Dear Insiders,
With a diary full of appointments, our bags are again packed for Berlin. We also take with us new ideas and a new networking event: We will use the IHIF/ITB to encourage networking and exchange around the topic of digitisation with the first HITT Breakfast. Together with our co-host mrp Hotels, we have managed to secure an executive from Diaoyutai MGM Hospitality in China as keynote speaker.
We aim to keep communication going in our HITT Community through the entire year with such platforms, from one Think Tank to the next. Last week, a small group met at the University of Aachen where we held discussions with Drees & Sommer on digital real estate and research. Perhaps you'd like to use our 2nd Think Tank on 19/20 May 2019 in order to become part of the HITT Community? More on the contents and dates on our Page 1.
The world's largest travel show will celebrate tourism over a whole five days. As European Capital of Culture, the Italian city of Matera will enjoy the world's attention for the whole of 2019. Our Italian colleague Massimiliano Sarti interviewed Antonio Panetta, the President of Federalberghi Matera, on the effect for the city and what can be expected from the ECOC in terms of tourism. There is also a second ECOC: Plovdiv in Bulgaria. More on this next week.
A year go, Hirmer Group acquired the German resort hotel chain Travel Charme. Top management of both companies spoke with us on the first synergies, marketing approaches and plans for the "new face" of the resorts: The flagship will be installed in Bad Gastein, Austria. Everything will otherwise become more local, more authentic and more cosy... The men's fashion specialist Hirmer is serious when it refers to lifestyle in the common DNA.
With our high-calibre China expert Prof Wolfgang Arlt and his specialised Hamburg-based independent data research company China Outbound, we begin a more intensive partnership under the title "CHINA Inside". Today with the new "Radar”, which analyses Chinese travel trends. Travel to Europe waned in the 4th quarter of 2018. Yet if the Spanish flight data analysts Forwardkeys are to be believed, the trend is different though. "CHINA Inside" will become a fixed element on our Page 1 – and will in future provide lots of insider information, based on the 30 years of experience of our Wolfgang Arlt and his institute.
Prior to the investment conference IHIF, the large consultancies and brokers have made their statements on the hotel markets in Europe and Germany, as well as on hotel trends. And STR launches a new ranking on the room giants. Belmond, Marriott, NH and Radisson have this week published their financial statements for 2018: All are happy. This and more in today's edition...

We'll see you in Berlin?!?
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems, Editor in Chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Follow us on LinkedIn / The Think Tank www.hitt.world

Dear Insiders,
Surprises won't stop. Even Best Western managers in Europe had no idea of the Worldhotels deal. After all, it is a rather unusual thought that a chain-like group would buy a consortium. This gives David Kong a foothold in the upper upscale segment. Geoff Andrew, CEO of Worldhotels, is also happy because of his connection to the globally known Best Western brand brings him visible benefits: among other things, greater brand awareness and scalability through reservations and loyalty programmes. But both sides don't want to rush things. Both have time now.
Not foreseeing this current deal, Susanne Stauss has been working on a long interview with Marcus Smola of Best Western Central Europe in the last weeks. Now, it fits perfectly with the 14th brand and explains the other 13. In our "Digi Talk" column, Smola once again talks separately about the subject of digitisation.
Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin has little time. The excellent 2018 results gives him wings. Now he wants more revenue from the conversion of relationships. The brand needs to enter the minds of people! With "bold letters", like Coca-Cola and MacDonald's, he said yesterday in Paris. That's why there's a new Accor logo. The loyalty programme is now called ALL – Accor Live Limitless. So, with Accor, it's off to the new experience… A multi-million-dollar brand push is on the agenda, as well as more care for the company's employees. Losing 50,000 employees in a single year is simply too expensive. Bazin wants lifestyle and top talents – and is turning the revenue screws to achieve this goal.
The new HOTREC President, Jens Zimmer Christensen, who has been in office since January, has a lot of time. Well, in politics, you need a lot of patience. In his interview with Sarah Douag, however, he seems quite satisfied with the industry. But this is something you can really discuss on.
From the news: Accor, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, Scandic, and Wyndham have presented their balance sheet figures for Q4 2018 or the entire year. Reports shed light on the hotel markets in Greece and Lisbon, others predict market developments for the EU. In Italy, a court sentenced Airbnb to pay the flat-rate tax on short-term rental. And there is a lot more in today's colourful edition. And there is a lot more in today's colourful edition... Have fun reading, dear Insiders!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems, Editor in Chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Follow us on LinkedIn / The Think Tank www.hitt.world

