News & Stories
Essen/Cologne. The octopus with the red head stretches its legs from its body. This "octopus" does not particularly seek to swim in water – like an octopus – but rather prefers to take to the air. It is an octocopter – and is also commonly called a drone! It has nothing to do with delivering packages, but does deliver professional photos and videos from a bird's-eye view. And these are no dreams of the future, but reality. Professional Photographer Jochen Tack from Essen and his colleague have been the proud owners of such a flying robot for the past year. It flies over everything with a digital camera in its belly – landscapes and golf courses as well as hotels, pools and parks – and delivers impressions from an unusual perspective." The images contribute to the credibility terrifically," emphasises PR Professional Kaspar Mueller-Bringmann from Moenchengladbach. He has also recognised the opportunities of the "new media" and has been providing journalistic and content-focused videos for companies for many years. And this occasionally also involves a flying robot. This is the future – and likewise for hotel marketing.
London. When Starwood Hotels acquire an entire corporation – Design Hotels – and Accor purchases the small Mama Shelter group, IHG is able to acquire Kimpton, too. The current fusion slogan of the giants is: chain devours boutique.
Frankfurt/M. Starwood's brand Aloft - the "little sister" of the lifestyle brand W - is in full swing in Europe as well as in other markets outside the US. Now, the Extended Stay brand Element is set to begin its sprint. With flagship hotels in selected markets, it will soon have caught up with Aloft. As the number 1 for continental Europe, the Element Hotel at Frankfurt Airport was officially opened this week - the first hotel outside the US. Brian McGuinness, Senior Vice President Speciality Select Brands at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and Thomas Willms, Senior Vice President and Regional Director East and Central Europe Starwood Hotels, gave an insight into the positioning and expectations for these two brands.
London. With the competition heating up for both hotel owners and for the brands, an evaluation of the costs and benefits of affiliations is a crucial exercise. Assessing the cost of a brand affiliation is not as straightforward as it might appear. Franchisees may benefit most from the enhanced distribution provided by the major chains but also by consortia like Worldhotels. Key money, unheard of in Europe a decade ago is gaining importance now – as this money has become key to securing deals or financing.
London. The Caribbean and Western Europe still top the list of "dream destinations" for travelling families from the USA. A new survey about multigenerational travel describes the increasing important role of grandparents who pay to play and kids who decide where to play.
Cologne. Anyone would be happy to know what Google knows – and particularly about the customers. In this respect, eCommerce insiders such as Michael Pütter of Pütter GmbH, Cologne are always eagerly awaiting the latest studies and are hungrily absorbing them – even if, as in this case, this is only provided to them as a presentation. Google questioned a total of 5,000 people in order to write "The 2014 Traveler's Road to Decision" – as is the current study title. Today, they equally use the Internet for work and for leisure, trust Social Media and in instances of two identical hotel offers, will choose from the more user-friendly website of the two! Michael Pütter has evaluated the study results for their relevance to the hotel industry.
Duesseldorf. Lindner's planned lifestyle brand MeandAll did not work out; now, the group is launching a boutique brand under the Lindner label, which will adapt depending on the location, and promises a faster pace of expansion. However, drifting below 4 stars is not the plan, as the first renderings of the first two hotels show impressively. "As always, we expand in times of crisis," said Chairman Otto Lindner with a wink when he talked to hospitalityInside.com in Duesseldorf last week. The group's development concerning turnover and RevPar is positive, so that the currently low interest rates allow the head of the private hotel group to flirt with the idea of properties.
Nuremberg. Serviced apartments will in future be called apartment hotels or apart-hotels, experts and leading providers in both Great Britain and in Germany have decided. The market and customer potential of this segment is enormous. Nevertheless, online reservations aren't developing analogously to classic hotel business in every respect. This was clear at the 5th "Apartment Camp" in Nuremberg.
Paris. Despite their undeniable strength and serious interest about Louvre Hotels portfolio, neither Accor nor Blackstone could win over Jin Jang Group. The Chinese holding and Starwood Capital Group announced two days ago that both parties signed an agreement regarding the potential sale of Groupe du Louvre and its 100% indirect subsidiary Louvre Hotels Group for an undisclosed amount. This is probably just the beginning of the Chinese run to European hospitality.
Adliswil/Zurich. The most senior CEO within the hotel industry is now Jean Gabriel Pérès. After the resignation of Kurt Ritter, Rezidor, and Reto Wittwer, Kempinski, the French in the German-Swiss company Moevenpick Hotels & Resorts now holds this title. "I hope I will have another enjoyable five years," said the 57 year-old during the recent update regarding Moevenpick Hotels three weeks ago. He and the group have survived four crises during his 15 years as CEO, but must nevertheless remain flexible now since the Moevenpick portfolio cannot be so easily removed from the current crisis boilers. Jean-Gabriel Pérès is establishing further accents through selection.