News & Stories

Budapest. Due to the EU membership, the Hungarian government had to cut down on the budget and mainly reduced its support of tourism. The two Corinthia Hotels in Budapest are suffering the effects. They no longer count on the activities of the Hungarian tourism office, but on their own - a new collaboration with Wyndham, a partial shareholder of Corinthia. An example of a volatile Eastern European market.

Frankfurt. The Penta hotel name returns - as "pentahotels". Many people remember Penta along with the name of Kempinski as Lufthansa hotel brand in the 1980s and 1990s. For two years now, Peter Voit has developed a new lifestyle concept for pentahotels on behalf of the Cheng Group in Hong Kong. With the new concept, Voit wants to get a hold on major cities in continental Europe and Eastern Europe. In order to establish the brand convincingly, the company hired the architect Matteo Thun from Milan as interior designer. The existing eight hotels will all be modified and converted.

Wiesbaden. The Internet community is growing and rapidly revolutionising marketing. The net serves as a means of addressing target groups that have not been reached before, and at the same time, it is an experimental field for new company strategies. Example: Ritz-Carlton. However, the world of the Internet is significantly more short-lived than anything else we have known so far.

Frankfurt/M. At this year`s conference on financial statements in Frankfurt, Steigenberger presented the conclusion of a successful business year. However, there were no strategic announcements of André Witschi, the new Chairman, as the industry had hoped for. Witschi emphasised the company`s expansion policy with the Steigenberger brand abroad.

Moscow. The Moscow based company Central European Hotel Investment, parent of the Azimut hotel chain, has placed responsibility for the management of the 20 hotels in Germany, Austrian and the Czech Republic, recently acquired from the Austrian Hotel Company with Hamilton Hotel Partners based in London.

Rostock. Deutsche Seereederei Ltd based in Rostock, has sold its city hotel division - formerly held by Arkona plc within DSR -  as part of a management buy-out  to Arkona Hotel Holding Ltd. As a result, DSR will in future focus on the resorts.

Frankfurt The past two years have been exciting times for Hilton, as Wolfgang Neumann, Hilton’s Area President Europe, can confirm. First, Hilton Hotels Corporation and Hilton International merged. Only a few months later, Hilton Hotels Corporation was taken over by Blackstone. In the meantime, the expansion push of various former US Hilton brands, above all Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton by Hilton, has begun to bear fruit. Depending on country, however, the results vary. In an interview with hospitalityInside.com, Neumann explains the Group’s current European strategy.

Berlin/Mumbai. There will be two more hotels joining, while another four will follow by 2011. The Indian Leela Group is about to start the biggest expansion wave of its history. Since March, all Leela Hotels have been linked to Kempinski via a marketing alliance.

Moscow. With the acquisition of the Austrian Hotel Company, whose 20 hotels are located primarily in Germany, the Russian company Azimut Hotels takes its first steps on western European soil. Further takeovers are to follow.