News & Stories
Munich. This year, Munich will see the European hospitality industry conference of "hotelforum" for the fifth time. Parallel to the real estate trade fair Expo Real on October 9 and 10, European experts from all areas associated with hotel properties will meet at the traditional Bayerischer Hof and the newly opened The Charles Hotel in Munich. The tendering for the hotel property of the year award has just begun.
Wiesbaden. Is smoking allowed in the restaurants or not? Hoteliers often find it difficult to send their guests out on to the street with their cigarettes. And since the future of German smokers has still not been definitively decided by law, Ania Schmidt from Betty Beige Design in Wiesbaden has been thinking about turning an addiction into enjoyment. She's the creator of the "enjoyment room". These are flexible enough to accommodate every law.
Baar. Hapimag managed to improve its business result in 2006. Turnover rose by 4.2% from 220.7 million CHF to 230 million CHF. The operating result was able to be increased by 6.4 million CHF. The consolidated annual result for 2006 amounts to 2.2 million CHF.
Paris/Vienna/Warsaw. Louvre Hotels and Warimpex Finanz- und Beteiligungs AG will form a strategic joint venture to develop and own budget hotels in Central Europe.
Berlin. Again, the InterContinental Berlin is the place chosen for a new conference with a high potential to become a leading event for the industry. "HI DESIGN EMEA 2007", taking place on 26-28 April, will attract over 150 delegates from major hotels groups, architects, designers and key international suppliers.
Chain design
Paris. As part of its real estate management strategy, Accor signed a memorandum of understanding last Monday to sell 72 hotels in Germany and 19 in the Netherlands to Moor Park Real Estate for 863 million euros, including a 43-million-euro renovation program to be paid for by the owner. The Novotel, Mercure, Ibis and Etap Hotel properties involved in the transaction represent a total of 12,000 rooms.
New York. Top trends that will influence the global hotel industry in the year ahead include the stabilizing of the U.S. lodging market, increasing capital flows into the hospitality sector from a broad range of investors, including offshore funds, and superior performance among luxury hotel brands.
Brussels. Timeshare still has great potential in Europe, even though there are many complaints regarding sales practices, and short-trip packages put a strain on the industry's image. Despite this, Anthony Arke, Chief Officer of the Timeshare Organisation of Europe is quite optimistic. He wants the association to become a serious address for the industry and consumers. To achieve this, the OTE has formed an alliance with other institutions and supports a critical examination of the existing timeshare regulations.