News & Stories

Berlin. "Don't leave the physical state of your destination to investors and politicians. Architecture is a key part of your business,"   Professor Dr Felizitas Romeiss-Stracke from the Technical University of Munich gave a clear warning to hoteliers and tourism developers during a session about tourism and architecture at the "ITB Destination Day" in Berlin. The secret behind successful destination marketing is the story for the guest. There are two approaches to show the influence of architecture on tourism in very different ways.

Frankfurt/M. The European, Middle East and African hotel investment markets continued its decline in the first quarter of 2009. Both portfolio transactions and individual transactions recorded massive losses. With a hotel investment volume of about 700 million euros the market had a similar level as in 2003.

Berlin/Kassel. According to a study, private German shareholders favour domestic holiday real estate. 48 percent of all objects are located in German holiday destinations. Holiday real estate abroad is divided among Spain, Italy and France. Even in times of crisis, German holiday real estate remains on the winning side: 53.5 percent invested in Germany in 2008, while the USA are ranked second with eight percent in terms of foreign real estate.

Brussels. OTE has changed its name to "Resort Development Organisation". The new name is reflective of developments in the vacation ownership industry, which has changed dramatically since the 1960s when timeshare was first sold, giving the consumer a fixed week at one resort.

Baar. Despite the difficult economic environment, Hapimag, the Swiss specialist for holiday rights of residence, was able in 2008 to build on its success of previous years, achieving five per cent growth and a positive
result.

Frankfurt/Munich. The analysis about strength and size of European building constructors reveals: after turnovers, Hochtief remains the third largest European building group; with Bilfinger Berger as a second German constructor ranking tenth. All in all, Germany is represented with eight businesses in the Top 100, Great Britain leads with 28 companies; although France provides the two top candidates, it is only represented by five companies.

Dubai/Zurich. The Moevenpick Hotel Bur Dubai, which has been part of the portfolio of the international hotel group headquartered in Switzerland since summer 2003, will complement its offer with a new residence building, the "Moevenpick Hotel & Residence Bur Dubai", in February 2009. With this step, Moevenpick is deliberately entering the residence business.

Berlin. In his new book "Licence to Dupe", Funds Analyst Stefan Loipfinger looks back on his long experience in financial journalism. He speaks openly of dilettantes and frauds, names names and is frank in his criticism - hotel funds included. A Christmas reading tip.