News & Stories
An overnight stay in Europe's first The Cloud One in Hamburg costs only €10-20 more per room than in the budget design hotel Motel One. On the other hand, breakfast is twice as sumptuous, and a number of the new brand's hotels in southern countries will also have a rooftop pool. Is this lifestyle brand shaking Motel One's profitable space efficiency? Never, management says.
Germany remains a tourism tanker, which is why foreign CEOs continue to believe in the strength of this mega-market. But they also see a lack of competitiveness and too little investment. The opinions of Raúl González from the Barceló Group, Beat Kuhn from SV Hotel, Tom Walsh from Staycity and Duncan O'Rourke from Accor Middle East, Africa, Turkey & Asia-Pacific.
Last night, the Motel One Group celebrated the opening of its first Cloud One hotel in Europe with 1,000 party guests in Hamburg: the first lifestyle hotel that carries the DNA of its budget sister, but aims to be more upscale, local and exclusive.
Austria and Germany have a lot in common, both economically and in terms of tourism. They are close friends. This is precisely why three Austrian hotel entrepreneurs want to shake up their neighbours and motivate them to take on a leading role in Europe again. Praise and criticism comes today from Rupert Simoner, CEO Lombard Estate Capital, Otmar Michaeler, CEO Falkensteiner Hotels and Harry's Home founder Harald Ultsch.
Patrick Mendes spent 240 days on the road last year. "It was a great year, but also tough and intense," says the CEO Europe & North Africa, who has overseen this region for Accor's Premium, Midscale & Economy brands (abbreviated: PME) since January 2023. In our latest interview, he explains, among other things, how to make adjustments to the brand without losing owners and franchisees.
Not only standardised chains were able to present a sales record for 2023 but also family-run private hotel groups. One of them, which is very quiet but successful, is the Privathotels Dr. Lohbeck – with an interesting portfolio mixture in Germany, Austria and the US. Their strategy: They only acquire what fits in.
Germany's economic engine is at a standstill, the country's image is in tatters and depression is spreading. The country is still functioning both as a source market for tourism and as a travel destination. But does anyone still want to invest or expand there? hospitalityInside.com asked hoteliers, primarily from abroad. To begin: Jan Hein Simons from Colliers Benelux and Ruslan Husry, the owner and CEO of Germany's largest hotel group HRG.
The serviced apartement brand Stay Kooook made a name for itself four years ago with a sliding partition between the kitchen and the sleeping area. Now it has introduced the third room concept, which gives the room a stronger workation touch. The kitchen is no longer automatically included for short-stay guests.
In a surprising move, Accor sold its timeshare business this week to the US group Travel + Leisure for 48.4 million dollars. Nonetheless, the French giant is not exiting the segment on a licensing fee as it agreed.
Italy's tourism figures are better than before the pandemic, mainly due to international business. But operators are groaning under the crisis-ridden economy, and experts see a more difficult situation than with Covid-19. Hotel operators want to make their hotels more attractive with sustainability. And two niches show real potential.