News & Stories

Wiesbaden. The luxury hotel sector is already getting a taste of the changing wanderlust and spending behaviour of wealthy international guests. This was confirmed by nameable luxury hoteliers and luxury hotel representatives towards hospitalityInside.com. The change, however, comes slowly and is still strongly influenced by culture. There is no such thing as a consistent image of a demanding cosmopolitan yet. An excursion through hotels with an inter-cultural mix.

Hamburg/Bremen. German hotels have long since not been as popular an investment as they are now. Shortly after supermarket mogul Kurt Dohle acquired the Fairmont Vier Jahreszeiten in Hamburg, logistics billionaire Klaus-Michael Kuehne bought the former InterContinental in Hamburg. Prospective buyers are also said to abound for Bremen's Parkhotel, despite its not being up for sale.

Cologne. A new analysis of HRS reveals: Free of charge Wi-Fi is offered in two thirds of the European hotels Hotels. Turkey and Sweden are leading in this service, Southern Europe and luxury hotels lag behind.

Duesseldorf. High-quality spa hotels are still able to find a clientele willing to pay; however, not everybody is able to make a quick decision to join the consortium of the Wellness Hotels & Resorts. There are many reasons for this and the highly specialised marketing association has to face many new challenges. Especially one thing has become obvious: the industry is sounding out the situation in the background, despite the nice façade on the surface. Spa hotels have to cope with competition and target groups too. This has resulted in Michael Altewischer, Managing Director at Wellness Hotels & Resorts, now looking for direct distribution channels for the member hotels when it comes to corporate health.

London/Abu Dhabi. On the 19th of March, Rocco Forte exited the management contract for its hotel in Abu Dhabi. The hotel group in London confirmed this to hospitalityInside.com. At the same time it became public that also German Oetker Collection withdraws from the Le Bristol project in Abu Dhabi. 

Andermatt. The mega investment by Orascom Development is now taking shape in Andermatt. Up to six new hotels, 490 apartments in 42 buildings and 25 luxury villas comprise a total investment of almost 1.5 billion Euro. Nevertheless, there were losses in 2012. These have now been covered by owner Samih O. Sawiris. He is now new majority shareholder and will cover the current cash deficit. With the move, Sawiris reaffirms his commitment to Andermatt.

Berlin/Sydney. There is no difference between hotel room and studio apartment; full F&B offers and a pool on the property belong among the standard. With such and other principles, Adina Apartment Hotels wants to further sharpen their profile in the German and European markets. The subsidiary of the Australian Toga Hospitality is currently taking a running jump to grow from five to15 properties in Germany and target other European countries afterward. The parent is providing for the financing. They also wish to accelerate the marketing. A conversation with Carol Douglas and Georgios Ganitis, who will assume the office of Regional General Manager Europe in June from Carol Douglas, and with Matthias Niemeyer, Head of Development Germany.

Berlin/Palma de Mallorca. Meliá will continue its asset light strategy in future, as Vice Chairman and CEO Gabriel Escarrer emphasised at the ITB. While the business relies on partnerships with large local businesses in the US and Asia, it will keep its own brands under control in the other markets.

Bern. Last year, Switzerland's hotels' own booking channels remained the key sales driver despite the fact that their share has waned for years. Online travel agents have, however, quadrupled their market share.

Zurich. Swiss Deluxe Hotels – a group of 38 five-star hotels in Switzerland – concluded 2012 with a loss in revenue and overnight stays. The instability factors will likely continue to persist.