Editorial
Dear Insiders,
Intelligent buildings will have a brain in future, just like people. It will absorb all the information from their walls and from the people who move within these walls – from "bricks & brains" as you could say. In future, matter and people will be inter-connected, which enables many control options. Beatrix Boutonnet was able to get to know what is possible and will soon be possible at the symposium "Smart Building Solutions" in Aachen a short while ago.
The 150 investors and developers – normally rather off in some future spheres – were amazingly down-to-earth. After all, there is incredible news out there, such as Wi-Fi being replaced by Li-Fi in future. The hotel industry naturally played a part in these scenarios. Please join us and continue thinking outside the box!
And then, please read the interview with Zoku's Co-Founder Marc Jongerius. Both articles are connected content-wise, and Marc provides the digital topic with a pragmatic approach: Zoku has experimented with a great number of things, following the principle of "growth hacking", in order to become even more innovative. But the group never loses sight of one thing: the people, guest as well as staff members. The Dutch hotel hybrid Zoku, which has only been in the market for three years, is one of the digital pioneers in the hospitality industry, just like citizenM and Yotel.
These contributions are the perfect lead to our HITT Think Tank in Berlin next Monday. We will ride the trend wave when we cast off with our solar-powered seminar ship from Spandau in the morning. The title "Digitalisation – the new value creator. Learn from others" fits perfectly. I wonder how we knew that so exactly?
Change has many faces. In Italy, many things are slower and in the world of hotel properties anyhow. Massimiliano Sarti sees the faint desire for new concepts, which also include co-living/co-working – what a surprise. As they contribute to the monetarisation of areas.
Sleeping in a homely ambience, working and relaxing also occupies the Serviced Apartment segment at the moment. Like in the hotel industry, an increasing number of new brands are appearing: This segment also calls for diversification, analogue to the travellers' desires. Today, Anett Gregorius from Apartmentservice presents the new core trends of her new serviced apartment market report 2019, which will be available from May 24th.
The MICE destination Germany is still doing well but a change is underway – just like in the business travel segment. After an up-to-date decision by the German Federal Court of Justice, apartment owners have to tolerate the fact that their neighbours rent out to tourists. You will find this and many more pieces of news in our well-established News Mix on the market, but supplemented today by the News Mix from the Middle East and from the "Digi" world.
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,
Only 9 days to go until the start of the HITT… We are in the final throes of preparing our second Think Tank about digitalisation. Once again, we will learn from other industries and internationally experienced movers & shakers. Listen! Question! Interact! This is possible in this circle of 50 executives. If you have never heard of our unique format of "floating forums", then you should klick on www.hitt.world and hop on board. There are still some seats available.
For three years, Dr. Jeroen Oskam, Director Research at the Hotelschool The Hague, has researched the Airbnb phenomenon and now published a book on this topic. In an interview, he explained to me how the start-up was able to get so powerful. Today, however, he sees Airbnb caught in its own dilemma. Airbnb does the balancing act between a hospitality company and an OTA and will have to keep up its stories, non-transparency and unfairness in order to survive. These are the pillars of its business model – wow, what a sustainable concept…
Choice Hotels, present in Europe for decades, is the exact opposite: It always wants to meet the requirements of every individual market, it relies on trusted partners, plans meticulously which US brand can be introduced at what time to which part of the world. At the Amsterdam Convention, Sarah Douag talked to CEO Pat Pacious and reports about the news of the global franchisor. Pacious just let the Comfort brand shine and worked out a concept of how his franchisees are able to follow suit quickly and cost-efficiently. At the same time, Choice considers participating in the extended stay segment and introducing its economy brand Econolodge here.
Dubai has become very, very quiet. Yes, you read that correctly: One year prior to the Expo 2020, which should attract 25 million visitors, the Arabian Travel Market provided zero information about this mega super hyper event, the entire world is allegedly looking forward to. The scheduled press conference at the trade show was cancelled on short notice. Dubai Tourism did not comment on that either and even the interviewed hotel chains downplay the Expo as one of many events.
Malin Flamm went to Dubai and returned surprised, fortunately she was able to get hold of some market figures. But when looking at these figures, the question arises why nobody is advertising the Expo. Let's guess: Has Dubai perhaps run out of passion, energy or money???
From the news: For the first time, Soravia has launched its own hotel fund, and Premier Inn is forced to unfortunately invest millions of euros in the German hotel market. And along comes the next investment opportunity: A market report predicts a good future for "workspaces as a service". The hotel school Les Roches in Switzerland is teaming up with Minor Hotels to recruit a generation of young talents. And we have many news titbits from the market and ATM today.
