News & Stories

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.

Frankfurt/Orlando. One week ago, a large MICE player from the United States, Associated Luxury Hotels, signed the agreement for the purchase of the cooperation Worldhotels, headquartered in Frankfurt. This way, the Americans want to set a larger foot in Europe.

Washington DC. US President Donald Trump said he has turned over his businesses, including hotels and golf courses around the world, to his children Donald Jr. and Eric. And he will not exploit the presidency to favor his organization. Many don’t trust him with that issue: lawyers, conflict-of-interest experts, legislators, watchdog groups… are all pointing to clear evidence that his hotel in Washington as well as his properties in Florida already benefit from his presidency, which is not in conformity with the constitution. This article sums up the events in the US only.

London. Growth expectations for the "hard" budget hotel group were high when the easyGroup offshoot was founded over a decade ago and opened its first property in South Kensington. However, 12 years later only 25 properties are up and running – a rate of expansion of about 2 new hotels per year. Wolfgang Gold, who joined easyHotel as franchise director last August from Wyndham Hotel Group, where he was development director for the UK, Ireland & Germany, offers an update and outlook on the chain's current expansion plans. He says: There has never been a better time for franchisees to join us.

Amsterdam. Amsterdam's city council has imposed a record fine of 297,000 euros on a landlord and a concierge agency that breached its strict rules on letting rooms via Airbnb.

Paris. This week, AccorHotels announced that it had begun exclusive negotiations for the acquisition of 100% of the Atlanta-based elite travel broker Travel Keys, which boasts a collection of over 5000 "highly curated" villas in more than 100 destinations. Sébastien Bazin continues buying and continuing his puzzle strategy…

San Francisco. While Uber is still bleeding money, Airbnb is finally making profits. Unlike Uber, the rental platform benefits from a not so crowded environment, which allows it to squeeze prices and grow by bending the rules. Regulators across the world are now hitting back hard and new laws could cost Airbnb lots of money.

Munich. "Motel One just works amazingly well." Dieter Mueller, CEO of Motel One Group, currently has no plans to change anything at all of the strategy of the low budget design group. He and his wife Ursula Schelle-Mueller, Chief Marketing Officer & Design, see lots of potential from fine-tuning. The Motel One flagship Upper West in front of Berlin's Memorial Church therefore awaits guests with new refinements which show: The budget group is making new improvements to its design. How long will that remain possible at the same room rates and why does Dieter Mueller refuse to sell, neither through a listing on the stockmarket nor to the Chinese? Maria Puetz-Willems met the business couple last week for a lunch in the group's Campus Hotel.

Wiesbaden. Whatever is said about social media, most hotel guests still prefer reading newspapers and magazines. In particular at times of "fake news" and half-truths on the internet, media set up by professionals is likely to further gain significance. New services enable hoteliers to offer their guests a wide range of it without extra effort – online and easy accessible.