Dear Insiders,

Last week, our correspondents reported on their experiences of holiday this summer and how corona has had an impact. Today, it's the turn of the hoteliers and hotel groups, including Baur au Lac Zurich and the Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne, the Wellness Hotel Hochschober in Carinthia, Travel Charme, Seetelhotels, Romantik and Preferred Hotels. We also bring you voices from Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg.

The corona summer of 2020 was colourful and weird in a peculiar sort of way. Some achieved significantly higher rates and are delighted with a high level of pre-bookings in autumn. The resorts are also concerned about the coming darker months, but it's the cities where worries strongest. Only Hamburg seems to be doing better. Take a look at this great potpourri of reports from day-to-day business life.

Our correspondent Fred Fettner has been pouring over this year's summer statistics from Austria: There are only individual cheers. There too, the cities are taking a battering, while on the lakes, efforts already need to be made to stop unregistered camping. The situation in Italy looks much more bleak; in comparison Massimiliano Sarti's sober summer figures should make the German-speaking countries feel happy and grateful.

China has already overcome the crisis, almost all planes are back in the air, vaccinations have begun. And they will then also travel to Europe again, but with new demands: They now demand quality, no more mass destinations, more local flair and preferably hotels with family feeling. And they are prepared to pay more for it. Prof. Wolfgang Arlt, sinologist and China insider, sees a paradigm shift in the beginning. Time for a reorientation towards China.

The investment climate study by Union Investment shows just how sought-after logistics and healthcare are for investors. And it provides figures to back this up. The word 'Hotel' makes an appearance nowhere, nor does it in the digitisation study by ZIA and EY. Nevertheless, both studies provide valuable information on the current trends of the overall market.

The German hotel market is on the verge of despair, as the September survey by Dehoga shows. No wonder, when six months after the start of corona, this industry still has the feeling of not being understood and abandoned by politics. Some of the hoteliers and hotel groups mentioned above also openly criticise the lobbyists and politicians.

Necessity has made Scandic Hotels inventive: Within three weeks, they created a transnational network for co-working spaces from existing resources.

We remain creative. The new "marketplace" of the World of Hospitality is now online on hospitalityInside.com and will be gradually filled with the profiles of the partner companies and other content in the coming weeks. And on our page 1 we will also keep you up to date with the latest developments around the Expo Real Hybrid Summit.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
Editor-in-chief

Ihre Meinung? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

"German Angst” is making the rounds. And it has the face of the Robert Koch Institute. As of Wednesday evening, the Institute has placed the whole of Spain on its travel ban. Who will stop this policeman of global tourism? Nobody, not even Spanish hoteliers, wishes to play down the rising infection rates, but as more is known about how to deal with risks, a more differentiated approach is expected with proportionality in terms of the measures imposed - in particular as the pandemic is developing differently in each country and even within each country.

Every individual and every destination has a right to be treated fairly. Yet it is becoming increasingly clear, especially in the case of Spain, the favourite destination for German and British tourists: The RKI has simply removed the say of entire industries and all travellers worldwide - out of pure fear that case numbers in Germany could increase. How selfish.

Super-spreader events like family celebrations or beach parties should be forbidden, no doubt about it. But control over these sort of things is not achieved by generalized travel warnings. All this achieves is that entire countries and populations are plunged into an economic and human catastrophe with far-reaching social consequences. The debate surrounding deaths caused directly through the pandemic and deaths caused indirectly from the economic consequences of the pandemic needs to be intensified. Where is the German Ethics Council?

Beatriz de Lucas reports from a press conference held in Madrid last night, two hoteliers from Tenerife and Mallorca describe their disastrous everyday life under the ban.

Six of our authors have stories of their own holidays over the corona summer 2020: They bring us verbal images of the perfectionism as well as the sloppiness of some hoteliers and restaurateurs in the application of hygiene measures and social distancing. The reality is bitter, more sad proof of how uncoordinated the implementation of hygiene and social distancing measures are across the EU.