Dear Insiders,
Our think tank website, www.hitt.world, has been updated, so nothing stands in the way of booking for the day on the seminar ship in Berlin on May 19 and 20! Who can't decide for the day on the topic "Digitalisation - The new value creator" yet should read the testimonials on the website ... We are also very pleased that the following companies from the circle of premiere sponsors have confirmed their support for the second time: Sabre Hospitality Solutions, AccorHotels, Drees & Sommer, and Expo Real. We'll be presenting all of them again in a compact form.
Inspired by HITT, we shall be launching a new networking event at the upcoming ITB: the "HITT Breakfast". A Chinese key note speaker will give this premiere a special note. The event will be sponsored by the mrp hotels consultancy from Vienna/Berlin/Amsterdam; it will be reserved for guests with a personal invitation.
IHIF and ITB Berlin are indeed already in the making while the industry is currently transforming into a bee hive again. This can also be seen when looking at two merger reports this week: IHG acquired Six Senses on Wednesday, and I'm still puzzled. With its locations, creativity and quality, this unique luxury resort and spa chain is far above anything IHG has had to offer so far. President Bernhard Bohnenberger, who has been literally living Six Senses for 27 years, has asked the chain for "peace and quiet" in any event – no interference in internal affairs. Once again, this is something new in our industry.
There is consolidation going on in the German Mittelstand: Gorgeous Smiling Hotels buy 60% of Rilano Hotels. Two equal-minded companies have found each other simply willing to bundle solely their hotel power and benefit from cost synergies. A crystal-clear deal.
The term dynamics takes on a new dimension in discussions with the Chinese. Their life is controlled via apps and apps circle around the Chinese every minute. They have become indispensable helpers in everyday life. At the end of January, I spent two days in Prague at the new m2C marketing to China conference – and learned a lot myself. Thus, today, you will read an initial comprehensive summary about the Chinese "app economy". More about Alibaba, Tencent, WeChat, Mini Program, KOLs, digital payments, retail and consumer trends will follow – in easy-to-digest appetizers.
How do all these environmental signs in the hotel rooms actually affect the guests? The answer is quite simple: not at all! In January, a researcher from Australia amazed the hoteliers at the ÖHV congress in Austria with her results. Once again, a discussion about honesty in sustainability was kicked off.
Today, out guest authors from Horwath HTL and Trinavis Berlin say goodbye with the fourth part of the FF&E series – and provide hints for the right form of agreement. With this difficult topic, caution is vital in every detail.
Neither the tourism boom nor the hotel investment market will slow down this year. This is what the latest market analyses tell us. Germany expects its 9th record year in a row. Airbnb is tormenting itself in several countries. The rental platform has met the revenge of the cities numerous times – more specifically in Paris, where the portal is to pay a fine of 12.5 million euros, but also in Munich and Austria. A lot of staff issues, even including well-known names, round off today's colourful edition.

