News & Stories

Madrid. The Olympic rider Kike Sarasola has been revolutionizing Spanish hospitality for years. In 2005, he founded Room Mate Hotels, a hotel chain based on design, location and service, which he chairs as President. It counts 27 hotels today. In 2014, he created BeMate.com, the first international combined offer of hotels and tourist apartments with additional hospitality services that led to the acquisition of Alterkeys, another peer-to-peer property rental model. Sarasola strongly believes in the sharing economy and that it is here to stay. His hotel and apartment network is growing and overcoming Spanish borders meanwhile.

Southlake/Singapore/Norwalk. Sabre Corporation announced yesterday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Abacus International, the leading global distribution system in the Asia-Pacific region. And another announcement attracted attention this week: The Priceline Group parent company to Booking.com, bought the hotel revenue management provider PriceMatch. Consolidation in the IT industry is moving on.

Dubai/Geneva. He wants to put an end to the rumours surrounding Kempinski Hotels and to increase the hotel quality massively accepting that this might mean that the expansion has to slow down. Part of Kempinski headquarters in Geneva will probably move to Bangkok this year - close to the owner, the Thai Crown Property Bureau. The move points to a new style of leadership. Since October 29, 2014, the Spaniard Alejandro Bernabé has been Chief Executive Officer of Kempinski Hotels and so succeeded Reto Wittwer, who after nearly 20 years of service left overnight. hospitalityInside.com met the new man the top of the renowned luxury hotel group in Dubai last week for his first interview.

Vienna. The subject of freedom from barriers seems to be an enormous obstacle for many people. It is ignored or dismissed with a couple lip-services. This will end in Austria on January 1, 2016. Then, the transition period for the law regarding the equalisation for persons with impediments that came into force in 2006 will run out for all companies in this country. This means: All goods, services and information that are intended for the public must be offered without barriers. Even the experts do not know yet what exactly this means for the catering trade and hotel industry. However, special platforms are good advisors and aids.

Eschborn. Best Western announced a new corporate structure in Europe. Through the merging of three individual Best Western country organisations, an even stronger marketing and distribution power is to be achieved. Ten countries alone will be merged under a single roof in Germany. In addition, the countries' head office in Greece will gain new importance.

Vienna. For the past few weeks, the guests of the Viennese Hotel MagDas have been looked after by 20 asylum-seekers. For many years, a portion of the staff at the Seminarkultur in Wesenufer on the Danube have been those with physical or mental disabilities. And in the Schoen district the construction of Schoen fuer Alle, a small hotel operation of a charitable organisation that up to now, has been experienced in assisted living, will soon begin. Social and charitable organisations are increasingly penetrating the hotel business. Generally speaking, the social approach is not being lost in the process.

Much. The integration of handicapped staff members into hotel operations has not only been a subject in the industry since the lack of skilled labour. The German-based Embrace consortium with more than 40 hotels alone has already been employing staff members with a handicap. The spectrum of the Embrace members reaches from the youth hostel up to the conference hotel. There are frequently social associations standing behind them, as for example, a charity. The operations must nevertheless earn money. What they lack is recognition and marketing. Others are now sensing an industry trend within the subject.

Paris. In trying to achieve more direct bookings, French hotel group Accor is not only strengthening its own distribution channels, but also acquiring more and more IT companies involved in booking processes.

Munich/Vienna. The hospitality industry is furious. In Austria, higher VAT looms and the smoking ban has been resolved; in Germany, the sector is suffering under the weight of a new flood of bureaucracy following the introduction of minimum wage. But the industry is no longer putting up and shutting up. Both managers and staff have taken to the streets in protest, or have resigned.

Munich. The longing of travellers for the "authentic life" in their destination has evoked a new trend in recent times: Slum tourism. Slum tours in Johannesburg, Rio, Mumbai or other cities are becoming increasingly more popular. This trend is controversial, but can nevertheless be a cause for the positive. A supplier of slum tours in Mumbai, Reality Tours & Travel, was distinguished with an award during ITB 2015 for socially responsible tourism.