News & Stories
Beverly Hills. In preparation for the special meeting of stockholders of Hilton scheduled to be held on September 18, 2007 interesting details became public: Stephen Bollenbach will leave the company with 10.5 million USD.
Amsterdam. A new type of hotels called citizenM is going to open at Schipohl Airport in Amsterdam at the beginning of 2008. It’s target group are modern travellers, called "Mobilie Citizens". The concept is a modern mixture of luxury and budget-items. The rooms' ambiance can be costumized by the guests, by programming the room card. 20 hotels in Europe are to be rolled out.
Kuala Lumpur. Datuk Tony Fernandez, head of the Malaysian low cost carrier, Air Asia, has now also made his move into the super low budget hotel business. Towels not included! easy Group founder Stelios Haji Iannious obviously serves as role model.
Frankfurt/M. When it comes to importance, tourist brands lag far behind other business segments. The reason for this is the lack of ideas within the industry concerning working out distinct profiles, but also the poor degree of penetration and communication among brands due to a lack of time and money. Against this backdrop, it was a clever move of the Travel Industry Club to make the Kommunikationsverband Deutschland and its brand experts join its symposium about the topic "Tourismus trifft Marke".
Paris. Accor completed the sale of the US chain Red Roof Inn to a consortium comprised of Citi's Global Special Situations Group and Westbridge Hospitality Fund, L.P. for 1.313 billion US Dollar.
Kuwait City. Christian Windfuhr from Germany, who had been working for Corinthia Hotels headquartered on Malta and was Managing Director of the German Maritim Hotels before that, recently started as COO of the Refad Hotels & Resorts hotel company in Kuwait. It operates hotels in the Middle East as well as a single hotel in Germany. Its expansion plans also include other countries and continents.
Munich. Medium-sized companies are also benefiting from Germany's upturn. Ringhotel, a consortium with 140 hotels in the 3 and 4-star segment in Germany, generated an additional one million euros in the first half of 2007. This corresponds to an average increase in turnover of 46,000 euros per member hotel. Demand significantly increased in the congress and wellness segment.
Cernobbio. The news hit like a bomb: If the reports of Italian media are anything to go by, a wealthy Sultan is interested in the purchase of Italy's most noble hotel, the Villa d'Este in Cernobbio. The Sultan is expected to make an offer of 280 million Euros; though a second potential buyer is thought to be waiting in the wings with more.