News & Stories

Paris/Duesseldorf. In August last year, the takeover of the insolvent Golden Tulip Hotels by Starwood Capital was completed. Barry Sternlicht's investment company took over 720 franchise businesses - by means of its French subsidiary Group du Louvre. It took one year to consolidate the portfolio and to decide on new strategies: Golden Tulip will no longer exist as purely a franchise label but will also grow by means of management. Even ownership of businesses is part of the strategy. The consolidation is now being followed by expansion. Expansion will be intense, in Europe as well.

Frankfurt. Worldhotels extends its brand model: In future, private hotels will be able to better combine use of the Worldhotels brand with their own brand without having to sacrifice their own special character.

Munich. A total of three books on hotel development, investment and evaluation will be issued between Expo Real 2010 and the end of the year – all in German. A fourth book is in the works.

Munich. Israeli business man David Fattal began buying hotel real estate in 2005. His brand, Leonardo Hotels, first appeared in Germany two years later. Since 2007, the group has collected 23 hotels in Germany, Switzerland and Belgium, most of which are under ownership. The 3 and 4-star hotels have attracted relatively little attention on the market to date, though as CEO David Roger explains, are posting good results. Now, Leonardo Hotels is making greater waves with the opening of the larger "Royal" hotels and smaller boutique products. In contrast to many 'global players' which are bound to strict compliance with their expansion targets in order to avoid disappointing shareholders, the Leonardo Group is more relaxed. Though one thing it certainly does want: growth. A background interview on the state of play at Leonardo Hotels.

Chevy Chase. For the first time in their history, the luxury hotel chain The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company will offer a frequent guest stay program – "The Ritz-Carlton Rewards". Originally, the program was said to start next year but now it was brought forward to September.

Munich. Almost completely unnoticed, an enormous Golden Tulip has appeared on a street corner in the Euro Industrial Park Munich. 378 new rooms have been constructed here, in prime business park location between Munich City and Airport Motorway. Towards the end of the year, the name Golden Tulip will, however, disappear and the new brand name "The Rilano" will take pride of place on the roof. The change marks the start of a further new hotel operating company in Germany. Behind Rilano Hotels & Resorts, with two sub-brands, is private investor and former ArabellaStarwood Manager and Hotel Consultant, Holger Behrens.

Kelkheim. According to the Kids Consumer Analysis 2009, 6 to 13-year-olds in Germany alone receive almost 2,5 billion Euro in allowance payments each year. And an additional 3.6 billion Euro sits in their savings accounts. Children, it seems, are not only consumers, but they are also a decisive influence on their parent's spending decisions. The "Angry Girls" have the highest spending power, but "Papa's Razzi" could also be interesting for hoteliers. Experts classify children in ten different groups. A study provides insight into the opportunities presented to the hotel industry by so-called "future kids".

Berlin. The range of Germany's brand hotels has become both more versatile and more international. This is the result of the recently published annual "Kompendium der Markenhotellerie" providing information on 152 companies that are active in this sector.

Bad Ragaz. The robbery in the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz on August 23 resulted in the hotel tightening its security measures. It is the first hotel in Switzerland to introduce an automatic teller.

Munich. As Wolfgang Neumann, CEO of ArabellaStarwood Hotels, returned to the office after his 3-week holiday on Monday morning, Dr Klaus N. Naeve, Board Chairman of the Schoerghuber Company Group in Munich, asked him to come into his office. What Naeve was about to say came completely out of the blue for Neumann. As of immediately, Neumann was relieved of his duties as CEO and was told that the management company for Schoerghuber's hotels would be dissolved. As we reported in "Breaking News" on Wednesday afternoon, the group only intends to invest in real estate and will no longer operate hotels. Management responsibility for all existing ArabellaStarwood Hotels will be transferred to the joint venture partner Starwood Hotels & Resorts. "It's a purely financial decision," Dr Naeve admitted in an interview with hospitalityInside.com. Wolfgang Neumann said: "I was faced with a decision that had already been taken, there was no prior discussion." The decision will be implemented by the end of the year: ArabellaStarwood Hotels will be dissolved and the majority of the 45 staff at headquarters will lose their jobs. Germany will also lose a large hotel company. The background to this radical act.