Dear Insiders,

Do you still tip in the hotel or at a restaurant when you pay cashless? Easter marks the start of the season and an old question poses itself afresh. Instead of the tip, would you rather pay a flat rate of €10 per night and room added to your bill instead? This very idea is currently being trialled by Falkensteiner Hotels. The opinions and experiences on tipping are many and varied, as our conversations with hoteliers show.

While some are busy hiding Easter eggs ready for the hunt this weekend, others spend the whole year searching for the "golden egg" in response to a big problem: If certain employees are missing again for the season, then very often they are mothers. As soon as female staff have children, their jobs are over: Not even flexible contracts or part-time arrangements help because there is simply no childcare.

The Austrians have done the math: If childcare were better managed, unfilled positions would all but disappear in one fell swoop. Wow! Thomas Burgstaller, Head of the AMS, tells a few home truths for the Pongau region. This includes summer and winter tourist strongholds such as the Gastein Valley and Flachau. Burgstaller calls for collaboration. How about "hotel kindergartens"?

The view of the new Adagio CEO Xavier Desaulles goes far beyond valleys, mountains and even countries. In the future, Adagio is set to open one serviced apartment building every month - and most often this will be under the budget brand Adagio Access. Their European flagship business just opened in Hamburg. In Paris, meanwhile, "co-living" is being reinterpreted: Adagio wants to sell studios for six only as one whole unit. That is, only to groups six people. I didn't understand that. What do full beds have to do with an increased sense of co-living and community?

Ideas are needed, as well as facts. Today I also present to you the latest Gas Storage and Energy Transition Report. The report is full of interesting facts about storage facilities and about the situation of electricity supply in Germany. An interesting and important read for every company. Individual integrated tools can also be used for forecasting.

Scandic's forecast for 2023 is significantly better than the fiscal 2022 figures, as the Scandinavian market leader's annual financial results show. The statements also show that Scandic remains true to its sustainability strategy. Sustainability is a topic that no longer leaves anyone in peace. That's why we have compiled sustainability news again today, as well as personnel and market news.

A lot of new things happened this week within the context of our Sustainability Think Tank: Other impulse generators and companies of distinction, well-known and as yet little-known, but highly valued in their expertise, have confirmed their participation for the HITT in Berlin at the end of June. The circle of high-calibre players is thus becoming larger and larger: Systemiq, Siemens, HRS, BVA-BDRC, Clyde & Co, EYCarbon, Ethos, Jung & Schleicher, Buro Happold, The Considerate Group, Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, Pandox... Confused? You can find the solution at www.hitt.world.

And I am sure that the young lady I would like to introduce to you today as the first impulse generator is a source of inspiration in itself. Cambridge graduate Zaneta Sedilekova will engage you with her youthful zest and in-depth knowledge of the sensitive topic of biodiversity. As a climate risk lawyer, she is also an advocate for nature, for bees and trees. Get to know Zaneta on our Page 1!

Learn together with the ever-growing HITT community, step into a sustainable future where people once again take responsibility for people and align your strategies.

I will present the next HITT impulse generator on Friday, 21 April. Until then, we will also take a one-week Easter break; we will be back in the office from 17 April.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? editor@hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

Today is all about selling and enhancing value, across the board. If you can't build new hotels, you're not moving forward. If you have money but can't find products, you're out of luck. Those who still have hotels and want to sell may be lucky - depending on the segment. In the hostel segment, a&o Hotels is obviously for sale, possibly at three to four times the entry price, as we have learned from reliable insiders. Neither owner TPG nor a&o were willing to comment. Read more in the magazine.

The value creation process for funds is not quite as fast. However: Open-end funds stand out in their segment because they are actively tackling the issue of ESG with all its hurdles in order to benefit from capital gains at an early stage. Beatrix Boutonnet has given second article in her Funds & ESG series "The pressure can no longer be ignored".

How can operators make more profit? By taking over others. This process already began during the pandemic and is now obviously becoming more dynamic, as Susanne Stauss learned in conversation with consultants. The winner here is whoever is among the larger groups and can generate economies of scale through a takeover. But the search for the perfect partner is a puzzle to be solved. Here, the operator could die of thirst just before reaching the oasis.

