Editorial
Dear Insiders,
Hotel deals with Chinese investors are currently in the air. The Chinese government has not banned them yet but categorised them as "restricted". Only selective investments seem to be possible in future – and no more property purchases. What does all this mean? A China expert at CBRE Hotels has answered Sarah Douag's questions concerning HNA & Co. In spite of this, giants from West and East are forming joint ventures on a strategic level: Marriott and Alibaba are passing loyalty customers to each other, and more.
Croatia is free of state interference concerning deals. Therefore, the Austrian-Croatian hotel owner and operator Valamar-Riviera is accelerating at full speed, investing a lot and focusing fully on upgrading. This way, 2-star Valamar Hotels will become 4 and 5-star mega resorts, and modest camping sites will be transformed into luxurious glamping sites. The boom in this small country with storybook bays makes this possible.
New booking platforms are discovering the segment of Serviced Apartments. National as well as international providers want to make temporary long-time living easily bookable, on a global scale, of course. But this special hotel has its own online pitfalls. Susanne Stauss reveals them.
Paris is making an increasing number of illegal apartment landlords pay – and it is paying off. In Italy, MICE business is returning, especially because of international demand. Switzerland, just as its neighbouring countries, is moving in more forcefully against OTAs. And the number of overnight stays has increased in the first half of the year; Germany-bound tourism has also increased significantly at the same time. Belmond, IHG, Marriott, and Orascom have retained their good mood after publishing their half-year results.
After our summer break, we have many new personnel particulars today. And we also have a long news mix, as we are making up for some contributions of the last two weeks for documentary reasons.
There are only six weeks left for many of us before the Expo Real starts in Munich. Today, you will obtain the first pieces of information concerning the joint stand of "World of Hospitality", which, with its 29 co-exhibitors, bundles most hotel groups and exhibitors focussed on the hotel industry at the trade fair at one platform. You will find more details on page 1.
We hope you were able to relax and enjoy yourselves in your summer break as well as we did. Let's start into an exciting fall where the federal election in Germany, which takes place in four weeks exactly, could set a new course. Also for the hotel industry.
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor in Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
With romantic lighthouses and deceitful tourists, today's issue moves towards our summer break. The Italian government has finally found an interface between special investors, operators obsessed with detail, and adventure-hungry tourists by renting unusual buildings. Hundreds of assets are planned to be allotted for this purpose over the next few years in order to fill the public purse. In Germany, Floatel seems to be earning good money with this niche concept.
In Spain, rakish lawyers likely motivated British tourists to sue hotels for food poisoning. The initial tourists are now on trial. Here, hoteliers become helpless victims of national legislation.
The German Novum Hotel Group catapulted itself into the spotlight – through its hyperdynamic expansion. Over the past few months, hospitalityInside.com has received an increasing number of calls asking how they did it. From 12 to 106 operating hotels within seven years? CEO David Etmenan and CFO Torsten Scholl faced up to our questions without hesitating and wish to make their company more transparent in the future. Today's – highly interesting – article is a first step towards this goal. Including both critical and benevolent voices from the market.
Italy – once more – hits the headlines in our news: on Wednesday, the parliament prohibited rate parity clauses by law. From Spain, the Idiso service and CRS provider is pushing onto the market. The Nordic markets and the Balearic Islands are both doing very well at the moment. In Berlin, a database of hotel rates is in the making. And American students managed to prove that humans are bribable. They would pass on the data of their friends just for a pizza!
Three weeks from now marks the end of the registration period for exhibitors at ITB Berlin. If you are thinking about exhibiting, we recommend the "World of Hospitality" joint booth in "hotel hall" 9. You will find details on our homepage. Registration for the joint booth will close at the end of August.
HospitalityInside will then be back from its two-week summer break. We'll be back in the office on August 21, and August 25 will see the next issue with new and exciting stories.
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems and the hospitalityInside team
Dear Insiders,
Over recent years, large chains have in some cases quite unscrupulously stolen the innovative brand ideas of medium-sized hoteliers. Meanwhile, the small and medium-sized hoteliers have taken a closer look at the chains, especially as regards finance. Some have even ventured partnerships with major investors. Otto Lindner, master of 31 hotels in seven countries, wants to know nothing about locust deals with huge expansion targets, but he does have a lot of time for one particular family office that shares his approach. His new investment partner for the boutique brand me and all hotels is the chairman of the football club Schalke 04, a billion-euro heavy entrepreneur. The Chairman of the German Lindner Hotels on the new path, soon to take him outside Germany and into the wider EU.
