News & Stories

Augsburg. No other subject worries the real estate industry more than the pros and cons of sustainability certificates. The question is: what advantages do properties have for owners if they are certified with LEED, BREEAM or DGNB? They do not need the certification for their ecological conscience but the yield calculation. Finally, the certification is not for free. Do resale values of properties rise because of the sustainability certificate? Or is it possible to obtain higher rents without heating or lease rates from their tenants or hotel lessees because of the lower operating costs? As the newest provider, DGNB has already certified four hotels; however, aspects of hotel management are not included in the evaluation – only the property itself. This is hard to understand as the hotel industry in the end primarily defines “sustainability” as conservation of resources in the operating business.

Paris. Last week, Accor Group launched the "Earth Guest Research" in Paris, a platform for sharing knowledge on social and environmental issues relating to the hotel industry.

Munich. Yesterday, Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Nachhaltiges Bauen announced its first certified hotels at the BAU trade fair in Munich.

Rimbach. Not only since the Ulrichshof in Rimbach – a resort for babies and children in the Bavarian Forest – joined the consortium of the "Bio Hotels" has it set an example of how to sustainably run a hotel. According to owner Ulrich N. Brandl, ecological approaches have been the best option for many years. His medium-sized company shows how to systematically approach the topic by consistently reducing the costs.

Abu Dhabi. For the first time, the "World Green Tourism Abu Dhabi Conference" will take place in the UAE from 22-24 November this year. The summit is being held under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority and will discuss the eco-tourism implementation in the region.

Bern. The Swiss hotel industry has also been affected by climate change and increasing energy prices. Now, in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Office for Energy, the Energy Agency for the Economy, the power plant company BKW FMB Energie AG and the energy supply company Romande Energie, the hotel association hotelleriesuisse has created an energy platform. Hotel associations in Germany and Austria also offer information for members and non-members through the internet.

Munich. Sustainability of building design and social responsible business concepts were in the focal point of many events at this year's real estate trade fair Expo Real in Munich, and at the hotel conference "Hospitality Industry Dialogue". For 80 minutes, two hotel groups, one project representative, one architect and one representative of DGNB discussed the question, whether investors were willing to invest in sustainable hotels or not. For a long time, hotel chains have been doing research about their standards and are even advising their investors now; the certifiers are contributing to the awareness and the architects have to make greater efforts to understand. One new aspect is that the guests have to be included in sustainability concepts.

Munich. At the Viktualienmarkt in Munich, Derag Hotel and Living, a German specialist for apartments, wants to transform one of its existing hotels into a zero-energy hotel. The innovative prototype will open at the beginning of 2011. The environmentally friendly principle is: to increase the building's own production and decrease its consumption! The cooling/heating ceilings play a decisive role here. However, the building has to be dismantled down to its shell first.

Duesseldorf. In January 2011, the Hyatt Regency Duesseldorf will open. It has applied for the certification according to the new hotel seal of quality issued by Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Nachhaltiges Bauen. The hotel's heat and cold supply has been designed to go especially easy on resources. The groundwater, which is being extracted from the ground via a geothermal plant, is used in three ways: for heating, cooling and flushing.

Nuremberg. As of immediately guests at the NH Nuremberg City can arrive with their electric environmentally friendly cars and recharge both their and their cars' batteries overnight. The latter free of charge! This 4-star hotel is the first NH hotel to offer this environmentally friendly service in Germany.