Editorial

Dear Insider,

Between business and leisure, a new flower is blossoming: workation hotels. Franz & Mathilde know what they need to offer, a soundproof office for video calls and standing desks on the balcony with a view into the garden, for example. Executives, employees or freelancers – after one week, they all have breakfast together. And the best part: bleisure tourists spend more money than normal tourists. Sylvie Konzack followed this new trend – professional – "working tourism" and provides us with good examples, ideas and figures.

In the hospitality industry, the ones who create emotions will survive. And this is also true for investments. Therefore, FMTG (Falkensteiner) will develop its successful crowdfunding further into a private equity vehicle, Ruslan Husry of HRG will continue to love and finetune his leases even more… The investment panel at the Expo Real Hotel Conference clearly showed that the industry is cautiously getting ready for alternative financing – or for improving already existing models (funds, REITs).

Dear Insider,

Rarely has the mood at Expo Real been so good in unstable times. And nobody knows why. But it was great. The noise level went up by the hour, the hotel booths were buzzing with activity, the talks were excellent, and the conference forum was packed with visitors as it had not been for a long time. It was the hour of the experts, subtleties and mutual exchange. We asked people about trends, added a bit of industry gossip and gathered statements from the worlds of hospitality and finance. And on our first page, you will find the first 30 pictures of Expo Real and our activities as well as a short summary of our own Expo Real booth. More pictures will follow next week!

Dear Insider,

As of Monday, many of us will be at Expo Real in Munich. What will the mood be like this time? Seven halls will be full, the trade fair reports. But how many visitors will come? The number of tickets sold will also say something about the market; despite the crisis, the trade fair has pushed ticket prices above the €800 mark. This reminds me of the poker-happy hoteliers who have increased overnight stays by another 10% or more. 

Of all the asset classes, only the hotel industry is robust and can smile even more often. In this respect, the Expo Real hotel conference will have a relatively large number of positive things to report. The number of panels on Monday (Forum in Hall A1) has increased to six at the last minute: The Hospitality Industry Dialogue will therefore begin at 11 a.m. with an update on Serviced Apartments. You can find the complete programme on our Expo Real page. 

You can already give your opinion on the sentiment on the transaction market in our Investment BAROMETER. Our survey, supported by Union Investment, is conducted every year at Expo Real. This way please! Thank you for the click.  

Dear Insider,

The small ones are the sweetest. This is the title of our article on the current flood of conversions and takeovers. The chains continue to grow as they take over boutique hotels and smaller groups. At the same time, they are softening their chain standards and delighting investors afresh. Susanne Stauss interviewed Accor, Hyatt and IHG. Marriott spoke plainly at the Hogan Lovells Hotel Day in Berlin last week and real estate specialist René Schappner comments on the brand development.

The global travel market is stabilising, with Europe as the driving force. Travellers are even spending more again, says a comprehensive report based on an analysis of 14 brands. The OTAs are also taking their slice of the cake though. Sarah Douag provides a summary.

The crisis has also made OYO hungry again. The Indian "copy" of Airbnb, still with founder Ritesh Agarwal at the helm, has suddenly re-emerged after four years of pandemic pain and has now acquired 320 Motel 6 hotels in the United States. By 2025, Ritesh wants to have tripled his profit. Once again he is aiming for an IPO. Let’s wait and see. In any case, our colleague Sarah is back on the OYO trail.

Dear Insider, 

Today, it's almost all about power and markets. The pace of work in the industry is currently brisk, a day is just the blink of an eye. With every day of crisis, the big players, the giants, determine the direction. Expansion only means multiplication, innovation is still lagging behind. 

AI is turning Google and Sabre into a powerful duo: Both want to set new automated standards for travel - from controlled seat upgrades on the plane to personalised booking machines for the hotel of your dreams. Both now program the entire journey without a digital break. 

Wellness hotels and resorts are often far removed from such discipline and logic. In times of crisis like these, they are a wonderland of feel-good promises, but ultimately remain stuck in the grey area between science and pseudo-science. A Canadian psychologist and author sharply criticises the industry. Things are currently moving in the wrong direction.

Dear Insider,

Today is Friday the 13th - though this is not the bad omen it’s usually taken to be. Superstition is largely alien to the industry, even if some hotels do not have a 13th floor.

The Koenigshof in Munich, which officially opened yesterday, has nine floors. The grand hotel legend is a thing of the past, 5 stars are wrapped in travertine, large windows offer fantastic views of Munich's rooftops and sights. Spanish star architect Nieto Sobejano has catapulted the traditional hotel into the modern age with cubist forms and the delicate shimmer of gold. 

With small, subtle differences, Marriott's new Luxury Collection member aims to position itself alongside the RevPAR leader Mandarin Oriental and the upscale Rosewood, which opened just a year ago. All three are boutique hotels, but will drive competition in Munich's luxury hotel sector. Maria Pütz-Willems brings us a summary.          

Dear Insider,

If capital is hard to come by recently, in particular for hotel refurbishments, then debt funds could be a solution. Our fund specialist Beatrix Boutonnet sees this as a lifeline: The model is similar to that of the banks.            

Which path to sustainability do you choose when you are travelling as a chain in over 100 countries? "Who says it's easy?" asks Brune Poirson, Chief Sustainability Officer at Accor. She certainly tackles things pragmatically and looks to the future. Solutions can be found for water shortages and expensive energy. And with a luxury brand from the Accor portfolio, it reduces waste: How about an a la carte breakfast instead of an overloaded buffet? If you do nothing sustainable, you increase the risk to your own business - which is why she motivates her colleagues. An interesting conversation.                

Dear Insider,

Lindner Hotel CEO Arno Schwalie disappeared in a flash from the Lindner Group's stage this week. According to our information, no, he is not going to Hyatt, but to B&B Hotels Germany. B&B has so far declined to respond to our enquiries. It remains an interesting development. A person can be CEO for a long time: After his 75th birthday, Karl-Anton Schattmaier, the man who shaped Steigenberger, has left his last stage, that of Welcome Hotels.        

In the midst of Germany's real estate slump, the hotel asset class is increasingly taking centre stage. I was pleased to hear in an online talk with five experts (Acron, CBRE, Arbireo Capital Invest, Commerz Real, Magna Asset Management) how sensitively the hotel industry with all its advantages and risks is being discussed today. Since Lehman and Covid, the dialogue has become much more professional. In the meantime, hotels have even overtaken offices. Who would have thought it?

Dear Insider, 

We sweated with the Olympians in what was, at times, a very hot Paris during our vacation and admired them for their heat resilience. Not only the best athletes stood on the winners' podium though, but the hoteliers too. Parisian hosts were able to make up for revenues lost before the games and in so doing claimed silver. The gold medal went to the region’s hoteliers though: Prices quadrupled in the areas around the venues. Kirsten Posautz has the figures and comments from Paris.        

German hoteliers, on the other hand, have fallen into the cost trap - and this is despite a good summer season, which most of the ten hotel groups surveyed happily report today. Arabella, Hyatt, DSR Holding, Maritim, Seetelhotels, H World (Steigenberger), Munich Hotel Partners, H-Hotels, Achat and the HR Group told our colleague Susanne Stauss how they (want to) maintain a smart balance between cost increases and profit.