I wish you a week free of any hyper-dynamics.
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems, Editor in Chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Follow us on LinkedIn / The Think Tank www.hitt.world

Dear Insiders,
AccorHotels is always good for surprises: Now, the group is softening the standardised ibis brand – ibis of all things, the core brand and cash cow of the ibis family. New design variations, more F&B and music – everything will become hip, hipper, hippest. Apparently, the success of ibis Styles is putting the core brand under some lifestyle pressure. And Bazin is transforming himself systematically into a lifestyle guru. We have our own thoughts on this whole matter – and explanations from AccorHotels.
The topic of brand authenticity also concerns some of the leisure hotels in Austria, which follow the "Alpine Lifestyle". A study regrets that the copy & paste mentality has also become part of this segment. According to the study's data, 40 percent of the alpine mountain hotels are simply copycatting.
The Italian Blu Hotels have become one of the most important holiday providers in the market. Their good performance has already gained the interest of institutional investors. Their motto: keep control over assets and human resources.
For 2018, Spain reports a giant year for transactions; Marriott keeps expanding with a clear tendency towards soft brands; next week, Marriott's new rewards programme "BonVoy" will be launched. Sabre shows the industry in a trend report, where its digital range is. And in our new column "Digi Talk", we are introducing an app for digitally measuring even difficult room layouts via smartphone or tablet. The winners of the German "Hotelier of the Year" award on Monday in Berlin were an homage to the German small and medium-sized enterprises – and a plea for pure hotel passion.
Would you also like to learn from others? How do they deal with digitisation? Then we'll see you on 19/20 May in Berlin...  Join our second HITT Think Tank. Details here. 

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems, Editor in Chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Follow us on LinkedIn / The Think Tank www.hitt.world

Dear Insiders,
HITT 2019 is gearing up! Today, we present the first "Impulse Generators" for our second Think Tank on 19/20 May in Berlin – again on the seminar ship. This event format and the limited number of participants was a hit with everybody. The new programme is based on the involved discussions and wishes of our young HITT community. For this reason, this year's title is: "Digitalisation: The new value creator. Learn from others".
What can the hotel industry learn from other sectors and companies? And how can you get staff on board with digital thinking? Read on our Page 1 who the first top speakers in May will be. The number of participants is limited to about 60 people. This ensures lots of room for direct dialogue. From today, you can register to take part.
A winter chalet is also an enjoyable and cosy place to be at this time of year. Mountain hoteliers have long known this, and city hoteliers are now catching on too. A cosy chalet on the doorstep boosts revenue – as the Steigenberger Hotel Frankfurter Hof, Lindner Hotels, the Baur au Lac Zurich and the Kempinski Hotel Vier Jahrezeiten Munich confirm.
Dual curriculum study courses are also enjoyable and popular among students looking to work in the hotel industry. The terms and partnerships vary widely though. And private universities are expensive. Nevertheless, these are the most popular options in Germany, also because they cooperate with hotels and hotel groups. Bärbel Schwertfeger took a look.
And today's Part 3 of our FF&E series by Horwath HTL and Trinavis dives deep into tax law. Today, it's about sharing the burden between owner and operator.
In other news today: Ibis presented its new "Experience" world in Paris yesterday with various design approaches for rooms and where travellers can choose rooms for between 1 and 6 people. Falkensteiner Hotels have given up on city hotels. NH Hotels as new part of Minor International presented itself at the FITUR in Madrid as an optimistic and financially solid company; Barceló Hotels will also continue to post strong growth. The Italian h.n.h Hotels are suffering though – like the Italian investment market in general in 2018.
Choice Hotels and American Express presented new solutions for direct online MICE booking solutions simultaneously. The Chinese mega OTA Ctrip now wants to become the biggest OTA worldwide. And lots of new, interesting and newsworthy information from the world of digitalization is to be found in our Digi News today. See above.
We look forward to seeing you at the HITT in Berlin in May. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call or send an eMail.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems, Editor in Chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Follow us on LinkedIn / The Think Tank www.hitt.world

