News & Stories
Cologne. By the end of the nineties Cologne was one of the hottest hotel markets in Germany. New hotels shot out of the ground like mushrooms, today, however, things have settled down to normal. Occupancy has increased moderately and prices are falling. Only next week, during the Pope's visit in Cologne, all beds will be definitely occupied.
Bad Salzuflen/Dubai. Six weeks ago, somewhat rushed, the initiator of "Dubai 1000" hotels announced that Rezidor will run its 1050 room hotel in Dubai. Now the German Maritim chain confirms the deal.
Bangkok. The Asian luxury hotel chain Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts will expand to the Caribbean and is to open the first 5 star resort and spa hotel on Barbados. 13 more new projects are on the group's expansion list, spread over all continents.
Atlanta. After years of rumours veteran hotelier Horst Schulze has released plans for his new upscale luxury hotels. The new chain, called Solis Hotels & Resorts, has identified six initial properties, among them one in Frankfurt/M, Germany.
Chicago. US-based trade magazine "Hotels" reports that Robert Burns, founder of luxury brand Regent International in Hong Kong, has become more precisely about his plans of a new Hotel chain.
Kelkheim. Even the glutted market of Germany still has a chance of improving consumption. After yet another intensification of consumer behaviour regarding cheap and hyper luxury, there will be enough space for the reasonable product of the middle bracket by 2030. A new study by the Zukunftsinstitut Matthias Horx.
London. After three consecutive years of declining profitability, the European hotel industry has started to recover lost ground. According to the Annual Profitability HotelBenchmark Survey by Deloitte, hotels across Continental Europe reported 7% growth in profit per available room in 2004. Eastern Europe markets were the star performers. Biggest loser of all cities was Milan.
Brussels Conrad Hotels, the young luxury brand of the Hilton Family, has signed a management agreement with the Bahamas based RAV Bahamas Limited, a subsidiary of The Capo Group, to operate and manage Conrad's first hotel in the Caribbean, a luxurious 250 room hotel, spa and casino resort, located on the island of Bimini.
Miami Beach. For the first time the Spanish hotel group Sol Meliá will open a hotel under its own brand name in the USA. The Meliá Royal Palm will further underline the hotel group's strategic plans for expansion in the land of opportunity.
New York/London. The Blackstone Group announced the acquisition of Legoland Parks by affiliate company Blackstone Capital Partners IV, for €375m. The deal includes Legoland's four family theme parks in England, Germany, California as well as in Denmark where the company has a 176 room hotel. This follows Blackstone's acquisition of Merlin last month. The intention is to combine the two businesses. The company also announced plans for a hotel at the German Legoland in Günzburg.