What else happened in August? The World Economic Forum in Davos for January has already been cancelled, making the world wait even longer for politicians and economic experts to exchange views more closely. Yet another important event to be lost. What will happen to ITB 2021? And all the other mega-events?

Futurologist Andreas Reiter, who gave me a video interview which we will make available for all users on our page 1 today, remains optimistic: After after we were locked up this year, we will take back our freedom in 2021, in big adrenaline jumps and at mega-festivals. But it won't be a return to the mass tourism of old.Digital tools will steer people in smarter ways. But travel will remain! There is no substitute for this experience.

The autumn will be hot because of the still outstanding financial aid, the expected wave of insolvencies and a changing operator landscape. The two managing partners of the consulting firm Treugast analyse the hotly contested German market, talk about winners, losers, new financing vehicles and many other shifts and changes. This interview also shows the confused, uncertain times we live in. Individual entrepreneurs such as Dirk Iserlohe, member of the supervisory board of Dorint Hotels, never tire of approaching politicians with specific problems and proposing solutions. But he is the exception.

After our summer break, it feels as if the industry has fallen into a second paralysis. Hardly anyone wants to comment. For fear of a second wave, of their own insolvency, a bruised ego, damage to the company's image? German Angst is making the rounds.

Our packed edition today contains even more discussion material - about France, the development status of the vaccine, the Dehoga figures and the interim financial statements from the chains.

And we invite you to join us at Expo Real in mid-October: The wheel will continue to turn, and today we offer you a moderately priced special package for a physical and virtual presence in the vicinity of the trade fair: the MASEVEN Hospitality Hub. More on this on our page 1.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
Editor-in-chief

Ihre Meinung? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

The wounds inflicted by corona in the first half of the year are clear to see - the negative results posted by the most successful hotel chains as well as the ever increasing announcements of redundancies, especially from airlines. The international business travel market is simply not managing to get off the ground, and there are no visible signs anywhere across the globe that this will change soon.

Instead of summer lust, August is already a month of autumnal frustration... How do people and especially managers deal with this permanent tension? Cornelia Kausch, Senior Coach & Consultant for Life, asks us questions today, gently and self-critically. Her guest contribution encourages us let ourselves feel grief and frustration, to let go of everything, to motivate yourself, consciously. This brings back energy and prospects for everyone.

Travellers have already set their perspectives and wishes back well into next year: Many want to travel even more than before corona, especially to visit only close and sustainable destinations. This major trend has been identified by various tourism institutes around the world. The 'perfect world' is to remain as perfect as possible for a long time yet. This brings scientists to flirt with the idea of directing streams of travellers and distributing them over a radius of 3,000 kilometres.

Daniela Schade, SVP Commercial Development and Managing Director at Accor in Munich, is stepping out of her "hamster wheel" after 15 years - inspired by corona - consciously and voluntarily. We spoke to this respected expert about change in the industry and at Accor - about the transformation of sales & marketing, distribution, loyalty and customer retention. Her advice to colleagues: Stay curious! Keep moving! Never accept any given state as final. Reconsider everything. Change is always present, it is part of our life.

With these words - and with further colourful, thought-provoking reports from this week's everyday life - HospitalityInside also says goodbye for now and heads off into the summer break. Our office will be open again from 24 August, our next edition will be published on 4 September.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
Editor-in-chief

Ihre Meinung? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

The summer of 2020 is descending into corona chaos. How do the travellers stand it? Overnight, quarantine rules altered without warning, local lockdowns are imposed even in tourist centres, the one country warns against travelling to the another, the Foreign Office warns against almost all of them, politicians are upping the fines and discriminating against travellers from their own country - and amongst all this, a clarifying court ruling pops up.

Politicians no longer able to see the bigger picture are now launching themselves into campaigns - to the even greater detriment of the tourism industry. The first to experience economic death this year will be hoteliers and restaurateurs in Italy and Spain. Politicians should rather convene with business owners to get to know their pains - so that they can then act more efficiently.

