News & Stories

Munich. In the latest Treugast "Investment Ranking" that will be introduced at the Expo Real the next week, the assessments this year remain widely stable. However, by the end of the year, Treugast CEO, Stephan Gerhard expects the first bad news from the German resort hotel industry.

Augsburg. What’s on the mind of developers at the moment? The unanimous answer: restrictive banks. In addition, they are on the lookout for reliable partners and focused concepts. On the occasion of the commercial real estate fair Expo Real 2011 which will start next Tuesday, hospitalityInside asked five nameable developers and project managers what they think.

Augsburg. The foreigners are coming – and they are most welcome. Foreign investors increasingly regard both Germany and Switzerland as safe havens for hotel investments. Currently, Germany is the country with the most hotel property on the market, and a large number of deals are going on in the background. A great number of foreign investors do not require any German bank for funding purposes. Moreover, their interest in hotels focuses on more than just the budget segment. A recent survey among consultancies about the desires and behaviour of investors.

Berlin. Once again, Berlin will be the capital of project development. However, the total volume of planned projects is on the decrease. In the metropolitan region of Berlin and Potsdam, the hospitality sector`s share in total development volume is almost 15 percent.

Frankfurt. The golden times, when hoteliers were able to rent out little cubbyholes at any price, are nearly over. Real estate developers still regard this segment as important, but hoteliers detect decreasing numbers of overnight stays compared to the total business. Even in the light of the Asian upswing, Germany still remains the most important trade fair location in the world. Therefore it is no surprise that the trade fair business plays an important role for the accommodation industry in Germany. But how important is this role really? As the "trade fair autumn" is about to return, Falk Laudi, consultant at Hotour Hotel Consulting in Frankfurt, analysed Germany`s top 8 trade fair locations and their significance for the hotel industry for hospitalityInside.com.

Hamburg. To a certain extent, the number of hotel industry-specialised interior designers accompanying the industry for the past 20 years or so in the mega market of Germany has remained at a handful, at most. One of them is with JOI-Design from Hamburg: Peter Joehnk has been active in the hotel industry for 28 years along with his wife, Corinna Kretschmar-Joehnk for 18 years. They both manage an office with 40 staff members in Hamburg. Their credo: Design must function. Corinna Kretschmar-Joehnk and Peter Joehnk on savvy spenders with colour, unconventional investors, the unavoidable costs for design and future trends.

Munich. Hotel insiders only know the name Jost Hurler in connection with Seehotel Ueberfahrt at the Bavarian Lake Tegernsee: today`s Althoff Hotel is the only hotel that belongs to Jost Hurler Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungsgesellschaft GmbH & Co. KG in Munich so far. But this will soon change. In addition, the business of the late Jost Hurler`s company - he was the founder of Huma market and passed away in 2003 - is repositioning itself. Since August 1, 2011, three managing directors and a new project development corporation have been in charge. The former Managing Director Gerhard Kanzler retired. An interview with Dr. Wolfgang Mueller about new projects, millions of investments in properties, and the mega project "Schwabinger Tor" in Munich.

Wiesbaden. The keyword "News Mix" will bring to you tiny bits of news about considerable events of the past week(s): Best Western/Albania, Moscow, Hersha/USA, Holiday Inn Express/Augsburg, Kempinski/China, Tanzania, Leonardo/Budapest, Morgans/Europe, Novum Hotel/Cologne, Renaissance/Zurich, Rezidor/Luzern, Warsaw, Ringhotels/Germany, Scandic/Pandox, Travelodge/UK, Thomas Cook/Tour Vital.

Jeddah. With its 828 metres, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai will soon no longer be the tallest building in the world. In five years’ time, the "Kingdom Tower", a more than 1 kilometre tall skyscraper, will be built in Jeddah, explained the Saudi-Arabian billionaire, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal al-Saud in the beginning of August.

Horgen/Zurich. The striking building of the textiles factory in Grob next to the Horgen railway station is in renovations until the spring of 2013 as the "Meilenwerk Zürichsee", a classics and event centre. A hotel is included, but the operator has not yet been definitively established.