News & Stories

Penang. Mark Lankester is not a hotelier but a sensitive observer. When low cost carriers manage to attract masses of people to travel by means of low-budget rates, the same method has to apply for hotels as well… Ideally, hotels follow airline routes, and therefore, Tune Hotels from Malaysia are located at destinations - presently and in future - which are served by "no frills” airlines. No frills - no extras - has also become the core idea of this young budget chain from Asia. Twelve hotels have opened, 88 are in planning. Together with an investment partner, they want to conquer Europe as well. The entrée took place in London. Behind Tune Hotels consistent and rigorous distribution rules do not take cultural differences into account. Founder of Tune Hotels, Mark Lankester, took part in the discussion of the low budget and hostel panel at this year's ITB hotel conference in Berlin; in a separate talk with hospitalityInside.com, he revealed more details about the Tune concept, which sells "5-star hotels for 1-star rates” in its marketing slogan.

Berlin. They have expanded in Asia, but the money is earned in Europe. Furthermore, the growth of the hotel pipeline in the meantime is as strong in Europe as it is in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East. These were two sober statements by Hilton CEO, Christopher J. Nassetta who praised the Hilton group to the skies from the stage of the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin. Patrick Fitzgibbon, Senior Vice President Development EMEA explained the changes since the crisis later in a conversation with hospitalityInside.com. Also, Hilton sets its franchise sails outside the USA.

Berlin. After the crisis, the large international hotel groups are also continuing to target franchise and management contracts. Nevertheless, dealings with real estate owners have changed. Today, the operators must prove more than ever that they are not only pursuing their own interests. Strong brands are an additional resource. Impressions of the CEO-Panel at the 14. International Hotel Investment Forum 2011 in Berlin.

Frankfurt. The first step into the "big city" has been taken: Welcome Hotels, the hotel subsidiary of German Warsteiner Brewery, has opened a 173-room hotel in Frankfurt on 28 February 2011 – ten minutes away from Frankfurt Central Station, near to the new 'Europa' district. With this, the midscale group moves away from its secondary and tertiary location roots and sets its sights on the next large German cities. The shareholder is satisfied with the result of the 3 and 4-star hotels up to now. The management duo Mario Pick and Carsten Kritz, a team for the last 5 years, must deliver the right performance, but the expansion should not be rushed. A good basis for controlled growth.

Geneva. Although Starling has only existed for a little over two years, Switzerland’s newest lodging brand, has already taken over the country’s largest hotel, the former Crowne Plaza, a 496-room 5-star property located beside Geneva’s exhibition centre, the Palexpo, a few hundred metres from the city’s airport. In addition, since October 2010, the fledgling hotel management group manages a second property, the 4-star 154-room Starling Hotel at EPFL, one of Switzerland’s two prestigious engineering universities. One of the three partners in the background is Jean-Jacques Gauer, the well-known general manager of the Lausanne Palace Hotel and former chairman of The Leading Hotels of the World.

Munich. The performance of the German hotel industry ran reasonably satisfactorily in 2010; the demand at home and abroad has risen. The middle class belongs with the big winners. Hotel developments continue to grow again. Trends are reflected by the Treugast Solutions Group for the ITB.

Adliswil. Moevenpick Hotels & Resorts has introduced iPads across its 24 Middle Eastern hotels, reflecting market trends for greater interactivity with guests and adapting to their changing needs and requirements.

Frankfurt. Hotel rates are a good indicator for the condition of the national economy. While economically growing emerging countries in Africa and Asia were able to increase some of their rates significantly, hotel rates dropped in crisis-torn cities like Dublin, Athens and Abu Dhabi last year.

Phoenix/Eschborn. Nine years after the introduction of the "Best Western Premier" brand in Germany, Best Western International is now to extend its brand portfolio. Worldwide there are to be three Best Western categories in future, all in the midscale sector: Best Western, Best Western Premier and Best Western Plus. The brand extensions will be passed from the USA to Europe or vice versa. The aim is to achieve a uniform quality level on both sides of the Atlantic. Differentiation will be difficult though. Here in Germany, the introduction of the Plus hotels seems to have taken some by surprise.

Berlin. Karim Rashid’s designs are shrill, kept in unusual colours like pink, violet, gold, silver and beige. His ideas include waves, bubbles and even flowers. Colours of all kinds and organic shapes with the “bubble” as the main motif almost drag guests into the concrete cube at Berlin’s Spree river bank. The second nhow Hotel of NH Hoteles is located in Berlin, and it will remain the only one in Germany. There will only be a single nhow per country. The 304-room hotel located in the popular Berlin districts of Friedrichshain/Kreuzberg labelled itself “music hotel”, but there is more to that. While design is the main focus of the first nhow in Madrid, the second one in Berlin surprises its guests with a story that goes far beyond pure design. General Manger Alexander Duerr about a concept in which the Spanish headquarters granted him ample room for his own ideas.