and financially weakened by corona, with no strong statesmen and without an alternative energy concept. With high energy prices, Russia will have a stranglehold over its Western neighbours for quite some time. For energy-intensive operations such as hotels, this is one more pain. Nonetheless, we should all hope that peace will last in Europe. Without peace all is nothing.

Against all odds, corona opens up new opportunities. For example, when it comes Branded Residences - the chic condominiums with rentals through the hotel. In the US, residences have backed financing already since the 1980s, and those who display the Four Seasons or Kempinski brand on their roof today, are allowed to demand 30-40% more as a premium product. While luxury has been the main trend so far, now the midscale segment is becoming all the more interesting – especially in Europe, and even in resort destinations. Macy Marvel analyses the business field.

With the "green" wave, initial OTA platforms are now being created making it possible to book more or less certified hotels. We introduce to you EcoHotels and Faircations and say: the whole thing is not perfect yet. And Booking.com with its own green programme continues to be amused.

I no longer smiled when media recently published the totally absurd Happiness Index. We'll do the same now, but Baerbel Schwertfeger – a psychologist herself – dealt with the inventors, the wording and the content. And even interviewed a professor. My conclusion: even in times of extreme lack of human resources, you don't have to believe and do everything.

I consider the appeal by UNWTO and WHO to finally lift all travel restrictions particularly refreshing! This is nothing but stressful and harms the economy! Finally, someone speaks in plain language. Only Germany did not hear it: the negative industry figures tell their own tale.

In Europe, the hotel pipeline has shrunk by 11 percent, while buyers are switching from city hotels to resorts on the transaction market, and Marriott, the world's largest hotel group, is pushing its leisure business with full speed this year. Similarly, the world's largest franchisor Wyndham learned from a loyalty survey that travellers would like to know more about what a "sustainable" trip looks like ... Knowing that holds great potential!

The 2021 balance sheets of Accor, Choice and IHG this week show: tourism is starting to recover – and this recovery will continue. If the powerful men of this world allow us to do so.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief 
 

Dear Insiders,

Europe is beginning to loosen up and free itself from corona. The Swiss emerged into the sun again on Thursday, Austrians will feel its warmth from 3 March. The Germans, on the other hand, will have to wait until 20 March. Berlin's politicians have been behind the curve for more than two years. Déjà vu! Why should Germany also be interested in generating sales or giving tourism and the hotel industry an additional three weeks of turnover?

Well, to be fair: Italy will not relax its restrictions until 31 March. But that country has a different story. It annoys me that apparently no one in Berlin realizes that the large medium-sized hotel groups still stand on the precipice - despite "caring aid packages". Two weeks ago, we reported on the reasons for this. Today, in mid-February, three weeks sooner or later of sales means millions in profit or loss for these LMEs.

The German hotel industry is the top underperformer of all European hotel markets, STR found in its 2021 analysis. "And that will continue," STR Managing Director Robin Rossmann forecasts. Once again it becomes clear: The lockdowns and quasi-lockdowns were too long, the restrictions too extreme, the recovery periods too short.

And now, with the expected steep increase in bookings from 20 March and despite joy about this date, the next problem is rapidly approaching: employee shortages. This issue will not be solved so quickly, neither in this nor in the next season. Each company must take a strategic approach and engage in ruthless self-criticism. The more temperamental among you should not read the analysis of the renowned Swiss behavioural economist Gerhard Fehr about the industry today.

He carefully describes the vicious circle in which service companies find themselves today. Soberly, with good arguments, he points to the only real success factor of a company: the qualified employee. If you can't find one, you have to cut back on service, drop in quality and profit - and eventually close down. Just like that, and the companies only have themselves to blame.

Booking.com should also seek advice from behavioural economists. The OTA just laid off 2,700 employees and is outsourcing its customer service. Sarah Douag brings you the background details. Once again, it's all about maximising profits on the backs of the workers. At the same time, the Italian Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating two former Booking.com CFOs for evading €153 million in VAT related to vacation rentals.

So, enough of the negative lines now: Against all odds, 2021 also brought positive news, as Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Wyndham and Airbnb reported in their annual financial statements. Things carry on! By the way, in other news from Marriott: Bill Marriott is now officially handing over the baton, also to his son David.

