News & Stories
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.
Amsterdam. Over the past five years, startups promised to revolutionize the hotel industry. Several of them targeted hoteliers trying to get a commission on a service they should have been selling themselves in the first place. Phocuswright's last report clearly confirms that hospitality is entrepreneurs' preferred sector in the travel industry, even before rental accommodations. Investors though think the other way and their funding goes into alternative lodging instead. Nothing to fight over anyway as most of the money is invested in America and Asia.
London/Zagreb. The new luxury touches the soul – and one's innermost values. The "spiritualised" consumers are the new luxury guests. They question their surroundings, their lives, follow a healthy lifestyle and translate their personal transformations into their luxury behaviour. They are no longer impressed by tangibles and heady marketing. A new report by Horwath HTL Croatia and luxury lifestyle consultant Claudia Roth explain how to approach it.
Dubai. When in Dubai, during the Arabian Travel Market, the first rumours on AccorHotels/Moevenpick arose, Chris Hartley, CEO of Global Hotel Alliance was sitting in a meeting: with the 35 other CEOs who spearhead the hotel groups in this alliance of small and medium-sized chains. The current consolidation waves pushes GHA as an alternative to the giants' brands.
Munich. In future, virtual and real worlds will increasingly begin to merge. For sectors of industry which sell dreams, this opens up new doors to customers. Virtual Reality will be key in increasing revenues. Tests have shown: The brain is unable to distinguish between VR and the real world. For this reason, it can also be used to impact on customer behaviour. The step towards Augmented Reality is also a short one. It incorporates virtual reality images into everyday life, for instance, by means of virtual reality headset: Then monsters sit next to you on the sofa and little robots fall out of the ceiling... BNP Paribas has already tested VR for real estate. Researchers expect VR to cause a revolution similar to that provoked by the smartphone. Reason enough to take a closer look at the impact to date.