This issue of ventilation this year could also provoke a shortness of breath. There is a strange quiet in the industry around this topic. Yet old hotel buildings may be just as much a risk as aeroplanes here. There are technical solutions though and there have been strict regulations for some time. The construction director of a hostel chain, an engineer and building biologist, the VDI/Association of German Engineers and a critical aircraft professor speak openly about the risks of aerosol infection - on land and in the air.

Hostel and co-living concepts have so far made profit by having many people in one room. Despite Corona, a&o and Meininger don't want to deviate from their per-bed calculation and low rates, they prefer to fight for new target groups and become creative in marketing. And co-living providers like The Base and The Collective have closed their community rooms and are now bringing "protected living" in the apartment to the fore. Sylvie Konzack reports on the ups and downs of the world of Sharing.

Many a student may have experienced a veritable rollercoaster ride over recent months, especially in a dual study programme. Whether every young person has been so happy with the new, abrupt "learning experience" as a replacement for a hotel employee on short-time work? Certainly, the universities have been flexible and have helped with difficulties, some students told our correspondent Bärbel Schwertfeger this week.

Our news reports today are also a colourful mix: We summarise events in this chaotic summer, the virus explosion at Lake Wolfgang, quantify the global costs of the pandemic so far, have analysed the wrangling over the imminent break-up of the British mega chain Travelodge and the stress between two times two owners and operators: IHG could lose 103 hotels in the US because they did not pay their trust rents on time, and for Deka Immobilien the Dutch court ruling on a rent reduction at W Amsterdam is different from what the media have so far reported. And among the largest hotel chains in the world, Asian companies continue to their US counterparts into a corner. But that's not really anything new.

There is also new information on the Expo Real on 14-15 October: HospitalityInside will once again be present with a joint stand - based on a "Smart Space" of just 9 sqm and with a clear focus on virtual partnerships. The first partners are signed up, others are very welcome! It's all about keeping the hospitality flag flying, staying present in the minds of partners from the real estate and investment sectors even in these trying times - and proving our resistance and ability to "keep a stand". We will also organise a networking event. Read the details on our page 1 - and feel free to contact us. Those who take part at the smart price this year have already saved money for 2021.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
Editor-in-chief

Ihre Meinung? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

Looking at things from a hotel development perspective, corona is a mere dent. B&K, H-Hotels, Motel One, Premier Inn, Success Hotel Group, SV Hotel and Vienna House are pushing forward with projects already signed, but all are becoming more cautious as regards future projects and concepts. If you take this colourful array of names as a yardstick, it seems as if everyone in the industry is again pulling in the same direction. Only the young Success hotel manager thought about digitisation and sustainability loud and long, at least in our survey.

Our guest article by Paul Moxness this week should also give you pause for thought: For 31 years, he was Vice President Corporate Safety and Security of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. As regards today’s uncertain world, he says this: Complicated hygiene measures do not increase the guests' confidence in the hotel. Trust was built up over decades, and within six months it was erased. That is why it is not the disinfectant that is most valuable today, but the well-trained, trustworthy employee who protects the guests. And he also advises the industry to ally itself with the stakeholders at the destinations: Everyone needs to be on the same page. A tour d'horizon of security, which inspires confidence and so brings guests back to the hotel.

The Spanish want nothing more than guests: Just like in Italy, high season will at best have features of low season. In July and August too, occupancy figures are in the basement. Spain too is facing a bitter year.

No wonder with all the ups and downs of country restrictions: Every country issues warnings to avoid travelling to others, all want to control their borders more tightly again, and quarantine has been dealt with arbitrarily. All this slows the flow of summer tourists and as if by chain reaction also of the business travellers.

But it doesn't only look bleak for the cities in Europe. Can you imagine Indian cities or even train stations empty? Our correspondent Hoihnu Hauzel summarises the situation; Taj CEO Puneet Chhatwal also offers a brief comment. The virus has hit India and its tourism hard.

This and other interesting news in our edition today.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
Editor-in-chief

Ihre Meinung? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

There is great confusion in the world of tourism: Sweden is opening up again, Luxembourg is closing its borders again, and Mallorca is closing a party zone. You can travel to Island without a test now, and Latvia registers every visitor. Who can keep up with this? Travellers must be getting even more confused. From an inside perspective, this smells much more like ruthless egoism and jealousy, if borders get opened or closed and tourism-dependent countries warn against staying in neighbouring countries ...

