Editorial

Dear Insiders,
Exactly a week ago, Munich was shocked by news of a gunman on the rampage. Over 8.5 hours, into the early hours of the morning, the city was gripped by panic and uncertainty. Without emotionalising this terrible evening further still, we asked Munich hoteliers how they reacted. We have reports from Kempinski Vier Jahreszeiten, Cocoon/Buddy Hotels, Rocco Forte, AccorHotels and Starwood. The role of social media and the Open Doors initiative are viewed critically by some.
At the Apartment Summit in London, there were some motivating results for Serviced Apartments. In Great Britain and Germany, for instance, they are overtaking classic hotels by far in terms of their performance results. No wonder that the event saw the next niche concept presented: Locke.
The run on markets and niches continues unabated. Real estate developers are – depending on the market – quite out of breath at the moment. As so are lawyers in some cases too. After the purchase, the questions from foreign investors follow. For this reason, the Munich-based law firm Arnecke Sibeth looks today at the legal risks on the purchase of real estate in the German hotel industry.
If it's a matter of sustainability and certification, then collaboration is required. Frank Oettinger, Vice President Operations & Franchise, H-Hotels, speaking at the seminar "Green Hotels" by hotelbau and hospitalityInside in June, pointed out what an environmentally friendly business plan meant in day-to-day hotel business. This article is available to all our readers today on our Page 1 as a little motivation to "follow suit".
AccorHotels again wants to invest in luxury: This time, CEO Sébastien Bazin intends to spend EUR 150 million on a concierge service provider. Collecting companies obviously makes him happy, though what picture is he hoping to form from these jigsaw parts? He will certainly explain it to us one day…
AccorHotels, Hilton, Marriott, Starwood and Rezidor have posted their interest results this week – with some mixed figures. At AccorHotels, EBITDA and EBIT slumped as a result of acquisitions. This and more news in our edition today! Read it yourself!

Dear Insiders,
AccorHotels is focusing solely on power partners. This much became clear in the shareholder's meeting in Paris this week in which the acquisition of Fairmont Raffles International was approved with 98% of the vote. In Sébastien Bazin's presentation and the subsequent Q&A session with investors, there were some clues as to the future direction the chain wants to take: it prefers to grow with the Chinese rather than without them and the investment vehicle HotelInvest is now also to be opened up to external capital providers: Its money will now no longer exclusively be used to acquire real estate but also to finance acquisitions. The starting shot for a new Accor era.
A new era is also beginning for Iran. Sarah Douag spoke with the Iranian Nima Davoodzadeh, Meliá Hotels' Senior Vice President Development, with Rotana CEO Omer Kaddouri, who already has concrete plans for the first four projects and intends to build a hospitality school, as well as with Christophe Landais from AccorHotels. Scott Antel, the hotel expert at the law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner in Dubai explains why Iran will be a "safe haven" for investments - and why the Iranians are better positioned strategically than the Russians.
The young lean luxury brand Ruby Hotels is also well positioned. CEO Michael Struck announces three new hotels with three renowned institutional investors at three top locations in Hamburg, Duesseldorf and Vienna. The financial partners praise the lifestyle model for its flexibility and for its low breakeven.
With a new option as combination of hotel and apartment, the French-Israeli company Sweet Inn makes its move on the market. They rent apartments and furnish them themselves. They don't view Airbnb & Co as competition. Massimiliano Sarti interviews Boaz Beeri, Director of Business Development Europe.
And other news: Airbnb docks for the first time with Travel Management Company American Express, and with its market analyses, Carlson Wagonlit encourages companies to get used to the future negotiating power of Marriott-Starwood after the merger. The German hotel real estate market meanwhile appears to have been swept clean. Austria now prohibits the parity clause used by OTAs by law. The UEFA European Championship brought most destinations, excluding Paris, lots of guests. And a new CEO survey describes how top managers must look if they are to survive in today's times. Sébastien Bazin is mentioned here as a positive example. See above.
A truly international edition today with very exciting topics! Enjoy reading!

