Staying stylish

Munich. Dieter Mueller is deeply relaxed. In Munich, in front of him on the conference table there are Scottish whiskey candies in a bowl; they are a sweet symbol of the successful Motel One launch in Edinburgh in January. There, the egg chairs by Arne Jacobsen, which are typical for Motel One, have a tartan pattern; however, apart from that, the German low budget design chain wants to remain faithful to its chosen path, also abroad. The success proves the chain right, as shown in the annual report 2012 last week: the net profit is nearly 21 million Euro, which is six million more than in the previous year. Where does the founder and CEO of the Motel One Group see the saturation limit of a city, which micro locations is he aiming for, will he be able to maintain the fixed-rate model abroad, and when will he sell? Dieter Mueller and his wife Uschi Schelle-Mueller, responsible for marketing and design in the business, openly talked with hospitalityInside.com about the status quo and the tricks of the trade. "Before we feel the pain, the world has to be suffering really badly," says Mueller relaxed.

Berlin. Today in the hotel industry, children do not particularly step in the footprints of their parents happily. They are primarily very well trained and sense more economically attractive opportunities in other industries. At the 7th "ITB Hospitality Day" at the ITB, Maria Puetz-Willems dug in deeply with two who still want to begin the inheritance of their fathers. Their fathers sat beside them and listened carefully to what the juniors think about them and the companies: Among the guests were Dieter and Daniel Mueller from Motel One as well as Chanin and Siradej Donavanik of Dusit Hotels. The meeting of two families.

Munich. Last week, Motel One signed for the next hotel abroad. The development department will be expanded; further concrete projects have already been signed or are looming on the horizon. In London alone, a theoretical potential of 15,000 rooms is anticipated – this would be more than twice the number of rooms the low budget chain possesses today. Nevertheless, Motel One Manager Dieter Mueller says: "We are just at the beginning of the development." Last week in Munich, in an interview with Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor-in-Chief of hospitalityInside.com, he further revealed: "After the crisis years 2008 and 2009, we now know how our hotels cope in 'stress situations'." The large advantage of the 2-star low-budget-design group remain price and location. The next Motel One hotels will only be located in city centres - even as part of a new shopping mall for the first time. Dieter Mueller about brand, strategy, locations and return.