Dear Insider, 

Here are the compact highlights of the current issue - with lots of positives. The travel industry is growing faster than global GDP. Institutional investors are also keen to build their new nests with hotels in the future; they want to spend up to three billion euros. Germany as a MICE destination recovered faster and more positively than expected last year. Four out of five professionals would be willing to work from their hotel: Remote working is picking up speed in the USA. In Europe and Asia, direct bookings will rise sharply between 2019 and 2023. Premier Inn is selling and remodelling its (hotel) restaurants; otherwise, the 2023/24 balance sheet shows good results - in contrast to Marriott's Q1 figures. The German government is once again about to impose higher taxes on the hotel industry, this time on overnight stays. 

About the HI events: In the next two weeks, stand space will be allocated for Expo Real in October. So make your decision quickly; you still have options! HITT Amsterdam is only six weeks away: a mega-interesting program for real estate and finance experts on day 1 and for tech strategists on day 2, where we will spend five hours on innovation alone and give you plenty of room for your questions. Our partner hotel Ruby Emma in Amsterdam is still offering special rates for our participants until 8 May.

Dear Insider, 

Industrial espionage, arms shipments, earthquakes - the world seems to be upside down. The evening news is not a mood booster, rays of hope are rare. It almost makes you happy to hear then Venice is now charging an entrance fee to day visitors so that it may better cope with mass tourism. The hospitality industry is also currently dealing with its own issues. Here too, there is "good" and "bad news", problems and bright spots. 

The latter was announced by a cheerful Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin in an interview with Editor-in-chief Maria Puetz-Willems. Following its transformation, Accor sees itself as very well equipped for the future. In her article today, business and finance expert Macy Marvel looks at falling F&B margins. Fred Fettner uses the Austrian market as an example of how to get a grip on the shortage of employees. And there is plenty to talk from other areas too: The residents of the Canary Islands are also fighting back against overtourism, an initiative is mobilising against fake reviews that damage business, NENI Restaurants and 25hours Hotels are helping young women in Marrakesh to train in the catering and hotel industry and HITT in Amsterdam has a whole range of highlights to offer. Are you on board?

Dear Insider,

The high of the week: the deal between IHG and Novum Hospitality, a very skilful move, well thought out. The low of the week: the IHIF in Berlin, an investment conference in decline because it simply flies too high with a regular entrance fee of 4,000 euros. The sun is shining in Brussels: a market with great potential, as the new hotel association president Willem van der Zee reveals in an interview - and more. 

There have always been super yachts, but now Four Seasons, Accor, Aman and Ritz-Carlton are working on launching (more) multi-million euro small ships on the high seas. Fittingly: The small, fine Oetker Collection with its super-sharp luxury profile is opening its first "Masterpiece" hotel in the USA. Will Travel Charme survive after the takeover? We simply asked. Our sections (VIP News, Market News and today also IHIF News) are well-stocked, entertaining features are once again offered by "Picked" and our HITT should arouse your curiosity - only two months to go until Amsterdam! Are you already a participant? By the way, we are sticking to fair prices. 

Dear Insider,

The Easter bunny didn't put any solutions in the sector's basket, only black or green eggs. On the one hand, the gloom has increased due to insolvencies, yet on the other, the superlative figures are going through the roof. It feels like the gap between decline and new opportunities is widening almost every week. Today, we talk to Motel One about the planned IPO, about pop stars such as Adele and Taylor Swift, who generate more millions in revenue for every destination than footballers, and about Benelux with its huge hospitality potential. Austria is getting ESG hotels up and running with subsidies and sustainability bonuses, while Switzerland is pooling industry data in a new database. And the WTTC sees trillions shining in the global GDP sky.

This stands opposite the insolvencies of former dream resorts such as Almdorf Seinerzeit in Austria, the clear signs of a dying hospitality industry in the German-speaking Europe region, the deep fall in European hotel transactions and the collapse of German transactions to nothing. Find out more, including about our HITT Think Tank in Amsterdam. 

Dear Insiders,

Guests' expectations will continue to rise further and further, as "liquid expectations". This is the key sentence from an interview with best-selling author Anne Schüller and from her new book "Mastering the Future". She put on her "hotel glasses" for us. Haim Katz, the Israeli Minister of Tourism, is again encouraging travel to the Holy Land - and stresses the safety. Goldman Sachs/B&B, citizenM, the HR Group and the Grand Hotel Belvédère in Davos: either they are for sale or the deals have already been signed. The Dutch Authority for Consumers and markets has made Booking.com to delete its sustainability programme. Green-washing!? 

