Editorial

Dear Insiders,
The industry has two inherent quirks: mania craze for titles and announcements. The latter is a factual matter today – it is about the pipelines of the hotel chains. The table at the end shows all too clearly how differently this term is defined and communicated by them. We probed into the subject at hotel groups with various profiles and market priorities: such as Accor, B&B, Choice, IHG, Kempinski, Marriott, Mélia, Rezidor and Starwood as well as at the consultants and real estate brokers Christie+Co and JJL. There are many explanations for the barrel bursts in the pipeline... Nearly as many as titles in the industry.
The Ukraine crisis already shows statistically measurable effects on the business with the Russians in Western Europe. Destination marketers say: Depending on the escalation, the worst decline may yet come. In Austria, the Russian "strongholds" fear for their winter business. In Switzerland and in popular German destinations such as Munich, the luxury boutiques are probably suffering the most at the moment. But the Russians themselves are also insecure and distrusting because of the crisis: Apparently, some of them are now transferring their money ear-marked for German hotel projects to Africa. One developer even had to pray for peace with her Russian dialogue partners... Susanne Stauss and Fred Fettner kept their ears open in the West, across the borders.
Funds initiator August Jagdfeld has "bought his freedom" from the allegations concerning the Grand Hotel Heiligendamm, this week's news claimed. All the facts which the headline craving, hyper-fast industry newsletters did not report, you can read in our magazine: This deal was initiated by the prosecutor's office! Beatrix Boutonnet about the backgrounds and the difference to the case of Yachthafen Hohe Duene in Warnemuende.
The Roman government increased bed taxes for Italy's capital shortly after the holidays: Hotel associations see their country in a downward spiral. Therefore, a study carried out by the EU provides positive news, stating that all of Europe remains a travel destination with growth potential. In Germany, long-distance coaches are on the rise: 14.5 million people used this means of transportation in the first eight months of the year. In addition, there is a new study about hotel management agreements, and yet another manager has left Steigenberger...
And finally, we would like to make the following announcement: On November 14, Rizzato Spa Consulting and HospitalityInside will be organising a workshop on spa marketing & cross-selling. How can you sell well-being? Dagmar Rizzato and I see a great need to catch up in the spa industry, where revenues are partially stagnating. This will be an interesting day for hoteliers, spa/marketing managers and others. You will find all the details on our page 1!

Dear Insiders,
After our two-week summer break, we are back again – relaxed and rejuvenated! Expo Real – for many an important trade show in the fall – will take place in six weeks. Our preparations and deadlines are in full swing; you will find more on this subject in the coming editions. In the footer of this newsletter, you will already see the names of our current trade show partners.
The internet is characterised by a permanent dynamism. After B&B Hotels announced their Germany-wide online and mobile check-in in July, we also asked Marriott and Scandic Hotels about their experiences. The feedback certainly confirms one thing: Guests WANT this innovation!
Starting September 1, the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz will be breaking fresh ground once again. The Swiss wellbeing and medical resort has been granted the – rare – permission to open an in-patient clinic. To this end, 18 design suites in the elegant spa suites tower have now been converted into stylish patient rooms. And the healthy diet is being hidden underneath the silver cloches! Peter Tschirky explains the new synergies between medicine and the hotel industry. Only a few businesses have the gift of being able to reinvent themselves time and again – especially in difficult times.
The Belgians are whining. "The labour costs are killing us," moans the Hotels Association, amongst others, and the trade union accuses the industry of acting unprofessionally. In her portrait of Brussels, our colleague Sarah Douag reveals why and how the Brussels Capital Region suffers, which is also reflected in her interview with the Secretary General of the Brussels Hotels Association, Rodolphe Van Weyenbergh.
Accor has wangled several hotels from competitor Rezidor, the US hotels have been performing much better in the meantime, and the results of other chains continue to underline that the industry had been well off in the first half of the year. HVS presents its first hotel valuation index for Africa. Our Indian colleague Hoihnu Hauzel questioned the sudden departure of Taj's CEO Raymond Bickson three weeks ago. Read all this – and more – yourself! In the News Mix, some news might seem familiar to you; as always, I rework these little important reports from our summer break – so that you will be able to keep track of individual events in the archive later as well. – The full editorial ….