Budgets and value creation are even at stake when it comes to finding employees, as a self-critical industry discussion initiated by the recruitment company LHC International and HospitalityInside revealed: "Talent acquisition is a whole lot more than HR. Today, it's pure Sales & Marketing. It's the employer that has to sell itself, not the applicant anymore!" But what CEO budgets here as in Sales? The answer is obsolete. Is the war for talent perhaps just one big, homegrown failure? What do you think? We are posting this article for all to read on our Page 1, and we'd be happy for you to share it with others.

French operator Appart'City, with its 100 hotels, had landed on virtually zero budget in 2021 and is now picking up speed again. ESG is expected to help with this! The three letters are also the core of the new funding guidelines for hotels in Austria - and you see, there is no issue without this topic anymore. Choice Hotels has completed the facelift of its 4th franchise brand Ascend in EMEA, but can't explain why its Spanish properties are blocked on the website with the words "fully booked." They belong to the - previous? - partner Sercotel.

The balance sheets of Aroundtown, GBI AG, Orascom and the Best Western Group today tell their own story of difficult times. Just as our news mix again tracks the small movements in the market.

The momentum remains positive. For the time being though, turning the good intentions into reality remains strenuous. But more and more are seeing the opportunities through ESG as an option to increase value. I also felt that this week at a very special investor ESG event in London. But that will be another story.

And last but not least: Our HITT programme has grown strongly since the initial announcement - in content as well as with renowned names. They include Florian Huber, Co-Founder and Lead of EYCarbon / EY - he analyses the world of measurement, while Malin Lindfors Speace, Founder and CEO of the established Scandinavian consultancy Ethos, will teach how to measure the S in ESG. Eric Hofmeister, Head of Global Lodging Procurement at Siemens, will stand for the power of corporate buyers and Willem van der Zee will discuss collaboration for Pandox. What sounds fragmentary now is a big whole in the end - content that consistently builds on each other and strengthens your ESG strategy.

The think tank will take place on 26/27 June in Berlin, again on the boat, with many new impetus providers. We share with you the knowledge that investors and operators alike need for implementation... And you have the unique opportunity to ask top-class experts your personal questions. Register at www.hitt.world. And watch the HITT video. HITT is business and fun.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? editor@hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

Motel One has risen like a Phoenix from the ashes of the corona crisis: Sales of €639 million were the highest ever in the company's history. Since April 2022, everything has changed for the better: Hotel openings, occupancy, RevPAR, EBITDA, equity, net income. "It took a lot of discipline and work on our part," said co-CEO Stefan Lenze in a conversation with us after the annual press conference yesterday. "The cake is smaller, but we’re getting a bigger slice," he added, matter-of-factly. The crisis plan worked. Motel One appears unshakable.

Susanne Stauss has summarised the Group's figures and innovations, and I have tried to elicit additional information about the second brand, The Cloud One, from Stefan Lenze. After New York and Chicago, the first German hotels will be built in Hamburg and Düsseldorf at the end of 2023. In landmark buildings, with spectacular location, everything will be much more colourful, individual and of even higher quality, he promises. From the description alone, the leap from motel to the clouds isn't quite there yet. Lenze's advice: "Just come, then you'll see and feel it."

Hardly anyone was that confident at the MIPIM in Cannes. The fair also appears to be losing its beach party image. It was "The quietest MIPIM ever," says my colleague and experienced MIPIM visitor Beatrix Boutonnet. The framework conditions for finance will not improve in the short term, transactions are down, prices are down, costs are up, investments are stalled, institutional investors are holding their money. "It's like Mikado," says one insider, "whoever wobbles first loses." And despite everything, there were positive words about the hospitality industry. Incidentally, hotel stocks across Europe were up about 3% in 2022, reports a British Valuation Index independent of MIPIM.

When it comes to ESG, it's already clear who the losers will be, namely those who do not confront the issue and are failing to implement changes. The climate time bomb is ticking, the cry from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change this week was loud. Every insider knows: Investors will have to make the first move. That's why we're dedicating today and next week to Funds and ESG. We being with the current regulatory environment.

