Dear Insider,

Transaction figures in the hotel industry in Germany were still at a low in the first half of 2024, but compared to the other asset classes, the tender movements observed in the hospitality segment are already starting to look like a veritable rally. This makes the official news of Reiner Nittka's departure all the more sobering. According to insiders, Henderson Park, the new GBI owner, has gradually let him go. The highly respected industry professional was very well connected, and after 23 years his successors have some big shoes to fill. 

Let's stay with the persistent high in the sector: Minor CEO Dillip Rajakarier keeps his foot on the accelerator. He has handled 30 hotel takeovers and rebrandings in the last 18 months. The Spanish NH brands are already celebrating various premiers in Asia and the Thai brands Ananatara and Avani are flying their flags in Europe. For the first time, Dillip is now thinking about soft brands; he only has seven. 

Dear Insider,

The best first: On Monday, 100 guests celebrated the opening of Rosewood Schloss Fuschl in Salzburger Land, majestically enthroned above Lake Fuschl. Almost every one of the 98 rooms has a lake view, and 245 of the planned 270 employees are already in their posts and looking after the guests. With this, the ultra-luxury operator from Hong Kong takes the Munich-based Schörghuber Group and Arabella Hospitality together with it on its journey into the international resort business. And from now on, the Schloss will take locals on a trip to the new Sea Club, right on the lake. It is to become "the Saint Tropez on Lake Fuschl". 

"We are collectively in love [with this hotel]," CEO Florian Schörghuber said, describing the special magic of this place. His mother Alexandra and Rosewood President Radha Arora already seemed like good friends. After some less fortunate years, Fuschl is now embarking on a new success story. I brought you the details and my own inspiring photos. 

Dear Insider,

Software (AI) and machines (robots) can become teammates, but they will never inspire guests. Even the researchers who explained the tech world to us at the Innovation Day at HITT in Amsterdam last week were convinced of the value of people working with us. The hospitality insiders in the room breathed a sigh of relief. Our summary today is just a mini-teaser from these four hours of surprising approaches, practical examples from the hotel lab and experiments with augmented reality. Hotelschool The Hague, TU Delft, Accor Innovation Lab and Mews managed to translate confusion into logic. 

The article is freely available on our HITT page, where you can also find the picture gallery. In two further videos, we have captured voices on pressing issues as regards the transformation. Well done to everyone who taught and learned so much in two days! Many thanks to the initiators, our experts, the knowledge-hungry visitors to the old barn, and to the sponsors who once again made this "sharing platform" possible! 

Dear Insider,

With its outstanding experts/speakers and topics, our HITT has obviously once again clearly recognised the mood and stress level of the industry in terms of sustainability... Our guests have been showering us with praise on LinkedIn since Monday - at this point, many thanks from our entire team to all of you!!! Our yellow Catch Box (with the integrated microphone) once again flew back and forth in the discussions, all of which had a lot of depth and clearly described the gap between investors and operators. And the asset risks. Also, the progress that CRREM is making in recording CO2 emissions. And further the circular economy from the perspective of Madaster and MindClick. There was also the professor who provocatively said that the industry should be allowed to "die with dignity" - and then be rebuilt. Every impulse generator spoke plainly and with constructive criticism. Our premier in free-spirited Amsterdam and in an old barn in the middle of an urban biotope was a success. "Listen, guys, we need to start"! 

Dear Insider,

In spirit, we are already present at HITT in Amsterdam and are looking forward to welcoming over 60 top-class think tank fans and experts from all over Europe - starting on Monday. The event is now being brought to life by the next generation: Two student teams, from Belgium and the UK, have recently fought their way through to the final in the current competition of the global Sustainable Hospitality Challenge 2024 and present their ideas to us. The initiator of all this is Hotelschool The Hague. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our Think Tank partners, especially Paul Griep for the Next Gen touch and Prof. Alexander Schmidt for the great teamwork on the Innovation Theme Day. 

Our thanks also go to our sponsors Accor, Arabella Hospitality, Wyndham, Drees & Sommer, Häfele, Expo Real, Proline Systems and The Hague. Six of them have built up the Think Tank with us since 2018. They are behind the concept, which openly and honestly discusses the challenges of sustainability and innovation in a small, exclusive circle, across borders and competition. It is no longer a matter of course that marketing budgets are allocated for quality. Thank you very much!

