Issue from 23.02.2024
Cloud 9 or zero drive
Dear Insider,
Today's issue short and sweet: Germany lacks drive, criticise three CEOs from Austria. But Accor has wind in its sails after yesterday's record balance sheet figures. And Patrick Mendes, the still young Accor CEO for the Europe/North Africa region, is sailing with it. Dr. Lohbeck Privathotels fly under the radar in Germany: a medium-sized company that continuously and quietly buys well-known individual hotels - and puts US franchise brands on their roofs in the United States for a change. In Germany, the industry is whispering about the takeover of the ailing Travel Charme Hotels by a subsidiary of tour operator DER Touristik (Rewe Group). Europe prides itself on full pipelines and the attraction of resorts. The Swiss hotel industry is looking forward to 2023, the German sector is still struggling. And very importantly: On our website you will find the current, fuller programme with the first top-class speaker names!
In detail: Rupert Simoner, Otmar Michaeler and Harald Ultsch speak frankly and tell their friends from neighbouring Germany that they need to become role models and pioneers again, to regain their joyful spirit and self-confidence. Politics is not to blame for everything. Part 2 of our series on Germany in the Depression also contains a lot of truth.
This week, Choice, IHG and Accor are floating on cloud 9: Their balance sheets contain many superlatives. IHG pays out one billion to its shareholders, Accor's EBITDA breaks through the one billion mark for the first time. Bazin is cheering his team on again, as the financial results show for the first time that last year's organisational turnaround is paying off.
We therefore continued our conversation with Patrick Mendes, the regional CEO for Europe & North Africa and for the PME division (Premium, Midscale, Economy Brands). The once extremely standardised group is becoming increasingly flexible, and now the established brands (such as Mövenpick or Novotel) are being lovingly reworked. Accor is helping owners and franchisees increasingly individually, and the "plug-in" for a new, independent hotel happened in just a few weeks. We deliver, says Mendes: Distribution and sales power, new special offers for loyalty customers only.
Dr. Lohbeck Privathotels also delivers - to themselves. They now count 23 own hotels. They buy up all good properties, but no chain hotels and they post good figures. They only need their regular customer database to be successful; they do not have a loyalty programme. That’s SME exactly as it’s written in the book!
But it can also turn out differently - if you fly beyond cloud 9. Miscalculations and family disputes have led to one of the best small resort groups in Germany and Austria, Travel Charme Hotels, being sold to DSR Holding. People who are familiar with the companies are certain that this will change the hotels.
However, resorts remain a success story across Europe, as figures from the HOTCO conference show. Europe's pipeline is also full. And Swiss tourism is also closing the year 2023 on a happy note. In the German hospitality industry, on the other hand, losses are above average, especially in gastronomy.
We are looking forward to our HITT premiere in Amsterdam and today we can name the first top-class speakers on the HITT page - e.g. Luc Boschmann from Tristan Capital, Michaela Reitterer from Boutiquehotel Stadthalle Wien, Ufi Ibrahim from EEA, Heide Schmidtke from JLL Hospitality, Julia Wein from CREEM... Not every name has to be familiar to you, but they are all "Movers & Shakers" with a great passion for sustainability. And some of them sit at important points of contact with the EU. They are our "impulse providers" - and are quick to spark intensive discussions.
The first day is about EU reporting, about new pressure through verified (!) figures and purified green labels, honest investor-operator communication, asset risks and the path to net zero.
The second day will focus on innovation, AI, robotics and technology - with experts from research and labs. They are intended to show the industry the way forward, including best practice. You will only find the buzzwords on this today; give us a little more time. We are fine-tuning these sessions together with our cooperation partner Hotelschool The Hague. Who could be closer to innovative and future-oriented topics than this institution?
New: You can book 2 days or just one at a time. Click here for the program.
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
Editor-in-Chief
Patrick Mendes: How Accor intends to keep its portfolio fresh and flexible
Patrick Mendes spent 240 days on the road last year. "It was a great year, but also tough and intense," says the CEO Europe & North Africa, who has overseen this region for Accor's Premium, Midscale & Economy brands (abbreviated: PME) since January 2023. In our latest interview, he explains, among other things, how to make adjustments to the brand without losing owners and franchisees.
Privathotels Dr. Lohbeck – the expansion power of the middle class
Not only standardised chains were able to present a sales record for 2023 but also family-run private hotel groups. One of them, which is very quiet but successful, is the Privathotels Dr. Lohbeck – with an interesting portfolio mixture in Germany, Austria and the US. Their strategy: They only acquire what fits in.
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