Operators are developing more and more activities in terms of ESG, of course also in response to changing customer behaviour. For example, the Global Hotel Alliance in Dubai has now packed more than 200 climate-positive motivated hotels into a new "Green Collection". What I like about this is that every hotel has to be certified by a globally recognised environmental organisation.

Opening up to the new issues of the day, thinking outside the box and finally seeing the one-way street as a dead end will help shape your own future. We do our part to provide you with the platforms to do so. For instance, at our joint stand "World of Hospitality" at Expo Real in Munich. October is still seven months away, but today we already register as main exhibitors - and with us the first 19 co-exhibitors, whom we can introduce to you now. For all others: We still have some space in reserve. More details on this can be found on our Page 1.

And in our Expo Real announcement you will also find our latest video: Images and voices from WoH 2022, recorded in our new design stand and a positive reflection of the hospitality industry finding its place at the real estate fair.

Keep your eyes on the future! We are here for you every Friday with well-researched news from the hospitality and tourism sector and with dynamic business platforms.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? editor@hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

I had the pleasure of chatting with some of you after ITB this week. And the longer I thought about it, the more often I wondered: Why didn't they make this "resurrection ITB" into one big global statement for sustainable tourism? All the politicians, NGOs and future kids would have rushed to Berlin - the destinations, tour operators, airlines, hotels, OTAs were already there anyway.

The industry would have had a unique opportunity to become an advocate for the planet, the climate, diversity and humanity. And in doing so, it would have been able to show how quickly it can reduce emissions and give people work through its own efforts and creativity. For an ITB like that, vision would have been needed. But who in Berlin has a vision?

I was all the more pleased to hear from Cannes yesterday: The Low Carbon Building Initiative, founded a year ago, has begun to define criteria for calculating the CO2 emissions of a property over its life cycle. A pan-European seal of approval is being created, which offices, hotels and apartments will be the first to be able to use.

The word diversity also characterises Patrick Mendes' attitude. We were the first trade publication to interview Accor's new CEO Europe & North Africa for the Premium, Midscale & Economy Brands at ITB. Patrick sees himself as a citizen of the world, so his teams are colourful and diverse, and it is logical for him to give jobs to people from other cultures and without specialist knowledge. After nine years in South America, he knows what "social" means.

On the other hand, Accor demands clear focus on the figures. That's why - in the new brand division - he will try to turn the premium brands Pullman, Mövenpick and Swissôtel into power brands just like Accor's economy brands already are in Central Europe. His mission is therefore: Turn one cash cow into two.

How hospitable and social the hospitality industry can be, this has been particularly evident following the earthquake in Turkey. Hundreds of hotels and resorts that had closed opened their doors to thousands of victims, especially in the popular tourist destinations of Alanya and Antalya on the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts. The big tourism players - such as Best Western, Radisson, Accor, the vacation accommodation network Gites de France and even the Airbnb non-profit - have also helped with beds and donations. But now the peak season is upon us for Turkey. So what to do? Are earthquake victims or tourists to be accommodated? Sarah Douag researched the details.

In Italy, our colleague Massimiliano Sarti interviewed the general director of Bulgarella Real Estate Group, Ray Lo Faso. The company, whose name is far from familiar to everyone, wants to invest more in hospitality and, as you can read, has a solid understanding of the industry. Quite in contrast to the banks, which Lo Faso also criticises.

Without sensitivity and specialist knowledge, it’s impossible to understand the hospitality industry; that's why current figures from Italy now show that quite a few investors pulled out in second half of 2022, quite simply because of inflation. But Asian investors are on hold.

Vienna did not achieve its 2019 level in 2022, but the hotels' RevPAR was at a historic record! The hotel industry continues to swim in waves large and small, with completely different topics throwing up thought bubbles: e.g. the EU's new "Data Act" or even the new, AI-driven marketing tool Google Performance Max, which is replacing Google Ads.

