News & Stories
Augsburg. The first Condo Hotel in London was sold immediately, but Europe's biggest property with 930 units in England's capital is still to be build. For the British, the investment means attractive tax advantages. In France one provider holds many brands. The Condo trend from the USA has finally arrived in Europe.
Augsburg. "Condo Hotels" as further mode of involvement in tourist real estate now seems to be establishing roots in Europe. In the US where this is a long established marketing concept for hotel real estate, the upwards trend remains unfettered. Clear success factor are attractive rent profits for the buyer.
Wiesbaden (November 25, 2005) . Redeveloping a hotel into a retirement home is by no means easy, but certainly possible. Attempts to bring the two concepts together have all failed in the past. The advice remains: either the whole hog or not at all.
New York. The Leading Hotels of the World are building up a new marketing instrument as well as a new source of income: the "Leading Residences of the World". That concept is about buying and/or renting vacant villas and empty suites in hotels according to a timesharing pattern. There are already 13 residence partners, while other chains and renowned hoteliers disapprove of this model. Behind her restraint there is an unspoken fear that their own business will be cannibalized by third parties.
White Plains. Starwood Hotels & Resorts plans to sell 38 of its hotels to Host Marriott for 3.3 billion USD. The proposed stock and cash transaction has a total value of 4.1 billion USD, including 700 million USD of debt assumption, but the deal was immediately attacked by Starwood`s former CEO Barry S. Sternlicht who remains a large shareholder.
Augsburg. Fractional interest and private residence clubs complement timeshare as the more classic models for shared use of real estate. Although the idea has been floated in Europe for some time, whether the new American idea for periodic right of use and access to higher living will find enthusiasm on the opposite side of the Atlantic remains to be seen.
Augsburg. Timesharing - this term keeps appearing in discussions more and more often when it comes to mixed-use objects or luxury hotel financings. What does this term actually mean that is sometimes described as vacation property or right of part-time use? One thing is certain: the term comes in countless facets that are hardly known in Europe. As of today's issue, hospitalityInside.com will consistently intensify its reporting about the business model of timesharing, its building blocks, its providers and the market behind it.
Augsburg. The EU directive of 1997 contributed to a clear definition of the rights and obligations of timeshare customers and providers. Some countries have realised them applying even stricter standards that far exceed the basic requirements.
Zurich. Even the Swiss want to better protect their timeshare market from unscrupulous salesmen. The Swiss law commission has welcomed a change in the law of obligations.