Dear Insiders,
It always pays to give things a second look. In the search engine hit list, it's not always the hotel that comes top that gets booked, but rather the one with the best ratings. More important for the hotel then is its ratings score. It's this score on which price hikes are based. TrustYou CEO Benjamin Jost explains why hoteliers should collect all sorts of guest feedback and why it pays to make sure the bathroom is sparkling clean.
Real estate, at least in Germany, has always been considered to be good protection against inflation. This is no longer the case today. Beatrix Boutonnet does away from the myth of "concrete gold", even if hotel assets are currently very much in demand.
I enjoy reading about hotel group strategies. The strategy of Allegroitalia in Italy sounds a bit confusing though: Fewer hotels are spread over several star categories and types. Whether the Chinese will notice? They already have a hotel in China.
Brexit will keep us busy in the near future, sometimes in big sometimes in smaller news articles. Today: If a British company wants to hire a member of staff from Europe in future, that would already cost over 3,800 euros for recruiting alone. This is what nightmares are made of.
At one London hotel group, guests can now choose their room before they book it. In Italy, a nation in love with cars, the well-known automobile stylist Bertone now also wants to branch out into the hotel industry. And Accor has again introduced a new service tool that bundles the entire content with respect to a hotel in the internet. Starwood Hotels have further refined their keyless check-in for their SPG members and have expanded it to include more brands. Enjoy surfing through the turbulent world of hotels! – The full editorial…

Dear Insiders,
The glass is either half full or half empty. Depending on who you talk to, as far as BREXIT is concerned, either the optimism or the pessimism outweighs. In the hotel industry and tourism, it's no different, as the reactions from real estate, hotel and tourism experts both within and outside Great Britain show. Even in London where this week the British Hospitality Association – by coincidence, but perfectly timed – met, it was stated that things were not that dramatic.
The most important questions - when and how - hang like thunderclouds in the air: How seriously will the London financial centre be at risk, how quickly will foreign investors begin to go on a bargain real estate shopping spree, how few/many tourists will come or not come? And above all: Where will the British hotel industry find its staff in future? Here, the BHA will be banging on the future government's table and will demand a right of consultation on future laws - "so that there's no non-sense," BHA Chairman Nick Varney says.
Even without a crystal ball, it can be said: Great Britain will have a few difficult years ahead of it, as confidence has been ruined. The currency of our time is no longer the dollar, sterling or the euro - it's credibility. It's credibility that provides stability and security. When referring to the shrunken Kingdom, sarcastic voices in London are already speaking of “Little England” or “Greater Guernsey”.
We are living in turbulent times. Airbnb is hitting upon resistance in more countries and cities. Regulation, penalties and law suits. Now, the P2P platform heads to the courts in San Franscisco, because the city has proposed forcing hosts to register.
In Poland, the market for hotels is certainly big enough, as the 3rd hotel conference "Spotlight Hotel Investment" in Warsaw revealed. Poland remains the motor of the CEE, but other countries are catching up - as Lukas Hochedlinger of Christie & Co and others show.
Our "Freitagshappen" last week focused not on housing but on residences and serviced apartments; this small and exclusive talk round is organised by us once per year and takes place at the Nassauer Hof in Wiesbaden. We provide a brief insight into the contents, but don't give everything away, the event is intended as informal exchange after all.
This and more news in today's edition... – The full editorial…

