News & Stories

Vienna. On 20 September 2016, a neutral crowdfunding platform went into operation for Austrian tourism: www.we4tourism.at. Since levels of equity in the hospitality sector are low, the Basel III reforms, which have introduced a barrier to necessary investment, have given rise to alternative forms of finance for Austria's tourism industry. The new form of finance has become possible thanks to the Alternative Finance Act, which entered into force in September 2015. A number of trailblazers have already used crowdfunding for tourism projects, both before and immediately after the introduction of the new law. Here, not everyone acts with as much security and as successfully as Harry's Home though, a company with hotels in Munich, Graz, Linz, Dornbirn and, from 2018, also in Zurich.

Amsterdam. Uber, Airbnb, etc…has the business model of these companies reached its limit? Financial results of both entities show an increasing number of bookings but constant losses. Keeping market shares costs a lot, so do drivers' subsidies for Uber and legal actions and new regulations for Airbnb.

Munich. The new standard for lease accounting is allegedly intended to ensure greater transparency and improved comparability. IFRS 16 therefore puts an end to off-balance sheet models - without transitional provisions or exceptions for existing contracts. From 1 January 2019, every type of leasing agreement must be included on the balance sheet. This also poses a challenge to certain sections of the hotel industry as lease contracts - both new as well as existing - are included under the definition of leasing. What listed hotel operating companies must now expect - and what solutions are available, is explained in this article by our author Beatrix Boutonnet and is based on her interviews with experts at Colliers Int., JLL, Roedl & Partner, Jung & Schleicher, Bayern LB, DG Hyp and the Deutsche Hypothekenbank.

Munich. For professional investors such as pension funds, family offices, banks and insurers, hotels play an increasingly important role. This is the finding of a survey by the Austrian project developer Soravia Capital GmbH, which was conducted in collaboration with REFIRE. According to the opinion of the 80 experts and managers surveyed, hotels, residential property, offices and retail property are in demand as investors expect an interesting return. The lion's share of those surveyed saw design budget hotels at the top of this trend. But does popular property also serve as protection from inflation? According to experts, the idea that concrete gold protects the investor from inflation is only partially true, also for hotels.

Berlin. Everything is getting more digital, tight, scarce and expensive. The real estate market faces major challenges with respect to all asset classes – hotels and office, residential and commercial buildings. Innovative solutions for today's problems was thus the main focus of the German Property Federation's "Property Industry Day" in Berlin. Obviously, about 300 protesters wanted to speed up the process massively protesting against lodgings that are increasingly becoming luxury goods.

Berlin. The figures for mutual funds have grown small. And so too has the number of providers. This was made clear at the "Funds Summit" in Berlin. But there are also exceptions. Whilst many initiators still approach private investors with caution, the Augsburg-based Patrizia Immobilien AG has established a new subsidiary in order to expand precisely this segment. With Patrizia GrundInvest Stuttgart Suedtor, it has now put its second fund into distribution and again it focuses on hotels. And something completely new on the market: a new online platform for funds! Who else is still active and what's happening in the world of funds is explained by Beatrix Boutonnet.

Cologne. Difficulties experienced by two funds managed by the Cologne-based company E&P will lead to the closure of the Dorint Hotel in Seefeld, Austria next week. The situation for the Dorint Hotel Augsburg is not yet clear.

Munich. New capital requirements for banks, in short Basel III, have caused much upheaval. In order to maintain their margins in the low interest rate environment, banks have tightened their terms. This has hit Germany's Mittelstand hard, and along with it many hoteliers. For them, loans and roll-over finance have meanwhile become much more difficult and expensive. Alternative means of finance such as debt funds have therefore moved more sharply into focus. The market for corporate finance in Germany is currently in a state of profound change.

Munich. Robert Bambach is a real estate man through and through. A former Managing Director of Hochtief Projektentwicklung GmbH, he has been CEO of Commerz Real AG since January 2015 and is responsible for real estate transactions - inter alia for hausInvest. The latter is a giant among real estate funds with a total volume of EUR 10.1 billion invested in 104 properties in 62 cities and 18 countries. The proportion of hotels among these properties is still small though. Yet this is all set to change now that CR has brought Dirk Schuldes on board, one of the most renowned hotel experts. Bambach on the new hotel motivation: "I don't know of any vacant hotels in top locations, though I know many such empty office properties." Now, CR plans a hotel fund.

Bergamo. Hotels yes, hotels no... How much do Italian banks believe in hospitality investments? In the current scenario of the real estate market's moderate recovery, the national banking institutions are trying to take advantage of the new trends as well as the tourism potential of the Italian destination. Their interest in the hospitality sector is therefore growing again, albeit a series of prudential stakes still limit the scope of the bank's credit. The answer to the question appears then to be neither a convinced "yes" nor an absolute "no". The answer is more cautious, and probably pragmatic. Just a few days before Europe's leading real estate fair Expo Real in Munich started, Italian bankers and investors met in Bergamo to describe the state of the art of the national hotel investment scene.