News & Stories

Frankfurt. Lifestyle concepts have arrived and with particular success in Germany. Here lifestyle hotels boast with new ideas, investments and product innovations. These were the findings of a survey carried out by a well known consultant and economic testing agency.

London. In summer the three developers of the futuristic Yotel-concept announced their first projects for the beginning of 2006. Now the first capsule hotels have been named. They are to open in the middle of next year.

Munich. Serviced apartments, often still referred to as boarding houses, were surprising in their success. Private hotels, on the other hand, were on the decline. Wellness hotels stood on unsure ground, even the result from the holiday resorts were on the slim side. The third BBG-Treugast industrial report analyses the situation in 2005.

Hamburg. Whoever is considering founding a company connected with wellness, fitness, leisure or sauna, will find expert help from the Hamburg based consultant Kai Schimmelfeder, sole advisor listed as expert with the KfW Bankengruppe.

Interlaken/Zurich. The Hotel Victoria-Jungfrau in Interlaken now has a new sister in a city: Victoria Jungfrau plc, to which Hotel Palace Luzern also belongs, has bought 100% of the shares of the company behind the luxury hotel Eden au Lac in Zurich.

Toronto. Canadian Fairmont Hotels & Resorts returns to the Plaza New York to manage hotel rooms and condo units. This underlines the group's new strategy also focussing on residences. The Plaza was closed last April.

Brussels. The first SAS hotel was opened in Copenhagen in 1960. The hotel operations of the SAS airline were initially part of SAS catering, which was later renamed SAS Catering and Hotels. Reorganization in 1985 saw the creation of SAS International Hotels, a fully owned subsidiary of the SAS Group. Expansion of the hotel network was then a key objective.

Dubai (November 18, 2005). Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline announced the launch of its latest project Emirates Marina Serviced Apartments & Spa - the first step into the apartment business. The property will open by September 2006.

New York. American Express Business Travel's 2006 Global Forecast indicates strong price increases in the global business travel industry and suggests a more challenging corporate travel buying market in the year ahead. The comprehensive analysis forecasts hotel trends as well as published price predictions for the coming year regionally and globally.

White Plains. Just as the "aloft" brand incorporates characteristics of the design brand "W", the new Starwood brand "Extended stay" is to become an extension of Westin-Hotels. The first property will start in the USA in the first quarter of 2006.