News & Stories

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.

Salzburg. Destinations Touristic Services and Eurotours located in Salzburg and Kitzbuehel are two central shunting stations for hotel beds across the whole of Europe. DTS is owned by the retailing group Rewe, Eurotours by the Austrian Verkehrsbuero Group. Together, they generate billions in revenue and move millions of hotel rooms for tour operators. The travel packages for cruise ships, hotels or cottages that both put together for their major clients – including the discounters Aldi/Hofer among others – are becoming increasingly complex. Online business is useful for increasingly short-term bookings and is thus also helpful for hoteliers. Though they do not achieve higher rates. To start the summer travel season, a look behind the scenes of the two incoming professionals.

Frankfurt/Main. How much cheaper are serviced apartments compared to hotels? A recent survey shows huge price differences between this strongly expanding type of accommodation and conventional hotels. However, many customers do not seem to be aware of this yet.

Geneva. This is the perfect holiday preparation for master and dog: Search and book via a dog OTA! Two platforms in the USA and the UK are currently opening up a mega market. The OTAs have even developed a loyalty program for dog owners and also advise hotel owners to turn the satisfied guest into a premium customer. The same applies to hotel operators. Hyatt offers photo shoots for pets. Pets are family members, therefore the master does not only go well on journeys alone, but also the four-legged friend.

Beijing/Madrid. While indebted Chinese group HNA is finally selling its shares in NH Hotels to Thailand-based Minor International Group which is willing to take over NH completely, AccorHotels continues its shopping spree buying a catering company and flirting with a stake in Air France/KLM. In both cases, we are talking billions of euros.

Wiesbaden. It is called arcona Living, but nobody will probably live there for very long. It is called AI Hotel, but there is no sign of hotel service. It is called Serviced Apartment, but it will offer more service than a high-quality hotel. The current construction and brand boom produces strange effects. In the last few weeks, openings and announcements gave hospitalityInside's editorial team food for thought. Three subsequent examples show that guests will find in the inside something different than is written on the outside. These concepts could also be called surprise bags – or even shams. Where is the line between serviced apartments and hotel? Is a separation possible at all?

Amsterdam. A large majority of business travellers extend a business trip to enjoy extra days at a destination. Expedia Group Media Solutions' recent study confirms that the number of business trips turning into small holidays is growing at a rapid pace. Providing a deeper look at the influences and motivations of this "bleisure" audience, Expedia shares key data empowering marketers to strategically target and convert bleisure travellers. Service providers, have an opportunity here to understand a market worth hundreds of millions of dollars and capable of generating ancillary revenue.

Salzburg. Europe has Austria to thank for the theme hotel. Schlosshotels & Herrenhäuser, an association of stately home and manor house hotels based in Salzburg, has expanded beyond borders in recent years, as almost all these associations have done. Now the Waldness brand has been added as new theme hotel group.

Madrid/Bangkok. The hotel bazar is wide open: Buying and selling shares continues to be en vogue. This week Thailand-based Minor International increased its stake in the Spanish NH Hotel Group. Another deal was done between two Thai parties: retail developer Central Pattana acquired a 22.93% stake in the hotel company Dusit Thani Group.