Restricting hotspots is fine, but creating such chaos across Europe under the guise of the corona-infected confuses people even more. No wonder that they are dispensing with their mouth and nose protection, ignoring bathing bans andfrequenting beach bars when they are "finally on holiday".

In other words: Politics is going too far out of overburden. Maybe this is the reason why it no longer wants to get involved in the hotel industry. This is why Dirk Iserlohe, Chairman of Honestis AG, parent company of Dorint Hotels, lists the mistakes politics is making, arguing with hard facts, particularly against the critical paragraph on "disruption of purpose", and making new proposals to politicians. As a trained banker, he knows the pitfalls of financing and continues to fight, not only for Dorint. His findings: "Bridging loans are the 'Trojan horse' of insolvency" and "The state's intervention was only palliative for our industry". By the way, one Dorint hotel is owned by the Free State of Bavaria that is turning its back on it.

For Italy, the truth is currently even harder than expected: Today, it is already clear that the hotel sector will lose 16.3 billion euros of turnover this year. This means that the season is virtually over. Our Italian correspondent Massimiliano provides an update. By the way, until yesterday evening, it was not clear how long the emergency state will be extended.

Meanwhile, the open hotels in Germany continue to work with tiny steps, massive power and lots of creativity to achieve meagre occupancy rates – but there is no sign of any cost recovery yet. Read how Success Hotel Group, SV Hotel, Bierwirth & Kluth, Deutsche Hospitality, H Hotels, Motel One and Vienna House have experienced the re-start so far.

The new Serviced Apartment Report is available including the latest corona figures. The previous year's "Rising Star" is losing momentum, but performed better than the classic hotel industry during the corona months – even though occupancy dropped from 90 to 70 and later down to 40%.

Real estate brokers provide additional analyses on the 2nd quarter of 2020. Deutsche Hospitality introduces its initial – already coordinated with Huazhu – loyalty programme. Caravanning is booming even stronger than expected.

And Expo Real is waiting to see what will happen. It announced further details on entry fees, conferences and the exhibition booths this week. We, the organisers of the "World of Hospitality", would at least like to try flying the flag for and with the industry. Talk to us! You can find more on page 1 and inside the magazine as well as lots of additional content in this well-filled issue.

See you next Friday!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
Editor-in-chief

Ihre Meinung? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

It's still the small hotels and rather unknown names about whose insolvency you can read in the daily newsletters. Yet, it's only a matter of time for the rest. The leisure business is "okay", but beds are still available. And what happens from September? Event and business bookings are quite simply not coming in. Trade fairs are once again permitted almost everywhere – as in Cologne, for example, yet the first ones scheduled to take place are being cancelled anyway. Quite simply, not enough exhibitors are registering. The industry finds itself on an emotional rollercoaster: Joy over the summer is immediately clouded by forecasts for the autumn, fear of unemployment, insolvency and a second wave of infection.

Sylvie Konzack has looked into this, while Susanne Stauss asked again six hotel groups to comment on the ever present issue of rent. The three-month protection period regarding termination for the tenants/leaseholders is over and will not be extended. H-Hotels, Deutsche Hospitality, Motel One, Vienna House, the SV Group and Bierwirth & Kluth report on their own hardships and solutions. Their appraisal of politicians and industry associations are not the best.
Fred Fettner spoke this week with the hotel association in Croatia about the coming summer season: Director Veljko Ostojić expects no mass tourism this year. But the planes heading south are only just beginning to take off again, and this year four times as many Croats go for staycation. At the same time, the number of infected people is rising sharply these days.

Kempinski is also struggling with problems, but they seem to be more home-made. CEO Martin Smura has now been in this position for one year already, together with his CFO colleague Michael Pracht. Yet Pracht has refused to extend his one-year contract, we have learned, due to differences of opinion with CEO Martin Smura. A company in the corona era with an interim CFO is not a stable set-up. Smura is making plans to bind the new expansion partner 12.18, respectively its capital provider Versorgungswerk der Zahnärztekammer, a pension fund for German dentists. Since the CEO has so far only announced individual projects but no notable strategy, I have been asking questions of trustworthy sources.