Dear Insiders,
On Tuesday, I met the CEO of the third largest Spanish hotel group, Barceló in Munich. Raúl Gonzaléz spoke modestly but optimistically about the new brand strategy and the new EUR 500 million REIT which now enables the company to drive forward the expansion much more rapidly. Quite incidentally, he mentioned that the company is so well positioned today because it has consistently paid down debt since the crisis in 2008 and has invested in all its hotels.
Spain's second largest player, NH Hoteles, also tried this, though obviously not enough or at least not to the palpable benefit of its very hungry shareholders. Recently, representatives of 70% of stock made a surprising and hard move in Madrid: They refused to re-elect NH-CEO Federico González Tejera and at the same time removed NH's largest individual shareholder – the Chinese HNA with 29.9% - from the supervisory board. Didn't HNA save NH from insolvency in 2013? Yes, they did. And did Federico do a bad job? I don't think so. It seems that hot Spanish blood played a role there, and the cool Chinese are at least likely to see red. They have just lost face.
The consolidation wave in the industry is slowly becoming a real rush. Meanwhile, the deck is being reshuffled almost monthly among merger candidates. Plateno Hotels, part of the giant Jin Jiang conglomerate, is likely to grin: This Chinese company acts discreetly in the background - and then announces almost unnoticed that it will operate 100 hotels in Asia together with Barceló over the next few years.
There were loud protests in Berlin at the ZIA Conference: Suddenly, 300 demonstrators descended and gave expression to their dissatisfaction with the current housing situation. Beatrix Boutonnet was present and reports: The situation on the housing market is indeed tense. For this reason too, the event presumably attracted more celebrities and participants than ever before.
Steigenberger has made a strategic move into India by way of joint venture, TUI Hotels is also looking at Asia with its brands. In Austria, industry lobbyists are pushing for lower labour costs and lower taxes. And the Oetker Collection posted mixed results for last year.
Looking back on our reporting for the first half-year, I can only say this: The international hospitality sector has not been so shaken for a long time. Aggressiveness and rigorousness have been unmerciful in letting heads roll, shareholders have bluffed like poker professionals and the rest have not been asked.
This morning forceasts name the next upheavel: the Brexit. It will have a dramatic impact on tourism. Watch the news! – The full editorial…

Dear Insiders,
Initial industry figures from Paris show that hotels are experiencing dropping occupancy despite the European Football Championship. France is going through a difficult time.
Partners of the Chinese HNA group might also be facing hard times should it react more often as extremely as it did this week: The company issued a press release stating that it was not involved in any discussions whatsoever with AccorHotels concerning investments. In order to avoid speculations of this kind in the future, the paper concludes with the following threat: "HNA Hospitality Group reserves the rights to pursue any legal rights available should any individual or company discuss project acquisition in the name of HNA Hospitality Group without authorization." With regard to the media, the European-Chinese friendship might take a little while longer to grow ...
Nonetheless, China is not giving up for the most part. The appetite for European know-how and the financially strong European clientele is too strong. Two Asia experts at DLA Piper Hong Kong and CBRE London explain today the players in the ongoing wave of mergers and acquisitions in the tourism sector. Insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, hotel operators and mining companies have already spent impressive seven-figure sums to enter the European market and will continue to do so.
The "fund summit" in Berlin revealed the current problems faced by mutual funds, but it also opened up new doors with the start of its new fund online platform. The struggling sector is drawing hope again.
Hope for more and in particular for the right employees is what the new recruiting methods are giving hotel groups: Lindner, Vienna House, and Derag Livinghotels tested casting and other types of job interviews and are happy about it. Uwe Kanning, professor of business psychology, does not think much of such practices however. From the world of distribution: Austria will overturn the best rate clause of Booking.com and others by law next year. Germany's business travel analysts expect travel to drop in the future. Romantik Hotels does it like the chains: The consortium has joined forces with Châteaux-Hotels from France with the aim of conducting marketing campaigns together.
Derag Livinghotels introduce a new independent brand: Soulmade – hotels made of wood offering a lot of warmth and soul. And the Progros procurement company is increasingly becoming an all-round partner of the hotel industry.
Last but not least, hospitalityInside itself has some good news to report: So far, 28 companies have registered for our "World of Hospitality" joint booth at the coming Expo Real in Munich, among them nine new companies! You can an update on activities, schedules and opportunities to join Europe's largest real estate and investment trade fair in October on page 1. - The full editorial...

