News & Stories

Vienna. Up to now, the number of Russian overnight stays has dramatically sunk during Austria´s winter season – despite all hopes. The first figures are demonstrating this and the CEE States have compensated for the deficit. And another statistic states in view of 2015 and the anticipated holiday behaviour of Austrians: They themselves will no longer have a great desire for Germany and abroad.

Berlin. Current figures, Best Practice examples from all over the world and new, comprehensive concepts define the "ITB Experts Forum Wellness" at the Berlin Messe exhibition centre.

Berlin. The NH Hotel Group is beginning its 3D Hologram Telepresence Technology for meetings and events and at the same time, is presenting a sophisticated, interactive "All-in-One" video conference technology with which up to 250 people can work together virtually, visually and simultaneously.

Munich / Vienna. With a media drum beating last week, a transnational, close collaboration launched the marketing initiative "Your Winter. Your Sport." within the scope of the Munich winter sports trade show, ISPO. It should newly and increasingly inspire the Germans toward winter sports. Toward this, 100 partners met within the brief amount of time; remarkably many of them hold headquarters in Austria. The common denominator of this initiative is quick to be found: "Enjoy the winter sportily, everyone in their own way, " is the motto. The parties concerned are once again pooling forces internationally to accomplish this. The Austrians are turning their ears toward every movement by the neighbouring German market.

Madrid. A study carried out by the first Spanish website specialized in charming hotels, Selecta Hoteles, points out that reservations in these types of establishments decreased by around 52.02 percent in the whole year 2014 compared to 2013. For the summer period 2014, reservations declined even more dramatically, namely by 73.93 percent compared to 2013.

Rome. Waiting for Expo 2015, another year of suffering has passed by for the Italian hospitality industry: notwithstanding the continuous increase in international overnight stays and a slight recovery of domestic demand in 2014, the national hotel sector still saw a shortfall in its revenue and occupancy according to the latest figures published by the Italian hospitality association, Federalberghi. Italy’s hoteliers have not found their balance yet.

Wiesbaden. In spite of all the video conferences and all the Internet communication: The conference and conventions market in Germany is continuing to grow strongly. Events for continuing education in easily accessible locations are trending while at the same time, the demand for green meetings is also rising – if they do not cost any more.  

Paris. Last week's terrorist attacks in Paris, where 17 people were brutally killed by three French radical Islamists, marks the beginning of a war against terror on French soil. Among the victims, 8 were journalists from satirical newspaper "Charlie Hebdo", 2 were cops attached to their protection. On a separate attack, four French Jewish citizens held hostages in a kosher supermarket were also killed. Will France’s tourism industry be another victim? hospitalityInside correspondent Sarah Douag stayed in Paris while the attacks happened. This week she tried to talk to hoteliers – all refused to answer. Do they expect a double-digit decrease?

Warsaw. The number of foreign tourists in Poland is constantly growing and some of the markets experience better hotel performance results. New and reputable hotels arise. However, a distinct polarization of the market has occurred. But the outlook for 2015 remains positive.

Rome. Although it was founded only a little over 4 years ago, JSH Hotels and Resorts, with its18 properties offering 2,150 rooms, is now ranked amongst the top ten integrated hotel operators in Italy, a country notorious for its fragmented lodging sector. In spite of having the EU's largest accommodation capacity, hotel chains have a limited presence in Italy. Raniero Amati, JSH Hotels and Resorts' Chief Marketing Officer, who spoke at Henry Stewart's "Finance for Hotel Investment and Development in the UK and Continental Europe" conference which took place at the end of November in London illustrated the current status by facts and figures. He also explained JSH's business model which is to act as a B2B development platform for the major brands.