News & Stories

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Schlangenbad hitting the headlines

25.1.2008

Wiesbaden. Six weeks after the federal state of Hesse sold the Parkhotel in Schlangenbad near Wiesbaden to Summit Healthcare Management Partners in Cologne, about a dozen employees, among them the general manager, left the hotel. The press accuses the Hessian government of carelessness with respect to checking the buyer.

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The experience that counts, not the furniture

Design Hotels distinguishes itself further with new products

25.1.2008

Berlin. "To set oneself apart with reference to furniture is alone not enough. Now it's all about the experience the guest takes with him." Claus Sendlinger, CEO of Design Hotels in Berlin, has for a long time been quite picky about which hotels he accepts. Whoever wishes to be mentioned in the same breath as the 170 hotels of especial architecture and quality worldwide, must have a clear and consistent concept. Most new Design Hotels at the moment come from Germany with Asia following. Sendlinger sees a new generation of brave Design Hoteliers developing. The consortium now wants to reward these with two new tailor-made products and so bring new guests without spreading losses: As of immediately, Design Hotels is marketing new "solutions packages" for business travellers and exclusive private guests.

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Power through partners

IHG increases speed in brand policy - a current overview

25.1.2008

Berlin. There will be additional InterContinental Hotels in Germany as well. However, expansion of the 5-star brand is significantly more difficult than that of the medium-class Holiday Inn brand and the Express by Holiday Inn budget label - both of which come with precise plans and new focus areas. The Crowne Plaza brand that has been missing for many years will be revived. Willy Weiland, General Manager and Regional Manager InterContinental Hotels & Resorts Germany, Poland and Ukraine, and Karl-Heinz Pawlizki, Director of Operations Germany for the medium-class brands provided hospitalityInside.com with an overview of the current situation and medium-term strategies concerning Europe. "In the past three years, InterContinental Hotels Group has been investing only in brand development. Now we'll start to realize them," says Weiland.

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Simply animalistic

Dog owners pay up to 30% more - trends in the US and Great Britain

18.1.2008

London. British hotels are developping a real taste for dogs: In Great Britain, "pet travel" is the new travelling trend, and there are also supporting figures available now: according to a report, introduced at the "World Travel Market" in London, an increasing number of British travel with their four-legged family members. Due to high quarantine requirements for trips abroad, the domestic market benefits especially in Great Britain. And there are about 49 million people of the "pet population" who spend more than 4.9 billion US dollars for the well-being of and food for their beloved four-legged friends. This new trend blesses the hotel industry with 30 % more bookings per year.

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Pritzker family hitting the headlines

11.1.2008

Chicago. At the end of the year, the entrepreneurial Pritzker family from Chicago, owner of Hyatt Hotels, sold its Marmon conglomerate for 4.5 billion dollars to the American investor Warren Buffett and his Holding Berkshire Hataway. In this respect, there is new speculation about Hyatt Hotels.

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Austria: The penguins are back on ice

21.12.2007

Vienna. As part of its new advertising and marketing campaign, Austrian Advertising has chosen a new route with subtle irony and this time without the penguins. Tourism experts are satisfied with the approach, which is clearly geared towards the established upper middle classes.

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Pélisson: Budget brands in the city centre

21.12.2007

Paris. After the departure of Managing Director, André Witschi, obtaining background information on Accor's further development in Germany has been difficult. In Paris, on the other hand, German newspaper correspondents were German market.

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From managing back to people

Where will the industry go? Looking back on the year

21.12.2007

Augsburg. Georg Rafael is grinding his teeth. For two hours, the major German entrepreneur has been listening to the panel discussions at a hotel conference in Italy, "and the word hosting hasn't been mentioned once," criticises the hotelier. "It is all about managing, real estate and financing." Rafael was right, and his remark hit and hits the nail on the head with regard to the biggest change within the hospitality industry: the pulsating hotels have mutated and become a calculated product. Maria Puetz-Willem, Editor in Chief of hospitalityInside.com, with some notes about the trends in the industry.

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Banker in custody - Rosebud affected?

14.12.2007

Bern. The Swiss Rosebud group does not escape the headlines - either directly or indirectly. Now a banker from Geneva is in custody in France. He was member of the Advisory Board of Richemond until 2006. Rosebud itself still has not taken any initiative to start the announced hotel renovations.

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Busy upscale segment

Accor names new Pullman hotels - Also more brands in Austria

14.12.2007

Paris. Pullman, the Accor group's new chain of upscale non-standardized hotels, will open 12 hotels around the world - in France, Germany, Belgium, Thailand and China, as the company says. Also, the present Sofitel Vienna could be rebranded to a Pullman. For Austria, the group also revealed detailed plans.
The new Pullman Hotels will be located in France in Paris, Marseilles and Toulouse; in Germany in Cologne and Dortmund; in Belgium in Brussels; in Thailand in Bangkok; and in China in Dongguan.

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