Dear Insiders,
Investors watch Hilton's planned IPO like hawks. Our author, Macy Marvel, sees the Hilton public offering as a signal for a new capitalization wave after Lehman and expects more IPOs and mergers such as, for instance, Fairmont/Four Seasons.
The confidence of the already confident Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta will strengthen the expected stock market proceeds even further. The new Accor CEO, Sébastien Bazin, was also super positive on the presentation of his new strategy, as reported last week. One statement that stood out was: "I am a manager, but this group belongs to the shareholders, not to the franchisees, not the unions, not to the staff. Shareholders are the one who take risks and they need to be compensated for that."
One reader wrote afterwards: "Who says that shareholders are the only ones to bear the risk and in the same breath points at franchisees disqualifies completely as franchisor!"
Business psychologist Leopold Hueffer provides consolation of a special kind here. He says clearly: Finance experts don't understand the hotel business! In his book, he describes why top jobs are filled with top flops. Baerbel Schwertfeger asked him for an assessment of the "wrong" hospitality CEO. Top stuff to read for top managers and their human resources specialists!
We also detect a lot of hot air about Facebook this week. We asked a dozen hotel groups whether and how many ideas they have gained from the super network. The result: Frustration. Only two - Lindner and Vienna International - managed to provide more precise answers.
Paulo Salvador, Executive Vice President EMEA of Worldhotels told us that the marketing consortium will launch a news loyalty programme. At Scandic Hotels, all guests can now check out digitally. And in Germany, there's a new judgement on the taxation of breakfast. More in our news.
Have you already registered for the new "hospitalityINSIDE Investment BAROMETER"? In collaboration with Union Investment, we measure sentiment every quarter. First register and you'll be
The preparations for ITB 2014 are making solid headway: The topics for the "ITB Hospitality Day" are roughly formulated and also more than half of the co-exhibitor spaces in the joint stand are already firmly booked. The first deadline for co-exhibiting companies in our "World of Hospitality" is December 15, 2013. Those who register up to this date will definitely still be incorporated into the printed trade show catalogue. A presence in the "ITB Virtual Market Place" can still be secured with a later reservation. If you are interested in participation in the joint stand or have questions, please contact our trade show team. sent the questionnaire. Anyone can participate. - The full editorial …