And now to the future, which has only one goal: Building, operating and managing hotels sustainably - and giving tourism a new, better perspective. On 27/28 June the 5th HospitalityInside Think Tank will take place! The event will be held in Berlin - and we are back on the ship, in an absolutely inspiring maritime atmosphere and as a pure presence event!

Join us again as we set sail again under the banner "Take the ESG Road to more Value: Net Zero Ambitions and Social Structures." Secure one and a half days of brand-new "Insides" in sustainability with many facets - exclusive, face2face with a limited number of participants and top impulse generators. You can find more about the event under this link and on www.hitt.world.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief 
 

Dear Insiders,

Careful management, competence and just plain luck are three factors that are helping entrepreneurs through this pandemic. Germany's largest hotel project developer, GBI AG, likely benefited from a little bit of everything, as our long interview with Chairman Reiner Nittka shows today.

GBI didn't chase 30x multiples in 2019, but looked around in its own pool of ideas. housing became an engine for business early on, "but we didn't switch asset classes on any of the hotel projects planned before corona," he says proudly. Things continue with duo and trio projects, but also with greater love for serviced apartments and new flirtation with senior living. New constraints come from securing leases and from old ones as well as from competition that really just keeps prices high. A tour d'horizon with an industry professional.

Prof Christian Buer and Marco Nussbaum also contribute to the broadening of horizons today. Each developed their own employee model, but the idea behind it is the same: to give young employees management responsibility at an early stage, to support them and keep them on board and with the company through shareholdings. Buer is implementing this model for the first time at a new Moxy hotel, with the owner accepting lower rents and Marriott accepting lower franchise fees. He would like to invest the 'money won' in his employees.

Nussbaum will establish a new stock company on Monday, and shareholdings will soon be part of the compensation package for its employees. "With our vision, sooner or later we will sweep other hotel companies out of the market!" the two "brothers in mind" are convinced...

Tourism statistics for 2021 in Germany show a slight recovery, but we all know how crucial liquidity is for the vast majority of hotel groups this winter/spring. Perhaps Scandic and Pandox's 2021 balance sheet figures will reassure; the two Swedish CEOs also see demand to return in a flash as the pandemic situation improves.

Along European travel routes, 7.5-square-meter container rooms are slowly building up, and it's probably not just truckers who will be using them. Munich is currently pursuing a different idea: converting vacant hotels into "flexi-homes."

This week's market news take us through the digital world and the real estate market, rounded off by interesting personalia.

We hope to provide you with new "insides" again with this issue.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief 
 

Dear Insiders,

Long live European chaos! Just when so much developing for the better and travel is supposed to start up again, every country once again goes off on its own. Together, this fuels all the more uncertainty and complicates any vacation planning with ever new, sometimes absurd and contradictory rules. What we are all experiencing now is worse than the chaos of the first summer. And the consequences of it all are even more serious today than in 2020.

In Austria, the winter season 21/22 is about to be cancelled - a nightmare for large parts of the resort hotel industry. Compared to the winter 2019, the number of guests has halved. Reserves are completely depleted everywhere, including in the city. And the same applies to Germany: There, the large and mid-sized hotel companies are suffering particularly. They, the largest employers in the industry, face an exodus if the financial support is not adjusted and extended.

We asked ten LMEs in Germany to tell us about their situation. Only Honestis AG/Dorint Hotels and Novum Hospitality were prepared to speak out on the matter. Motel One confirms the key points. The rest remain silent and continue to hope: The number of hotels that need more money has grown larger, as we hear from Dehoga chief Ingrid Hartges.

If politicians leave the industry out in the cold in the final phase of the pandemic, could the following scenario come about: Good German hotel groups - the backbone of the MICE and business travel industry - begin to go bankrupt. Then they would be broken up, presumably by foreign private equity companies. They are lurking outside the door anyway. They will promise the government all sorts of things, but after a while they will lay off employees and gradually siphon off all value. All of it quite legal, of course...

And now to sports: Just in time for the start of the Olympic Games in Beijing today, we explain why 2,000 hamsters had to be killed and why foreign packages may only be opened with protective clothing. China's zero-covid strategy is no longer credible, the "bubble" could burst and Omicron could become a deadly curse for the country. The Chinese hotel industry is certainly facing a tough first quarter. And other countries too: The hoped-for influx of tourists from China will remain absent for even longer.

