Topic HR

News & Stories

Securing capital: IFH in British hands
2.5.2008

Frankfurt. IFH Aktiengesellschaft located in Frankfurt introduced its new five-year expansion strategy announcing that it had sold its share majority to an investment company in London. IFH is specialised in quality benchmark systems and training in hotel management. Its client portfolio includes both national as well as international hotel groups.

Bad Reichenhall to grow as professional training location
18.4.2008

Bad Honnef/Frankfurt. Career Partner GmbH, sponsor of International University of Applied Sciences Bonn-Bad Honnef in Germany further extends its professional training activities. After it announced it would be founding a branch in Bad Reichenhall - strategically well-located between Munich and Salzburg in Austria - a few weeks ago, it is now entering into a joint venture with Steigenberger Hotels AG. The hotel group also owns its own hotel academy - likewise in Bad Reichenhall.

News: Where to study hospitality and tourism
18.4.2008

Berlin. With its new study guide "Where to Study Hospitality and Tourism 2008", the German Hotel Association has for the first time published a complete overview of all courses of study in hospitality and tourism offered by German speaking institutes of higher education.

Treugast and Bad Honnef University to offer education in China
21.3.2008

Munich. Treugast Solutions Group and the International University of Applied Sciences Bad Honnef,Bonn found a joint venture for extending their professional education activities in China. The joint venture will become majority shareholder of the International Academy of Hospitality in Shanghai as "Career Partner China GmbH". The academy's strategic and academic development is to be promoted together with local partners.

Enlightening representative survey about staff commitment
Respectful behaviour motivates most
7.3.2008

Munich. Committed employees who are willing to work are decisive for the success of a business. But what employees find motivating may differ depending on the nationality. Multinational businesses have to consider this fact when developing their personnel strategies. Current data of surveys from 22 countries show: "respectful behaviour" plays the most important role all over the world.

Portrait: Dr. Thomas Schmidheiny, shareholder of Grand Hotels Bad Ragaz
About enjoying values and visions
8.2.2008

Zurich/Bad Ragaz. The company headquarters of Dr. Thomas Schmidheiny is concealed in an unobtrusive two-storey office building; company signs adorn the wall behind the entrance door. However, the building is located in a well-chosen location: right beside vineyards in Jona at the southern end of Lake Zurichsee - called "golden coast" not only because of the sun. This is the headquarters of Schmidheiny's Holcim cement factory, but the Max Schmidheiny foundation is also located here, as well as Spectrum Value Management, the "family office", which includes the Grand Hotels Bad Ragaz with Hotel Quellenhof and Hotel Hof Ragaz. The hotels near Chur are among the leading businesses of the European hotel industry. Major shareholder Thomas Schmidheiny belongs to those owners that work and live in complete discretion and rarely give interviews. He made an exception in the case of hospitalityInside.com.

In portrait: André Witschi, Steigenberger Chairman from today
The networker
1.2.2008

Munich/Frankfurt. André Witschi, Chairman of the Board of Accor Hotellerie Deutschland until July 2007, starts office as Chairman of the Board of the German Steigenberger Hotels AG today. For tourism in Germany, it is a blessing that Witschi, originally from Switzerland, is staying in Germany. A portrait of one of the most influential top managers of the German hotel industry.

A charity idea: Holidays for children in need
Hotels caring for the less fortunate
21.12.2007

Vienna. In Austria, the first hoteliers have now joined a charity project based on the idea of an Austrian PR manager. The start of "Global Family Charity" is imminent in Germany.

The challenge facing HR: Most department don't have a strategy
In the hand of the applicant
21.12.2007

Duesseldorf. The first decade of the new millennium has brought human resources to new heights. Whereas until recently the hotel industry has described staff shortages only in the world's "emerging markets", companies in Europe are now facing the same problems. Manual Konen, Managing Director of the Personnel Agency and Consulting Firm, Konen & Lorenzen, in Dusseldorf, describes the changes in recent months and what can be learned from them.

Focus HR: Dubai is facing a massive demand in employees
Facing the collapse of quality
14.12.2007

Dubai. Dubai is booming and the need for employees is becoming greater every day. Unlike in any other city, the hotel industry of Dubai is clearly dependent on growth and human labour. In the Burj Al Arab alone, eight employees care for a single suite. Should Dubai stick to its extreme ambition for luxury, the city will see the breakout of a true "war of talents". Even budget concepts with reduced staff numbers will not lower their need for employees to a significant extent. This spring at a conference, experts estimated the region's need for employees to be 1.5 million people by 2015. In the short term, there will be an expected demand for 170,000 employees within the next four years. The projected room volume still exceeds all standards so far.

VIP News

Developers, Investors and Managers

HI+Developers, Investors and Managers

Wiesbaden. Burak Ünver changes from Titanic Gendarmenmarkt Berlin as Managing Director to Smartments business. Mario Schyma joins Staycity's development team, and Kay Strobl is now Asset Manager Hotel at Deka. Mario von Hoesslin becomes new Operations Director Germany at Groupe Pierre et Vacances Center Parcs. New GMs include Sascha Rosski at the Pentahotel at Paris Airport, Mark Hussler at the Hilton Munich Airport and Daniel Halbersatter at the Hilton Vienna Danube Waterfront.

hospitalityABC: What is "Call-in allotment"?