Dear Insiders,
The waves of news in the office are subsiding, the number of people talking into their smartphones out of their deck chairs is increasing... Therefore, with this edition, we want to say goodbye and head off into our two-week summer break.
However, before doing so, we cast a glance at Vienna, where the expected flood of beds around the new central station is already under fierce discussion. A respective low tide will occur at Vienna Westbahnhof. The real estate prices at the central station are increasing, but mainly budget and middle-class hotels will be located there. People are therefore asking themselves in Vienna, who will still be able to earn money at all: today, the 5-star rates are scandalizing low and leading brands are incessantly spiralling downwards.
Italy's tourism and hotel industry is hoping for an upswing. The parliament decided to offer tax credits for renovations and conversions, amongst others. The first half of 2014 provided the Italian hotel industry with a roller coaster of emotions: the foreign demand was the only stable figure.
When a spa has lost its initial opening glamour and everyday life sets in, the revenue often stagnates. Then, the up and cross-selling activities have to be increased. How to discreetly induce the demanding guest to book spontaneously and in advance: Spa consultant Dagmar Rizzato, member of the editorial expert team, provides tips and examples.
From my conversation with Dagmar Rizzato, the idea arose to convey exactly this subject to hoteliers, their spa or marketing directors in a one-day workshop. Save the date: Friday, November 14, 2014! I will provide you with further details after our summer break.
Today's reports: Design Hotels, IHG, Hyatt, and Meliá published their half-year figures. Moreover, we are presenting several studies describing the Germans' never ending willingness to travel and spend money, the Americans' reserve to go on their own vacations, the continued low interest in smartwatches and fitness wristbands, and the consumers' revulsion of sponsored content.
Concerning the last subject, everybody should love hospitalityInside. Starting August 25, we will be on duty again in our office.
Then, the final spurt for the Expo Real registrations will start! Drees & Sommer decided to join the joint stand of "World of Hospitality" as 20th co-exhibitor. For the first time, a business is contributing an extra hospitality accent even though it has its own large stand at the trade show.
We wish you all a good time with family and friends – and a successful summer season!

Dear Insiders,
Europe's first Peninsula hotel will today open in Paris. It's a long awaited milestone for the Hong Kong Chinese Kadoorie family, whose hotel collection consists exclusively of flagships. Peninsula's attention to service and innovativeness has even drawn the respect of Four Seasons and other luxury icons. The Arabian real estate company behind the new Peninsula in Paris, Katara Hospitality, is also making a good name for itself with its long-term strategy for premium assets. In the imposing Parisian hotel, two capital-strong and quality-oriented partners have now come together and they won't rest until the EUR 429 million investment begins to pay off.
Sarah Douag interviewed Nicolas Béliard, the GM for the new hotel, a Frenchman with experience with Peninsula. She also looks again at the hotel's rivals in Paris. Shangria-La, Mandarin Oriental, Le Royal Monceau Raffles and others.
That cost-conscious business travellers can find suitable accommodation is seen with respect to the developing market for serviced apartments. An overview of the projects supplemented by market facts and figures from corresponding studies in Germany.
Vegan is on trend - and hotels have to adjust accordingly. The demand for food without animal products has obviously been recognised by many very quickly, from top hotels to mountain chalets. Fred Fettner has therefore asked a number of Austrian resorts how they face the new culinary challenge.
Alongside Paris, we also look today towards Istanbul, also at the super figures produced by Russian travellers last year. Both markets are now suffering as a result of political turmoil. Marriott and Belmond have posted their quarterly/semi-annual results, Airbnb focuses on business travellers, and at Kempinski renowned GMs are switching between hotels in Berlin, Moscow and Budapest. – The full editorial …

Dear Insiders,
Since Monday, Design Hotels has been a subsidiary of Starwood Hotels. The decision was taken by shareholder resolution, the formal procedure is still not completed. For this reason Starwood cannot and doesn't want to answer the following question: What does the chain hope to achieve through the consortium? Christoph Hoffmann, with his 25hours Hotels a member of Design Hotels gives some food for thought…
The devil is in the detail, as is so often the case... This is true for the 11th Revised Edition of USALI. In a guest contribution today, Michael Regner draws attention to the small and often easily missed changes in the accounting standards.
The luxury expert, Claudia Roth, and I wanted to gain a closer insight into societal trends and for adjustments to operations at the first ITB webinar on luxury last week. It's no longer about USPs, but USEs - Unique Selling Emotions, despite the obsession with the Internet. I've collected a few basic thoughts here, and at the end of the article, included a link to the 60-minute YouTube video.
The German Hotel Association has lost in negotiations with the union for adjustment in preparation for the imminent statutory minimum wage in former East Germany.
In the news this week: NH Hotel introduces its NH Collection, Christie + Co sums up the transaction in the Austrian hotel investment market, consumers support Peer-2-Peer platforms and reject regulation, Starwood Hotels and Carlson Rezidor post semi-annual results and, in personnel news, there are some surprising changes among top managers. – The full editorial …