Everything is real at the HITT Think Tank. We welcome three more top speakers on the topic of innovation: Dr. Noha Ahmed Al-Harthi from Saudi Arabia; as Head of Emerging Technologies, she is one of the luminaries of the gigantic future city NEOM. Also Prof. Dr. David Abbink from TU Delft, a specialist in human-robot interaction and initiator of "Future of Work". Thirdly, Matt Welle, the CEO of the young Unicorn Mews. We offer even more so that you have enough material for your Easter week.

Dear Insider, 

Today's topics in brief. 

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Review of the MIPIM in Cannes: The beach party image is no more, but the interest in innovative hospitality concepts remains. HRS is looking to join forces with hotels for the new AI era: Tobias Ragge would like to see more networked data and services. And the young Líbere Hospitality Group from Bilbao is also focused on the tech. Though its expansion will not begin in Spain, but in Italy. Massimiliano Sarti asked why? UN Tourism (until recently UNWTO) defined a global standard for measuring tourism sustainability. Austria reacts with stricter rules to "LexAirbnb" and short-term rentals. Insolvencies continue to rise in the German food service industry. And in our New Mex today, the number of releases remains high. From the public content (Marketplace and Picked): In mid-May, 250 Alpine hoteliers will meet in Kitzbühel to discuss new mountain hotel concepts. Greece imposes a legal ban on the vast majority of sun loungers on the beach - with consequences. You can breathe the cleanest air in the world in Iceland. And it’s not only its air that’s good, it is also considered a career paradise for women. Hoteliers with foresight and the gift of inspiring employees for the future have honoured QR Reservations with its first "Forward Thinker Award". 

Dear Insider,

Today's issue short and sweet: The forced marriage of franchise giants Choice and Wyndham has been called off, the imperative of healthy competition has won out. AI development is also like a race. It is causing quite a few capers in the travelling world: as an AI brand ambassador, influencer, guest flow manager or sales consultant. The next construction site is real: The construction industry produces billions of tons of raw materials - but these can be put to different and additional use and so reduce the industry’s carbon footprint. This article from our Think Tank workshop series this week can be found before the paywall, learn together with us on our HITT microsite. Hotel values in Europe have remained stable. Ascott sets its sights on Europe. The hotel industry is now investing more in travel technology. Today's News Mix contains 24 news items from the real estate market. And our Marketplace section is again full of colour with information on summer bookings, the German Ethics Council's appeal on climate change, water partnerships and networked self-service vending machines. 

Dear Insider, 

Short and sweet first: Germany and the ITB are putting nails in their own coffins! Proof of that was clear for all this week. The strikes are jeopardising the country and tourism, and the world's hotel chains are finishing their friendship with the ITB. Motel One opened its lifestyle hotel The Cloud One in Hamburg last week, but it will have to shape its new profile for a while yet. Social robots are coming - and only work for hotel brands that guests trust. In Austria, a fierce debate has arisen about anonymous hotel reviews, while the EU thinks completely differently. The latest figures and travel, online and wellness hotel trends are available around the ITB. With "Stuub", a young hotel entrepreneur is building a digital platform for affordable holidays in the countryside and is converting guesthouses and garni hotels. We would like to see you as an exhibitor in our "World of Hospitality": Expo Real doesn't take place for another 7 months, but the early bird bonus is only available until 15 March.

Dear Insiders,

short and sweet first: US consumers are suing STR/CoStar and various global chains for what are alleged to be "inflated room rates". A major scandal is brewing. Deutsche Hospitality finally changes its name to H World International. Qi Ji takes the next step. RIP Germany, RIP Deutsche Hospitality? Germany is no longer competitive, but four European CEOs still believe in the "tourism tanker". Food & Drinks To Go? Gladly, but not in reusable packaging. Why not? A study and our research provide answers. First impressions of Motel One's first lifestyle hotel of the Cloud One brand opened last night in Hamburg. And news from colleagues: Super resort deals in the last quarter in Italy, an upswing in Viennese tourism and the new splendour of the Hotel Astoria, rosy times for Germany's incoming tourism and an all-time high in the global hotel pipeline.

Dear Insider, 

Today's issue short and sweet: Germany lacks drive, criticise three CEOs from Austria. But Accor has wind in its sails after yesterday's record balance sheet figures. And Patrick Mendes, the still young Accor CEO for the Europe/North Africa region, is sailing with it. Dr. Lohbeck Privathotels fly under the radar in Germany: a medium-sized company that continuously and quietly buys well-known individual hotels - and puts US franchise brands on their roofs in the United States for a change. In Germany, the industry is whispering about the takeover of the ailing Travel Charme Hotels by a subsidiary of tour operator DER Touristik (Rewe Group). Europe prides itself on full pipelines and the attraction of resorts. The Swiss hotel industry is looking forward to 2023, the German sector is still struggling. And very importantly: On our website you will find the current, fuller programme with the first top-class speaker names!