China is playing roulette, with itself and the world. A Chinese financial investor describes his own life in this world of string-pulling and playing with power and corruption. The author wants the "naive" of this world to read the book to see the true face of China. Bärbel Schwertfeger has read it for you.

In other news today, we introduce you to the next investment platform that wants to track down Europe's hotel bargains. In contrast, the Italian government is now putting together survival packages worth billions until 2029. This and more in today's issue, which already "weighs heavy" again - even though February has only just begun.

Yes, it's February and we're already thinking about Expo Real! This week, the trade fair opened the online registrations for its exhibitors. Reason for us to point at the joint stand of the World of Hospitality. Even if the current pandemic development is currently affecting the industry again, optimism prevails that we will leave the virus behind us this year. Investors have by no means given up on the asset class! And the exuberant desire of people to travel, who want to be in touch again, in business as well as leisure, is also encouraging. Talk to us about your Expo Real presence! We offer compact workstations and individually designable larger spaces. More on our homepage. 

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief 
 

Dear Insiders,

A few days ago, the Prime Minister of Spain, Pédro Sánchéz, described Madrid’s FITUR as the "most important tourism fair in the world" - ahead of the ITB. Their success in the transition from corona year 2 to corona year 3 gives the long-suffering Spaniards, who are now breathing a sigh of relief, a fresh boost. In Berlin, the ITB has now been cancelled for the third times.

This is a mistake, believes Christian Andresen, President of Dehoga Berlin and a hotelier himself. In our interview with Sylvie Konzack, he calls on the city of Berlin and the trade fair to make a completely fresh start. The particular model Berlin used for the trade show up to now is no longer fit for purpose. The Spanish have long since recognised this: Time for new times, they say to themselves, and create new facts.

I think it's outstanding that Andresen is openly fighting against the slow, reticent and sometimes cowardly nature of German civil servants in the capital. His word carries weight in Berlin and he has already sensitised Berlin’s state government to the needs of the MICE industry. Berlin will have to set an example! Otherwise, even the last of the mega congresses will soon be gone. Since the start of the pandemic, the trade fair/MICE disaster in Germany has resulted in a loss of some €46.2 billion.

Choice Hotels also wants to set a new focus and get the EMEA region afloat from Amsterdam. Yet this one wasn't that slow. EMEA CEO Jonathan Mills has meanwhile put together a 50(!)-strong team that is truly pan-European, and now wants to steadily push the four main brands in Europe more strongly, to talk more to franchisees, and bring more first-class tech tools from the USA across the Atlantic to Europe. Sarah Douag tried to get details out of him.

Both the EU and the UNWTO express optimism, but the figures still betray the truth: The lean period is still long. 4% more tourism in 2021 is de facto only 15 million more travellers. Every country is missing international travellers. Overnight stays are still 72% below what they were in 2019. Facts and figures that show the way.

The investors and real estate traders are the ones who still believe in the future. L+R of London is in the process of setting up a €1 billion fund for European hotels. It is understandable that they want to use the crisis to do good business. L+R chief Desmond Taljaard wants only "added value" returns.

Oyo, on the other hand, wants everything. Through the pandemic, the already opaque company laid off 20,000 of its 30,000 global employees, has problems everywhere, but is still looking forward to its upcoming IPO, which is expected to value Oyo at $12 billion. Can someone please put me in touch with a psychologist who understands how analyst and VC minds work?

The biggest problem in the industry will not be finances, but human resources. Technology is supposed to help here, as we know. For example, "Automated Personalisation”. But a red-hot study says: More than 80% of chains are overwhelmed with this technology. Why? Even for this, there is a lack of qualified personnel.

The classic hotel industry, and with it the destinations, are struggling for every step to make tourism attractive again - for employees as well as residents and the tourists. Barcelona is now approaching this goal with modified criteria in the new city plan. The hoteliers are probably swallowing, but they are going along with it.

As usual, we say goodbye with interesting personalia and a wealth of market news, in which the next hotel closures stand out. But corona is not to blame for everything.

Till next Friday!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief 
 

Dear Insiders,

Acquisitions are a milestone in any corporate story, and the billion-heavy Thai multinational Minor International is no exception. Many people in Central Europe only heard this name following its acquisition of NH Hotels in 2018. CEO Dillip Rajakarier even struck Hyatt at the time, although the US chain stepped in last minute and even offered €1.70 more per share.

