News & Stories

Paris. Following the takeover of the French Taittinger group in July 2005 for 1.2 billion Euros, the American investment company Starwood Capital is now set to split - as expected - from the Champagne branch to concentrate on hotels.

Orlando. Hilton Hotels Corporation plans to build a 1,000-room Hilton and a 500-room Waldorf-Astoria at Bonnet Creek, a resort development adjacent to the Walt Disney World Resort. Construction of the project is currently in the design phase and is on schedule to break ground by the end of 2006 and to open in the summer of 2009. It's the first new project since the Waldorf-Astoria Collection was announced.

Mainz Tourism in Germany will continue to have difficulties as the number of travelling Germans continues to decrease. Although city trips are still in fashion, they need to be adapted to new target groups and accommodate new challenges. The participants of the 2006 Hotel Congress organized by Hotelverband Deutschland IHA saw themselves confronted with these shattering findings.

Frankfurt/M. The 200 most successful hotels in Germany closed the 2005 financial year up 3.7 percent on the previous year. Together they have a net turnover of 2.63 billion Euros. The "Top 200 Ranking" is published in the current edition of Frankfurt's AHGZ specialist magazine "Der Hotelier".

Bonn. The new brochure of the Deutscher Tourismusverband that is issued for the tenth time highlights current developments and trends on the German tourism market. A useful help in terms of figures, data and facts.

Paris. As per June 1, 2006, Dertour and Thomas Cook AG terminated the lease agreement of their Park Hotel SNC joint venture for the Moevenpick Dream Castle Hotel next to Disneyland Resort Paris. An Austrian hotel management group will take over.

Dubai. At the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, Kempinski Hotels & Resorts announced the launch of "Shaza Hotels", a new luxury lifestyle hotel brand and the first hotel brand ever to be created specifically for the Middle East and Africa.