News & Stories

Frankfurt. B&B Hotels Germany will soon open its first hotels in XXL format. These will have up to 250 rooms. With this, the budget provider modifies the strategy it has pursued up to now, which meant primarily working with smaller hotels. At the same time, Managing Director Max Luscher, speaking in an interview with hospitalityInside.com, announces a plan to move into more prominent city locations. The competition is shaking things up. A new room and lobby design is also being finalised. With 102 hotels, B&B Hotels Germany is today already one of the largest hotel groups in Germany - "and the budget chain with the best profitability of all", he makes clear. Motel One, Moxy, ibis and others are for him no longer budget brands and therefore no longer part of the competition. The B&B language has become finer and the market analysis sharper.

Frankfurt. Under its new leadership, Rezidor has developed a 5-year operating plan comprising 25 initiatives that will improve the performance. The group will also define its brand structure anew but officially only confirms the name change to Radisson Hotel Group.

Berlin. The success of the German Meininger hotel and hostel group from Berlin made them known in the hotel scene and the sale of 2010 made them rich. In 2013, the hotel group completely went to the British Holidaybreak tourism group. Following a two-year non-compete phase, Nizar Rokbani, Sascha Gechter and Oskar Kan created something new: Schulz Hotels. Their first hotel boasting more than 350 rooms and roughly 1,000 beds will be opening in 2018. Whereas Meininger was a hybrid model, Schulz turns out a tribrid combining hostel, budget and longstay under one roof. These three are the fastest growing segments in the hotel industry at the moment. And big, bigger, biggest could make the Schulz inventors rich once again. Although money does not make you happy, as the three founders have realized in the meantime. A talk about the past and the future.

Bonn. Mergers are meanwhile also taking place on much smaller dimensions. The acquisition of two nestor hotels by the Ghotel Group based in Bonn is viewed by all involved as a win-win situation. With this, Ghotel pushes forward its expansion, whereas nestor founder Axel Mehn is able to rid himself of some weight.

Frankfurt. The luxury tourism segment anticipates strong growth in the next few years. Generation X is driving the boom. However, the cost-benefit ratio is more important than the rate. Luxury travellers are becoming increasingly discerning. A survey among nearly 500 travel agencies revealed further details.

Amsterdam. Europe is ripe for alternative accommodation formats, aside from established boutique hotels or mixed-use resorts for example. Very few regions in the world can actually rely on such a closely-knit network of "power cities" which are craving for dynamic accommodation solutions. Yet the continent remains in the shadow of North America when it comes to investments. Alternative accommodation should have a bright future in Europe, especially knowing that business travel expenditures are higher here than in North America, reveals AHV Associates, London. So why are investors still sceptic about the model? We asked a couple of them who believe in the model, to explain the pros and cons when it comes to investing in Serviced Apartments.

Amsterdam. The rise of Airbnb and similar rental platforms has turned the idea of booking an "apartment" instead of a hotel room, into a more common occurrence. Today, a vast majority of travelers appreciate feeling at home while being offered a range of services. Thus, Serviced Apartments have a bright future ahead of them across the world. The sector is booming. And certain markets are more mature than others. Today, hospitalityInside.com has chosen to portray two companies which do not have much in common apart from betting on the same flourishing sector of Aparthotel and Serviced Apartment. Short Stay Group is Dutch and among the largest operators in Europe in the short stay segment. The other one, Becar Asset Management Group reigns over Russian commercial real estate, but has recently found interest in micro-living spaces for tourists and corporate guests.

Cologne/Berlin. Whether they'll become the dream team of Dorint Hotels & Resorts? Whatever the case, they are certainly the new face of the hotel group: Karl-Heinz Pawlizki has been CEO of the German hotel group since last October and since January has been supported by his former IHG colleague Joerg Boeckeler as COO. The latter returned to his native Germany after seven years at the helm of the InterContinental Sydney. He arrives at a good time: After over 15 painful years, the hotel group is again back on its feet, it's expanding again and the management team, unburdened by the turbulent past, is pushing on forward and sharpening the company's profile. For the first time in a long while, there's a master plan again. Maria Puetz-Willems met the two managers last week for breakfast at the InterContinental Berlin.

Berlin. Motel One is getting bigger. And more colourful. On Tuesday evening, the budget design group celebrated the opening of its largest hotel to date on Berlin's Alexanderplatz: 708 rooms in a 60m-high 19-storey building with S-Bahn station just around the corner. It's nearest rival, the Park Inn by Radisson with 1,012 rooms, is also in direct eye-shot. The Motel One Berlin Alexanderplatz is the tenth hotel of the group in the German capital and the youngest of the 22 Motel One Hotels with more than 300 rooms. Maria Puetz-Willems asked Dieter Mueller, founder and CEO of Motel One Group, whether he will tend towards even larger hotels. His Excel tables make clear: The bigger, the more profitable.

Vienna. Celebrations, hustle, cheerfulness. This was the image of the 65th Annual Congress of the Austrian Hoteliers Association in Vienna's Hofburg in mid-January. The reason for the change in mood at the industry event, which had previously stood out for its criticism of poor framework conditions, was the promise of tax relief from the new coalition government. There is also now a Minister for Tourism and Sustainability. This points to future controversy. The working time regulations and the drastic increase in labour costs are also causing concern.