HI+hospitalityABC: What is "Call-in allotment"?

Heilbronn. In today's edition, hospitalityABC addresses the term "Call-in allotment". Explained by Dr Christian Buer, Professor for International Management, Hospitality Real Estate & Development at Heilbronn University, which develops the weekly terms for hospitalityInside.com as part of a cooperation.

New appointments everywhere

HI+New appointments everywhere

Wiesbaden. Kerzner International has filled two new management positions with COO Philippe Zuber and CCO Brett Armitage. At RIMC Kurt Weber has been appointed COO for the international hotels, at NinetyNine Hotels Lorenz Mauer was named Director of Operations. Eike Clausen is GM of the Kempinski Hotel Aqaba. Fleming's Hotels will soon have a VP Commercial with Dirk Lobowsky and announced new GMs in Frankfurt. Martin Ott has moved from Facebook to WeWork. And at GBI there were various changes in the supervisory board and board of directors.

New areas of responsibility

HI+New areas of responsibility

Wiesbaden. Michael Pracht is said to become the new CFO at Kempinski. Richard Wiegmann leaves Sabre. Peter de Bondt becomes General Manager of the Grand Swiss-Belresort Seef in Bahrain. At Steigenberger, Alexander Skibbe took over the management of the hotel in Bremen and Guntram Weipert became GM of the Grandhotel Handelshof in Leipzig. Oliver Staas is now GM at Radisson Blu Berlin, Roland Becker Director at Travel Charme Kurhaus Binz and Markus Daurer-Zeman Cluster F&B Manager at Victor's Residenz Hotels. Roman Tkaczenko joins the Engel & Völkers Hotel Consulting team.

What does the lodging industry look like in 2030?

HI+What does the lodging industry look like in 2030?

The Hague. Where will the lodging industry be in 2030, in which ways will technology and digitalization replace services practiced by human beings and hospitality experience? A symposium found answers to important questions.

New Management and Supervisory Board positions

HI+New Management and Supervisory Board positions

Wiesbaden. Christian Landais has moved from Accor to AHC as CEO, Bart Beerkens from GHC to Plateno as Managing Director. At Choice, Megan Brumagim, five managers will take on new VP positions. Holger König becomes GM of The Diaoyutai Mansion Frankfurt and AntonioCatalán resigns from Belagua. Dirk Iserlohe is now Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Dorint and Carsten Rath the chair of the Advisory Committee of 12.18. Michel Rochart is now Chairman of the Board of Directors of EHL Advisory Services.

New minds, also for sustainability

HI+New minds, also for sustainability

Augsburg. Scandic has a new manager who is responsible both for HR and Sustainability. Commerz Real has also appointed a Head of Sustainability. Marc K. Thiel is now Chief Transaction Officer at Gerchgroup. Azimut welcomes a new Commercial Director for Europe. After the arcona Hotels acquisition, Vienna House extends its sales team for Germany. Hard Rock Hotel Davos also hired a new Sales & Marketing Director. The budget group Cocoon hired a new Junior Development Manager and b'mine has chosen a Hotel Manager for its first hotel.

Personnel changes in the middle of the year

HI+Personnel changes in the middle of the year

Wiesbaden. NH has a new Business Development Director for Italy, Dorint appointed a Director Digital Distribution. Mathieu van Alphen is now Area General Manager for IHG's Dubai Festival City Hotels. Chantel Moore will lead the 25hours Hotel in Dubai, Patrick Mattick is the new "Soul Manager" there. New General Managers have been appointed for Four Seasons Milan, Como Hotels' Castello del Nero and Hotel Posta Marcucci. Mandarin Oriental Macau is now managed by Christian Dolenc. The Agate Comfort in Mannheim/Hockenheim hired a new director and at Union Investment Thorsten Purkus is now in charge of the Asset Management Hospitality International team.

Personnel announcements: Mark Pearce deceased

HI+Personnel announcements: Mark Pearce deceased

Augsburg. Mark Pearce, Senior Vice President International Division of Choice Hotels died completely unexpectedly last Friday. After 25 years with the company, he leaves a huge gap behind as a person and executive. The German resort hotel group Travel Charme is expanding its management team with well-known minds. René Schappner moves from IHG to Colliers, where he succeeds Andreas Erben in January. Following the merger of GS Star and Rilano, Holger Behrens, the previous Rilano managing director, becomes managing director of the associated holding company Gorgeous Smiling Hotels. IntercityHotel welcomes four new directors. There are also young and new managers at Victor's Residenz-Hotels.

Careers from all over the world

HI+Careers from all over the world

Wiesbaden. John Davidson was appointed President and CEO of Four Seasons and Anton Tardif COO of the Karma Group in Europe. Federico Versari is the new GM of Helvetia & Bristol Firenze Starhotels Collezione and Niclas Corbach Regional General Manager Munich at Gorgeous Smiling Hotels. On 1 June, Norbert Kunz will take over as Managing Director of the German Tourism Association.