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,
Finally, the world's largest hotel chain Marriott has made the move into the homesharing rental business. But just 24 hours later, it's overtaken again – by a tech company. On Tuesday, Marriott announced 2,000 units for its new segment. OYO saved its news for Wednesday and comes on line with 300,000 homes and apartments – through the acuisition of Leisure Group. The Indian start-up made the American bed giant look very small this week.
That the announcements were made so close together reveals something very different, more massive: The tech companies are overrunning the classic hotel industry. The huge market shift has begun! In future, hotels will no longer make money by the sale of beds alone. Hallo there, dear hoteliers – wake up! Start-ups are converting overnight into tech giants and are storming across ground. Sarah Douag analysed the current announcements by Marriott and Oyo on the issue of homesharing rentals and put these into perspective.
Taking a look out of the kitchen window every now again and gazing into the distance pays off. Then, you're not quite so shocked when a once conservative Austrian group transforms into an internationally active owner-operator under the auspices of a Thai investor. Only this way Vienna House can quickly acquire 19 arcona hotels in Germany – and continue to keep an eye out for further groups. Those who missed our Breaking News on Tuesday will still find the full story in today’s edition.
And what do the Italians dream of? Also of the big wide world. Valeriano Antonioli, the CEO of the famous Lungarno Collection, wants to revive the aura of the once famous Italian Ciga Hotels through his super luxury brand Portrait and in so doing, expand and go beyond all luxury benchmarks.
And who's dreaming of conquering the world? The Chinese of course. The retail, internet and tech giants of the country are trying their luck virtually, with a virtual reality trail wherever the Chinese traveller cares to go. Alibaba, Trip.com/Ctrip and Fosun recently explained in a discussion how they want to shore up their value chain.
And finally, we turn our attention today to Airbnb: One of the most opaque companies in the world wants to go public, though still has time to think about further swipes at the hotel industry – for instance through its own streaming offers which include travel films.
With so many world-changing announcements, it's easy to get out of breath. For this reason, it's important to think critically about it all .... We help here – also with our second HITT. There are only 16 days to go before the HospitalityInside Think Tank in Berlin. Get on board, don't let yourself be taken off-guard by the wave of digitalisation. With our high-calibre impulse generators from the digital sector, from retail and marketing/branding, there will be lots of pragmatic tips for you to take home. All details on www.hitt.world. Or give us a call.
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,
Today is the first time that we've turned a complete issue into a special one. With this we want to create more awareness for special developments within the industry. Human resources deserves it. We're no longer talking about a shortage of skilled workers, but about a shortage of employees in general. The situation at the grassroots level is already dire.
But this has by no means reached the minds of politicians and association functionaries, and certainly not the minds of investors and owners. The latter ones simply shift everything to their operator. To be honest, we could fill five extra editions with HR right away, as there are so many hot spots at the moment. So let's just start today ...
The reports reflect studies that provide facts: about the snail's pace of employers, the growing desire of employees to switch their job and questionable employer rankings. They also report on new market ideas.
Operators, which offer new employees an apartment on top, clearly have an advantage. But that alone is no longer enough. They have to add a "value-added package". Payment above the standard salary is only the beginning. Competitive pressure is driving up the benefits for employees. And all this needs to be priced in ...
Investors must also know this, because they should not only sign contracts, but also ask themselves how paradoxical the entire situation has become: on the one hand, Germany's hotel industry is flourishing and blossoming, but on the other hand, restaurants and terraces are closing because of a lack of employees. This bottleneck prevents turnover and profits and does not increase the value of property. A bizarre boom.
Hoteliers/operators still have quite different needs, e.g. to face the digital challenges in human resources: There are so many mysterious AI tools around that recruiting is in danger of becoming an outright software party.
Digital + party. This leads me straight to our HITT Think Tank in Berlin on May 19/20. Although our event ship does not create any party mood, it will surely spread high spirits and a positive environment for creative thinking with contributions by critical non-hoteliers. We will tackle scenarios from the future from retail and other industries as well as transformation of HR into the digital age.
By the way, our sponsors are highly enthusiastic about HITT, and our driving forces are also happy to be on board. That is why we let them speak on our page 1 today. We will gladly take you on board as well! You will find all information and the registration field in this article and, of course, on the Think Tank website: www.hitt.world.
Happy Easter! hospitalityInside.com will return on Friday, May 3. The office is open again from April 29.
