News & Stories

Geneva. Kempinski Hotels is restructuring its development and tightening its criteria for future hotels. CEO Reto Wittwer has passed on the new structure to the responsibility of Markus Semer, his management-board colleague, whose area of responsibility has grown enormously as a result. For the first time, Kempinski is also ready to provide equity at important locations.

Doha/Paris. Starwood Capital via its Groupe Du Louvre affiliate has completed the sale of four hotels in France to a Qatari company. In nearly the same time, another hotel in Berlin was sold to a Qatari company.

Lucerne/Tel Aviv. In Lucerne, the city is placing a rebuilding ultimatum on the owners of the Château Guetsch. In Israel, a medium reports that the Fattal Group wants to plan the purchase of 22 Holiday Inn properties in Germany.

Bangkok/Paris. In spring 2012, the destiny of Six Senses was decided anew: the eco luxury chain, a pioneer for the sustainable development of resorts, was sold to an American financier. This also led to the separation of the two founders of Six Senses, Sonu Shivdasani and Bernhard Bohnenberger. Since then, Bohnenberger has been managing the new Six Senses Group, and shortly after, Shivdasani announced that he planned to enter the luxury residence business with his brand. For a long time, it was quiet around the Thai with an English elite education. Now, he has met our correspondent Sarah Douag in Paris and provided an insight into his new concept. With the new company, he wants to go public within two years. He wants to expand with "Soneva Private Residences" in Asia and Europe. However, he has remained true to his passion for sustainability.

Munich. Yes, the year is coming to an end, and end-of-the-year reviews are booming. The real estate and hotel industry are no exception to this. The industry knows and feels: even if many parameters are still good, many things will have to change in future. The desired transaction volume has not been reached for 2012, as the real estate prices are too high. And the banks' bottleneck remains another handicap. Finally, the construction of properties will be linked closely to the fiscal treatment of energy measures in future. The analysis of an industry, which is trying to find its way between the past and the future, at the close of 2012.

Gstaad. The Grand Hotel Bellevue in Gstaad, up to now in the property of the hotel patron Thomas Straumann, has found a new buyer. He takes over the hotel tomorrow, on the 1st of December.

Berlin. People's needs are becoming more varied, more individual; and supply and demand in the "accommodation market" is responding accordingly. At the same time, cross-over areas are growing. A very current example is provided by the segment for student housing and serviced apartments. Reiner Nittka, Chairman of GBI AG, describes the similarities and differences in a guest contribution for hospitalityInside.com, and compares key ratios from both segments.

Paris. This week, ANF Immobilier completed the sale of a large B&B hotel portfolio announced in August.

Munich. According to the World Tourism Organisation, global travel will continue to grow at a rate of around three percent per year - and the number of hotels will also continue to rise. The large chains are not letting economic factors decide their course, but rather are busy following their own strategies. "There are no limits for growth," Rolf Huebner, Director of Operations Central & Eastern Europe at InterContinental Hotels Group, explained at the very beginning of the discussion round "Development without Limits?" at the Expo Real hotel conference "Hospitality Industry Dialogue" in Munich on Monday. The phrase immediately became one of the core statements of the entire discussion in which Accor and B&B Hotels also expressed their unbridled hunger for "more". Even the developer Fay Projects sees opportunities for expansion, particularly with international brands.

Munich. Right in time for Expo Real 2012, a new hotel investment and hotel management platform is launched with Munich Hotel Partners GmbH. A financially strong family office and three hotel/real estate experts will both invest and provide management services in future.