News & Stories

Munich. Do you still have small crochet tablecloths and doilies, porcelain dogs and a letter case in your basement? Then please give them to us! In doing so, you do all people a favour who love to live in a mixture of styles from the 1970s, in an ambience of bad taste. The first hotel of this kind – Tante Alma – opens on Monday in Cologne; it is primarily conceived for students in distress – and for others that are not.

Frankfurt. Deutsche Hospitality will not expand and go public as fast as recently reported by a business journal. Here, CEO Marcus Bernhardt specifies the course of action, the time horizon and the 300 million euros of expansion mass. And in other respects, he is quite clear: From an industry association, he has already been expecting more prior to the pandemic, and in his opinion many large institutional investors are simply too arrogant when it comes to the discussion of leases. He will change a few things.

Milan. The new hotel concept by the Italian Benetton brothers has a little bit of everything: The Student Hotel, Zoku, Mama Shelter, Jo & Joe and 25hours. Alessandro and Mauro combine short and extended stays under one roof and communal areas become a creative space to be furnished individually.

Berlin. The lockdown has been extended again, the aid is still not arriving, the ministers are promising something new again. Everyone is frustrated. Hoteliers and restaurateurs are protesting for a perspective, knowing full well that an opening around Easter could drive the virus up again. But they have had enough. A summary of the emotions and facts.

Augsburg. In view of the halving of arrivals in Bavaria in 2020, Bavaria's Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger spoke on Wednesday of a tourism industry that is "only limping on one leg". He called for a perspective for the industry.

Munich. At this precise location, in the centre of Munich, Pfanni once produced its world-famous dumplings; now, smart gastronomic businesses and creative hotels are providing jobs and new life in the new Werksviertel. Re-thinking urbanity - that's what Gambino Hotels also wanted to do when it took part in the alternative concept of the Pfanni heir. The Gambino Spirit draws attention to new, sustainable paths in the hotel industry.

Hong Kong. When Covid-19 broke out in China, Stefan Leser wasn’t there but on business in Europe. Since then, he's already travelled twice around the world, totally infection-free. The CEO of Hong Kong's Langham Hospitality Group is working hard to grow the portfolio of 24 luxury and first-class hotels - most quickly and preferably in Europe.

Berlin. Two German economists calculate that a nationwide testing strategy is significantly cheaper than a continued lockdown. Their paper is freely available on the internet. If the current strategy is continued, they warn of another lockdown after Easter.

Berlin. Since Monday, Germany has been discussing closing airports to keep out the new virus mutations. On Tuesday, media made public that Chancellor Angela Merkel would prefer to ban travel altogether. Ten days ago, the German newspaper ZEIT Online described a new no-covid strategy with the aim of creating virus-free "green zones". This plan allegedly also pleases Merkel. But also tourism, including the hotel and restaurant industry?

Geneva. On 14 December 2020, Martin Smura's era as CEO of Kempinski was over. Now it's time to clean up.