Dear Insiders,
The chaos surrounding Brexit is also causing difficulties for hospitality companies. With uncertainty everywhere, even large chains such as Hilton and IHG can't make specific statements. Our lightening survey of brokers, consultants, investment experts and hoteliers reflects the confusion just about everybody is suffering. There's no clear opinion about whether hotel investments are now being put on hold or not. And one commentator even placed part of the responsibility on the sector's own shoulders: It never took an interest in politics. Certain is: We'll continue to bring you Brexit news.
Deutsche Hospitality stuck with its plans for a budget brand and has now acquired a majority interest in the Danish Zleep Hotels. In our interview today, CEO Thomas Willms sees both in and south of Scandinavia lots of room for expansion and synergies.
Switzerland is again very much in demand as hotel destination, as our review today reveals – but the competition and the enormous pressure from pension funds mean money is flowing more freely, though unfortunately into few sustainable projects. 800 pension funds stand behind the a-ja Resort in the Vulcano complex, a CHF 300 million project in the very heart of Zurich. A-ja is also a budget concept. It promised wellness in the city right from the very beginning. I asked myself how wellness, city, budget and concrete fit together. The investor, the Credit Suisse Investment Foundation, sees things more optimistically than me.
But the tourists are coming, unstoppably it seems and from across the entire globe. The UNWTO counted 1.4 billion tourist arrivals in 2018 – a figure which is two years ahead of forecasts. No wonder that Airbnb is not letting up and is now wooing the first French cities with "voluntary" tax payments. Italy had no super year in 2018; here too we now have figures for comparison. The Serviced Apartment market is getting ever larger and – like the classic hotel industry – will in future struggle with lots of brands. In order to set the segment apart from the very different residential property economy, there is now – initially for Germany – a new "Charter Temporary Living".
And another word on our second HITT, our Think Tank on 19/20 May in Berlin, again to take place on the ship. Save the date! Our preparatory negotiations with the "impulse providers" should be complete by next week so that we will then be able to introduce them to you...

We wish you a good week!
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems, Editor in Chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Follow us on LinkedIn / The Think Tank www.hitt.world

Dear Insiders,
The Brexit drama is edging toward total chaos. It's depressing to watch as a great country with a great history tears itself apart. The hotel data were down in 2018 already, as Sarah Douag reports today. Everybody, even Kate Nicholls, the Chief Executive of UKHospitality, can only appeal to politicians. On Monday, Prime Minister Theresa May will present her Plan B. It will be "Mayday", also for the hotel industry. We'll keep you informed.
By contrast, the Austrian Hoteliers' Association sees itself on track for success. The OEHV has been successful in many things, members praised this week at their annual congress in Villach. But former OEHV President Sepp Schellhorn, today Member of the National Council, knocks his colleagues down from cloud 9: The OEHV has achieved little, he says.
The second part of our FF&E series by Horwath HTL and Trinavis today looks at the fair distribution of responsibilities between owner and operator under certain FF&E models. No easy subject, but one that you must be familiar with if you want to build/operate a hotel in Germany.
The German investment market posted no new transaction records in 2018 – as expected – neither in terms of the number of deals, nor in euro terms. The Austrian market was at least able to hold capital volumes steady on the previous year. The stars above the rosy world of hotel real estate are beginning to fall.
After giving the starting shot for our new column "Digi News" last week – with further releases today – we now launch "Digi Talk": Interviews on new products and ideas from the world of digitalisation. Today: the start-up Architrave whose new AI robot Delphi can analyse and store 25,000 real estate documents in three minutes.
An app meanwhile analyses the app world and comes to interesting conclusions: The number of apps used in the field of "Travel and Navigation” increased by 50% between 2016 and 2018. The search for "Food and Drinks” increased in this period by 130%.
Our personalia today focus on renowned personalities in the sector, our extensive news mix completes the picture.
For China and e-commerce fans, the last call for Prague: On 29/30 January, insiders will meet there to exchange ideas. More on our Page 1.