We are - hopefully - not so easy to replace, so we'll always stay on the ball for you. Remember: Our first programme for our 6th HITT Think Tank on 26/27 June in Berlin is out, and the first topics and names again promise quality and lively discussions. More on our hospitalityInside Front Page and in detail, including programme, prices and registration, on www.hitt.world.

And there are only ten days to go until the HOTCO Investment Conference in Vienna. We are once again media partner. The programme includes exciting news and content from and about the markets of Eastern Europe. One click and you are right in the middle of the https://hotconf.com.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? editor@hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

ITB Berlin reported 90,127 trade visitors in its final report yesterday. In 2019 there had been 160,000 trade and private visitors, but the comparative figure was not mentioned. That would make the gap not so big. However, nine halls remained closed. They haven't succeeded. But the stairwells and hall transitions were freshly painted.

The "Hotel Hall 9" is dead, half of the hotel exhibitors gone, but in their place have come even more tech companies. With Kempinski no longer present as the last pure luxury brand, many hoped for the new "Home of Luxury" approach at Marshall House. It was the ultimate embarrassment, soulless in appearance, with a few luxury vendors placed behind cheap wooden board nests or at bare tables in a half-empty gallery.

But our team also heard positive things, often emotionally driven by the all-round joy of reunion, but also surprised by the apparently good quality of conversation. We were out and about with four editors and observed a flurry of activity, especially at the long-distance destinations. For the rest, the picture remains mixed. My conclusion: ITB Berlin has survived 2023, but failed to profile itself for the future.

That's why we're devoting three articles today to the next mega-future topic: ChatGPT. For weeks we have been researching and have been talking to hospitality insiders. Bärbel Schwertfeger explains the framework of this global AI monster that will "change everything." But she also interviewed hoteliers and experts with AI experience. There is no need to be afraid of the machine, but caution is advised. Reassuringly: People still influence the quality of stay in the hotel.

Sarah Douag took aim at the tech hype and quickly spotted the dollar signs in the eyes of this new development. AI-influenced revenues are expected to triple by 2024. Big money is at stake here, so Google and the OTAs will have to come up with AI products similar to ChatGPT relatively quickly. Experts such as the distribution specialist H2C, hotel chains and booking platforms such as Kayak and Expedia are in the process of seeing where they monster fits in and are analysing how it might mount its attack on the hotel industry and tourism.

What's more, Sarah approached the AI-monster in person: in a one-to-one, digital interview. She spent some time putting together her questions so that the chatbot's answers could be questioned again. We all know: The quality of the input determines the quality of the output. "The Thing" impressed Sarah: Not bad for a first date, she says.

Our news today still includes ITB, though there was no mega news to report. There is a thought-provoking FUR travel analysis on German travellers though: The social gap is widening, and only those who can afford to travel can do so. We have integrated ITB mini news predominantly in the news mix.

We do not have to hide with our HITT, the HospitalityInside Think Tank: On 26/27 June, it's back on the ship for lively and in-depth discussions with the participants. We’ll take you to the "Next level: Measure. Benchmark. Drive. Lifting sustainability from intention to traction." That's the title in 2023.

Venture with us the step from planning to implementation. A large part of the - English-language - HITT deals with measurement. Because only numbers and measurement data will positively change your carbon footprint. It is only seven years until the EU also makes credit terms for hotels dependent on their ESG criteria.

The programme is now very quickly taking shape. Today you can see the entire programme with the first names. I assure you: You will once again meet first-rate international experts, also from other industries, who share one thing with us: their knowledge.

We expect representatives from the transformation specialist systemiq.earth in the keynote, the co-founder of EY(Carbon) as analyst of the opportunities and threats in measurement, the CEO of the research institute BVA-BDRC Consumer Research and a young lawyer who has a very special perspective on the young topic of biodiversity.

We will bring you details on all the participants as well as the sponsors of our 6th HITT in the next weeks. Last year, 94% of our participants gave HITT a rating of "very good," with the remainder giving it a rating of "good." Register at www.hitt.world.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? editor@hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

Let me put it a little provocatively: The hotel world is increasingly splitting into the tech-driven, in some cases staff-less hotels on the one side and the luxury gems on the other. In the latter, guests only dig deep into their pockets for "hand-made" and "hands-on". What unites both types is that they have financially strong investors: greedy VCs on the one hand, who poker with capital and concepts, and the rich with a more long-sighted view looking for hotels for their personal well-being on the other.

Since Limehome and Numa with their disruptive approach have been around, we as an editorial team have been asked, how are they actually different? The answer is in the details, as always. In a piece of very extensive research, our colleague Sylvie Konzack took an in-depth look at both companies and their "digital" concepts. The result was not only a written text, but also a matching six-page table in which both had to answer the same questions: from their financing to revenues, tech systems, AI ratio, and comparative data on the classic hotel industry. And more.

I would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank the management of Limehome and Numa for their openness. It has become rare for companies to reveal so many details to specialist media, even if they have kept certain things still a little vague.

This is journalism as we understand it - as a partnership with the movers & shakers of the industry. We bother nobody with PR-heavy copy&paste morning newsletters, but go into depth in a focused and professional way.

If you are dealing with wealthy investors and their self-esteem, you certainly have to know the figures, but you also have to be much more sensitive. After all, the "software" of luxury hotels is different. This once again becomes clear in our interview with Bernold Schroeder, CEO of Kempinski Hotels. After two years of "silence" he speaks again. It's a long interview, but one that shows the headline-grabbing luxury hotel group of 2020 has found itself again.

Kempinski Hotels is once again doing "very well", Schroder says "We have continued to work quietly and persistently". Among other things, he reports a stabilised team and 19 new management contracts for Kempinski Hotels and the equally fast-growing Kempinski Residences. Investor confidence in the Group has also been restored.

Reading the next 2022 balance sheets from the chains, shrieks of joy are understandable. Nevertheless, it is important to keep our feet on the ground: The global pipeline is currently flattening out significantly - which also reflects a tiny detail: The world's largest real estate broker, CBRE, is already laying off a hospitality executive in Germany.

Real estate is one thing, people are another though. This industry is currently so deep in a mess that one is no longer surprised when German-speaking students, whatever subject they study, quickly turn away as soon as they hear the words "hospitality industry". And worse still: Even the tourism students do not want to work in this industry later.

This sector really is performing the balancing act of its life.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? editor@hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

The gulf is widening in the industry. First in terms of mood: The German hotel/restaurant industry is still hanging on somewhere between light and shade, while the Swiss already feel the sun shining again. In both countries, local industry associations have just taken stock of 2022.

And from this we also read/hear that it's the medium-sized companies that have developed organically in the heart of Europe that are suffering more from the negative side, much more than the chains. Accor and IHG report very encouraging results for 2022 this week, but they shouldn't get ahead of themselves: In financial terms, global players can simply make the world look good more quickly. In this respect, a new, larger gap of inequality is also emerging here. The big companies just get bigger, while the little ones quite simply get fewer.

And another gulf is already developing quickly, threatening to swallow the old hotel brand world. Indeed, the current drivers are the hyper-creative ones. Their brand concepts shoot like mushrooms from the ground; at high speed, they copy the familiar and remix the ideas. And most of them immediately find enthusiastic business angels. I'm curious to see which of the 12 young, fresh, infectious hospitality and serviced apartment brands we're featuring today won't have been swallowed by the gulf in five years.

Growing by means of a copy/paste approach is certainly faster. Marcelo Mangia of the Italian brand Mangia's also wants to grow strongly - and has therefore taken the business models of international brand groups as a model. Why invent something new, why be a disruptor?

Airbnb is still adored worldwide, just like Booking.com, they brought the big disruption. But they also caused a lot of trouble. Now the EU is fed up with them too. Italy is demanding €153 million back from Booking.com for suspected tax evasion. And Parisian lawyers are also reacting sharply: In a rental dispute, they have classified Airbnb as an "operator" rather than a "simple host". That changes accountability.

One year ago today, the war against Ukraine began. What consequences did this have on travel? Quite simply: Rich Russians continued to travel, whilst everyone else stayed at home. This is evidenced by the aircraft movements in 2022. For a few weeks now though, things have been changing.

The hotel real estate world is also robust, according to JLL and its "Global Hotels Investment Outlook": According to the report, many investors want to continue investing in hotels. Finally, RevPAR has reached or exceeded 2019 levels across Europe. The Global Hotel Alliance, an association of international hotel groups, also takes a positive view of the world: Its cross-brand revenue increased to $168 million in 2022, up 25 percent from 2019.

Speaking of responsibility: At Adina, Deutsche Hospitality and Novum Hospitality, C-level executives are currently taking their leave; this information from sound sources has been confirmed to us by the companies. However, there are no successors yet in any of the cases.

In summary: Despite all the ups and downs, everyone remains positive. Are you too? Or have you been swallowed by the gulf too?

In order not to float between light and dark, I always like to talk to people from other cultures and industries. And you can find them, for example, at multinational conferences like HOTCO in Vienna at the end of March: when "Western and Eastern Europe" meet and talk about everything - from megatrends like resorts to everyday dilemmas and social change. More about the conference on our page 1.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? editor@hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

Beyoncé raked in a whopping $24 million for her 60-minute performance at the recently opened Atlantis The Royal Dubai, our correspondent Sarah Douag found out. The event was teeming with celebrities and influencers. In the sea of camera flashes and selfies, did the audience even see the 90 pools, the jellyfish tanks, the 17 F&B outlets and the 3,000-sqm spa?

The message is as clear as glitter: Dubai wants to remain "the land of tomorrow". Sheikh Al Maktoum's $1.4 billion hotel on the Palm salutes its Saudi neighbours - who, for their part, are coming up with ever crazier architectural designs and attractions. Kindergartens in Arabia are big - and often cute.

Teenagers and freaks in Europe, too. Everyone wants to change the world, but only according to their will, please. International surveys are now exposing Gen Z and "the last generation": Especially the young - those between 18 and 28 - want to travel the most and then preferably far away! And preferably by plane. Some climate activists have glued themselves to the tarmac, but the majority are sticking with the plane. "It's easier to protest with Fridays for Future than to make your own holidays climate-friendly as well," Fred Fettner writes, summarising this highly interesting analysis of figures from three sources.

And with that, we jump into the real world, which simply demands that CEOs like Oliver Winter of a&o Hostels stay grounded. Neither gold nor glue helped him re-acquire 500 lost employees at high speed in order to fully capitalise on the surprise travel boom in 2022. Last year, he exceeded revenue figures from 2019 by €22 million, despite the crisis, the loss of staff expertise and quality. And despite hostel segment, where each one euro increase in price already leads to cancellations. I enjoyed this intensive interview because it shows how nimble hoteliers can be in dealing with crises.

The global chains can pull out many more stops to take themselves back to profitability in the end. But they also have reason to cheer: The historic low has been overcome, in fact even the figures from 2019 have been surpassed - at Choice, Hyatt, Marriott and Scandic, all of which released their 2022 financial statements this week.

Positive news also from the micro world of medium-sized operators: With the - unknown - Michel Hotels, Achat CEO Philipp von Bodman has just added 1,600 rooms, thus consistently expanding the existing mix of business and leisure hotels at the same quality level. This looks like a perfect fit.

By contrast in Germany, nothing seems to come together for companies that want to become more digital. Instead they're faced with bureaucratic hurdles. A phenomenon that includes hotel companies. That's why we're letting numbers do the talking here today, too.

Figures, projects and concepts are not only the focus of our weekly news mix, but also of the HOTCO conference in Vienna at the end of March, where everything revolves around the larger CEE region, SEE, the Baltics, the Caucasus and the CIS countries. More on this on our Page 1.

Have a golden week!

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? editor@hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

Error! AI – artificial intelligence – does not have a fitting answer for every guest review. Its wording is not sensitive enough, as machines simply do not filter sensitivity. Benjamin Jost, CEO of TrustYou – the largest review data base in the world – just misses authenticity in automized wording. Highspeed feedback saves time and costs, but does it keep the friendship with a critical guest? An interesting exchange between the software developer of MARA, TrustYou and hotelier Marco Nussbaum.

AI is a face of the ongoing change. The new working world, New Work, is another. It sounds sexy and dynamic. The challenge: companies willing to offer New Work will have to transform themselves first. Two oldies explain how this is done: Seminaris Hotels and TUI.

Meanwhile, slow travel is far away from highspeed and work of any kind. This is not a trend anymore, but a mind-set you live in nature – in a hay bed, a glamping treehouse or a luxury ecolodge. Cooking is done at an open fire, please. There is no electricity. Pure detox!

Today, Sarah Douag describes the colourful variety on the market and emphasizes a Dutch initiative that even a fund is now showing its interest in. I already see the dollar signs in the eyes of pure nature fans! And indeed, a new field of business is opening up. And I have absolutely nothing against that as there is one thing that will not be participating: AI.

Time and again our industry shows its fascinating antipodes and that it combines contradictory products in peaceful co-existence. You should therefore look at the profiles of today’s new travellers that have transpired from various surveys. Things get more sober and factual when it comes to today’s country reports, takeovers and financial statements.

And today’s numerous staffing issues, the News Mix and our announcement on the next HOTCO Investment Conference moving from Budapest to Vienna also fit the general vibe of change. Marius Gomola of Horwath HTL Hungary organizes this special format for hotels in the major CEE region. And we are happy to be on board again as a media partner. There are still early bird tickets available until February 15.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? editor@hospitalityInside.com

Dear Insiders,

On Wednesday, Dorint Hotels opened its 66th hotel in Garching near Munich, batting away 20 competitors in order to do so. Good locations are in demand, and this location in the middle of the business park still has a special charm. And despite the crisis, it's a 4-star full-service hotel with conference rooms. "We're all glad we didn't decide to move away from meetings and conferences," CEO Jörg Böckeler and COO Bettina Schütt both affirm in a conversation with us afterwards. In large part, business is back. And this is also visible at Dorint which is able to show significant growth rates across all KPIs.

Everyone in the industry knows how much the German hotel group fought its way to the top before corona. All the more positive that, behind the scenes, it was able to take full advantage of the pandemic lockdowns: It replaced systems, optimized concepts and initiated new motivation programmes for employees. It lost fewer employees than the national average. During the pandemic, the management team took a closer look at many corners of the company, drew positives from the crisis and straightened its path.

In Austria, the migrant-employee issue is turning into a game of political poker between the parties, as our colleague Fred Fettner witnessed live at the annual ÖHV meeting in Salzburg last week. What I always like about Austrian Hotel Association: It constantly and with great relish manages to challenge politicians because it always seeks the best for its industry. And it even likes to talk about it publicly. Hard to believe.

That communication helps to check one's own position and to get a sense of one's own activities measured against the competition. This became clear during the exchange of views at the AOHIS investors conference in Madrid, where we were also a media partner. And so today I again summarise statements from two talk rounds on the perennial issue of ESG. And on that topic: Investors have actually admitted that ESG is primarily a real estate issue, not an operator issue. You can find the article on our home page, accessible to everyone.

At the moment, China continues to amaze us. After the government banned its investors from investing in the West as recently as the end of 2022, the exact opposite is now the case again. They have the western hotel industry firmly in their sights once more!

The Swiss SV Hotel Group is also focussed on expansion but changes direction. It dilutes its absolutely unique, award-winning Stay Kooook serviced apartment concept to do so. This is now available not only with studio, kitchenette and movable partition, but also as a simple room product with a sink in the room. For me, this is a difficult decision to understand.

The ITB Convention programme has now slowly made its way online, but I for one still have no idea what awaits us in Berlin this year. The information is certainly very sparse.

We conclude this week again with interesting market news and personnel movements. Oh yes, there is one news item we are not bringing you today: the one about B&B Hotels' "best business year in history". The company cannot substantiate this claim with clear facts - and does not want to, even when asked. I will spare you this hot air.

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief

Your opinion? editor@hospitalityInside.com