Dear Insiders,
Despite all political uncertainties, UBM will continue to invest in the emerging Polish economy. In Gdansk last week, the project development and investment company based in Vienna presented its newest Holiday Inn project for Granary Island, Gdansk, at the very centre of the picturesque old town. It also presented UBMhotels, the new management company. In future, this company will take operations in hand and will even keep a lookout for "third-party" hotels. COO Martin Loecker and colleagues explain.
This was good mental preparation for my imminent trip to Warsaw for the "Spotlight Hotel Investment Poland" conference on Monday, where details will certainly be provided on CEE trends. We report.
Portugal is also coming back into investors' focus. Macy Marvel has summarised the current hotel market, including both national and international players. The figures are on the up, especially in Lisbon.
China's response to Airbnb is Tujia, a holiday home intermediary with state support and with money from some of Asia's wealthiest real estate companies, including the heavyweight Capitaland. Airbnb has already made its move into China, but it quickly ran into challenges there. Sarah Douag thinks Tujia is a sort of virtual Chinese wall.
Will the start of the European Football Championships in Paris today be the kick-off for disaster? It certainly looks like it with strikes, floods, terror risks and frustrated Frenchmen. Even the big French hotel company, Accor, sees itself challenged by China's largest chain, Jin Jiang. It wants more influence on shareholders; now even the French government is getting involved.
Chain giant Wyndham has meanwhile launched the revitalisation of its 16 brands - because the customer wants something else. And the young German resort group a-ja has announced its first a-ja City Resort - and of all cities it has chosen Zurich, and a high-rise at that! There it hopes to provide its guests with that holiday feeling and with entertainment. And all of this will be on offer at a bargain price.
And in two weeks it will all be about prices and costs. On 22 June, we will hold the "Green Hotels" day seminar together with our partner hotelbau. Don't miss the practical information. Last minute registration is still possible. More information is provided on our page 1! – Das vollständige Editorial…

Dear Insiders,
Greece is now linked in everybody's mind with the debt crisis and refugees. And both are impacting on tourism there. Massimiliano Sarti went in search of the facts. This week, he gives us the figures and identifies the changes. Athens is suffering in particular. Even if tourist numbers are rising, it appears that the Sharing Economy is peeling them off quite successfully. Occupancy is rising slightly, but the ADR shows sharp falls. The Greek islands tell a different story though. For 2016, expectations are generally high. But is this realistic?
In Brussels, I saw red last week: lots of Rezidor RED-red. From the entrance, into the lobby and in the rooms themselves. Yet the brand alarm is working. Investors are already taking notice. And the concept for the millennials makes sense at second glance, even if a lot of training on the job is necessary. The global pilot project has been set, and Rezidor falls in line with the "limited lifestyle" hotels.
How does the future look for Rezidor though - after the purchase of the parent company Carlson by the Chinese HNA group? CEO Wolfgang Neumann can't yet take part in speculation, whilst colleagues at NH Hotels certainly see the benefit of a merger of NH and Rezidor in Europe. And: Is there are fight on the horizon between HNA and Jin Jiang?
Sarah Douag was told where NH Hotels intends to go with its now officially presented NH Collection. Examples from Benelux and explanations from Maarten Markus show the way. "We are back in the game," he says.
In one week's time the Football European Championships will begin in Paris, but room rates are fluctuating sharply, even at match locations. A new study draws attention to the hidden gems in CEE. Union Investment Real Estate found out how many investment-relevant hotels are there in Germany. At least, in Germany revenues generated in the hospitality industry continue to rise. Also on the rise - just in case you've not yet read our Breaking News from Tuesday - is uncertainty at Four Seasons as a result of radical personnel changes.
Yesterday morning, I was in Gdansk in Poland as Austria's leading developer UBM announced the foundation of the new management company "UBMhotels". It will not only develop, but also operate hotels in future. UBM COO Martin Loecker brought Martin Loecker brought a wellknown name along: former IHG manager Rolf Huebner. More on this next week!
Last week, we at hospitalityInside welcomed a new member to our team: Karoline Giokas, our new editor. She brings experience in hospitality journalism with her from her time with a specialist magazine in Munich. I would be pleased to introduce her to you personally at upcoming events.
Have you already taken a look at the Green Hotels event that we will initial in collaboration with hotelbau on 22 June in Munich? Take a look on our Page 1 - the countdown for the last registrations has begun. - The full editorial ...

