News & Stories

Cologne. German online shoppers want to find products and relevant information quickly. Analysing the age groups though, large differences become apparent. These were the findings of a comparative study on the behaviour of German and British online shoppers.

London. Long considered the "poor cousin" of the lodging industry, Serviced Apartments and Aparthotels are bringing back sexiness. In terms of design, many properties are reinventing themselves, adapting to millennial travelers. In terms of occupancy, hotels have nothing to teach them, as they are actually performing better. Just like the hotel industry, Serviced Apartments are facing exciting times in terms of adjusting to customer needs and behavior. However, they are also dealing with serious challenges from OTAs, Airbnb and classic hotels themselves. A new concept under the brand name "Locke" targets the gap between Extended Stay and Boutique Hotels; it's financially backed by Oaktree Capital Management and opens up another niche in the niche market of serviced apartments.

Dallas. 92% of Chinese travelers plan to increase or maintain spending and one-third of them plan to spend more on travel in the coming year - despite the slowing economy. Travel has become an essential part of life for two-thirds of Chinese outbound travelers.s.

Hamburg. For a long time, there has not been such a fast-growing company in the German-speaking countries as today's NOVUM Hotel Group headquartered in Hamburg. Within only six years, Novum made a huge leap: starting at 12 hotels and 560 rooms, the company has 84 hotels and 8,000 rooms in 2016. The 3 and 4-star hotels running under the Novum Hotels, Novum Style Hotels, Novum Select Hotels and Novum LikeApart Hotels brands are divided among 25 locations primarily in Germany. However, expansion to Scandinavia, Benelux, Scandinavia and Southern Europe has already been decided. Three siblings doing without any payouts are leading the company, reinvesting and expanding based on strategic decisions. Now, the group is on the verge of comprehensive collaboration with major financial investors and global franchisors. Questions arising from the industry led us to ask CEO David Etmenan about the strategy he trusts in and how the rapid expansion is being financed.

Offenbach. At the end of June, the New Century Hotel group based in Hangzhou, China, celebrated the opening of its first hotel in Europe and announced a further acquisition in Frankfurt-Offenbach. The appetite for Germany and its neighbouring countries is great. Yet management at the Chinese hotel chain likes to take its time and is reviewing offers carefully. During the opening celebrations, Susanne Stauss had the opportunity to speak with Miaolin Chen, the founder and supervisory board chairman of New Century Tourism Group.

Munich/Vienna. The "lean luxury" brand Ruby Hotels will now continue its expansion with three new hotels in top locations in Hamburg, Duesseldorf and Vienna - and finds three strong investment partners for this purpose. The new hotels will be financed by institutional investors: by Patrizia, Allianz Real Estate and by IFA Institut fuer Anlegerberatung. "To me, this is the ultimate accolade," Ruby founder and CEO Michael Struck says. Recognition from such solid investors will give the entire segment of cool, calculated, floor-space optimised and creative lifestyle hotels a further boost.

Paris. A new era began for Europe's biggest hotel chain on Tuesday 12 July 2016: AccorHotels has evolved to become a global player that - like few others - now covers all segments from budget to luxury. At the general meeting in Paris, 98% of shareholders approved the merger with Fairmont Raffles International. "That is an important number!" CEO Sébastien Bazin said of the result. In the subsequent questions and answers rounds with investors, he went on to reveal a little more about AccorHotels' future course: The company intends to ally itself even closer to global power partners; it prefers to grow with the Chinese than without them, and its investment vehicle HotelInvent is now also to be opened up to external capital providers. AccorHotels definitely wants change.

Milan. It has just landed in Rome and is now aiming for Milan, Amsterdam and Berlin, where it is expected to open new properties before the end of the year. Implemented only two years ago, Sweet Inn is an innovative French-Israeli brand privately owned by the Luxembourg-based company Sweet Inn Lux. Thanks to an initial 5-million euro investment, it already has a portfolio of 170 residential units located in the Italian capital, as well as in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Brussels, Paris, Barcelona and Lisbon. Massimiliano Sarti talked to Boaz Beeri, Director of Business Development Europe, about the Sweet Inn concept. A little bit of a hotel and a little bit of an apartment…

Paris. AccorHotels signed a partnership with an Australian client intelligence platform to precisely analyze guests' likes, customize its own content offers and to start up a direct communication between hoteliers and guests.

Stamford. "SPG Keyless" allows Starwood guests to use their smartphone as a key to their hotel room doors since 2014. The loyalty program "Starwood Preferred Guest" launches the next generation of this keyless technology with an even wider range of brands.