News & Stories

Lisbon. The Portuguese Group, Tivoli Hotels & Resorts offers quite special experiences to its guests and in the meantime, is expanding in South America. On this basis, the hotels should also profit from it in the homeland. The management works together on the marketing of the properties with many different consortia; in the spa segment, with Banyan Tree. In contrast to the country of Portugal that has a hard time financially, Tivoli can be happy about rising revenue and RevPar.

Cologne. In Cologne, the "bed tax" is already reducing the business of the hotels: figures of the first quarter 2011 are proof of this. The industry continues its fight on the political level as Cologne wants to set signals.

Eschborn. A more professional supply increases the profit factors, especially in view of rising prices for raw materials and products. This is one reason why the purchasing consultancy progros had a strong growth rate in 2010 again.

Eschborn. The habits in hotel purchasing have changed: So online procurement has overtaken the phone order, and in the meantime, a little bit more than half of the suppliers cover 80 percent of the purchasing volume. Interesting insight from a study.

Berlin. The "Hotelstars Union", the European hotel classification founded in 2009, is being continuously developed under the patronage of the European Hotel and Restaurant Association, HOTREC. They meet the competition with online assessments of guests with an integration of their own criteria. In the age of guest reviews on the Internet, do stars have any chance at all? The answers themselves from established hotel chains like Kempinski, from highly standardised chains like Accor, from groups who are enthusiastic about social media such as Travel Charme and from European consortia like Romantik Hotels are surprising.

London/Cologne. InterContinental Hotels & Resorts has surprisingly announced the termination of management contracts for three of six locations in Germany effective as of March 31, 2011. The hotels affected are those in Berlin, Duesseldorf and Cologne. There other InterConti hotels are in Hamburg, Frankfurt and Berchtesgaden. The background to the decision is the long-standing legal dispute with Neue Dorint GmbH for which InterConti has managed the hotels up to now. The news hit like a bomb. Particularly surprising and difficult to understand is that IHG risks losing a hotel in a prime location on Budapester Strasse in the very heart of Berlin - a hotel in which American Presidents reside and renowned congresses take place. At present, it seems, IHG still has no alternative locations. Behind the scenes, tempers have obviously flared. Now the lawyers are at work. Speculation abounds: Is InterConti simply playing a game of poker in a bid to secure better terms – like in Hamburg a year ago? As lessee of the hotels, this would be an additional burden on Neue Dorint GmbH, which has just managed to bring itself forward.

Wiesbaden. In Europe, investors increasingly derive pleasure from serviced apartments. Their operators promise them substantial yield and their requirements are not as tough compared to hotels. However, they need to generate new distribution channels. Both specialized providers and international hotel chains have identified this segment as a promising field of business. The property can be flexibly used, the structures are slim, and the market is still of moderate size in Europe. Therefore, it is a niche with great potential. Accor and Ascott Limited provide insight into their standards and calculations.

Brussels. One year after the establishment of the Hotelstars Union in Prague, the seven founding members now welcome three more. From 1 January 2011, the hotel associations of the three Baltic countries Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will become ordinary members of the Hotelstars Union.

Wiesbaden. The advena hotel group comprises six hotels today. The executive board wants to extend the brand further. However, the management is able and willing to take its time to do so. The hotels are all positioned in the 2 and 3-star segments, but the addition "Superior" is very important to them. Generally, the operator grants lease agreements but assigns licences as well. The founder Helmut Herfurth provides his hotels with a "touch of Hyatt" – for a good reason.

Bern. As of January 1, 2011, a new valuation system as well as new criteria for awarding stars will come into effect in Switzerland.Guest-oriented criteria reach beyond national borders, yet a few Swiss cornerstones will remain in place.