News & Stories

Bern. "The Swiss hotel industry keeps investing despite the financial crisis." This was the tenor of Swiss Deluxe Hotels' press conference at Le Mirador Kempinski in Le Mont-Pèlerin. In order to maintain a leading role on an international level, SDH will invest more than 700 million CHF in the next two years. Furthermore, a strong trend towards medical wellness can be observed.

Moscow. The Moscow city government has decided to take matters into its own hands and finance the first phase of construction of a more than 1 billion USD development on the site of the former Rossiya Hotel, a famous property with 3,000 rooms from the 1960s.

Tel Aviv. The Israeli Fattal Group is in negotiations with the owners of 12 hotels in Israel, of which four hotels are operated by Starwood and four by Accor. The deal will be worth almost one billion NIS.

Bielefeld. The Oetker Group has sold the Park Hotel Vitznau on Switzerland's Vierwaldstaetter Lake. Last Friday, the contract was signed; buyer of the luxury hotel is an Austrian entrepreneur with experience in the hotel industry.

Hertenstein. The Austrian investor Peter Puehringer had great plans for a hotel on the peninsula Hertenstein on Viewaldstaetter Lake in Switzerland. He had hoped to commence construction this year to finish in 2012. The project has now ground to a halt.

Geneva. Kempinski Residences receives around 150 project offers per year - of those, perhaps only two or three are realised. Following in the footsteps of international players such as Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons which have successfully strengthened their brands with residences for decades, two and a half years ago, the luxury hotel group based in Geneva founded the joint venture "Kempinski Residences". In contrast to the approach of many other operators, Kempinski's business model also obligates the investor/developer. Either together or not at all, Kempinski wishes to create luxury living products connecting the lifestyle of its clients with the lifestyle promise of the Kempinski brand. And the current economic crisis has not changed the plan one bit.

Mainz Seventy-two-year old Berno-H. Feuring will not resign. "When I will resign? My wife asks me this every day," says the smiling head of Feuring in Mainz, a company that has been shaking up the international hotel market for 50 years. Feuring has his company in good order and arranged the issue of his succession with his sons, daughters and son-in-law a long time ago. However, he is drawn to the company every day, as developing hotel projects is his great passion. Since its foundation, the Feuring Group has managed more than 400 projects from the Atlantic coast to the Urals, and belongs to the silent pros on the market. Reason enough for an interview with the experienced hotel real estate expert about Feuring, the current economic crisis and its impact on the real estate market.

 

Bol. Austria is the clear number one when it comes to direct foreign investments in Croatia. Therefore, its own investors' association was founded recently. The Austrian hotel investors are now applying pressure to the government of Croatia. Even the Falkensteiner Michaeler Tourism Group no longer excludes a withdrawal from their mega resort Punta Skala due to negative experiences. Especially in tourism, investments from Austria are noticeable, as nearly one third of all international investments are primarily covered by Austrian capital.

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.