News & Stories

Madrid. NH Hoteles and Hesperia from Spain will be collaborating more closely in future. Both hotel groups want to achieve synergies in terms of earnings and costs. At the same time, Hesperia will enter the executive board of NH Hoteles, which is something, NH had been struggling to avoid in the past.

Vienna. The just one-year old RIMC Austria keeps expanding in Austria: after signing an agreement for a new Park Inn in Graz, the operating company headed by the well-known Hotel Manager Gert Prantner is about to take over another hotel in the border region of Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

Wiesbaden. The keyword "News Mix" will bring to you tiny bits of news about considerable events of the past week(s). The following companies and destinations are mentioned today: Accor, Deka, Derag, Dusit, Emirates/Marriott, Fattal, Ghotel, IBB, InterContinental, Mandarin-Oriental, Maritim, Ramada, Steigenberger/Travco.

Arosa. The Tschuggen Grand Hotel in Arosa, Switzerland, will close its doors for two months. There is major water damage in the internationally well-received spa designed by Mario Botta. Owners and construction firms are now in discussion. At the same time, 70 employees have received their notice.

Madrid. For the first four months of the year, the World Tourism Organisation UNWTO recorded a fall from 269 to 247 million international tourist arrivals. According to experts, the bottom has now been reached. By the end of August, experts expect a fall of four to six percent. By the end of the year, this is expected to have reduced to three to five percent.

Augsburg. The keyword "News Mix" will bring to you tiny bits of news about considerable events of the past week. The following companies and destinations are mentioned today: Adina Apartments, Holiday Inn/Maldives, The Leading Hotels of the World, Moevenpick/Jordan, Pierre & Vacances/Intrawest, Rezidor, Traders.

Bern. The number of overnight stays recorded by Swiss hotels and cure hotels have fallen by 7.4 percent in the six months up to June 2009 compared to figures from same period last year. The slump is attributable to the global recession, adverse exchange rates and the increasing rates of swine flu - the latter according to the hotel association hotelleriesuisse.

Augsburg. The keyword "News Mix" will bring to you tiny bits of news about considerable events of the past week. The following companies and destinations are mentioned today: B&B, Courtyard/Rumania, Jumeirah/China, Mandarin Oriental/Las Vegas, Phuket, Ramada/China, St. Petersburg, Worldhotels.

London. Next March or April the famous Savoy London will re-open its doors after a massive, 100 million Pounds Sterling restoration programme by its owners to retain its Edwardian influence in its lobby and public spaces and Art Deco in the entrance, new bar and River Restaurant. The hotel remains bullish despite the negative trading conditions.

Hendersonville/Berlin. "The first half of 2009 was, without question, one of the most challenging the U.S. lodging industry has experienced," said Bobby Bowers, Senior Vice President of Operations at STR Global. "RevPAR fell nearly 19 percent - by far the largest first-half decline ever recorded by Smith Travel Research." The German hotel association Hotelverband Deutschland yesterday posted results for the first half-year 2009. In Germany, figures were quite moderate compared to the U.S.