The German hotel investment market has suffered unprecedented losses due to corona, JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group reported this morning. It will be a modest year for transactions.

This and more interesting news in our edition today. Until next Friday!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
Editor-in-chief

Ihre Meinung? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

In its brave but ultimately failed exceptionalist response to corona, Sweden has meanwhile cut itself off from the rest of the world. Travel warnings for Sweden are taking effect: The vast majority of foreign guests will stay away. The summer season is thus likely to be lost, only domestic tourism can help heal the wounds in 2020. Sylvie Konzack spoke with Scandic and Radisson, among others, as well as with the industry association Visita Sweden.

For tourism businesses everywhere, their primarily concern is limiting losses, not increasing sales. In Austria, professional voucher marketers are again increasingly shaping the discussion, and in May the ÖHV also launched its own website for vouchers with 1,000 participating hotels. On specific analysis though, even this model does not appear to be a resounding success, Fred Fettner reports.

In order to reduce costs, the first US chains are already planning or implementing the first large-scale redundancies, including at headquarters. How will the global players change as a result of this? Where can jobs be cut and where must they be saved? Thomas Mielke from the international HR consulting company Aethos explains in an interview with Susanne Stauss why a sensitive approach to employees and especially to those with "institutional knowledge" in the company requires particular tact these days.

Those who, in the boom years, rhetorically and euphorically described their employees as "talents", "ambassadors" or "associates" and now – in these economically challenging times – radically write them off as "human capital", will not find enough "human resources" in the market when they come to rehire as the economy recovers. After all, the industry will continue to earn money only through its services – and this will be all the more true after corona and with increasing digitalisation.

While half of the hotels in Vienna are still empty and there are clear signs of price dumping, Falkensteiner Hotels in Italy is pressing ahead with its expansion: Revenue targets are also ambitious. Meanwhile we have launched a small survey among 12 chains to find out how business is getting back up and running in different cities. The answer: cautiously. At the moment, leisure-focused hotels are leading the way, and this will remain so until the end of the holiday season in September.

This makes it all the more important, for the Swiss hotel industry for instance, that the state offers support, for example with short-time work schemes. But here too, everyone is still waiting for the urgently needed cash injections. This and more, including interesting personal details, in today's issue.

Ihre Maria Pütz-Willems
Chefredakteurin

Ihre Meinung? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

In order keep the situation in good view, we asked Martina Fidlschuster from Hotour Hotel Consulting to describe the current state of play for the German hotel industry. In a nutshell, in my words: Virtually no core issue has been resolved and bridging loans for medium-sized hotel groups is still outstanding. Parliament will retire for the summer recess at the end of next week. It will be the end of August before they're back. After that, the government money tap turns off, voices from Berlin tell me.

It's set to get pretty damn tight. In today's edition, the hotel consultant sets out the facts and figures for our readers making clear what will happen in the coming months: "Even if costs are reduced to the absolute minimum, many companies could become insolvent before demand and sales have risen to workable levels."

And so the industry is drifting towards insolvency, while the mood in Germany in general – also thanks to the holiday season – is becoming more relaxed and positive among end consumers and company managers in many other sectors. At the same time, popular federal states such as Bavaria are trying to remain virus-free: They are allowing guests from identified corona hotspots into the state only if they can show a negative Covid-19 test. Scientists warn: Such test results give a false sense of security!

Holidays at home remain popular, but for the future, travellers also want more flexible bookings. Because OTAs have been a particular annoyance for hoteliers through the corona crisis, Corsican hoteliers will take a break in August: Their hotels will then not be bookable on Booking.com.

HRS is now also – as announced briefly last week – officially introducing its own hygiene seal, as is the EHL in Lausanne – via its consulting channel.

