News & Stories

Los Angeles/Zürich. The industry is beginning to shake, especially on the owners side. Both large hotel portfolios and individual hotels are being hit. Last week Accor shareholder Colony Capital withdrew completely from the hospitality business, the American Service Properties Trust is now confronting Marriott with payments just like IHG, and in Switzerland Credit Suisse is getting rid of its next hotel, the Swissôtel in Zurich-Oerlikon.

Berlin. The German government has extended and expanded its corona bridging aid for small and medium-sized enterprises. Access has also been simplified. However, large parts of the hospitality industry will not be reached by it at all.

Berlin. With a "support loan" of 700 million euros per year, the Berlin entrepreneur Michael Zehden, founder of the hotel operator Albeck & Zehden, wants to help the almost 800 accommodation facilities in the German capital. The loan is to be repaid after ten years at the latest - via a so-called "Corona levy" of three percent, to be paid by the guest. Zehden's proposal has now reached Berlin's politicians and public, we are presenting the idea and also putting it up for discussion.

Stuttgart. While Dehoga Federal Association is still struggling to expand the current bridging allowance for the hospitality industry, the state of Baden-Württemberg has extended the application deadline and funding period for its own aid programme. Dehoga Hessen and Bavaria continue to rely on the initiatives of the federal government.

Hamburg. The opportunities for German hotel operators to be able to straighten out their financial losses from official sources are limited. An update on this was provided by the law firm Hogan Lovells.

Hamburg. Already, brokers and lawyers offices are being stormed by capital providers from outside Germany on a daily basis. The focus of their interest: distressed assets from Germany. Whimsical banks are dropping the asset class hotel without second thought, and stubborn owners insist on their rights. "Over the next 12 months, we will be faced with many things," Marc Werner said, Managing Partner of Hogan Lovells Frankfurt, at the 12th Hogan Lovells Hotel Day.

Hamburg. The corona crisis has led to a significant change in the investment strategy of institutional property investors. "Less risk, lower return" is the motto of the day. Climate-friendly investments are picking up speed.

Wiesbaden. Another setback for the German hotel industry: The government is not prolonging the three-month protection for tenants who are unable to pay their rent because of the corona crisis. This keeps the uncertainty of survival at a high level. The only real help has been the short-time allowance, everything else is missing its target – for various reasons. hospitalityInside.com asked hotel groups and franchisees to assess the measures taken so far. H-Hotels, Deutsche Hospitality, Motel One, Vienna House, SV Group and Bierwirth & Kluth answered.

Frankfurt/M. At the end of next week, the German parliament will retire for the summer recess. By the time it returns at the end of August, the hotel scene in Germany may well be very different – If further bridging assistance for the medium-sized hotel groups is not provided. Discussions in the industry are becoming quieter, not louder. Martina Fidlschuster, Managing Director of Hotour Hotel Consulting, once again soberly sets out the current state of play. She coolly shows why hotels will systematically drift towards insolvency in the continued absence of help. The numbers are the silent cry – a cry aimed at politicians.

Munich. Empty hotels, closed restaurants. The corona lockdown hit the hotel industry hard. Despite the easing of the restrictions, businesses are still not earning any money, yet costs continue to weigh heavily. The core issue remains rents/leases, or more specifically their deferral or reduction. Operators seeking accommodation on this from their landlords will sooner or later also touch upon investors in open-ended real estate funds. The funds therefore face a dilemma. On the one hand, they want to keep their tenants, but by law they are also obliged to protect their investors. This balancing act is almost impossible to achieve, as Covid-19 is already having a noticeable impact on the profitability and risks of the fund portfolios.