News & Stories

Berlin. The Swedish hotel real estate company Pandox AB acquires a hotel portfolio in the UK and Ireland with Fattal Hotels Group as its operating partner. The portfolio encompasses 37 businesses with 8,013 rooms. Scandic's Restel acquisition has been officially confirmed in the meantime, subject to the divestment of three hotels.

Berlin. Since last Tuesday, the flagship hotel of the German luxury hotel group Kempinski, the Bristol Berlin, no longer displays the Kempinski flag on its roof. But it remains a partner hotel of the group.

Hamburg/Hattigny. Who sometimes feels like taking time out from the digital world? 25hours Hotels have been focusing on analogue touches in their hotels and are now pushing this idea further. Even operators at Centre Parcs in Lorraine have noticed that analogue experiences are a hit in their new entertainment complex, ZE Place.

Milan. Thermal spas are part of Italy's important flagships. This segment is the only one, which recorded a decreasing occupancy rate in the boom year of 2016. Meanwhile, the visitors of thermal destinations are becoming younger. Are these the signs of a promising change? In the background, a discussion about the future marketing of thermal spas has begun. Some want to focus on medicine, others wish to emphasis relaxation. EU directives have been noticed but not implemented intensively. Italian experts are discussing what was answered north of the Alps a long time ago: there, thermal spas and destinations offer a light wellbeing version as well as the medicinal variant.

Barcelona. Only two months after Santander Bank was hired by Barceló to study a possible merger with NH Hotels, the latter confirmed it had received a letter of interest a few days ago. Barceló Hotels is officially eyeing a takeover of its competitor for an estimated amount of 2.480 billion euros. NH remains cautious and has three months to make up its mind.

Wiesbaden/Cork. Rich Indians are increasingly celebrating their ostentatious weddings in Europe. Thanks to Bollywood, Switzerland is benefiting most from this trend. But Vienna's imperial backdrop is also increasingly attracting status-conscious romantics from the Far East, who are prepared to spend millions for perfection in kitsch. An Indian wedding is comprised of two separate celebrations, 1,000 guests are not unusual and celebrations can last for days. This can often mean that several hotels are booked out simultaneously for one week at a time. A young wedding portal based in Ireland is now organising the boom online: Similar to an OTA, it brings together hotels and bridal couples for the most beautiful day of their lives – and organises everything for the event, Facebook services included.

Nuremberg. Germany retakes the top ranking in the latest Anholt-GfK "Nation Brands Index" study. The result is based on six criteria, in tourism Germany is – not yet – among the best countries.

Madrid/Beijing. Chinese giant HNA faces liquidity issues. Actual owner of a quarter of Hilton Worldwide Holdings and majority shareholder of NH Hotels, the firm is selling a piece of its Spanish assets. Analysts predict and even recommend selling it all out.

London/Berlin. Of course, there was no reaction towards hospitalityInside.com from Meininger Hotels in Berlin and its parent company, Holidaybreak, in London with respect to the accusations issued by German media saying that both companies had hidden millions of euros from the tax authorities. The hostel group is part of a global scandal uncovered by the so-called "Paradise Papers".

Riyadh. Billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed has been arrested in Saudi Arabia over allegations of corruption and illegal activity. Alwaleed's Kingdom Holding Company holds shares in Citigroup, Twitter, Apple, Four Seasons, AccorHotels, Moevenpick, Rotana, etc.…His arrest led to an 11% drop of KHC value at the stock exchange and over the weekend, Alwaleed lost 2 billion dollars.