News & Stories
Hong Kong/McLean, Virginia. More and more hotel brands are competing to attract the growing number of rich and ultra-rich. But, how narrow it can become in the top segment is now indicated with the breakdown of the niche by the new luxury brand index that was introduced one week ago at the Ecole de hôtelière Lausanne: This index arranges the luxury niche into three categories - "Upper Upscale", "Luxury Chains" and "Luxury Exclusive". Within this – supposedly – uppermost segment, all are promising quite a special service and experience offer. This begins long before the arrival of the guest and continues later at the hotel. hospitalityInside.com wanted to know in detail what the super-service is all about and set off on the search for that "certain something" with two well-known, high-end brands: The luxury veteran Peninsula Hotels and the Waldorf Astoria, the relatively young elite brand from the Hilton family. Luxury against luxury – a comparison.
Paris. Looks like French hoteliers unions are not the only ones fighting against "illegal vacation and apartment rentals". New York City Council as well, chases whoever violates hospitality and State laws which dictates that residents can’t rent out all or part of a property for less than 30 days. Not respecting them could lead to court and eventually to severe fines.
New York. An outcry in the US just reached the German media: journalists ranging from those at "New York Times" to "Suedeutsche Zeitung" were shocked about the "end" of room service in the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel with its 1,000 rooms. Behind the headlines, there is a central issue affecting the entire sector: the search for optimal guest service at reasonable prices. Read the true reasons given directly by the Hilton New York, while the German Hilton colleagues at Frankfurt Airport, the Airport Sheraton Frankfurt Rhein-Main, and Marriott describe their view of things and talk about costs in general.
Vilnius. The participation of Denmark and Greece in the Hotelstars Union puts the harmonised hotel classification on an even more solid foundation. The now 15 member countries will further develop the system together. On January 1, 2015, a new set of criteria will become effective.
Paris. Last week, Sylvia Pinel, French Minister of Tourism met with representatives of UMIH, a major hoteliers union. The point was to protest against unfair trade in the hospitality industry.
Miami. US hotel developers are investing less in luxury properties, as the cost of providing high-end amenities rises and profit margins shrink. This was revealed by an interesting report carried out by Lodging Econometrics, a research and consulting firm in New Hampshire, about the trends in hotel development. According to data research company STR, the RevPAR at luxury properties was 202 USD in 2012, down from the 2007 high of 213 USD. This makes five-star properties competing with four-star hotels which again compete with three-star properties. In the following guest article, Jean Francois Mourier, CEO of Revpar Guru, a company that helps analyze complex hotel data and increasing hotel occupancy and revenues, talks about easy measures to survive this new competition. A topic worth discussing.
Berlin. The market for serviced apartments in Germany is growing at a consistently high level. An upward wind is providing the industry, among others, with a good economy in Germany. Companies are seizing postponed projects and full order books lead to additional business trips. Three out of four serviced apartment operators attest to continued best development opportunities in the niche market. But they must also turn the costs screw.
Bern. On Tuesday, the Swiss National Assembly agreed on an extension of the special value added tax rate for accomodation services through to the end of 2017.
Atlanta. Select-service hotels are the most popular among developers today. A study compared and contrasted the operating performance of select-service and full-service hotels in the U.S. during a seven-year period with surprising results.
London. Last October, the owner of the Rocco Forte Augustine in Prague accused its operator of significant underperformance: Now, the contract is terminated and on the 31st of January, 2013, Rocco Forte Hotels will exit the unique cloister ensemble in the middle of Prague Old Town. The new operator, a former US brand, is taking over seamlessly. However, Rocco Forte's problems do not end with this; on the contrary: In some locations, the group stands under intense financial pressure, subprime locations are starting to take revenge and expansion plans are dragging. The reason for the financial problems is always the same one: Too high leases combined with massive hubris. Sir Rocco's hubris has not yet suffered from it. During an interview with a German newspaper, he instructed his Berlin colleagues directly word-for-word: "Hoteliers are a little bit stupid."