Speaking of cash: Only a few countries have money left over for the implementation of sustainability strategies. The EU Green Deal is in jeopardy as politicians are now focused on saving human lives first and foremost. That you can do both is demonstrated today by Sarah Douag in her article: She looks at the range of responsibility from the EU, UNWTO, OECD to banks and tourism/hotel industry. Two very different managers explain why they see the corona crisis as an opportunity for sustainability: Peter Cole, CEO of Desgin Hotels, and Dimitris Manikis, EMEA President of Wyndham Hotels.

We ourselves have known since Tuesday: Our HITT was also a great success as the first digital conference, thanks to top content and dedicated, honest speakers who helped broaden horizons, even across industries. In our summary on page 1 you will find inspiring statements from our 3rd HITT.

But a THINK TANK can't be transferred 1:1 to an online format. What's missing is the personal interaction, the finer jokes, the beer together with the person opposite, the passionate discussion at the bar... In 2021 we will return to our ship to let the wind of digitalisation fill our sails again.


Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
Editor-in-chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

Rent reduction or moratorium remains a difficult topic as two articles show today: David Etmenan, CEO Novum Hospitality, has found a solution with two thirds of his lessors, the rest shows little mercy. "But we need the collaboration with the lessors," he says – and created his own lease model for bridging purposes until the end of 2021. Apart from the short-time working benefit, Novum cannot expect any government assistance – as many other groups of this size – as the requirements do not fit. He still has high hopes in the association.

There is only little movement between open-ended real estate funds and hotel operators. The funds are obliged to their investors; therefore, they are unwilling or unable to negotiate with the operators. But what will they gain from an empty hotel in the end – at an economically good location? In the last few years, hotels have enriched funds immensely; now, they have become Cinderella for the lords of money. One thing is clear: the yields on funds will decrease further. Therefore, it would be advisable, to reach a settlement with the lessees. Only few funds managers are willing to talk.

Concerning hygiene, operators are in agreement. They are cooperating with hygiene experts and certifying, in order to convince travellers via a "Clean & Safe" label. Incidentally, nobody is talking about these costs. And the operators are not willing to charge extra for more hygiene. We have outlined for you, who is using which seal. By the way, these are not only hotels, OTAs and destinations are also participating – with their own labels, of course.
On Tuesday, Germany introduced the "Corona-Warn-App" – with an open outcome. After two months, the Austrians are already tired of their app. Instead, they are somewhat pleased that the value added tax has been reduced for gastronomy, introduced for a limited time only, and they are even more enthusiastic about a national survey, which shows clearly that an increasing number of fellow countrymen will remain in their country during their vacations!

Meanwhile, Mallorca fans know no risks. On Monday, the first of the 10,900 holidaymakers boarded the Lufthansa flights to Mallorca, with facemasks but ZERO distance – to start their corona test holidays. No middle seats were empty. This picture of symbolic importance with faces behind masks in the crowded Economy class will go down in history.

I repeat: It was a packed plane. How is that legal? The crane, which in no time at all has skimmed off 9 billion in state aid alone and now announces up to 22,000 instead of the original 8,000 redundancies as a thank-you, must - understandably - earn money.

But what about the hoteliers? Neither in Spain nor anywhere else are hotels and restaurants allowed to have full tables. Do we need to comment on this? Apparently, the hotels all pulled their face masks up over the eyes. However, we did not and we asked a German hotelier in Mallorca to tell us about his impressions since the start of the corona outbreak.

Next Wednesday, we – HospitalityInside – will already have the feedback on our Think Tank. Therefore, this is the last call for Tuesday's HITT 2020: "Boost your Service Delivery!" is our motto. The virtual service for the guest will increase future turnovers, even prior to their arrival. How does this work? Listen to great experts and progressively thinking insiders! You can still register last-minute, until Monday evening at www.hitt.world. And we would like to take this opportunity today to thank our five sponsors Sabre Hospitality Solutions, Accor, Langham Hospitality, Drees & Sommer and Expo Real. Four of them have placed their trust in us since the launch three years ago. More on our page 1.


 

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
Editor-in-chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com