Lindner Hotels AG filed for insolvency under self-administration this week. It concerns 13 of 41 hotels, which are apparently buckling under the weight of rents and costs. Nevertheless, many questions remain unanswered.
Issue from 20.12.2024
Insolvencies, fakes, manipulations: Christmas with some enormous packages
Dear Insider,
This week's biggest package comes from the German Lindner Hotels AG: News is that it will send 13 problem hotels (from a portfolio of 41 in total) into self-administered insolvency. The hope is that the hotels will be rehabilitated within just months. Christmas brings calm to a difficult and confused situation. The first meetings with creditors is set to take place on 6 January. Susanne Stauss and I have collected snippets.
The Lindner case is the third insolvency (in self-administration) of a major German group, after Achat Hotels (in November) and arcona Hotels in 2023; the latter are back on the market after being restructured. They all suffered and still suffer - presumably - from the same cause: excessive lease agreements. Germany's old drama, but always home-made.
We are a long way away from Christmas fairy tales this year. Heart rates continue to race.
Can you imagine that each year half a million published academic articles are simply fake? A dubious mafia scheme is behind it. Bärbel Schwertfeger investigated. Our editorial hearts started beating even faster this week when we read that a 26-year-old AI expert was found dead in the United States after massive and public criticism of OpenAI - the mother of ChatGPT. Was it really suicide? Watch it.
Insolvencies as a result of failed concepts, fake spirals, manipulation and a mysterious death in the wake of public criticism... What times are these in which we currently live? To what extent are we already being deceived, hunted and controlled? The dynamism of developments in AI has meant the wheels of manipulation turn ever faster. Do you hear that?
The next superlative: A new leisure city for 100,000 inhabitants and with 80,000 new jobs is being built very close to Athens. Ellinikon is of Arabian proportions and is currently the largest and most expensive urban development in Europe. Welcome to a gigantic destination resort that offers it all: Such projects will soon also channel the flow of tourists in Europe. Everything else falls through the cracks. Open your eyes!
For this reason, I find stay awesome all the more appealing, a young start-up that revitalises small hotels in a new and sustainable way with recycled furniture, organic food, energy-saving measures and local partners. They have decided against Airbnb and multi-million venture capitalists - and in favour of family offices and small steps.
The Austrians have once again considered the next strategic steps in the transformation of winter sports, planning for the long term. The aim is to turn a skiing vacation into a winter sports vacation with a wide range of offers. And it's all sustainable too.
Despite crises and uncertainty: The hotel openings don't stop; our news mix is overflowing again today. The flood of personnel news is standard before the end of the year. You will find varied news in our Public Content this week: Packaging is now also available in straw instead of polystyrene; the Chinese are sending food drones into the mountains so that tourists can get something to eat; we have news on climate targets in a country comparison; and last but not least the Sawiris family (Orascom Development Holding) is planning to withdraw from the Swiss stock exchange.
And we also have news of our own: "Hotels Tomorrow" ( HOT) has had to be postponed by its founders (me, Marc Werner and Marius Gomola) until 16/17 JUNE in Paris - because we won't get a VAT ID before February. Incredible, but true! But we remain highly motivated and you can still pre-register on the hotelstomorrow.eu website.
The HITT Think Tank, which will take place on 26/27 May in Brussels, also promises to be another exciting event. This time the focus is on nature, infrastructure and more... on the HITT page.
Planning for Expo Real in October 2025 will also start at the beginning of the year. And we are optimistic: The "hotel corner" at the real estate fair is becoming increasingly popular. Details on our Expo Real page!
The first event I will be attending in January is HOTCO Conference in Vienna, a meeting place for investors and operators from south-eastern Europe, which aims to tell us how to make money today.
HospitalityInside is also saying goodbye for the Christmas break today; we also need to take a deep breath after a turbulent, colourful and fast-paced year. We'll be back in the office again from 7 January, our next edition will be published on 17 January. Of course, we'll still send you breaking news as it is announced. Otherwise we just wouldn't be HospitalityInside.
We would like to thank all of you, our subscribers and business partners, new and old friends, and, of course, our own employees, and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief & the HospitalityInside team
In Greece, Ellinikon arises as the biggest urban development in Europe
Ellinikon is the most massive and costly urban development project currently underway in Europe. In some respects, its size and complexity evoke the mega-cities under construction in Saudi Arabia, but with some important differences. The site of the former airport close to Athens features a large park - residences, hotels, schools and more will follow.
The start-up stay awesome makes old hotels sustainable
At first, three university friends from Kassel operated 15 Airbnb apartments successfully, then a hackathon made them change their minds: They decided to operate honest, sustainable serviced apartments and hotel rooms in old and already existing buildings. Where the locals go out. And where family offices can see their capital transform into alternative energies and recycled chairs. The young company is named stay awesome.
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HOT Paris postponed
New Date: "Hotels Tomorrow" now in June 2025! Save the new date! We must postpone the planned Europe-focused conference Hotels Tomorrow - The HOT Unconference in Paris, from mid-February to 16/17 JUNE 2025! Due to the bureaucratic difficulties in issuing VAT IDs by several EU member states... Unbelievable, but true. The good news is we have more time for the program, the formats and the fine-tuning of the content. We receive new tips and topic suggestions from the market almost every day. The first draft is already online but will be constantly updated. Marius Gomola, Marc Werner and Maria Puetz-Willems, the organisers of HOT, remain fully motivated. Register for the special price for 16/17 June 2025 and keep an eye on the updates at www.hotelstomorrow.eu
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