From France to Europe and even Canada: The consortium SEH is making waves and is more active than ever. Its members are also impacted by chains and OTAs – they too place their trust in partners, common programmes and networking, just like the chains. Sarah Douag presents the Société Européenne d'Hôtellerie today.
Massimilano Sarti takes another look at the facts and figures on the development of the Italian hotel real estate market which is currently attracting attention from investors. Operators find it less exciting: They are still struggling against more and more rooms from non-hospitality providers.
The search and addiction for more market share no longer has any limits: Quartus, AccorHotels and Bouygues provide good examples of it today. They move with ease from house construction to the hotel industry and together create co-working spaces.
Yet there are limits as regards safety and security: A European study shows how much safety and security influences the choice of holiday destination. That will be the challenge in touristic distribution today!
Airbnb has managed to have itself listed on a booking platform for corporate travellers, alongside the chains. AccorHotels, Hilton, H.n.h., NH and Schoerghuber Group have posted their results for the first months of 2017, respectively for 2016. And with its third hotel fund, Invesco Real Estate remains loyal to the classic hotel industry, though for the first time initiates an open-ended fund. This and more in today's edition. Enjoy reading!
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor-in-Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
When will you, dear Hoteliers, market the last mattress in the hotel? When will I be able to "share" the double bed with another unfamiliar guest? This sounds all very odd to me, but today we will describe two new ideas as to how a second office can be made from a hotel or how empty terraces, bars or pools can be rented by the hour. The "co-working spaces", which lifestyle groups such as The Student Hotel, Ruby and Mama Shelter have discovered as an additional source of revenue make sense for me, as they allow hoteliers to extend their established business. But do I really have to hawk my empty bar and the last balcony? Nevertheless: The idea from the young Frenchman behind "Airoffice" sounds promising. Share! Then you'll earn.
Do you have "a good name"? The brand name of your hotel / your hotel group is valuable. Chains know this. Now, private hoteliers are discovering it too. Two clever Austrians have therefore had a brand analysis done and report openly of their experiences. A positive effect: Those able to decipher their brand value also impress the banks.
And in other news: Hotel rates in Europe continue to rise in 2018. Airbnb refuses to pay the 21% tax in Italy. Vienna House expands in Asia, and the Thai sister brand from the group of the new Thai owner makes the leap to Europe. Exactly what effect the G20 summit in Hamburg had on hotel benchmarks is revealed by STR. And with the summer, each week we now get the results from hotel companies for the first half-year, today from Pandox.
In the background, we continue to work on the next Expo Real in October. If you would like to present your company at our high quality networking event BRICKS & BRAINS or in our trade fair SPECIAL, please refer to our Page 1 for more details. Ask us about it!
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor-in-Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
I met Chris Cahill in the mid-1990s at Fairmont in Canada and have followed his career since then. Hardly anyone else knows this group as well as he does. He built the group up for 19 years and secured FRHI a place in the global luxury hotel industry. Today, he speaks as CEO Luxury Brands of AccorHotels – about the pieces in the brand jigsaw puzzle. Typically for him: his people focus, which make up the brands. For a year now, he's consistently questioned and analysed guest services and guest feedback in order to provide fact-based answers. Results show: There is no difference in quality between Fairmont and Sofitel, not from the guest perspective at least.
What Beatrix Boutonnet found at the Future Congress in Luxembourg has more the feel of an experiment. 5,000 participants attending listening to fascinating speakers who reported of flying taxis, life on Mars, helpful augmented reality spectacles and new technologies for the world of finance as well as football. She didn't meet any hoteliers there though.
And Fred Fettner takes us on a journey this week into the idyllic world of thermal lakes – with a novelty: In Austria the first two thermal lakes are being constructed. They are intended to give summer tourism a shot in the arm in the otherwise busy winter sport destination Bad Hofgastein.
Our news this week focus again on Airbnb: the recent decision is France to list landlords and on a disputed study on the Balearic Islands. The Crillon Paris has re-opened after four years of renovation works. The booming German real estate market experienced a slight slowdown in the 2nd quarter, though the market value of investment-relevant hotels has again risen sharply in Germany. Even serviced apartments continue to pick up momentum. Two new market studies and an important book provide more transparency here.
For us, the countdown is already underway for Expo Real 2017 in October in Munich. At the "World of Hospitality", there have been a few changes so that one place has again become available; logo partnerships are also still possible. You also still have the chance to present your company at our top networking event BRICKS & BRAINS and in the SPECIAL. Ask us about it.
We wish you a good week!
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor-in-Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
It's sheer incredible to read about the current President of the United States of America and his family and the "United Trump Business" which spans the globe. Fortunately, there are unswervingly "fake media" like Bloomberg and the Washington Post to help keep an overview. Sarah Douag has once again dug around to present Part 2 of our Trump Series today.
And thankfully there are hoteliers with a sense of humour: No less than the Germans – not really known for their humour – have introduced a deliciously ironic "Trump Suite", just in time for the G20 summit in Hamburg starting today. The design of the room at the 25hours hotel is a light-hearted caricature of "Trump style", and not only in its boastful swanky style, but also in how it was sold: by auction on eBay. It costs 905 euros for two nights to experience the Trump Suite and police roadblocks in Hamburg from today. So Great!
Alexander Ipp forms the counterpoint to such swank and splendour. The modest Austrian businessman is interested in honest and affordable hotel products in small towns. That too is a niche. Fred Fetter met him and in second article presents other new Austrian hotel brands from the "Smart & Budget" world.
NH Hotels will pay a dividend for the first time in nine years. Behind the scenes, things are hotting up though, also due to HNA. The operator Odyssey is developing a taste for the hotel sector and sends a first signal today with the new AC Hotel in Mainz.
In Austria, there's more demand from investors than there are hotels available for purchase, and just before the travel season, the discussion around border control at the Brenner Pass is making headlines. Austrian chancellor candidate Sebastian Kurz made a short trip to Tyrol as part of his election campaign.
Political decisions currently have a great impact on the sector. All eyes are therefore on Germany – and not only today on the great and powerful in Hamburg. On 24 September, Germany will hold a general election. Perhaps before then, somebody will design a Merkel Suite?
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor-in-Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
AccorHotels is transforming itself into a real estate company with operations attached. As of today, HotelInvest will officially become AccorInvest and HotelServices will become AccorHotels. That doesn't exactly sound logical, and is indeed difficult to understand – even for those at Accor. Armies of consultants are flooding the company. Susanne Stauss and I have done our best to explain the fundamental changes brought about through this Booster project; lots of questions remain unanswered – though everything is in the shareholder's best interests.
Louvre is now sprucing up its core brand Golden Tulip – strategically clear and with a few catchy ideas. As of immediately, a food truck will be located in front of the hotel and inside guests are able to choose the amenities they require for their rooms personally. Sarah Douag was at the premier in Marseille.
No, it isn't all the Chinese's fault – at least not as far as "overtourism" is concerned. Meanwhile, various destinations are struggling against mass tourism with extremes. For this reason, our China expert Prof Wolfgang Arlt looks at the issue from the non-Chinese perspective, knowing only too well that the Asians aren't making the problem any smaller. He fears an image problem for the entire sector across the globe.
Italy has now introduced an Airbnb tax, much to the delight of the hotel industry, as well as a number of other tax reliefs. France has fined Expedia one million euros for its illegal practices – next to this, Booking.com now looks like the good child. At the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai at the end of April, Qatari officials told us about the imminent visa relaxation; two days ago, they have now made the official announcement to this effect. Upon request, we have now also received an official statement from Qatar on the current political and diplomatic challenges.
In Germany, the accommodation sector drives tourism, which is unlikely to change anything of the core concerns of the sector here – just as in Austria, where OEHV and Deloitte have recently determined hoteliers' main concerns in a survey. Yesterday, the state agreed to pay a bonus for additional workforce. This and much more in our announcements today.
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor-in-Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
The Web is learning to speak. "Alexa" and her friends will stand ready to help us as personal virtual assistants on everyday tasks. Privacy becomes an illusion – and many young people, who only go online with their mobile phones, will no longer know about the existence of a World Wide Web. And: Platforms like Booking.com will disappear! Why that will be and why we now stand before the next huge technological leap forward is explained today by Prof Dieter Fensel from the University of Innsbruck in an interview conducted by Fred Fettner.
In a second article, Fred also shows: In future, Artificial Intelligence will determine the room rate! In distribution in the tourism sector – among the tourism associations, the "Destination Management Organisations", the technological fight for travellers has begun. Here too, it's fundamentally about algorithms, which are to drive business. Tourism associations want to form the counterweight to booking portals like Booking.com today.
Corporate PR managers or their PR agents are today on permanent look-out for the flower in the swamp of bloggers. Though they wouldn't choose such negative language the non-professionals convey emotion and provide attractive images of hotels, thereby doing part of the hotel(group)'s marketing work. Follower numbers are for most PR professionals not the decisive factor though. And the boundary between blogging and surreptitious advertising is quite fluid, as Baerbel Schwertfeger found out.
