News & Stories

Rome. It's one of the great promises of Italian tourism: a professional accommodation, able to exalt destination experiences and story-telling. It's also a sustainable business model, focused on preserving the natural and cultural heritage of each location: Alberghi Diffusi - the perfect product for the contemporary market, boasting both experiences and immersion in local life. Travellers stay in historical, completely restored small towns or villages according to local culture and enjoy all hotel services. They literally inhale history. But the Albergo Diffuso model, although still viable, is not expanding at the expected pace. Some time ago, it was collecting international awards, including the 2010 WTM Global Award in London. Who is then to blame for the recent slowdown?

Paris. In France, independent hotels are frustrated after AccorHotels' acquisition of Availpro – a European leader in providing digital services to over 6,500 independent hotels. Their union now fears that the chain might abuse confidential data of independent competitors and asked the government for clarification.

Munich. Now that OTA names are already wider known as the names of numerous hotel groups, Ringhotels will also continue to push their own brand. At the same time, sales go on as usual as announced at the cooperation’s annual general meeting.

Paris. As we now live in a world of experiences and not products anymore, Airbnb, Booking.com, Google, Expedia and of course AccorHotels are betting on digitalization and intuitive technology. AccorHotels' fresh acquisition of Availpro and its partnership with Travelsify confirms it. Since the merger with FRHI, the hotel chain is also strongly pushing luxury. Its recent bidding on the exclusive event organizer Potel & Chabot underlines it. Learning from the best seems like a good plan – but only as long as operational integration follows. And this is the question mark behind AccorHotels' ongoing hunger for more. Almost every week, the French chain is buying something, spending millions on a very intricate vision.

AccorHotels is continuing its mutation from a European leading hotel chain to a global intuitive travel platform by acquiring Availpro and signing a partnership with tech company Travelsify. As Romain Roulleau, AccorHotels' Senior Vice President eCommerce and Digital Services, told hospitalityInside.com last month, the group is building up an entity that will go "way beyond hospitality".

London. The Hilton brand remains the most valuable hotel brand in the world and there are only few changes in the subsequent positions of this year's brand value evaluation by Brand Finance. However, further down the scale of the ranking, some of the industry's giants will be surprised; and in the category Most Powerful Brand, Premier Inn leaves all others behind.

Bethesda. Only a few weeks after AccorHotels lifted the veil on its new strategy, Marriott is sharing its own vision of what the future should be for the largest hotel group in the world. Last week, during Marriott's 2017 Security Analyst Meeting, the company specified how it intends to position itself for success, starting with integrating 100 loyalty members, favoring direct bookings and renegotiating OTA commissions, opening hundreds of thousands of new rooms, making-over the Sheraton brand, changing Aloft and Element slightly, und investing in an "experience" start-up, a metasearch platform. The road promises challenges and hurdles, but Marriott is ready to show how much it intends to take full advantage of its Starwood 13.3-billion-dollar investment.

Berlin. The resonance is huge, the result shocking: 54.2% of businesses in the German hotel and restaurant sector have reduced their opening times since 2015 on the back of the Working Time Act. This damages Germany as destination – the hotel association DEHOGA launches a campaign.

Berlin. The success story of Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express seems secured thanks to their open lobby and a new F&B concept, but now InterContinental Hotels Group is pushing with its Kimpton lifestyle boutique brand in Continental Europe. The current state.

Berlin. This time the deal adds to the resort segment: Last Monday, AccorHotels and Istanbul-based Rixos Hotels announced a strategic partnership expanding the French group's presence in the upper upscale/luxury market – also confirming hospitalityInside's report from February 17th. In Berlin, the two CEOs explained details in a media briefing.

Berlin. Secret Escapes would like to prove it: selling luxury travel via an online shopping club is no niche market. The number of its members in Germany is over five million now. Worldwide, over 30 million people shop for discounted luxury travel deals.