News & Stories

Neustadt. Resorts are trendy. They're elevated by the current hype. Nevertheless, at Arborea Marina Resort, a promising concept in Neustadt/Holstein, it all went awry: On 11 October, last Friday, the Hamburg-based operating company RIMC assumed the reins for the 15-month-old resort at the local harbour, also acquiring brand name and sustainable concept. This little story raises questions regarding the hype: How much energy, money and luck does it take to establish a resort brand? And why is this much more difficult for resorts than it is for city hotels? Consultants, resort experts and successful resort makers explain the challenges, Arborea founder Johann Kerkhofs and RIMC Managing Director Marek Riegger explain their views.

Vienna. Fine-dining restaurants are in decline in Austria, especially at gourmet level. Now, Alpine cuisine is to compensate and re-enthuse guests with local meat and wild herbs. Pure nature on your plate... But costs aren't any lower just because the nettle, a typical ingredient in springtime Alpine cuisine, grows on the doorstep. Nevertheless: Cuisine from the Alps is to stand apart from the uniform global mush.

Hamburg/Brussels. On the agreed deadline, 4 October, the Radisson Group has now exercised its option under the 2016 contract and purchased the remaining 51% of prize Holding GmbH. At the beginning of 2020, all hotels and the brand name prizeotel will be transferred to the Group, which has since been taken over itself and now belongs to Chinese Jin Jiang Hotels.

Hohenschwangau/Cologne. The realisation of the Ameron Hotel Neuschwanstein took eight years. But now, it is part of a sensitively re-vitalised building complex located directly at lake Alpsee, and close to King Ludwig's world-famous castles Neuschwanstein und Hohenschwangau. The upscale brand of the originally purely luxury group Althoff Hotels from Cologne is hence leading the way into the next expansion phase with newly constructed hotels at premium locations and "need-based" F&B. Thomas H. Althoff, founder and owner of the group, on the status quo of the "typical German medium-sized company," suddenly with a pipeline. Also, the first young brand Urban Loft is under construction.

Lille. In 2008, the Trigano family welcomed its initial guests in the first Mama Shelter Hotel. Six years later, Accor acquired a stake in the French group and since then expansion has picked up speed. One reason for this is the high degree of standardisation of this en vogue brand.

Cologne. 60 years, 60 hotels. It's done. After many ups and downs, one of the oldest hotel groups in Germany, Dorint Hotels has stabilised and is looking to the future again. The company celebrated this on Wednesday with many investors and business friends in the Dorint Hotel Köln Messe.

Wiesbaden. What do investors and operators think about the current flood of brands? They have become quite critical, as research for this second part of our brands' story has revealed. The capital providers also criticise the incomprehensible flood of brands; they also weigh up the use of brands by large chains and criticise the groups' creativity in inventing new fees over and over. "Chains, please stop creating brands and get back to the basics!" demands one investor.

Wiesbaden. Even insiders can no longer accurately say which brand belongs to whom. Hotel chains are getting high on ever new brands, because they supposedly make their own world more beautiful and investors happier. Garnished with promising loyalty programs, brands are turning into real "happy pills". The intoxication is usually followed by the bitter reality: Operators are, in fact, devaluing their own system with it. Where is all this going to lead? On the lookout for background information and motivation.

Jakarta. Southeast Asia, as represented by the ten ASEAN countries, is one the most dynamic regions in the world, with an economy forecasted by the International Monetary Fund to grow at an annualised rate of 7.3% over the coming 5 years. In addition, the region is slated to be one of the few beneficiaries of the ongoing trade war between the US and China, as multinational companies continue to shift their supply chains away from China.

Frankfurt. The new man from the construction industry resets the sail for Premier Inn's cruise through Germany. Dr Michael Hartung, Managing Director and Head of Development at Premier Inn Investments since 1 April 2019, is now pushing the already ambitious, expanding British hotel group in the direction of mixed use. 300 Premier Inn hotels in the German market are the goal. The speed at which this goal will be achieved, will also depend on partners. Wanted: new partners from project development and from other industries, including retail. Premier Inn now thinks laterally and its focus is already digital at construction phase.