And in other news: Following the acquisition of the Finnish Restel Hotels, Scandic becomes Scandinavia's chain giant. The EU Commission once again makes recommendations for the Sharing Economy. STR and Google have analysed the correlation between search and bookings. TrustYou has discovered what communication channels guests prefer. And German companies have never spent as much on their business travellers as they did in 2016, but they continue to save on hotel costs. Nevertheless, hotels continue to expand. And last but not least Novum has now presented its new signature brand "niu".
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor-in-Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
The real estate scouts are running – from A to B to C. The real estate bottleneck in top cities has prompted interest in smaller regionally important locations. And these need special concepts and specialist operators, developers and consultants report today. Certainly local expertise, local capital and local franchisees can only have a positive impact.
Italy too is attracting investors – those looking for a ROI of three percent and more. That can certainly boost demand, not only because returns are falling everywhere, but because operators in Italy are waking up and breathing new life into their concepts – and are even prepared to discuss contracts.
A turn of an era, also in OTA business: "Europe has the highest online bookings rate in the world," Simon Lehman said, President of Phocuswright at the Amsterdam Conference of the renowned data research company. In three years already, 33% of online bookings will be made via smartphones; today it's 20%. The revolution is underway: The customer has the power!
Just what challenges the sector faced in 2016 is revealed in the new annual report of the European umbrella organisation HOTREC. Its President expressed her thanks on Tuesday evening at the German International Hotel Association for its commitment – and IHA Chairman Otto Lindner appealed to all hoteliers to fight back and to shape their own futures. There were strong words at the IHA's 25th anniversary.
As of this week, TrustYou is blazing a new trail: A gigantic Japanese internet and media company has acquired 100% of the review platform. Co-founder Benjamin Jost is satisfied. With the additional financial resources from the new owner, TrustYou will now be able to grow faster.
The EXPO REAL Munich also continues to grow. This coming October, it is set to burst at the seams. The joint stand "World of Hospitality" is nearly full. For this reason, we again offer a limited number of logo partnerships. The new packages are ideal for all those who want to communicate their brand(s) and need a quiet space for meetings with their guests at the trade fair. Those interested should contact our Managing Director Michael Willems.
And a correction from our last edition: The Dusit Thani Bangkok will not close this June, but in June 2018. Sorry. And: Many thanks for all your positive comments on our reaction to a declined interview with Trump Hotels! We are all agreed!
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor-in-Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com
Dear Insiders,
hospitalityInside author Macy Marvel was on his way to Washington – and in contact with Trump Hotels – for an interview. The response: rejection. The reason: only if we write that the Trump Hotel in Washington was the "best hotel in the world", we get the interview. Otherwise: "No deal!" And because we are writing this, we will certainly be branded "fake media" from now on. This almost seems to have become a commendation! We look forward to it.
Meanwhile, hoteliers can no longer get away with false decisions in the distribution jungle. This is why it is all about multitasking on multi-channels. And direct marketing. But such campaigns don't work as well in Europe as in the US. Sarah Douag gathered voices from real-life practice at the Phocuswright conference in Amsterdam.
Castelalfi Resort in Tuscany went a long way towards its final concept – a project of TUI, which managed to burn millions of euros over ten years. The main hotel has now opened finally. Massimiliano Sarti took a look.
I was not in Thailand, but the new CEO of Dusit Hotels was in Germany. Suphajee Suthumpun, a career changer from the world of IT, tells us how the both traditional and financially strong luxury hotel group is repositioning itself on its own: the Dusit Thani Bangkok legend will be torn down this month, joint ventures were signed with Japan and China, and there are new models allowing for massive expansion: 48 hotels are in the pipeline. The Thai flower will soon be blooming all over.
Hotel investments in Germany take the biscuit again in Europe in the first quarter of 2017 – fully anticyclical with respect to the overall development. Trump Hotels make a name for themselves with a planned third brand, too. Qatar has been hitting the headlines since Monday due to its current political isolation – and the effects on the country's tourism industry are inevitable. Austria Trend Hotels from Vienna owe their positive development to better reviews in online portals, while Best 3 Star Hotels from Switzerland are first trying to gain ground at home, but also fancy expansion. Germans also managed to modify the EU Package Travel Directive in a way that both travel agencies and hotels can live with.
Have a nice week without fake news!
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor-in-Chief
Your opinion? maria@hospitalityInside.com