Dear Insiders,
The sheer joy of Germany winning the FIFA Football World Cup in Brazil on Sunday overshadowed everything at the beginning of the week from the "victory flight" by "Fanhansa" and fan celebrations at the Brandenburg Gate, which had been copied in Lego bricks....
Staff at the German national team's hotel Campo Bahia in Brazil posed for photos with the footballers before they left, now they're just waiting for their personal pictures from the German Football Federation. This will be their only keepsakes from the event. During the team's stay, they were expressly forbidden from asking for autographs in the hotel. Just four weeks ago, Stephan Gerhard from Treugast reported on the difficulties faced through the construction and completion of the resort. Today, he describes last weeks' life and work "inside Campo Bahia" - alongside the German winner team.
On what do hoteliers spend money today? Purchasing companies know. Progros, Atlas and Hogast tell us today how the new generation of hoteliers calculates their interior purchases. Nice to hear: The "standard" room is finally passé!
In the European hotel industry, there are currently more than two million vacancies. Now, the "European Hospitality Skills Passport" is to help speed up the application process for prospective employees. HOTREC manager Isabel Sobrino Maté explains how the pass works for employers and employees.
Our fund expert Beatrix Boutonnet has long followed the controversial fund initiator Anno August Jagdfeld. She takes a closer look at the decision from the Higher Regional Court in Cologne which two weeks ago refused to initiate main proceedings against Jagdfeld. The accusations were of fraud and embezzlement in connection with the Fundus Fund 31. She explains why Jadgfeld can't really claim a "first class acquittal".
In other news, hotel real estate transactions came close to record levels last seen in 2006/2007 over the first half of 2014. And according to the EU, tourism across the whole of Europe should continue to blossom this year... All awaits you in today's colourful edition. – The full editorial …

Dear Insiders,
Even the quarter final match couldn't keep guests away from attending a talkround on luxury last Friday in the Nassauer Hof Wiesbaden. Once per year, hospitalityInside invites an exclusive circle to open exchange of ideas. Football played on the TV in the background, in the foreground, thoughts were focussed on "finding truffles" in the high-end segment.
Our conversations with the directors of the Dolder Grand and Baur au Lac in Zurich sat well with this. Mark Jacob and Wilhelm Luxem reported on figures, renovation - still sufficient potential to be able to stand apart from the new 5-star competitors on the market.
Another man will leave the world of luxury: Rupert Simoner, Senior Vice President Europe for Kempinski Hotels and GM of the Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains in St. Moritz will succeed CEO Dr Andreas Karsten of Vienna International. One thing is odd though: Karsten announced two weeks ago that he was leaving for "private reasons", though he continues to work for VI as a contracted consultant for financing and projects – as well as Managing Director for the VI's German subsidiaries ... now, is he in or out?
Development specialists are always in demand, the hotel real estate market is in a constant state of flux after all, as the talkround of PKF hotelexperts in Munich revealed. At present, the Chinese, the restaurant business and secondary markets are shaking the hotel real estate scene in Germany.
And in the news this week: The biggest Czech player CPI has bought the boutique hotel group Mamaison and therefore ventures a step into Eastern European neighbouring countries. In Austria, the High Court has provided a severe knock-back for airbnb & Co.: Residential real estate may no longer by rented out as holiday home.
You can still secure a place on the joint stand "World of Hospitality" at the Expo Real in October. There are still three months until Europe's leading trade fair for real estate and investments gets underway and the hospitality sector's presence is growing. The joint stand already sees a new participant record today, though still has space for further companies. All users will find the names of co-exhibitors on our Page 1. – The full editorial …

