News & Stories

Vienna. The exchangeability of concepts has also begun among holiday hotels. This is reflected in the definition of the "Alpine Lifestyle". Thomas Reisenzahn, Managing Director of the Prodinger Tourismus consulting company in Vienna, has worked with hoteliers and experts on a study analysing 150 hotels. According to the study, 40% of alpine mountain hotels were just freeloaders.

New York, Rockville. The direct online booking of conferences and groups is a technological challenge on which all hotel chains and MICE providers are working at full speed. Now American Express Global Business Travel and Choice presented their new solutions for smaller events.

London. It is still uncertain, if the Brexit will come and how it will take place, but British nationalists expect that the Brexit will lead to economic success – without any serious empiric analyses. In reality, the British tourism industry already feels the first negative impacts of the Brexit discussion, and this includes the investment as well as the operator perspective. Or not? Which market observation predominates? How do hospitality businesses see, experience and feel the current situation? Otus, CBRE, Christie & Co, Cedar Capital Partners, the industry association UKHospitality, IHG, Hilton and the Oetker Collection answered our snap poll.

Zurich. The Helvetian hotel industry has overcome the "vale of tears", which lasted several years: More visitors are coming back to Switzerland – as well as more hotel chains, which have started their expansion to Switzerland or are accelerating it. They are all hoping for a high occupancy rate at good room rates, as well as investors. However, it is becoming obvious that many investors are financing properties and concepts "blindly" in Switzerland – as already apparent in Germany. They like to block out the consequences of a massively increasing room offer as well as the high operational costs in Switzerland. A summary of the development.

Zurich. It's the end of November, the skies are grey and it's raining. A perfect time for wellness. On the Zurich hotel façade, the two words "The Resort" are illuminated after the hotel name. "a-ja. The Resort." That's a statement. Inside, a very friendly member of staff greets the arriving guest. The rest is a matter of taste. The German hotel group a-ja Resorts currently operates four resorts on the Baltic coast, all under the motto "Holiday... without the superfluous extras". The fifth a-ja is the first city resort – a budget wellness hotel in the very centre of expensive Switzerland, and at the heart of expensive Zurich. What's the concept, where is the experience? We go in search of answers on the ground.

London. With just 70 days until Britain leaves the EU, Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan has been rejected by a massive 230 votes in the House of Commons. The defeat is the largest for a government in modern history, but the Prime Minister is not ready to quit. May will submit a new plan on Monday, but the outcome of a no-deal Brexit is pending. Uncertainty has created huge frustrations among business leaders who are asking for time to get prepared. The hotel association UKHospitality is calling for clarity and warns that a bad deal will seriously harm the sector. Numbers are already down.

Villach. The Austrians reject mass tourism and instead clearly throw their weight behind quality tourism. They know the value of the tourism industry for their country. At its annual congress in Villach this week, the Austrian Hoteliers' Association sees itself on track for success. At the same time, various hoteliers view the announced change in ownership structure of the Austrian Hotel and Tourism Bank, one of their most important sources of finance, with scepticism. Speaking on the fringes of the event in Villach, former ÖHV President, Sepp Schellhorn, today Member of Austria's National Council with the NEOS Party, was critical of the association: It should be more vocal in setting the agenda.

Vienna. Austria's tourism businesses are much happier today than ten years ago, according to a recent study. And that is true for both summer and winter. The current heavy snowfall also comes with advantages in the medium term: it will last until Easter. On the other hand, labour costs have become an increasing burden for hotels. In addition, EU bureaucracy is hampering recruitment of cooks from third countries.

London/Hanover. TUI again delivered double-digit earnings growth in financial year 2018 – for the fourth consecutive year. Important pillars are the hotel and cruise industry as well as the sale of experiences, but for the future there is also focus on permanent advances in technology, digitization and AI.

Vienna. City breaks are leading to overtourism: Over the past ten years, the number of overnight stays made in city destinations has risen twice as fast as in the countries surveyed. This was a finding of the first Europe-wide study by Roland Berger and the Austrian Hoteliers Association.