News & Stories

Vienna. As of yesterday, Vienna International Hotelmanagement AG – operating under the name Vienna House for the last year – has a new official owner: U City, a listed Thai real estate investment company whose parent company, BTSG, is a large conglomerate. Vienna House Capital, the Austrian subsidiary of the Thai U City PCL, will presumably transfer title to the entire share package by summer 2017.

Brussels. The Board of Rezidor unanimously recommends the shareholders of Rezidor not to accept the HNA offer. One of the reasons mentioned is the low price.

Paris. Nicolas Sarkozy joins AccorHotels' Board of Directors. The former French President will chair the International Strategy Committee. CEO Sébastien Bazin and Sarkozy know each other well. At the same time, Colony Capital sold its remaining shares to AccorHotels.

Montreal. Beating on the finish line Expedia / AccorHotels, Airbnb won the bidding process to take over the Canadian website Luxury Retreats.

London. Brexit is really happening. The UK government won a parliamentary vote to proceed with its plan to leave the European Union and uncertainty is turning into fear. More than ever, hospitality professionals are now worrying about their staff, their retailers' contracts, customer behavior, eventual new taxes, and fees which could all make their destination less competitive and impact their revenue. We also asked Frank Marrenbach, CEO of the Germany-based Oetker Collection which operates the Lanesborough Hotel in London.

Munich/Bangkok/Bahrain. Kempinski Hotels will definitely not be sold, as reported in our "Breaking News" yesterday. The two shareholders of Kempinski AG once again acknowledged that they would support the luxury hotel group strategically and on a long-term basis. However, there has been a change in the ownership structure: the Crown Property Bureau from Bangkok, the majority shareholder with 86 percent up to date, is retaining 30 percent of the shares. In return, the shareholders from Bahrain, which are supported by the reigning family of the Arab emirate, increased their shares from 14 to 70 percent. The respective notarial agreement was signed at the headquarters of Kempinski AG in Munich yesterday.

Norwalk. Only a few months after Skyscanner was bought by Chinese Ctrip for 1.7 billion euros, the world of metasearch engines makes the headlines again with Priceline Group acquiring Momondo.

Augsburg. AccorHotels buys and buys: currently, the French group is apparently buying the upscale/luxury group Rixos. hospitalityInside.com learned of this information from well-informed sources. The deal will probably be announced officially at the beginning of March.

Munich/Bangkok/Bahrain. Kempinski Hotels will definitely not be sold. The two shareholders of Kempinski AG once again acknowledged that they would support the luxury hotel group strategically and on a long-term basis. However, there has been a change in the ownership structure: the Crowne Property Bureau from Bangkok, the majority shareholder with 86 percent up to date, is retaining 30 percent of the shares. In return, the shareholders from Bahrain, which are supported by the reigning family of the Arab emirate, increased their shares from 14 to 70 percent. The respective notarial agreement was signed at the headquarters of Kempinski AG in Munich a few hours ago.

Markus Semer, Kempinski's CEO since March 31, 2016, is now able to plan in the long term, re-position the luxury hotel chain for the international competition, and stop the rumours of a potential Kempinski takeover. In the last months, Semer was apparently able to convince both shareholders that quality-oriented luxury can only be obtained following a long-term strategy and not by means of a quick, yield-focussed short-term strategy, where the group would be incorporated in a funds-operated mega corporation with standardised 5-star quality. "Our owners have acknowledged that Kempinski remains a privately run business," says Semer. Kempinski currently has 75 hotels; 22 are under construction.

According to the changed majority of shares, the head of the supervisory board is also changing: Mr. Abdulla H. Saif – Representative of Bahrain – will take the chair, while the former Chairman Chumpol Na LamLieng of CPB will be Vice Chairman. The members of the supervisory board are Mrs. Chonpreya Pacharaswate, Mr. Aymen T. Almoayed, and Mr. Robert H.J.J. Timmers.

Subscribers of hospitalityInside will find further information in tomorrow's edition.

Cologne. In the course of the business unbundling, Neue Dorint GmbH, operator company of Dorint Hotels & Resorts, was sold to the newly founded Honestis AG by its former owner E&P. Honestis AG consists of new and old shareholders.