News & Stories

Berlin. Design Hotels are driving forward with a massive future push on "mobile" and e-commerce: The consortium of creative hotels is in the process of refocusing distribution on to direct business. Last fiscal year, 46% of business came through direct distribution channels, Arno Schwalie reported, Vice President of Business Development and Corporate Strategy Design Hotels, at the annual meeting of hoteliers in Berlin. At the same time, the number of members continues to grow - and they are gearing up to meet the demands of the mobile era. A extensive survey of 4,000 guests also provides valuable information on their behaviour and wishes. The survey gives hoteliers a huge new pool of ideas.

Stuttgart. Flames blaze on the property facade, then it rains in streams, water gurgles from the spiral staircase and later, poison-green blades of grass will grow over the facade and finally, screws turn wheel in wheel. It glows, flashes and flickers, at times the space collapses within itself and is built anew. In the future, this light and sound spectacle can be experienced every evening by musical guests of the Stuttgart SI Centrum and hotel guests at the new Dormero Hotel. Design and high-tech have entered into both high rises of which the Millennium Copthorne had held the legends up to last September. Now is the turn of an era: The owner of the musical centre is sweeping out the plush and patina throughout. The 454-room large Dormero Hotel will provide the design line for the entire centre. "Technology is our core competence", says Managing Director, Aleksej Leunov. The expansion and concepts have been propelled forward since July, but with only two, rather than three, Managing Directors. An update on Dormero and Gold Inn AG that officially opened its seventh Dormero Hotel one week ago in Stuttgart.

Hamburg/Rostock. As part of its growth strategy, the North German DSR Hotel Holding will split its distribution activities into two groups: A-rosa Resort und Hotel GmbH on the one hand, and a-ja Resort and Hotel GmbH on the other.

Berlin/Bad Arolsen. In 2011, the first hotel of the budget brand H2 opened in Berlin. Behind the brand is German Hospitality Alliance AG, partner of the hotel giant Wyndham for the Ramada brand. Does Wyndham's own expansion with Super 8 not collide with the Germans' expansion plans?

Ibiza. Spain's banks teeter on the edge. All the more important then that companies attempt to set themselves apart from current developments and push their image themselves. "We have invested despite the crisis and have clearly differentiated our products in order to continue to expand," Alfonso Giménez Benjumea says, Marketing Director Europe for the Spanish Fiesta Hotel Group. "We have also not suffered so much under the effects of the crisis as our hotels are distributed over many different countries." The family-run chain owns and operates 48 hotels in Spain, Mexico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Brazil and Italy. The group intends to push six of its brands. Older real estate will be sold and the group will concentrate on the upscale and luxury segment.

Bangkok. The hotel group Six Senses Resorts & Spas is history, since June 18, 2012. The pioneer among the eco luxury resorts continues under a new name, new ownership and new parameters. In the meantime, as reported, Sonu Shivdasani has founded his own The Soneva Group that concentrates on residences. As new President of Six Senses, the former partner Bernhard Bohnenberger wants to "establish the group and make it financially sustainable as well" in future. The first visible change: from now on, the name will contain the word "Hotels": Six Senses Hotels, Resorts & Spas. In addition, a very renowned and internationally known hotelier has decided to participate in the new group's destiny actively.

Paris. In a few weeks, the budget team of François Hollande’s new government will present in front of French parliament its fiscal measures in order to collect 10 billion Euro.

Berlin. The German Hotel Association re-elected its chairman of the board at its annual congress in Berlin last week calling on its members to defend their entrepreneurial freedom in distribution.

Stromberg. With a total of 45 new hotels, Relais & Châteaux has continued to expand its global network this year and now counts 520 members - around 100 more than The Leading Hotels of the World. The focus of their marketing remains their restaurants. A new guide now targets conference guests. Across the globe, R&CH now has 12 subsidiaries. "Over the last years, we have developed from an international into a global company," President Jaume Tàpies is pleased to say. But there's one country in particular in which Tàpies wants to fill what still is a white space: Germany.

Frankfurt am Main. "The cooperation with our parent company, New World Hospitality in Hong Kong is becoming increasingly closer ", says Peter Voit, Managing Director of pentahotels with headquarters in Frankfurt. The lifestyle hotel subsidiary has passed its baptism of fire in Europe and is now becoming tailor-made to Asian conditions – and indeed without star architect, Matteo Thun. The Asian´s development pipeline aims at the 15 pentahotels of today to 80 worldwide in 2020. An ambitious goal. However, they wish to grow not only through management contracts, but also through real estate and takeovers.