News & Stories

Fontainebleau. Political allegiance has a critical role in the decision to buy luxury goods. New empirical research shows that conservative shoppers are much more likely than their liberal counterparts to purchase luxury items if and when they believe the purchase will help them maintain their social status. Tests with luxury cars, eyewear and headphones revealed big gaps between the representatives of the two political parties.

Delhi. Puneet Chhatwal exudes calmness as a whole. Soft spoken yet firm, he speaks in a measured tone after thoughtful pauses. He radiates a certain positivity. And, that sense of joy to be finally home after 28 years of being away from India, to take over as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Indian Hotels Company Limited, the most iconic India hospitality chain with its legendary Taj brand, the young Ginger brand and Vivanta. The group dates back to 1903 and, currently operates 145 hotels globally across four continents, with another 20 under development. From leveraging the iconic brand, to making it profitable and digitally relevant, to and minimizing its carbon footprint and, strategizing to remain on top, Puneet Chhatwal has his plate full. He talked to hospitalityInside's author in India, Hoihnu Hauzel about the journey ahead.

Munich. In Munich this week, Leonardo Hotels, part of the Israeli Fattal Group, better known by its brand Leonardo Hotels in Europe, presented their first lifestyle brand NXY in Germany. In contrast to other lifestyle brands, this hotel is not located in the city centre, but in the unassuming southern city district Obersendling. It aims to entice guests and locals with a franchise burger restaurant, a DJ and live music. Launched in 2016, the NYX brand is now represented with five hotels in Europe and Israel. On Monday, Leonardo management explained the concept and expansion of Leonardo and of NYX to journalists.

Hamburg. Everyone talks about including the "neighbourhood", but the 25hours Hotel Hamburg Altes Hafenamt is now doing it. From this coming Monday, residents of Hamburg's harbour district will be able to access around 40 different services through the lifestyle hotel – from window-cleaning to bike repairs all the way to the bread-roll delivery service. And best of all, the hotel charges nothing for arranging these services. The lobby contains the new Conciergerie – a small house as in the old days of the grand hotels.

Munich. Everything began in 2016. We now have Ruby Asia thanks to a joint venture between the young Lean Luxury group Ruby Hotels, based in Munich, and several Chinese partners spearheaded by Alex Zheng, founder of Plateno Hotels in China. Ruby-CEO Michael Struck has kept details to himself for a long while: "I wanted to be totally certain that the partnership really will work. The Ruby brand is sacred to me. But it was also clear that we will have to think bigger". In Shanghai, the first Ruby hotel in Asia is currently under construction. Struck has sought contractual guarantees that the Ruby DNA will not be diluted.

Paris. "Le Club AccorHotels", AccorHotels Group's loyalty program, is expanding. Since July 2, 2018, loyalty members of Raffles, Fairmont and Swissôtel programs have joined Le Club AccorHotels loyalty program. The group also announced a new proprietary system which will allow the real-time sharing of guest travel preferences.

Paris. No month, no week without another AccorHotels acquisition or new concept: This time the French group presents its "Flying Nest" concept in partnership with another French company and a 50% stake in the American SBE Entertainment Group. Other news concern the financial part of AccorHotels.

Innsbruck. At the Tiroler Tourismus-Forum, Tirol Werbung declared itself as Tirol Medienhaus for the first time. "The definite aim is to be in control of stories from and about Tyrol," explained TW's Managing Director Josef Margreiter and referred to role models such as Red Bull and Donald Trump. Tyrol's objective is coverage through relevance.

Paris. 2,200 members in France, 20 in Germany. The French cooperation Logis now wants to close this gap. While the name only occasionally pops up so far, the group is now blowing up at least by PR to attack private hotels with good cuisine in Europe's largest source market.

Cologne. After years of struggling, the German Dorint Hotel Group is once again confident about the future. The company closed 2017 with a profit of 3.7 million euros and has ambitious expansion plans. In Cologne, CEO Karl-Heinz Pawlizki and COO Joerg Boeckeler revealed what the future strategy should look like.