News & Stories

Bern. It is now official: The Swiss hotel industry has won its long-running battle against the best-price clauses of the OTAs and can once again set its prices independently. The industry also sees this success as the elimination of a locational disadvantage vis-à-vis neighbouring countries.

Amsterdam. NFTs are a significant form of alternative investment that appeals to buyers’ personal interests and passions. This technology is projected to become a 14 trillion-dollar alternative investment industry by 2023. Hoteliers can embrace NFTs and blockchain to improve their margins, attract new audiences, increase direct bookings, secure loyalty, and grow brand awareness. But will they do it?

Augsburg. Three weeks ago, an Australian court found hotel booking website Trivago guilty of "falsely presenting hotel rooms as being the cheapest available when in fact it was favouring rooms of paid advertisers".

Amsterdam. The interest in the Metaverse has exploded during the pandemic. From Facebook to Microsoft and Google, tech giants are racing to identify their new business model, and investors are following their every moves. Wall Street assumes the Metaverse economy could be an 8 to 13 trillion dollar total addressable market by 2030. Opportunities are multiple for the hospitality industry. Will hoteliers jump the bandwagon or watch the train pass…again?

Brussels. In addition to the Digital Market Act against anti-trust behaviour from tech giants, the EU has agreed on a new set of rules to fight illicit content on social media. The Digital Services Act would end an era where TikTok, Facebook or YouTube decided solely what content was right or wrong. Good news for small businesses and consumers although ultimately, it will all depend on how the EU enforces the new rules.

Brussels. France's EU presidency is pushing for the long-awaited Digital Market Act to be finally signed and delivered. President Macron is running for re-election in April. American giants aren't happy with the legislation. Customers will benefit from it.

Augsburg. Innovative, funny and scary things from the digital world. Today: Progros tests robots / Uber wants to deliver more food / Lilium slims down its aircraft / Premier Inn goes for digital construction and real estate solution / Hotelbeds introduces occupancy-based pricing model / OTA Insight buys short-term rental specialist.

Augsburg. Corona has accelerated digitalisation in Germany. Nevertheless, there are still strong differences: between the individual major cities as well as between the federal states. The location in western or eastern Germany is not a decisive criterion. A recent study shows which cities are digital pioneers and which are laggards - including best practices and political recommendations.

Paris/Augsburg. Without a turnaround in mobility, we will not get a grip on our climate problems. It is still unclear how we will achieve this; creative solutions are still being sought, especially for densely populated cities. Two companies from Germany are now entering an important test phase with their ideas for this - in the air and on the ground.

Bern. Direct booking or OTA booking. Current booking behaviour in Switzerland is between these two poles. But the hotel industry sees itself at a disadvantage. Two days after the publication of a corresponding study, the Federal Council banned all parity clauses – for the good of the industry.