News & Stories
Paris/Amsterdam/Brussels. France, Netherlands, Belgium: in all three countries, tourism professionals and businesses hope for a return to normality. France officially ends the solidarity fund but continues to support the tourism sector. For the other two countries it will be bitter.
Munich. Business is slowly coming back; development continues as planned. The topic of staff members is cause for anguish. Duncan O'Rourke, CEO Northern Europe at Accor – which encompasses 31 countries – matter-of-factly evaluates the situation after one and a half years of pandemic. He learned that some changes are necessary concerning Accor's structure and focus.
Chicago. The run on resorts within the major international hotel groups continues. Hyatt has announced the acquisition of Apple Leisure Group, doubling its number of resort hotels.
Augsburg. Through the corona pandemic, political decisions meant a long period of suffering for Germany's hotel industry. However: Its original core, hospitality, continues to carry the industry into a new future. The culture of service and care and its new lifestyle provide impulses for new hospitality facets, even in other industries. Hospitality is everywhere! Almost. An overview of new trends and modified concepts through which hospitality and living are moving ever closer together.
Innsbruck. Despite endless lockdowns and the collapse of Austria’s city hotel industry: Optimism prevails among the hotels of the Verkehrsbüro Group, the budget group Harry's Home and the individual Ipp Hotels. They all solved the problems around rents/leases, government subsidies and employees in their own different ways. And all three want to expand.
Dubai. The pandemic is not over yet. "There is still big risk for Q4 of this year," says Chris Hartley, CEO of Dubai-based Global Hotel Alliance. Covid-19 has hit the GHA hard. All the more intensive then are the preparations for the re-launch at the turn of the year: GHA is pushing Local Experiences and is introducing the Discovery Dollar as its own currency. NH Hotels is not only a new member but also a new shareholder of the alliance.
Paris. It is a big plan to survive, abrupt in its reorientation and associated with many new debts: Franck Gervais, the new CEO of the Pierre & Vacances Center Parcs Group, created a 5-year plan focusing on a new and reinvented local tourism that is more sustainable and 100% experience-based. The preferred target group: Millennials' families. Currently, he is protecting cash flow, reinventing the group's strategy and welcoming new co-shareholders.
Hamburg. The virus and several months of lockdown hit retail right in the middle of a transition - and accelerated the adjustment processes in the industry. Nevertheless, city centres will remain popular shopping destinations, Volker Kraft is certain. Since 2008, as a Founding Partner of ECE Real Estate Partners, he’s invested in the acquisition and development of large shopping centres in Europe and has adapted to the fast-growing online retail trend through a new Digital Mall operated by ECE. Well before the crisis, ECE Group was already involved in the world of hotels and is now committing itself to further investments in it - with a new million-heavy fund managed by ECE REP. Volker Kraft and Ascan Kókai, the new Head of Hotel Investments at ECE REP, on retail and hospitality.
Wiesbaden. In the small German town of Bad Münstereifel, courageous investors dared an experiment seven years ago: they transformed the historic centre of the town into an outlet centre. In doing so, they not only created retail jobs, but also revived tourism.
Heilbronn. The Plaza Hotelgroup from Heilbronn, comprising of 39 hotels, recently surprised the sector with the purchase of two Maritim Hotels. The company does not rule out further expansion moves. In October, Mr and Mrs Yalaz were still pessimistic. Now, things appear rosy again - after good pandemic management.