Dear Insiders,
The global hotel real estate market is booming, as is the European and German market. Buyers are increasingly willing to conclude cross-border transactions, as the analysis by JLL today shows.
In light of such global movements, capital investment companies are becoming more international, even if the investment focus remains clearly defined in geographical terms. The best access to "limitless" capital is still the move on to the stock exchange. And it's exactly this step that Primecity Investment ventured last October. Revenues generated by the company, which is specialised entirely on hotel assets, rose by 159% within the space of a year, and the number of hotel assets doubled. Four weeks ago, the parent company Aroundtown Property Holdings also went public; today it has a market capitalisation of two billion euros. This brings new weight to the game. Primecity CEO Philipp von Bodman explains what such a capital base means for rapid cash-driven hotel expansion.
The GCH Hotel Group based in Munich has nothing more to do with Grand City Hotels, whose initial letters still form its name. GCH is now open for every hotel and hotel group looking for professional, brand-driven marketing. Vice President Commercial, Bart Beerkens, explains the new profile and new services.
"The air is often thick with testosterone," one of our career women says today in reference to the atmosphere at meetings. In today's third and final instalment of our series on career women and the promotion of women in the workplace, we look at team work, bullying, networks and young women. We will look at further women's issues in subsequent editions: Our readers have asked specifically about the issue of motherhood and young women. I'll be happy to look into it!
Since last week, Expedia has been trying to push through its interpretation of parity in contract. Hotel associations are resisting fiercely. In Vienna, the Austrian Hotel Association is discussing how to deal with the OTAs. Distribution expert Carolin Brauer explains the various OTA channels with a White Paper. All of this is one of our releases today.
Further news includes semi-annual and quarterly results from Design Hotels, Hyatt, Marriott, Meliá and Motel One; and how France is currently benefiting enormously from the Tour de France. Yesterday, German Novum Hotel Group talked about its take-over of the small Winters Hotel Company: a deal that underlines the current hotel hype.
With this issue, we start into our two-week summer break - and will be back again on August 28 with the next issue. From then until Christmas, every Friday will be your hospitalityInside day again!
We wish you pleasant holidays.
Maria Puetz-Willems & and the hospitalityInside-Team!
