News & Stories
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.
Only losers?
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.
Augsburg. No end in sight for the German tax chaos. More and more municipalities are now introducing the so-called "bed tax". They are putting 5% on the final rate - as in Cologne - and another 7% value added tax. Rates consequently rise by 12%. Some municipalities have already introduced this tax, while other cities are about to follow and many more are thinking seriously about it. There is huge chaos - and it will get even worse, as each city uses different criteria and calculation models as a basis for the tax. It turns out to be an additional burden for the hotels affected and does away with equal opportunities, particularly in urban areas. Some major companies have already announced that they will refrain from hosting any events in Cologne in the future. Nearby Duesseldorf is surely happy about that. The bed tax is the dismal continuation of an embarrassing political conflict between the German federal government and the regional governments - at the expenses of the hotel industry.
Frankfurt. Finally, some movement in the expansion efforts in German-speaking Europe: Hilton Worldwide is now implementing its American midscale brands and is attempting to increase synergies with the higher category Hilton Hotels by way of clustering. The first German clusters of Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn are to be seen at Frankfurt Airport/The Squaire; further brand combinations are conceivable in all large cities, whilst new regional organisation within Europe/Middle East allow a better overview of hotels, Olivier Harnisch says. His area of responsibility has also been extended. The Vice President International Operations Hilton Worldwide on the expectations of the mega project The Squaire, on clusters and new synergies.
Hamburg/Berlin. What else do I need? I asked this question myself when I checked out; the answer was provided by the hotel in the last 24 hours: The hotel was able to meet the "core needs" of the traveller. With their focussed service, the new midscale franchising brands are slipping into remarkably established hotel structures in Continental Europe. The guest is probably indifferent about the hotel's name and the franchisor/franchisee behind the concept. He only wants to find, book and enjoy a hotel for a reasonable price. Impressions of a traveller at Holiday Inn Express City Centre Hamburg, and at Hampton by Hilton Berlin City West.
Duesseldorf/Frankfurt. The current BBG business comparison remains skeptical: in a chapter about franchising the publishers/authors claim: franchise fees of five to six percent and more are additional costs and therefore diminish profit entirely or by roughly one third. BBG Managing Director Karl-Heinz Kreuzig gave hospitalityInside.com permission to publish this report - in a slightly shortened version. And as it contains a few provoking theses and a model calculation about franchising, hospitalityInside.com asked an expert to comment them: Martin Bowen, Asc Vice President Development Germany of the InterContinental Hotels Group. A dialogue between Karl-Heinz Kreuzig and Martin Bowen.