News & Stories

Vienna/Berlin. Art at the hotel is a topic since there are jobless artists who are in search of a harbourage. Today, artists are happily welcomed as guests - if they check in and pay. A few hotels and hoteliers have given their heart to artists and are also trying to promote this. Then the stay is sometimes free in exchange for art in the form of painting, photos, music or a literary work. These actions hardly generate revenue, but rather the image is polished and in the best case, provide for a lasting advertising value. Examples from all over the world.

Munich. His two Cocoon hotels are mainly known among the people living in Munich and the guests who provide these young, peppy budget hotels with an average occupancy of more than 90 percent. The hotels have the best locations near Stachus and Sendlinger Tor. The third Cocoon in Munich will be located even closer to the Central Station. The man behind these hotels: Johannes Eckelmann, career changer. Three weeks ago during an interview with hospitalityInside.com, he had another surprise in store: Buddy Hotel. At Sonnenstrasse in Munich, within eyeshot of the luxury hotel Koenigshof, a stylish hotel with rooms that have only 9 sqm will open in October. Introductory price: 66 euros per night. Eckelmann wants to expand with this concept as well. For the first time, he opened the door to the showroom for us. How to obtain maximum comfort for the night in a mini room. And the market is still in motion: at the end of April, Rilano Hotels presented their "room of the future" – on 15 to 18 sqm and with a bathroom in cylindrical shape.

Stuttgart. The newly established real estate operating company resident in Stuttgart, Primestar Hospitality, has big plans in Germany and Austria. The first agreements with international hotel brands are already signed.

Vienna. Many Austrian politicians do not want to position themselves clearly on the subject of refugees; they are concerned about their votes in the next election or about the country's loss of image as a tourist destination. However, the hotel industry acts differently: it has already started to organise official relief operations.

Doha/Dubai. In times in which the future host nation of the Football World Cup, Qatar, is making lots of headlines, the national hotel company Katara Hospitality is pushing forward quietly and consistently with its brand and expansion drive. And it is achieving its expansion targets far in advance of its own forecasts. Maria Puetz-Willems met Chief Executive Officer Hamad Al Mulla in Dubai and received news, amongst other things, on the newly founded management company. Europe's hotel real estate also remains in the sights of Katara Hospitality as owner - though not at excessive prices. With respect to the successfully launched Peninsula Paris, in which Katara owns a majority stake, the CEO said that he could see scope for improvement.

Vienna. Depression rules in Vienna. The hotel industry is pleased that May is, finally, past – by reason of the Eurovision Song Contest. It created emptiness and left hope for a lasting effect on the tourism behind. At least, the advertising value of this mega event is numbered with 100 million Euro.

Amsterdam. A new player has entered the niche segments of the "lifestyle hotels" and "Serviced Apartments": Zoku. A hybrid between an apartment and a hotel room invented by the two Dutchmen, Hans Meyer and Marc Jongerius. Meyer comes from hotel operations and was a founding partner of citizenM, Jongerius comes from the investment industry. A good combination for a new product with 25 square metres for the modern nomad that relegates the traditional hotel thinking to the conservative corner. The first Zoku will open in Amsterdam during the last quarter of this year.

Innsbruck. The first edition of "TourismusWissen-quarterly" presents itself as somewhere between a magazine and scientific journal. The new Austrian medium is intended to make new academic research in the field of tourism more accessible.

Bologna. The expected merger between Italian UNA Hotels and Atahotels is a matter of fact. UnipolSai Assicurazioni SpA announced last week that its subsidiaries Atahotels SpA and UnipolSai Investimenti SGR SpA signed agreements with UNA SpA regarding the acquisition.

Atlanta. The pace of new hotel construction is picking up – and the number of dual-branded hotels increases. A US study reveals which combination of dual-branded hotels achieve the best synergies and results.