Till next Friday!
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems, Editor in Chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Follow us on LinkedIn / The Think Tank www.hitt.world

Dear Insiders,
We wish you all a happy New Year! We hope that the world remains peaceful, because only then will businesses be able to operate in a reasonably reliable framework in order to manage their already large challenges.
One of these is and remains digitalisation. But we have to manage – all of us! The looming changes are massive and have a deep impact on the structures and processes of businesses. With today's edition, we changed our category "Distribution & IT" to "Digitalisation" in the magazine, and from now on, we will collect weekly "Digi News" for you, similar to the market news under "News Mix". In addition, we will be starting our "Digi Talk" shortly: interviews and reports about new digital ideas, products and start-ups.
At the same time, we are working on the programme of the 2nd HITT Think Tank! Save the date: May 19/20, 2019, on the ship again, in Berlin again! The 2019 title is "Digitalisation: The new value creator. Learn from others". After our speakers explained "Emerging Technologies" last year, the participants will learn specific things from other industries this time. Details will follow.
The participants of the HITT premier are invited to participate in another post-event workshop in February; here, we will look at the research status of an "intelligent property". Today, Susanne Stauss already plunged deep into the topic and describes which synergies and handicaps investors and operators encounter.
The consultancy MRP from Vienna looks back on 2018 and, on our behalf, analysed the number of overnight says in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in its guest contribution. The markets cannot be compared directly but show similar trends: one of them is the fact that the gap between strong tourism cities and weak countryside destinations is increasing.
Ready to move in only with a suitcase or turnkey letting? These are not the only questions in the complex topic of FF&E. The teams of Horwath HTL Germany and the audit firm Trinavis describe the dealing with FF&E, from an owner's and operator's perspective, in four parts starting today.
Today, Austria's tourism companies are much happier than 10 years ago – and not only because the current masses of snow will last until the Easter holidays. Preferred Hotels are also happy about their development: The consortium will soon be nearly twice as large as The Leading Hotels of the World. A judge in New York delivered a verdict in favour of Airbnb again. The Asians are increasingly determining the global flows of tourists. Because tourism booms enormously, Venice has decided to collect admission fees from day visitors. But this is only one of several problems that bothered Italy in 2018 in regard to tourism. And here are two short memos. EXPO REAL 2019: The first early booking period ends on 15 January 2019. Those who are determined to exhibit should book now. You can find the PDF with the conditions under this link.
Moreover, the premiere of the first "Marketing to China" conference in Prague will start in just three weeks: the marketing and e-commerce hot spot with Chinese partners. Our subscribers and HITT participants still receive a last minute discount.
From now on, we are back for you every Friday! We look forward to a continuously inspiring exchange with you in the New Year!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems, Editor in Chief

Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com


Follow us on LinkedIn / The Think Tank www.hitt.world

Dear Insiders,
End-of-year business is reaching its peak. 2018 will soon be over. It was a crazy year, a mega year... These were the sentiments expressed in the Christmas cards reaching us. The pace was unbroken, the records continued. 2019 should maintain the high. Who knows. A thick political and economic fog cloaks the sector.
But fog usually clears, and this is exactly what the 20 hoteliers in the western German state of Rhineland Palatinate are hoping in their lawsuit filed against their own industry association. In August, Dehoga Rhineland Palatinate president Gereon Haumann managed to secure himself two further terms of the presidency, whilst he still has three years, until 2021, left of his current term. In return, one of the smallest Dehoga associations in Germany granted him the handsome sum of two million euros paid over eight years.
The election was "democratic", though the path towards it less so. According to the statement of claim, Haumann violated the association’s statutes. 'I'll make the world the way I like it' was and obviously is the motto of this charismatic leader, who put pressure on those standing in his way, using pre-formulated declarations and threats of fines. Those affected report. The national Dehoga association is saying nothing – merely referring to the legal independence of each state association.
20 disappointed hoteliers have now taken their complaints to court. The whole affair at the end of the year has a moral and ethical touch: More and more disappointed people are standing up for themselves. They want the truth to out over the machinations and promises of those at the top. In Paris, the 'yellow vests' set entire streets alight in frustration and disappointment. This is something to think about under the Christmas tree.
For the moment, we remain in the today: After our Breaking News from last Friday, we have researched further facts and figures on the LVMH-Belmond deal. It looks like the perfect deal, though one important element is still unclear: What does the global luxury goods giant handling over 70 brands want with these heavy trophy assets? Belmond CEO Roeland Vos declined to answer any questions at present; the acquisition has not yet been completed
The leap across the Atlantic has now been ventured by the American Magnuson Hotels. As cheap alternative to franchise, the group first plans to establish itself in Great Britain, then in continental Europe – in close partnership with Louvre and Jin Jiang. For the US hotel industry, experts forecast the tenth successful year in row. In Germany, on the other hand, voices predicting a potential downturn are becoming louder. CommerzReal remains in good spirits and together with Deutsche Hospitality has launched its own hotel fund. In Brussels, HOTREC has established an online platform for hospitality start-ups, a type of incubator as it were. The cross-border approach is good, this is what the industry needs!
We take the following message with us from the year 2018: We need more people with courage, who stand up for their values, who question things and put aside their own selfish wishes. We need leaders with a clear head and a new – sustainable – modesty as regards many deals. All that can only be provided by people, even if AI and robotics assist. For this reason, people must learn more about digitisation. That too will busy us in 2019.

HospitalityInside thanks you, dear readers and business partners, for your loyalty, your support and the many inspiring conversations. All of this contributed this year to the successful premier of our first HITT Think Tank and once again to a successful Expo Real. We would also like to thank our staff, both here in the office as well as external authors, editorial experts and the translators. Without you, there wouldn't be a hospitalityInside on Friday.

We'll be back with more news on Friday, 11 January 2019.
The office will open again on 7 January 2019.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems & the hospitalityInside team

 
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com

Follow us on LinkedIn / The Think Tank www.hitt.world

Dear Insiders,
The "Yellow Vests" in Paris have reduced the three years of hard work put in by French tourist businesses and hoteliers after the terror attacks to nothing. Overnight stays during the advent riots once again collapsed, this time across all segments and categories. And then the attack on the Christmas market in Strasbourg this week. Frustration is running high and insiders now fear long-term damage for the destination.
The hotel industry has to react and control everywhere. In future, it should also discipline wholesalers and bed banks with greater intensity – as it should colleagues in the industry: Chain hotels are undercutting their own website prices through such channels – and are doing so more often than presumed. What is the chain motto again? "The best price only directly with us...” ? A study has now shone a spotlight on this questionable game played out in the shadows of the distribution channels.
And it's in the spotlight too that innovators and innovative companies like to see themselves; they announce incubators and entice young creative employees... All "pure theatre", Alexander Osterwalder says, one of the most respected innovation consultants around the globe. Companies are wasting young people's energy because they suggest room for new ideas but don't actually provide any. "Employees focused on innovation shouldn't be the young and inexperienced staff," he says and adds provocatively: CEOs who don't commit 20-30 percent of their own time to innovation, don't take innovation seriously... Have you quickly worked out what that would be for you?
And it's getting serious for Airbnb in Munich after the Administrative Court yesterday held that the sharing platform, headquartered in Ireland, must pass on host data to the state capital, Munich. If it doesn't, it faces a fine of EUR 300,000. The Austrian Hotel Association ÖHV and Roland Berger identify Airbnb & Co as a driver for city tourism, which in turn drives Overtourism. In a study, they put forward proposals for an appropriate response for the destinations.
We also include today TUI's results for its successful year, a note on strongly desired law against rate parity in Spain and details on the new joint white label operating company of SeetelHotels' shareholder Rolf Seelige-Steinhoff and the previous CEO of Azimut Hotels, Walter Neumann.
Christmas is rapidly approaching. We are back for you again before then next Friday.

Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor-in-Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com

Follow us on LinkedIn / The Think Tank www.hitt.world