News & Stories

Munich. Hackers are able to crack a hotel in 20 minutes, servers in 10 minutes, check-in procedures in 15 minutes. Digital attacks on hospitality properties have increased by more than 40 percent from 2015 to 2016, and are still on the rise. The hospitality segment, however, seems to greatly underestimate the issue: too many operators actually have no clue how to prevent threats and to react in case of attack. And even worse: The real damage is not the attack itself but the guests' reaction. They will stay away from an "unsecure" hotel. At the recent "Hospitality Industry Dialogue", the hotel conference at Expo Real, cyber experts, hoteliers and investors debated one of the industry's hottest topics.

Freiburg. A third of all guests in 5-star hotels have burst into tears in disappointment regarding room and service at least once, a recent survey has found. But there are various, and in some cases rather strange sources of annoyance.

Rome. Italy is celebrating a really successful summer, but it is still a far cry from the levels of success in Spain. A complex of factors boosted the travel and hospitality industry: the renewed interest of national political institutions towards tourism, the increasing accommodation offer, and the wide spectrum of touristic attractions are some of the main factors contributing to the summer success of 2017. Parts of the recent success also go back to the effects of the geo-political turmoil – and Italy benefitted from as did Spain. However, doubts remain as to the actual competitiveness of the Italian tourism system. The details.

Brussels. The EU General Data Protection Regulation will be enforced on May 25, 2018. All firms collecting and processing personal data will face changes, including hotels, OTAs, rental platforms, reviews websites, social media, and search engines. Hotel chains will probably need to appoint a Data Protection Officer. Carlson Rezidor is getting ready as fines for non-compliance could reach up to 4% of the organization's annual worldwide turnover. Be prepared!

Hamburg. Foreign investors are meanwhile very active in the German/European real estate market and also take their investment decisions on the basis of political developments. That the high still has a way to go is for many a given. Investors still want to expand their real estate portfolios. In Hamburg's Westin Hotel in the Elbphilharmonie, the Hogan Lovells "family" met last week with a group of over 100 real estate and hotel experts. They took the sector's pulse – a perfect introduction for the real estate and investment trade fair Expo Real, which begins this coming Wednesday in Munich. There, a broad range of issues will be brought to the floor.

Bern. Switzerland is making progress concerning the ban of the rate parity clause. Now, the National Council has also spoken in favour of the ban of such adhesion contracts. The tourism industry is hoping for a fast decision by the Swiss Federal Council.

Duebendorf/Stuttgart. It its hotel segment, the Swiss SV Group is betting on Moxy. And on other Marriott brands. This was the case from the very beginning and is also to stay that way, Beat Kuhn underlines, Managing Director of SV Hotel. SV Group didn't start out in hospitality. Nevertheless, it has operated hotels since 1950. Though has only had international commitments since 2004. Last week, it opened the first Moxy managed by its operator company SV Hotel at Stuttgart Airport. Beat Kuhn believes in Moxy because he has the opportunity to refine the brand further in close collaboration with Marriott. He sees one or other gap in the design slowly disappear. The story of SV Hotel and its love affair with Moxy.

Paris. Anne Hidalgo, Paris' mayor has said several times she will fight against illegal rentals in the capital and she was not joking. Since the beginning of this year, the city has collected up to 615,000 euros in fines. In Paris, the chase after Airbnb and other platforms' illegal hosts has just started.

(July 21, 2007). Airbnb does not want to pay the 21 percent flat tax on short-term residential rental just approved by the Italian Parliament. In an official note, the online platform along with Homeaway and the Italian association of estate agents, claims that "it is technically impossible for them to comply with the new tax provision" in such a short time.

Paris. Paris, one of Airbnb's most successful destinations has taken action to finally regulate illegal rentals. From December 2017, only officially registered properties will be allowed to be listed by online rental platforms. The special decree could well put a break on Airbnb's hospitality activity.