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,
So it's Brexit again in October. For the 3rd time. The hotel and tourism industry are worried most about Sterling depreciating further. Profit margins are already squeezed. In the first two months of this year, uncertainty, rising costs and falling earnings have already developed into a dangerous trio. Macy Marvel looks at the details, together with an assessment by Kate Nicholls, CEO of the hotel association UKHospitality.
We live in times in which anything is possible. Times in which a 24-year-old can turn his company into the world's eighth largest hotel group in just five years. Our author Sarah Douag interviewed Ritesh Agarwal, CEO of OYO, the founder of the Indian start-up seeking the change the hotel world just as much as Airbnb. In this six-page interview, Ritesh's responses exude self-confidence and superlatives, but his business model is clear and sober.
And what do the established chains like Choice and Taj have to say? That’s no competition! Sarah warns in her commentary of a second disruptor à la Airbnb. They are already on board with OYO after the billion dollar capital injection four weeks ago. For this reason alone, OYO is to be taken seriously.
And from India to China, to a cosy place by the name of West Lake. Today, many tourists are to be found at the huge lake. It was the place that Marco Polo stayed when he came to China. There, the explorer contemplated the world. Today, tourists stream into the mega shopping mall and into the robot hotel FlyZoo. Its creator, Alibaba, is at home here – on West Lake. On our page 1 this week, our China columnist and expert Prof Wolfgang Arlt describes the fascinating connections between self recognition and face recognition. Entertaining reading after the other challenging topics today!
Our news this week are also very mixed: The first quarter in the real estate and transaction market continues just as last year left off. Italians begin to use the smartphone increasingly for tourist purposes. Austria reinvents the wheel: With its next campaign, it wants to entice leisure cyclists and mountain bikers, mainly from Germany. Germany's largest hotel developer GBI now collaborates with a new EUR 500 million hotel fund. Orascom reports top results for 2018. And Design Hotels will be delisted at the end of the year; Board Chairman Peter Cole explains the background and the status quo of the consortium under Marriott.
If you would like to keep ahead in terms of digitalisation, you should register for our 2nd HITT, the HospitalityInside Think Tank, on 19/20 May in Berlin. The event on the ship is unique, the speakers of high calibre and the number of participants small – and there are still places free. All details on www.hitt.world and on our hospitalityInside homepage.
With our first-hand information and exclusive events, you remain fully up to date on what's happening in the market.
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,
It's all about dynamism and critics today: Germany's new power package, H-Hotels, opened its first hotel of its most recent brand this week – the Home.s Serviced Apartment hotel in Munich. With six brands from hostels to first-class hotels, the company now covers a wide market. Moreover, CEO Alexander Fitz and CCO Andreas von Reitzenstein love to have a varied brand mixture. The previous duo demonstrated its sales muscles. This is why Fitz dreams of a "hub".
By the way, this includes digital things: a small hotel of the H-Hotel group serves as a laboratory. Not only is Alexa put to the acid test here, but worst-case scenarios are staged as well according to the motto of "Our Wi-Fi can't handle it" ...
After reading these two articles, it becomes clear that future-oriented brands and digital things are inseparably linked to one another. And today, our interview with GBI's chairman Reiner Nittka is an essential part of this. The statements go hand in hand. The developer based in Berlin provocatively sums up his digital experience in hotel construction like this: developers pay the bill while hotel operators currently have the biggest benefit.
You can learn from others, yes! And we will do so with the HospitalityInside Think Tank in Berlin on May 19-20. Today, we introduce to you yet another two high-profile driving forces: retail specialist Dr Marc Schumacher, who was already Chief Retail Officer at Tom Tailor Group at the age of 34, and is now a partner at Liganova, a company belonging to the renowned Brand Retail Company in Stuttgart, and Bill Kanarick, who brings with him great expertise from the US. For more than 20 years, he accompanied the development of Sapient, a world leader in the fields of digital experience, digital marketing and technology, were he lastly held the position of Chief Strategy Officer. Bill joined EY earlier this year as Global Customer Leader.
You will find more information on this on our first page. We will update our programme at www.hitt.world during the day. The exchange of experiences on the boat on May 20, inspired by disruptive minds and people with international experience, will be very exciting. Have you already registered?
This video will show you what to expect. HITT will be held entirely in English, by the way.
In other respects, things remain dynamic and exciting in Russia. Despite all the sanctions, this market proves extremely resilient and continues to attract international brand hotels.
prizeotel's CEO, Marco Nussbaum, wants to save his own brand: he terminated the license agreement with Radisson. A rare event ... The formerly British MICE brand Great Hotels of the World now wants toconquer the continental European market, just as the white label operator of RIMC Hotels & Resorts is restructuring itself internally on a European level. With its current brand report, the German International Hotel Association confirmed the hotel market's massive success this week. However, the market continues to be flooded by projects and brands resulting in slower growth.
