News & Stories

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.

Frankfurt. The “best time of the year” for the entire family can be totally relaxing or it can quickly turn into a stress-trip, especially if the holiday hotel does not provide appropriate facilities or meet the needs of all age groups. After many hotels have recognised the importance of making their hotels attractive for teenagers and young children, babies have now become the new target group. Apart from having strong nerves in this segment, hoteliers need to be extremely sensitive to the needs and wishes of parents with babies. hospitalityInside.com asked experienced “baby-hoteliers” what they found essential in attracting families to their properties.

Wiesbaden. Regardless of each crisis, the Rezidor Hotel Group continues with its growth strategy. Moreover, it will place an increasing emphasis on management and franchise contracts; leases are out, thanks to Germany. On the other hand, however, Rezidor is also not unhappy about the properties quickly recovering again in Germany. Now, the Missoni brand can finally blossom and also more resorts are targeted. An interview with Puneet Chhatwal, Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer, regarding current development. Rezidor will present its results for 2010 on the 21st of February.

Vienna. In 2010, Austria's hotel industry was faced with the challenge of balancing out reduced public expenditure on tourism advertising. The sum spent on marketing within the Austrian tourism industry is well in excess of 600 million EUR - excluding expenditure by bus enterprises, rail companies and airlines as well as by "intermediaries" such as tour operators, incoming agents and internet portals. In light of the 30 billion EUR spent by both domestic and foreign guests in Austria, such a financial commitment hardly seems excessive. Over recent years though, the origin of marketing funds has changed radically. The hotel industry now makes a substantial contribution here.

Mayrhofen. Austrian youth researcher, Manfred Zentner of the Institute of Youth Culture Research confronted tourism professionals at the Conference of Austrian Hotelier´s Consortium last week with an effective, corny joke: "Today's youth is so mobile that they no longer need to even move". The OEHV members are confronted with the effect of this truth daily. However: A different lifestyle shapes the travel behaviour of the young stronger than technological possibilities. As a result, there is no simple recipe for success in appealing to the younger generation.

Zurich/Kelkheim. Each new year always brings up the question about new trends. Who or what will influence our work and daily environment? On what should managers base their decisions? The Gottlieb Duttweiler-Institut in Switzerland has spotted "Workstyle" to be a new movement. Subtitle: “The leisure-loving society becomes unemployed. We are about to become a society of activity.” This should make hoteliers perk up their ears. The GDI experts analyse the new trend in a typical objective and factual manner. The nine most important socio-cultural trends for the markets of tomorrow have been written in a much more lurid way: Matthias Horx, a German futurologist, examines industries in a state of flux and new market potentials. A summary of key words.

Amsterdam/Tokyo. The New Year will be the year of merging: Then the Japanese luxury hotels, Okura will merge with the 4 Star JAL/Nikko Hotels already acquired in September, 2010 as a single company and the planned expansion will take on a concrete form. Additionally, Europe will be a brought in as a focus. Up to now, Okura Hotel & Resorts based in Tokyo is only represented in this part of the world by the Okura Amsterdam. Previously General Manager and President, Marcel P. van Aelst ascended in autumn as Representative Director and President of the JAL Hotels Co. Ltd and now the task of promoting the expansion beyond Japan is incumbent upon him. Marcel van Aelst about the plans.

Rostock arcona Hotels & Resorts continues to extend its umbrella brand, but will remain loyal to Steigenberger via franchise. The plan of growing by two hotels each year will also be met in 2011. Individual hotels will distinguish themselves further in terms of marketing.

Munich. Staff at the Arabella Hospitality Group will go into the Christmas break and the New Year with uncertainty. Negotiations with Starwood Hotels in Brussels with respect to the management takeover will, contrary to previous statements, proceed well into January.