Dear Insiders,
Today, we're being a little "retro", even a little romantic in our desire for the simple and authentic. The Ringhotels consortium, the change from Vienna International to Vienna House, the 'mother' concept of Arcona Hotels, a Genuss portal and Genuss region shows from various perspectives that "old fashioned" is back. Call it "house" or "home" - your guest feels whether you mean it with the new concept.
Today's examples are wonderful proof of how focus has shifted back to what's really important - to true hospitality. The new retro is old fashioned pleasures! All the same, the simple, authentic must also be professionally implemented. Vienna House has for six months seen that its decision to go "back to its roots" was the right one.
A perfect accompaniment here are Macy Marvel's impressions of the Hotel Bellevue des Alpes in the Swiss mountains. At 2,070m, time has stood still - and intentionally so! Since 1840, the family has steered business by sheer stomach feeling. The entire hotel is retro. And still today, it survives without Facebook friends or Twitter. A millennial could hardly believe it.
And what does it all tell us? Every hotel, every hotel group needs an unmistakable profile, a clear position. The reality then often looks different. In Austria, the land of the resort, the majority of small and medium-sized companies in tourism are writing losses. This was the finding of a current study. Nobody in the industry is paying zero-rates of interest. Their low equity ratios are a hindrances, and personnel costs a further obstacle.
Wish and reality are two different things. All the more naive then appears the plan of the new Dutch startup, Bidroom, which pits itself against the OTA giants with low commissions. The German OTA HRS is expanding its foreign commitment. Trainees often take company tests in cases where school grades are not appropriate - a new large study provides employers with valuable orientation. In other news, the German Event Hotels were part of the recent Interhotel deal. And an independent research institute has for the first time published figures on Chinese outbound tourism.

Dear Insiders,
Adjusting in line with turbulent times requires creativity and, in spite of all the uncertainties, it also requires patience. The GMs from the Hotel Belvedere in Locarno, Kempinski St. Moritz and the former TH Resort Schloss in Pontresina report on how they saved their performance since Switzerland's decision to come off the euro peg. One shocked his guests with dynamic pricing, the other adjusted his product to fit better with the seasons, and the third simply gave up.
After the introduction of the higher rate of VAT in Austria three weeks ago, hoteliers are also looking for a suitable painkiller. The chaotic new rules prompt hoteliers to perform their own financial acrobatics. I ask myself how the individual guest is supposed to understand it all.
And it was just as difficult for the CEOs of Priceline, TripAdvisor and Expedia as they had to admit that they are losing profit after publication of their Q1 results. Are the OTA giants beginning to falter?
Global turbulence is also being felt in Qatar. But the Emirate intends to sit out the various crises and continues to work on its long-term strategy. This year, the Qatar Tourism Authority will implement long-held plans: A new system of hotel classification also undertake both owners and developers, and renowned cruise companies will have their cruise ships dock in Doha from the 2016/2017 season, including TUI Cruises. More beach resorts are also being built. And certainly one thing must be conceded to Qatar: In contrast to Dubai, Qatar is more open with regard to its figures, also in difficult times - at least that was the case for us. t the end of this story, Jawad Khan, Director, Debt & Capital Advisory, PricewaterhouseCoopers Dubai explains the current investment climate in the region.
And in the news this week: Italy can provide national but no international figures on the winter season; the courts have stopped an idea on the Canary Islands which would limit hotel construction to 5-star hotels; a new study describes the next luxury travellers; and the Swiss have analysed the subject of food waste in the hotel industry.
If you're interested in a country with potential, then you should look more closely at Poland. Thanks to our media partnership with the still small and personal conference "Spotlight Hotel Investment Poland" on 13/14 June in Warsaw, I will certainly learn a thing or two myself. Christie & Co explains the positive development in an interview today. More on this on page 1. Another banner there leads you to our seminar "Green Hotels" on 22 June in Munich, with special rates for our subscribers. – The full editorial…