Here is wishing you a zestful 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,
The chatbots are amid us. Thanks to artificial intelligence, which is able to read along and "sort" our data and messages, these various virtual assistants are slowly becoming useful. How would Hilton otherwise be able to analyse 23 million customer comments per day? Already 20% of the guests' engagements are done via chatbot, said Hilton's CCO Chris Silcock in a discussion with Google and Sabre Hospitality in Berlin. But the investment seems to pay off: 60% of the customers are ready to pay more for personalised service.
I love to listen to experts with high-tech affinity, but some scepticism remains whether it will work out in reality or not. Therefore, it is pleasant to meet highly motivated start-ups such as SABA Hospitality, which invent target-oriented chatbots – and thus close gaps in the customer journey.
The German-Australian founding team behind Saba built a messenger system from the hotel's perspective and not from the tech perspective. The invisible butler answers guest's queries quickly and efficiently, it accepts bookings and scouts the guest's satisfaction. Push messages facilitate many things and also provide additional turnover. The first hotel in Asia has the chatbot in operation.
In the luxury world, the focus is still more on personal guest support than on chatbots at the moment. At the Kempinski Emerald Palace on Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, human eyes and ears still anticipate the desires of their affluent guests, as has always been the case in this segment. Around the clock, 800 staff members are at the guests' disposal in about 400 rooms, suites and villas. The guests live in a breath-taking copy of the Palace of Versailles, among a lot of gold, a sand beach and a three-star Alain Ducasse restaurant. Baerbel Schwertfeger took a closer look at the young palace.
Today's contributions symbolise the large gap in the industry: personal service versus chatbot service. If people are already willing to pay more for personalised service via Chatbot, they will also be willing to pay more for human services in ten years. Dear luxury hoteliers, please persevere, the slogan "served by humans" will become the benchmark of the next decade(s)!
From our news: Fattal invests into travel technology, citizenM obtained a cash infusion, Austria is working on a draft bill for reporting obligation and mandatory registration for sharing platforms; Turkey profited from the rebound of tourism in 2018; and our Digi News provide exciting topics from the vast digital world.
Enjoy reading!
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,
Deals get prepared at MIPIM in Cannes, at Expo Real Munich, they are made. This is perhaps the best way to differentiate between the two international real estate fairs. But you can't describe MIPIM very well. You've got to experience it. The familiar image of the "beach party" is correct, but it's not everything. I personally didn't take much from Cannes, our MIPIM-experienced real estate specialist, Beatrix Boutonnet, took more. That's why she wrote the article and I added the "newcomer" commentary.
No commentary is required when it comes to the decline of Trump Hotels. Macy Marvel lists which hotel is no longer a Trump Hotel, and for what reason, which of Trump's golf courses are losing money, and why the property in Washington D.C. is the only blossom in this de-flagging drama. Even their own brands have placed Donald's sons, the hotel makers, on the back burner. And who is to blame for all this? The Democrats and fake media, of course!
Florian Werner, head of the famous Arlberg 1800 Resort in Austria, surely doesn’t have much time for golfing and twittering. However, his new idea deserves serious consideration. With A3 Tourism Pearls AG, he wants to build a bridge to retreat for family businesses lacking a successor: they entrust management to professionals, but still retain their influence on the property.
Lateral thinking is the order of the day. That's why disruptors like Oyo immediately stand out. At IHIF, STR London depicted the chains' catch-up chase with respect to independent hotels. This week, Airbnb already talked about its appetite for the start-up from India: after only six years on the market, Oyo, the technology company with operator expertise, has moved up and ranks 8th among the world's largest hotel chains.
Chains are also gaining ground in Italy, but some independent companies are holding their own thanks to several successful years. In Germany, despite the 9th boom year in a row, not all of the top destinations have the same radiance. Wyndham Hotels is focusing on the EMEA region and noticeably expanding its presence.
This and more in today's issue, which we round off with a nice video of our 1st HITT Breakfast in Berlin two weeks ago. Between the end of IHIF and the start of ITB, 70 guests found their way to our networking premiere with a keynote by Yaning Liu, Diaoyutai MGM Hospitality, China. After all, it's all about digitisation, which we'd like to keep on everyone's lips via such events.
Further in-depth discussions will follow in Berlin on our seminar ship on May 19/20. Today, we present the details of the supporting programme. The first batch of registrations have come in, but there are still vacant slots. Exchange ideas with top-class colleagues and experts, learn from others, understand digitisation as a value creator. You can find the video and further details on our page 1.
