News & Stories

Cupertino/Munich. While digital players in Germany are coming together in new constellations, pushing apps and APIs further, the giant Apple is about to make the hotel app obsolete.

Brussels. Determined to create a better oversight over giants offering digital services, a handful of European politicians are calling for tougher rules and more coordination between the Member States.

Berlin. Three hotel groups are participating in a new digital pilot project in cooperation with the German government: For the first time, business travellers will check in with a virtual ID card.

Berlin. Quantum computers can solve mathematical problems more easily. The private sector is driving research into this, and Germany and the EU are investing billions in projects. The goal: a European quantum internet.

Wiesbaden. Webcams that almost look like real eyes, a multifunctional smartmask from a fashion designer, mandatory voice selection for Siri, an upgraded service robot and stricter criteria for artificial intelligence: digitalisation is increasingly integrating itself into everyday life.

Amsterdam. The OTA Booking.com enters into an alliance with Hotelbird and draws hope from a current study on the desire to travel. On the other hand, an unreported data theft is annoying and expensive.

Berlin. More than 2,000 German hotels are jointly suing Booking.com. The German Hotel Association supports them in this.

Paris. Accor announced its first fully digital hotel in Northern Europe: the ibis Styles London Gloucester Road. However, there are still people at work behind the scenes who now have more time to interact with guests.

Vienna/Brussels. The "green passport" planned by the EU will be a certificate. The implementation was supposed to be in place by 1 June, now it is already pushing into the summer.

San Francisco. Starting this Tuesday, hotels around the world, big and small will be able to appear on Google's hotel booking link…free of charge. Although the gesture is "commendable", one can't help but wonder what the strategy is behind it.