News & Stories
Bellevue/Washington. Airbnb is gaining ground among business travelers. Soon, the rental platform's listings will be shown among major hotel chains like Marriott or Hilton on Concur's online booking tool.
Milan. Europe's long wave of the real estate hospitality market's good performance has finally reached Italy. New figures recently released by the independent consulting firm Scenari Immobiliari confirm the momentum of the Southern European country. There is no doubt that many reasons behind this positive trend are to be found in geopolitical trends or the Brexit effects. In their annual report, Scenari Immobiliari in partnership with Allegroitalia Hotel & Condo describes that investors are noticing "the presence of premium assets located both in the country's main cities and in secondary as well as tertiary locations". Most worrying: the huge increase in supply coming from non-hospitality operators. It already started more than ten years ago, even before Airbnb's appearance – but the platform is obviously making the situation even more problematic.
Bad Hofgastein. Thermal lakes are global rarities. In Austria's alpine thermal spa Alpentherme Bad Hofgastein, nature has been given a helping hand and two chemical-free thermal lakes have been created – in the hope of also attracting visitors in summer. In Europe, only Bad Heviz in Hungary is able to rely purely on a natural thermal spring. There, the lake water is kept at a cosy 30 degrees all year. For the ski region around Bad Hofgastein, the five million euro investment is a real shot in the arm for summer tourism.
Doha. The diplomatic dispute concerning Qatar still continues even after the Arabic state issued an official statement. What is important for tourism is the declaration included in the statement that no international flights will suffer. Two days ago, the country introduced a new e-visa platform, which makes entering the country easier. However, this had been planned for a longer time.
Rome. While the Italian tourism system posted positive figures for last winter, the national Parliament has finally approved the "Manovrina" decree, including the flat tax for short-term rentals. On the other hand, Venice has limited new hotels and bed & breakfast openings in its central neighbourhoods: a first tangible step to counter the so-called "overtourism" phenomenon.
Frankfurt. In 2016, German companies spent as much on their business travels as never seen before. Despite the ever-increasing diversity of virtual and digital networking, the personal encounter remains important for companies. Hotel costs, however, are still tried to be kept down.
Milan. As Brexit consequences shift the investors' interest from the United Kingdom to other regions, the Italian peninsula is attracting investors who are looking for a ROI of three percent and more. At the same time, Atahotels is considering the development of a new citizenM style concept, also Meliá International has quite ambitious project plans in the country. These were only a few suggestions collected during the "Tourism Investment" conference recently organized at the Meliá Milan. The increasing international competition and foreign capital seems to have led to a new discussion about brands, concepts and contracts.
Doha. Since last Monday, five Arabian countries have cut off diplomatic relations with Qatar. The country is currently cut off from its neighbours – on land, in the air and on the sea. Should the political conflict go on, one of the richest countries on earth may have to suffer economic problems, also in tourism. At "Arabian Travel Market" in mid-April, there was an optimistic mood after a difficult 2016.
Berlin. Last Friday, the German Bundestag decided on the implementation of the EU package travel directive into German legislation. The law will come into effect on July 1, 2018. This way, the discussions about overnight stays in hotels have also been solved.
Montaione, Tuscany. The German-based tour operator TUI Group just celebrated the opening of the Castelfalfi TUI Blue Selection: the first 5-star property, located in Italy as the first of the new brand launched less than one year ago. However, the challenges for the 1,100-hectare estate are not over yet, with an ambitious plan backing an investment of 250 million euros. Castelfalfi had changed direction several times before apparently finding its way now.