News & Stories

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NH: Reacting with a "what if analysis"

20.3.2009

Frankfurt. With a sales plus of 2.6 percent on 2007 and strategic decisions already in place for a possible slump, German NH Hoteles has already laid the foundation for a solid 2009. Jan Hein Simons, Managing Director of NH Hoteles Deutschland GmbH is confident that the group will successfully navigate through the economic and financial crisis and gives concrete examples of how the group will do exactly that.

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Caught in the break waves of the market

Rocco Forte: Two new hotels in sight - expansion untouched

6.3.2009

Munich. A ruminative Sir Rocco Forte sits on the canopy of the Charles Hotel in Munich, his face tanned by the Sicilian sun. He's just presented his two newest hotels on the Italian holiday island and in Prague to the media. Both hotels are scheduled to open in May. "I'm still optimistic," Forte stresses. This Wednesday, though, his mood is far from euphoric. As hospitalityInside.com asked him about his German hotels and the current rumours circulating about them, he responded with a notable unwillingness to expand on his answers with figures.

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Resort hotels are a strong pillar

After the 2008 figures: cautious optimism at Best Western

20.2.2009

Frankfurt. In Germany, the hoteliers of Best Western are not as pessimistic as many of their colleagues concerning the future. Although 60 percent of them expect their hotels to suffer a decrease in occupancy rates in the present year, 54 percent expect the prices to remain stable. In 2008 too, the Best Western Hotels experienced a slightly better development compared to the industry's average.

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Claim and counter-claim

Kempinski terminates contract for the Grand Hotel Heiligendamm

6.2.2009

Berlin. The notice of termination arrived in the night from Monday to Tuesday per fax at Heiligendamm. The official letter was received by the owner on Tuesday morning: Kempinski Hotels terminated its management contract with the Grand Hotel Heiligendamm & Co KG with immediate effect. The contract should have run to 2016. On Tuesday, reservation lines for the host hotel of the last G8 summit were already closed and the hotel had been removed from the Kempinski website. The hotel operator complained of "unreasonable interference" in operations by the owner and asserted claims for outstanding management fees amounting to over 1 million Euro; the owner quickly responded. Accusations on both sides are serious.

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Literature tip: "Manual Hospitality Management"

30.1.2009

Frankfurt. The new German manual "Handbuch Hospitality Management", edited by Prof Marco A. Gardini, is an industry guide tackling the hotel topics which will have strategic significance in the near future. A literature tip for industry veterans and newcomers alike.

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Strong in the region

Small chains: Victor's Residenz-Hotels

9.1.2009

Berlin. The hotel chain Victor's Residenz-Hotels, with its head office in Berlin, was founded in 1996 and operates eleven hotels in the whole of Germany today. It has worked its way to becoming one of the big chains of the small chains in Germany. Its latest takeover was a hotel in Saarlouis last year.

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The innovation dilemma

Findings from the industry: too many new products stress customers

19.12.2008

Munich. It looks like a stylish handbag but at the same time, it is also a solar battery charger for mobile phones, iPods or digital cameras: the "Solar Power Purse" of the US company Solarjo. The devices are connected and charged via an USB plug, which is integrated into the inside lining, and are therefore always ready for use. This is the look of a new, multi-functional handbag! Whether this clever solution will be a sales success remains to be seen. Until customers accept an innovative product, many barriers have to be overcome. Customers tend to stick to known products. Such results of the industry research should be food for thought for hotel managers too. Some of them like to demand too much of their guests concerning innovations.

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The top 3: Bed, room, internet

A survey with consequences: New star criteria in Switzerland by 2012

31.10.2008

Bern. Guests would choose other criteria than experts with respect to allocating hotel stars. This is the result of a recently published survey initiated by the Swiss Hotelleriesuisse industry association. According to the survey, a good smelling room and friendly personnel are increasingly important.

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Precise offers management contracts with success guarantee

31.10.2008

Berlin. In the coming months, Ron Ben-Haim, Managing Director of the Precise Hotel Collection, Berlin, plans to push forward the German expansion of his hotel chain by way of management contract. As Ben-Haim is well aware of German prejudices against management contract, the ones he is offering come with a special success guarantee.

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Cooperative as profitable investment

17.10.2008

Wals/Innsbruck. As every year since its foundation 32 years ago, Austria's leading purchasing cooperative society for hotels and restaurants, Hogast, entered a record year for the financial year 2007/2008. Total turnover was increased to 553.7 million Euros, a figure to which 84 new member companies have significantly contributed. Inflation too played a role in the turnover plus of 14.1 percent.

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