Dear Insider,                           

Only ten days left until HITT! We look forward to seeing you in Amsterdam, where lively professors will present dynamic trends and best practices on innovations (Prof. David Abbink from TU Delft, Prof. Alexander Schmidt from The Hague). Sylvain Morgaine, a practitioner from the Accor Innovation Lab, and Mews CEO Matt Welle, a visionary from the tech world, will also be present. It’s a really exciting programme. Today, we introduce you to these guests.            

My preliminary conversation with Matt Welle about the Think Tank ended with the former hotelier telling the Mews story: from near-bankruptcy to billion-dollar unicorn. This builds self-confidence, and today he is very sure that his software puts any legacy PMS into the shadows.  

Dear Insider, 

A little summary in advance: Hotel investors are regaining trust in Europe and are beginning to love luxury hotels again. For Marriott's EMEA President Satya Anand, Europe remains key thanks to luxury opportunities and the modified Four Points Express brand. After our conversion, my distinct impression was that Marriott is becoming more flexible. Four leading Alpine resorts (Sacher, Stanglwirt, Krallerhof, Kitzhof) report on how they have survived corona and the cost crises. In Tyrol, the hotel industry is shrinking, in Mallorca there are protests against overtourism and, despite the heat, Portugal and Greece are still popular with travellers. We will head to Amsterdam for HITT in 17 days' time and today we introduce you to the founders of two material databases (MindClick and Madaster) and explain how this all ties into the supply chain.                                                                            

Dear Insider, 

This colourful, global hospitality world is linked to an unimaginable number of topics, regions, scandals and curiosities. A brief foretaste - more below: Booking.com is not only annoyed about its classification as a gatekeeper, but also about the anti-Israel protests outside its headquarters in Amsterdam. Yotel is gaining a foothold in Geneva - and wants to combine its cool tech design with Swedish hygge. CEO Hubert Viriot now finds himself performing a balancing act. Corona has left Austrian Alpine hoteliers with a toxic mix of too much financial support in the pandemic years and too few financing opportunities today. Worry lines everywhere, at ÖHV, ÖHT, but not at Falkensteiner. At Prodinger's "Alpine Hospitality Summit" in Kitzbühel, people spoke plainly. This is exactly what our HITT in Amsterdam wants: We will be discussing radical rethinking there for the first time, because laws - like greenwashing - are taking effect far too slowly. Prof. Graham Miller from Lisbon advocates de-growth, a different way of generating profits. 

Dear Insider,

Do you like thrillers? In Germany this week, a real-life courtroom thriller, that would give most screenwriters a run for their money, has finally come to an end. The scene: the Adlon Berlin. The main character: the belligerent Adlon Fund initiator Anno August Jagdfeld. The charge: defamation of character with a claim for almost 1 billion euros in damages. The story has suspense and drama, but certainly no happy ending for the real estate mogul. 

The futuristic cities, which seem to rise out of the Saudi Arabian desert like architectural mirages, are more in the realm of science fiction. Meanwhile though, the desert sand appears to have found its way into the wheels. In view of the sometimes scandalous revelations, one can but wonder what will happen next. Sarah Douag reports.

The Finnish provider Bob W, which sees itself as a digital hotel alternative in the European market and is further sharpening its profile, is also wondering what the future holds. The focus is on sustainability and good storytelling in order to attract financially strong partners. Sylvie Konzack provides an update. By way of contrast, the 25th Tourism Summit in Berlin provided an example of bad storytelling. On the other hand, the German Chancellor's threat the following day to raise the minimum wage to 15 euros has all the qualities of drama. 

Not everything in this issue is film-ready, but there are exciting news about data on both Think Tank days: The (EU) monitor CRREM makes CO2 transparent worldwide and in the hotel asset class. And the tech start-up BeCause sweeps through hundreds of green certificates with a broom. 

Dear Insider,

“I just miss the daily madness!” That was the sentence of the week for me. Nevertheless, here are our topics from today in summary: The new "re-hiring" is taking effect: This is how you get good employees back, even younger ones. In Italy's hotel market, which remains euphoric, the largest groups are continuing to refine their concepts and expansion plans - everyone is becoming bolder and more open. 

Overnight stays and arrivals in Switzerland and Greece continued their success from 2023. And we are also continuing our success story with the HITT Think Tank: Listen to the exciting trialogue between Luc Boschmans (investor, Tristan Capital), Ufi Ibrahim (Investmentclub EEA) and hotelier Michaela Reitterer, the first sustainability pioneer from Vienna (Boutiquehotel Stadthalle). How can everybody’s interest in sustainability be properly balanced? Heidi Schmidtke from JLL goes one better: Where are the asset risks? What to do here? An exciting discussion.