Dear Insiders,
Dr Andreas Karsten, CEO of Vienna International, spoke of an initial public offering and a hyper-dynamic expansion during an interview with us just two weeks ago. On Wednesday, the company announced that the CEO is leaving – for "private reasons". But it strikes me that the "for private reasons" wording has very frequently been the case with such news recently …
Florian Werner of the Arlberg Hospiz Hotel in Austria will not let off the hook overnight. The luxury hotelier has found his own strategy for survival in the mountains: The 87 room-hotel in St. Christoph on Arlberg/Austria is now building the highest art and concert hall in Europe 1,800 metres above sea-level! The individual hotelier wangled the interim financing for the 27 million Euro project at the last minute.
From art to music and literature: The young lifestyle hotels are making use of streams, the web and the cloud to connect with their hip guests through music. Ruby, prizeotel, Rilano and Starwood Hotels speak about the right music mix and their own radio stations.
Meanwhile in Austria, some resorts are utilising literary readings as a marketing tool and are inspiring a loyal guest crowd with this. Our author, Fred Fettner, introduces the different strategies surrounding books.
The sober subject of franchise is less buoyant, but very profound: Guest Author Christian Zerr describes the legal scenarios in crisis situations in the 3rd part of his series today.
Annoyingly: In France, the tourist taxes are to be increased to an unbelievable 8 Euro per night. Katara Hospitality has once again been active as an investor in Europe, Kempinski shrinks and grows, TUI and TUI Travel will merge. And there is news from the court about the funds initator Anno August Jagdfeld and the Hotel Adlon Berlin. This and more in today's issue of our magazine.
On Page 1: The successful "loop" luxury travel trade fair has already announced its dates for 2015 and is already accepting registrations. hospitalityInside.com will once again support the event as a media partner. – The full editorial …

Dear Insiders,
The first off-shoot of a promising "lean luxury" concept officially opened in Vienna this week. Ruby is the name. With this, creator Michael Struck takes his budget concept one step further in German-speaking Europe.
The brand complex with an H2 and a Ramada hotel with a total of 536 rooms at Munich Messe is in full operation now. The initial key figures are good. But operator Hospitality Alliance had more news on the new strategy last Friday: Alexander Fitz also announced a new full service-hotel brand, and another 350-room hotel for Munich and more about its own brands.
Warsaw still has lots of space for lots of hotels. Ambitious developers find the Polish market has a few peculiarities of its own though and banks are conservative - the second instalment from the 1st "Spotlight Hotel Investment Poland" conference. This article is accessible to all readers on our Page 1 – hospitalityInside was media partner for this event.
Our two legal articles today are reserved for subscribers: In the first, Christian Zerr explains the options for franchisors in Part 2 of his series on franchise agreements in Germany. In the second, our hospitalityInside expert for online law, Peter Hense, draws hoteliers' attention to a new law which, from June 13, has set out exact information requirements for online bookings and web shops. The devil is in the detail!
In the Méridien Brussels, things are playing out in a similar way to Davos recently. There too the leaseholder is insolvent. In the U.S., HotelTonight just presented its App as the new "door opener" to hotels and their check-in procedures, Oracle is to acquire Micros, Mélia's brand Sol has created new sub-brands. And more in our news. – The full editorial …

Dear Insiders,
The "golden egg" of Davos, the InterContinental Hotel, has become a "surprise egg" since the lessee company filed for bankruptcy two weeks ago. After many insider talks, a bizarre bankruptcy puzzle has emerged. Credit Suisse's funds manager Lucas Meier resigned from his post this week. However, today's article will certainly not be the end of the story.
For Vienna International, the story has just begun: the Austrian hotel group wants to go public. After three years in office, CEO Dr. Andreas Karsten is bursting with self-confidence and pushing the company in all different directions. VI not only wants to own, operate and consult but also appear as franchisee for large international brands.
Against this backdrop, our article "Give and take" sounds rather modest: Dr. Christian Zerr, lawyer at Hogan Lovells, starts a three-part series about franchising today, which commences with the legal framework in Germany and the interests of the contracting parties in the franchise relationship. As management agreements are not very successful in Germany, operators are increasingly pushing franchise agreements. Will the keen interest remain in light of the legal framework?
Change of mood: did you know that wine tastes different when listening to classical music? At a wine degustation, two different worlds of indulgence encountered each other. Hotels are also able to offer their guests something special this way.
Everything is about enjoyment concerning the vouchers offered by a new online portal: however, no one wants anything to do with dubious discount portals. The operator GHM had doubts about the hostile hotel takeover of the Setai Miami in 2012, filed a suit and won against Lehman. Valamar will become the largest hotel group in Croatia after the fusion of several companies. US-based Interstate's appetite for Europe is growing. The global internet administrative organisation ICANN has swallowed a very large chunk: it awarded the hotel industry with the internet domain .hotel this week!
We are able to provide positive news for Europe's leading property and investment trade fair Expo Real in October: for the "World of Hospitality", 18 businesses have confirmed their participation so far; among them new exhibitors such as Azimut Hotels, Letomotel as well as Horwath HTL, and the Falkensteiner Michaeler Tourism Group shows its colours for the first time at the joint stand in Hall C2. Those who want to be included in the official trade show catalogue as co-exhibitors will have to hurry – the application deadline ends in two weeks. – The full editorial …