News & Stories
Beijing/Madrid. Chinese investors under pressure: Stricter investment rules by the Chinese government are pushing HNA to sell non-core assets and NH Hotels is officially on the list now. HNA also faces debt problems with its aviation division.
London (February 2, 2018). As announced last week, Yotel plans to open five hotels next year with mini apartments called YotelPads for longer stays. YotelPads will enter the market with the intention of making every bit of space functional. A new app for the brand will be the digital key for services and experiences in the local community. HospitalityInside.com talked to VP Brand Jo Berrington about the specific characteristics of the new brand and its amenities for guests.
London. Yotel announced its entry into the multi-billion dollar market segment of extended stays. The brand, known for its hotel pods Yotel and YotelAir is making an old dream of CEO Hubert Viriot come true. The name of the new baby will be YotelPad. The brand will give its debut in the USA, followed by Europe and Dubai.
Frankfurt. Between 2021 and 2022 the Rezidor Hotel Group is supposed to deliver its strongest growth. This period marks the last years of a 5-year plan presented by President & CEO Federico J. González this week in Frankfurt during its Investors Day. The Radisson portfolio will be rearranged.
New York. The hotel industry has changed rapidly. Hotel chains face new competitors like Airbnb, boutique hotels and OTAs which reach impressive growth rates leaving the ones of standard hotels far behind. This also shows that the benefit of loyalty programs is over estimated. A new study gives an impressive insight into this development and delivers warning facts and figures.
Milan. From a small company mainly depending on tour operators to a contemporary group distributing its product globally: Italian TH Resorts celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, boasting ambitious plans supported by several strategic partnerships. But many challenges are on the horizon, so finding the right route through today's labyrinthine market is the main mission of TH Resorts based in Padua with offices in Milan. Their recipe is to rely on strong and long-lasting relations – and to open up now to important partnerships, even border-crossing cooperation. With 17 properties accounting for 3,500 rooms in 3 segments, all located in Italy, the group is a medium-sized hospitality company by Italian standards, with an offer mainly focused on the national market today. Giorgio Palmucci, Executive Vice President of Hotelturist - TH Resorts explains.
Madrid. NH Hotels says "no, gracias" to Barceló's dream of becoming a European leader. The NH Board considers the offer unsatisfactory, undervalued and with no cash alternative. Talking to hospitalityInside.com, Barcleo-CEO Raúl Gonzalez said they will not modify their offer.
Dubai. The big ones are growing specifically, the small ones are desperately looking for cooperation. Based on these premises, one could write off the year 2017 as over and done. But instead, the Global Hotel Alliance wants to open up and accelerate now. The association – founded in Geneva and based in Dubai today – offers 35 branded chains from all over the world a common loyalty programme. Since this year, it counts more than ten million members and the synergies continue to grow. However, GHA does not admit miles programmes from airlines. CEO Chris Hartley explains the backdrop and the group's profile, which wants to be more active in Europe, starting in January 2018.
Geneva. Following the deflagging of the Bristol Berlin two weeks ago, Kempinski Hotels will now no longer renew contracts with three further hotels in Germany: the Atlantic Hotel Hamburg and the two hotels in Koenigstein near Frankfurt, the Falkenstein Grand Kempinski with the neighbouring Villa Rothschild. All three hotels are currently owned by the private clinic operator Bernard Gross Broermann; he has other plans. With this, Kempinski sets about its consistent and almost uncompromising adjustment of its portfolio under the new leadership of CEO Markus Semer and COO Bernold Schroeder; an adjustment which will initially hurt. From a strategic perspective, this is all intended to accelerate the quality process. Bernold Schroeder in an exclusive interview with Maria Puetz-Willems.
Frankfurt/M. At the beginning of December, Romantik Hotels & Restaurants launched the first Europe-wide restaurant consortium. At the beginning of November 2016, the association of private hotels concluded a strategic alliance with the French Châteaux & Hôtels Collection of star chef Alain Ducasse. With this, Thomas Edelkamp set a strategy in motion which he learned from the chain hotels: Expansion! At the turn of the year, it will make two years that Edelkamp, an experienced distribution, development and franchise expert from AccorHotels Germany, has stood at the helm of Romantik Hotels – a brand with a unique profile in Europe. Now, he wants to multiply the appeal of these historic hotels with charm and star chefs – and is confronting his conservative member hotels with change.