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,
This issue was created in Cannes, where my colleague Beatrix Boutonnet introduced me to the MIPIM. I've never visited such a chaotic fair before. The fact that visitors here like to indulge in expensive champagne on luxury yachts under the warming sun probably ensures that they don't talk that much about it. You will read more on the topics of the fair next week.
We are still working on IHIF and ITB topics today. Susanne Stauss identified one trend: every operator will be doing everything in the near future. Brands, segments and investments are merging. "Soon, every operator will also have a residential brand," predicted an IHIF speaker.
Fred Fettner took a closer look at the travel analyses presented at ITB by IPK, WTTC, Deutsche Reiseanalyse, BAT and ADAC and, among other things, found out: Europe's tourist power is not diminishing, although Germany is not yet exploiting its full potential. Long-haul trips and cruises are overvalued, the USA and Turkey are the worst performers in terms of security. All that does not prevent the world from travelling on.
This makes it all the more interesting to learn from other industries how to capture customers even more professionally and subtly. That's why my second contribution from the m2C marketing to China conference in Prague at the end of January is about "new retail".
However, this week's major headlines were delivered by Kempinski – as reported via Breaking News on Wednesday: CEO Markus Semer and CFO Colin Lubbe are not extending their executive board mandates. Both are leaving at the same time. If you haven't read it yet, you'll also find the relevant information on page 1, and, of course, in the magazine as well.
In our news, you'll find numerous market news and further news from Berlin. Airbnb bought the last-minute app provider HotelTonight and is now also involved in direct hotel operations. And vice versa: the Arab Rotana hotel group concluded a direct distribution agreement with Airbnb for testing purposes. As mentioned above: everybody does everything!
You will also hear about the latest wellness trends, the 2018 balance sheets of Hyatt, Motel One and Maritim. And in our recently launched "Digi Talk" section, you'll learn about a&o Hostels, which invest lots of money in voice search and are convinced they will leave many competitors behind with this.
For early birds, we've got the following important note today: for both co-exhibitors at our Expo Real "World of Hospitality" joint stand in Munich next October and for participants of our 2nd HITT Think Tank in Berlin in May, the early booking deadlines end today! Please find further information at office@hospitalityInside.com or call the office under +49 821 885 880 20.
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 real estate industry feels like a bee in clover, brokers are out of business due to lacking projects; nevertheless, there are many conversations in the background about portfolio deals and additional mergers – even in the medium-sized segment. This is how you could sum up the atmosphere at the 22nd IHIF in Berlin this week. Regarding content, the well-attended investment forum was seldom as weak as this time: There was almost no mention of the Brexit chaos, and when asked the question when the crisis will finally hit, most people just smiled cheerfully…
The ITB buzzed on Wednesday and Thursday; today's Friday – the third day of the fair – has probably been cancelled from the top managers' schedules once and for all. More about the two mega events next week.
Without Accor, there would be much less to report on today. Sébastien Bazin explained the "Augmented Hospitality" concept to investors and media, as we already reported two weeks ago – after the presentation in Paris. But there are more interesting details available and I had a few minutes for a personal talk with Bazin. With AH, the shift towards lifestyle business has also reached a turning point for the CEO now: Bazin has to deliver operative results. In order to do so, he would have to slow down, at least for a while. But this does not seem to be happening.
The hostel world is considered to be one of the next segments, which will be in stronger demand amongst investors. This is what it sounded like at IHIF, where a&o Hostels' CEO Oliver Winter frankly admitted, amongst other things, that he had no cash problems. Therefore, a&o is improving its design and is expanding faster, as he told us in an extensive interview beforehand. The Steigenberger brand also wants to double in size. The InterConti Berlin is getting a facelift for 60 million euros, and IHG happily signed the extension of the lease agreement with Union Investment ahead of time.
Horwarth HTL published the current report about the latest development of hotel brands in Europe. And STR questioned the travel behaviour of Britons and Europeans in view of the imminent Brexit.
This and more live from Berlin… Next week, I'll be visiting the MIPIM in Cannes. As slowing down seems to be uncool at the moment.
And so it's on to Expo Real Munich in October: The Early Bird deadline for co-exhibitors at our "World of Hospitality" ends in 7 days: Early registration still secures top conditions! See page 1.
The same applies to the registration for our 2nd HITT Think Tank on 19/20 May in Berlin: The early booking deadline for this will also end on 15 March. See page 1.
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems, Editor in Chief
Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com
Follow us on LinkedIn / The Think Tank www.hitt.world