Dillip is a sensitive strategist: "We always think 10 steps ahead, not two". The bright-faced Thai manager views chains with 30 and 40 brands as dreadful. He doesn't acquire assets for the profit, and the commitment of his GMs pays off better than the computers forecast.

The CEO pursues familiar strategies in unfamiliar ways. Whether it's Tivoli Hotels in Portugal, Safari Camps in Africa, serviced apartments in Australia or NH - Minor Hotels is growing with everything that has potential - without diluting or constantly redressing brands to keep the investor happy... NH will become Minor's strongest global brand in any case. For this, everything is set.

Entrepreneurs remain entrepreneurs. They are forever on the move with passion and fire, and convince with intellect and expertise. One such entrepreneur is Michaela Reitterer. The successful hotelier from Vienna brought all these qualities to bear over the past nine years as ÖHV President. Austria owes a great deal to this strong woman in extremely difficult times. She is still happy to help her colleagues, but she has had enough of duplicitious politicians. Fred Fettner spoke with her about satisfaction and disappointment.

The extreme form of disappointment is frustration and despair. Because of corona, nearly every country has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs in tourism - a total of 62 million worldwide. The industry will only feel how painful this will be this year - when the hoped-for surge in demand sets in. In terms of personnel though, no country will be able to replace the lost human capital. Sarah Douag with the figures.

The burden of the virus is visible on both a large and small scale: for example, in the decision to convert the extension of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Munich, as well as the harsh decision of the Swiss Federal Council to keep the industry in the permanent grip of the 2G+ rule despite low hospitalisation rates. And while the Europeans are making life even more difficult for themselves, the Chinese are already thinking about their second master plan for developing their robotics industry.

We bring you a great wealth of news from the real estate market, from the world of brands and sustainability to round off our edition this week. These small news articles reveal: There are many out there who firmly believe in the future of tourism and the hotel industry. They are the entrepreneurs - the people who stand up and do something!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief 
 

Dear Insiders,

Welcome to the new old year! Another great equaliser for European hoteliers. Confusion continues to reign everywhere and bank accounts become emptier and emptier, though at least Omicron doesn't seem to cause as much suffering as its predecessors. And so the first days of January make me feel quite optimistic, also because more and more people are saying that they no longer want to stay at home "because of a cold", but would rather work. Once again, people are faster than politics, which continues to trail after the virus everywhere.

How Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, France and Benelux have fared since Christmas is summarised by our correspondents today - under headlines such as "2021 was worse than 2020", "Disappointing everywhere", "Give and take", "The call to reopen", "Not enough to compensate"... Everyone is experiencing similar things, only with a time lag. And once again, despite all the limitations, resort hotels are still doing better than the struggling city hotel industry.

The Success Hotel Group from Stuttgart filed for insolvency this week - under the self-administration procedure. Managing Director Michael Friedrich explains the background to us exclusively: As he told us, the most recently requested €5.3 million in state support fell victim to bureaucracy, with disbursement delayed enormously.

All requirements were met, yet Success was classified as being at risk of insolvency. Because the company belongs to the hotel industry. Only a rascal would have such cynical thoughts, or see any pattern to these events... Therefore, read for yourself: The article is freely available to all on our page 1.

The pandemic also affects suppliers. Rolf Slickers, former hotelier and now Managing Director of Servitex laundry, realised bitterly: "Our concept is not suited to the pandemic". The more hotels closed, the less laundry was done. Now he is changing his business model - and is also fighting on completely different fronts: against higher wages, horror prices for cotton and containers, and last but not least against Amazon. There's more than one supply chain breaking.

Things sound more optimistic from the world of transactions: With luck, Q4 saved the whole of 2021, but investors are regaining medium-term confidence in the industry. However, the increasing wave of conversions of hotel properties is particularly visible in Berlin.

In our other news we talk about the new all-inclusive approach at Accor, the new classification of vacation apartments, the new "eco-friendly dish" of the Austrians and a recent Federal Supreme Court ruling on the subject of rent payments under corona. And finally, since Christmas there has been a lot of personnel and market news.

We look forward to the new year with you, which will be more positive, if only because our soul is better equipped to face the virus now than before. Do as the trees do: defy every storm and grow solidly, "without haste or rush". You can read what old trees have to do with today from a Christmas card that I was delighted to receive. On our Page 1.

A good start into the new year!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief