Beatrix Boutonnet has returned from the Smart Building Solutions Conference in Aachen with many details and practical advice for the realisation of refurbishments. Five pages of shared knowledge, well worth reading!
Traditional hoteliers who do not yet see serviced apartments as competition should also listen in. That's about to change, reveals Anett Gregorius from Apartmentservice in an interview today. The concepts are converging because the young segment is switching from long-stay to short-stay and hybrid.
Either competition changes the market or the regulators intervene: As you know, the EU was the first institution in the world to define AI rules according to three risk classes. There is a lot of criticism, only Germany’s technical monitoring associations (TÜV) thinks everything is great: It is already preparing inspection and test procedures.
Responding to the market is the investor Aroundtown - a company that only ever wants to fly under the radar. Macy Marvel has now taken a look at how many hotels it has already removed from its portfolio and how many it will sell. Nevertheless, the value of the assets remains fairly stable. On the other hand, Selina Hotels - a hip, hybrid brand that has made grandiose announcements in recent years and is now millions in debt - has hit the skids; a rescuing investor is approaching.
Success story for the Swiss hotel industry: Despite the strong franc and declines in its two most important markets, it achieved a new record of 23.9 million nights compared to 2022. Foreign guests were the lifeline here.
Our two regular sections, Personnel and the News Mix, are well filled again today.
But today's edition offers even more - also on the public pages (Home and Marketplace). Our columnist Frank Tetzel is annoyed about a breakfast for three in Berlin that cost him €135. Inflation! What has politics got to do with this? Read about it in Politics INSIDE Berlin.
And because hospitalityInside was and is currently a media partner for three projects, we would like to draw your attention to the "Tech Report" published yesterday by the distribution and technology expert h2c: In the chain hotel industry, direct online bookings jumped to 29% of total revenue in 2023, up from just 20% in the previous year (+45%). Hotels are also integrating more and more systems. Unfortunately though, they are still neglecting revenue-driving tools - and communication with the guest.
At the end of January, you have the choice of attending two content-rich conferences: the AOHIS Summit in Madrid (with an investment focus) and/or HOTCO in Vienna a week later to bridge the gap between Central and Eastern Europe. We present the themed highlights to you.
Keep browsing our Marketplace, where you'll find info on the new EU supply chain law (it's getting serious about human rights!) and GreenSign has awarded a first label for the circular economy. But we also pay attention to small news of importance: This is how UNESCO protects grassland irrigation: It preserves biodiversity. Positive too: International tourism is approaching pre-pandemic levels! Certainly not positive: The number of dangerous destinations is growing, as a risk map shows.
Yet there’s no risk for you of missing out next Friday! Yes, there is one more issue before Christmas.
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief