News & Stories

Berlin. In a "cat-and-mouse" encounter of the merits of "chained over unchained" and "branded over unbranded", an animated debate at this year’s International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin prior to ITB resulted in something of a stalemate between representatives of each side of the equation. This is not to say that the session, ably moderated by Michael Hirst of CBRE Hotels, was not lively or impassioned.

Bad Laasphe/Arolsen. As expected, the Ramada Hotel Bad Laasphe closed its doors on January 28, 2010. Now it is for sale. The most recent quarrel between the parties before the regional court of Siegen has not clarified the situation.

Munich. Accor's focus over the coming years clearly rests on the fields of budget and franchise. This is evident from Accor's recently published Annual Report 2009, though is especially true for Germany - the country with most Accor hotels after France. For the first time, Germany CEO Peter Verhoeven presented German occupancy and RevPar figures. He also explained how the savings from the VAT reduction will be applied.

Zurich. "Traces of faeces on the shower floor", "sperm stains on the mattress protector" – Swiss hoteliers react with anger and concern to a TV report which looked at 20 hotels and found poor hygiene in eleven of them. The report looks at the most basic expectation of any hotel guest - not only in Switzerland. What's clear is that despite the Alpine nation's extensive legislation, it still seems the regulations in place are insufficient. Now, the hotel association hotelleriesuisse intends to increase pressure on hotels through its star categorisation system.

Wiesbaden. Franchise systems are on the up. One reason: The economic crisis has pushed management contracts out of the picture in Germany, and international chains continue to shy away from leases. In difficult times, individual hotels also increasingly seek ways to improve distribution. But who controls the franchisees and watches over the reputation of the brand? How do franchisors ensure that their standards are maintained? Best Western, Choice and Rezidor explain their strategies.

Bad Laasphe. The Ramada Hotel Bad Laasphe closed its doors forever on January 28, 2010. In difficult times such as these, this would not be worth mentioning, if the entire case was not exemplary of critical issues related to hotel investments and maintenance. The owners' association of the 86-room hotel, which is located close to Marburg in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in central Germany, has been arguing with Prospector GmbH, the operating company, for many years due to lease payments and due maintenance investments. Against the backdrop of the history of origins, a well-known name throughout the industry is brought up: Helmut Fitz.

Eschborn. 80 new hotels joined the progros purchasing pool last year. With this, the professional purchasing company is used by around 620 hotels in Germany and progros' total purchasing volume increased by almost seven percent to 128 million EUR

Augsburg. Undoubtedly due to the upcoming elections in Germany's most populated state, North-Rhine Westphalia, politicians play their most incredible hands: The recent push by the CDU Minister President Juergen Ruettgers and his deputy Andreas Pinkwart to reverse the VAT reduction for the German hotel industry has caused waves of scandal this week not unlike those surrounding the recent Von Finck affair. Hoteliers in Cologne also canvas opposition for the newly planned "bed tax". All of this seems finally to have jolted even Germany's sleepy hoteliers awake. Ingrid Hartges, CEO of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association Dehoga in Berlin, reports of floods of calls and e-mails on the subject of VAT. Yesterday, the German ministry of finance addressed to Dehoga regarding the breakfast rules. An outline of the current state of play.

Prague. In Prague, guests can currently get rooms for 30 euros in 4-star hotels. Agents even pay significantly less. The price war sheds dramatic light on the situation in Eastern European countries and on 2010.

Prague. As of recently, the Prague-based hotel group Mamaison has had a new corporate identity and new website. The objective of the change is to underline its ambitious plans for the future: growth to 35 hotels within the next three to four years. Ten hotels in Central and Eastern Europe are counted by the group today.