Issue from 7.3.2025
The joy of travelling, ITB frustration and useful modules
Dear Insider,
Each year, the ITB sees a veritable flood of figures, analyses and forecasts on the global travel market bubble up from many sources. Performance in 2024 is impressive, and the outlook for 2025 is promising. Despite the tense political (and economic) situation, the tourism industry shows "hardly any signs of disruption", as Fred Fettner notes with regard to current studies. Above all, air travel with a sun guarantee is a perennial favourite. Too expensive? Doesn't matter Holidaymakers tighten their belts in other areas of everyday life.
The mood in the business travel segment is one of upheaval rather than optimism. This is where the economic downturn hits. Experts had expected a permanent 10 to 30 percent reduction in business travel in Germany in the post-coronavirus period. Apparently too optimistic. The nervousness grows. New forms such as Bleisure Travel and Travel in Motion as a way out? Let’s wait and see.
Anyone travelling on business needs accommodation that is budget-friendly and central. Modular hotels are springing up, not least for this target group. Novum CEO David Etmenan and Carsten Fritz, Managing Director of NXTbau, explain in an interview just how fast and sustainable "Lego-style" construction works out in practice for investors and operators.
Resource-saving, low CO2 and sustainable - this is not just an issue in the construction sector. The follow-up to the COP 16 World Conference on Nature, which was terminated four months ago without results, ended with a financing plan for nature and biodiversity. Now the countries have to deliver.
The HospitalityInside Think Tank is also fully in line again with this trend: among the experts is Zaneta Sedilekova, a highly specialised lawyer for the risks arising from biodiversity. This is a new profession; she already advises governments and companies alike. Discuss the financing of sustainable hotels and resorts with her, face2face. "Put nature on the balance sheet!" she urges investors, developers, bankers and operators. Have you already registered for the HITT? On 26/27 May in Brussels.
Good news is rare, there is plenty of excitement, much of it "made in the USA". The announcement by Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia that he would be joining Elon Musk's DOGE team caused a stir. Airbnb customers and hosts called for a boycott of the platform.
It is also worth taking a closer look at the Motel One-PAI deal, which caused quite a stir on the market at the beginning of the week (Breaking News from 3 March 2025). Sarah Douag has compiled background details on the "powerhouse" PAI.
Of the hundreds of technology providers at ITB 2025, one stood out: Mews. The Dutch software company has received mega-million-euro funding for the second time and will be investing more heavily in the DACH region, among others. This makes the self-confident motto "Hospitality Remastered" a tangible vision at the stand.
Exactly the opposite feeling arises when you see that car hire companies, travel platforms and software professionals now also dominate Hall 9 at ITB. It is only a matter of time before the last hotel operators move out of the former hotel hall. The ITB as the International Tourism Exchange is now really turning into the International Technology Exchange. Susanne Stauss has summarised her observations in Berlin.
Have a good week!
Kirsten Posautz
Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Analysis shows: The travel boom continues despite price jumps
In the run-up to ITB, all sorts of facts, figures and analyses for the travel market in 2024 and forecasts for 2025 are presented to the public. The common denominator remains: Whether war in Europe, the end of global economic thinking or rapid digitisation - the facts about tourism show hardly any signs of disruption.
Is modular construction an expansion boost for operators and investors?
Demand for time and cost-efficient construction is increasing. Solutions must be found. One variant is serial modular construction, which is already being used in the hotel industry in some cases: for both functional motorway service-station hotels as well as lifestyle products. Novum Hospitality CEO David Etmenan and expert Carsten Fritz from NXTbau give us an overview of the pros and cons of modular construction.
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