Dear Insiders,
Germany officially slipped into recession yesterday, with consumption slowing. This will mean anxiety for tourism and the hotel industry again: Will the good booking figures for the summer continue?
Operators are coming under increasing pressure. Increasing costs are the key reason, but there's also the fact that many property owners who do not want to help operators for a second time. Owners probably only see the increasing revenue, not full and true picture: Room rates in Germany have increased by about 12%, but costs have outstripped these gains are are up by 15-18%. How can this gap be bridged?
Four insiders from BNP Paribas, Deutsche Hypo, Engel & Völkers and Härle Consulting give tips, but they all stress that EVERYTHING should be reassessed. F&B and various services still offer savings potential, also the revenue managers and digital professionals should step in. This is the only way solutions will be found. Fewer but better employees was also encouraged... Together, the four of them went through it all. Their advice: check everything. Check, control, and check again. "And when I'm done readjusting at the back, then I have to start all over again at the front," sums up Alexander Trobitz of BNP Paribas.
The only thing that counts is focus, as Sébastien Bazin would say. The Accor CEO chose exactly these words for his company and they mean it too. I met him last week during the IHIF. It's almost a ritual: It was my seventh interview with him in nine years, and - unlike other CEOs - he still doesn't dodge any questions. This time we talked less about numbers and more about strategy, change fatigue around the recent restructuring, differentiated responsibility, AccorInvest, leases and the inertia of Germany.
I found phrases like "I'm not driven by margins," "I can have 100 brands," and "Everyone is faster than Germany" interesting. He didn't reveal everything, of course, because he's planning on opening the eyes of his finance community at the big Accor Capital Market Day on 27 June.
And while we're on the subject of a clear view, the sector should wipe the smoke from its eyes caused by U.S. headlines about a - possible - impending acquisition of Wyndham by Choice. How realistic is that? I spoke confidentially with a very experienced transaction specialist who sees bored bankers behind the smoke, inventing new games again in the crisis. If the rumours were serious, then there would have to be an ad hoc announcement to the stock exchange.
Our other contributions this week deal with less spectacular issues: During a visit to the - lesser known - Mooons Hotel in Vienna, my colleague learned that the operator Munich Hotel Partners now wants to grow with this lifestyle brand in Central Europe. Italy's Bluserena Hotels, backed by Azora, is also looking to expand strongly. The new owners of Aareal Bank bring a lot of hotel experience with them. And U.S. giant Meta plans to fight the EU's €1.2 billion fine for data breaches. Just as colourful are our personalia today and our News Mix, the mirror of the market.
A colourful four weeks are also ahead of us - until the HITT! The expert briefings are all done, the wording for the impulses is in the works, as are the handouts for the participants. On 26 June, we will board an anchored ship in Berlin, the day after that the "Floating Forum" will set out over Berlin’s waterways... And to make sure you don't end up swimming in the wrong direction, our top-class experts with practical experience will show you the way through the jungle of trade fairs.
Today I'm going to introduce the second trio of focus measurement so that you can face the flood of data, certificates and measurement tools with confidence. Xenia zu Hohenlohe of the Considerate Group and her customised concepts are already familiar to many of you, as is ecologist and sustainability expert Tony Williams, who now works for the global engineering company BuroHappold. This time, he brings with him a colleague from London, Anthony Tuffour, a man of geospatial science and an expert in data-driven and technology services. Don't be intimidated so much expertise! What did Tony say to me about Anthony? "He explained to me in four slides how to manage it all." All profiles of our speakers and the programme can be found at www.hitt.world - and the short editorial introduction to today's session on Page 1 of our magazine, www.hospitalityInside.com.
Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
editor-in-chief
Your opinion? editor@hospitalityInside.com