New minds from other industries

HI+New minds from other industries

Augsburg. Accor's current COO Europe Luxe has a new name from September: Marc Dardenne. Avani Hotels get their VP Operations from the new sister company NH. Radisson's long-term CFO Knut Kleiven hands over to Sergio Amodeo, a software specialist. IHG hires Joanna Kurowska as Director Operations Luxury & Managed Hotels for Northern Europe. Premier Inn Investment continues to increase its staff in Germany – this time with a Development Director and Managing Director. Dormeo has formed a new supervisory board. The new Director in the Best Western Wiesbaden is called Joachim Freche. And Union Investment hires a senior investment manager for its hospitality sector.

Expertise in demand

HI+Expertise in demand

Augsburg. Zoku's new COO Jens Gmiat comes from Ruby Hotels. Andreas Meier moves from Zurich to Andermatt, but stays with Radisson. The Arcotel Kaiserwasser Wien is bringing in a new Vienna expert, and Steigenberger manager Ilgo Hagen Höhn has just joined Vienna House. At the EHL in Lausanne, the new COO Maxime Medina will also support CEO Michel Rochat.

More growth, more brains

HI+More growth, more brains

Augsburg. Deutsche Hospitality hired a new VIP Group Sales, Achat Hotels hired an operation manager. Prince of Hessen expands the hotel part with a sales director. The Best Western hotel Hohenzollern in Osnabrck and the Novotel Erlangen set far on heads from the own rows.

New engagement or retrieval

HI+New engagement or retrieval

Augsburg. Althoff Hotels is getting a CFO from a DIY store chain, Dorint's parent company Honestis is hiring a hotel professional for Human Resources, the Atlantic Hotel in Kiel welcomes a man from the group's own ranks, and the Berlin hostel chain a&o has brought back a young talent.

New structures, new minds

HI+New structures, new minds

Wiesbaden. Olivier Harnisch is no longer the CEO of Emaar Hospitality in Dubai; he has left the company. Alper Can Bulcum is now General Manager of the San Clemente Palace Kempinski in Venice, and Oliver Gerber is General Manager of the new Campell Gray Alex in Zurich. Sandro Bohrmann and Tina Groth-Müller have assumed management positions at the Hessische Hausstiftung. Nico Nusmeier succeeds Klaus Naeve as Chairman of the Management Board at Schörghuber Group Munich, and Stefanie Salwender was appointed Director Consulting at Treugast.

Spring brings many changes

HI+Spring brings many changes

Wiesbaden. COO Aurelio Vázquez leaves Iberostar. Katie Fallon from Hilton becomes deputy chairman of the board at ITP. Boris Simm is a member of Ruby's Executive Board now. Jörg Herrmann became CEO of Holiday Home and Joelle Edwards-Tongs SVP Marketing, Sales and Communications at the Oetker Collection. The HR Group is restructuring its commercial department. Mathias Schotten and Andrea Latzel are now with Premier Inn. Kai Behrens heads Kempinski Istrien and Thies C. Bruhns becomes GM at the Grand Hotel Heiligendamm. Christoph Schmidinger becomes GM in the Four Seasons Madrid and Thomas Gretenkord joins the DFV. Steigenberger appoints six new managers for the Egyptian hotels. There are also personal details of the associations.

New COOs, Creatives and GMs

HI+New COOs, Creatives and GMs

Augsburg. The new COO of Six Senses Hotels has experience at InterContinental and Regent. Welcome Hotels in Germany also welcome a new COO. At the same time, TUI's Nordic specialist also takes on the new role as Chief Creative Officer. B&B Hotels hires an e-commerce and revenue management specialist. Besides there is director change in two Intercity Hotels and the Achat Premium in Dortmund/Bochum is pleased about its new "old" director.

One construction director and three GMs

HI+One construction director and three GMs

Augsburg. In view of 35 projects in the pipeline, Premier Inn Germany has appointed a construction director. In the two 25hours Hotels in Zurich, Andri Bodmer will take over from Anita Vogler. In Hilton's Curio Collection Hotel, the Aleph Rome, an Italian luxury hotel takes over. And Steigenberger Munich hires a city connoisseur from the Arabella/Starwood Group.

Two GMs and one entrepreneur

HI+Two GMs and one entrepreneur

Wiesbaden. The luxury resort L'Andana in Tuscany has a new General Manager with Vito Spalluto and Christian Gindele became General Manager of the new NH Collection Munich Bavaria in February. Marc K. Thiel is now Managing Director and Partner of Seneca Advisors.

Trust in well-known minds

HI+Trust in well-known minds

Augsburg. Ascott significantly expands its team in Europe with three corporate positions. Emaar Hospitality brings more and more internationally experienced managers to its flagships in Dubai. Rocco Forte appoints a new GM for the Verdura Resort in Sicily. TripAdvisor appoints a new president for the hotel business, prizeotel hires a head of controlling and procurement and Dorint brings a Radisson manager back on board.

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