News & Stories
The Italian market is becoming too small for the luxury hotel group Sina Hotels. That is why it is now looking for international locations that match its vision. So far, it has been asset-heavy, but can also be convinced to go asset-light.
German Oetker Collection has announced its first hotel in the USA. It brings further synergies to the noble collection of eleven "Masterpiece" hotels in Europe, the UK and the Caribbean. CEO Dr Timo Gruenert on the advantages of being an owner-operator under the umbrella of a billion-dollar company.
The takeover of Travel Charme Hotels & Resorts by DSR Hotel Holding was officially completed in April. Thus, the eleven operational Upscale resorts in Germany and Austria will be embedded in the DSR distribution system. Will the brand survive?
It's also Spanish, also hybrid, and follows other Spanish hotel groups: Bilbao-based Líbere Hospitality Group (LHG) is the new kid on the block choosing Italy as its favoured expansion target. LHG is mainly interested in assets in primary and secondary urban centres and is very flexible in its approach in the non-luxury segment.
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.