News & Stories
Freiburg. The German Tourism Association) is expecting a fifth successive record year for 2014. President Reinhard Meyer spoke of a "positive interim balance for 2014" during the "German Tourism Day" in Freiburg.
Dubai/Doha. Dubai's hosting of the Expo in 2020 and Qatar's hosting of FIFA’s World Cup in 2022 may bring a lot of opportunities for hotels, but these mega events come with a whole set of problems, from displacing regular demand to rising construction costs, hoteliers and analysts said. Dubai's and Doha's challenges were highlighted in the 3-day "Vision Conference" that took place during the 15th "Hotel Show" in Dubai at the end of September.
Munich. Good times for hotel real estate sellers: A fierce competition has broken out among the bidders since projects are rare. This is driving the prices. The increasingly positive image of the asset class hotel and the current low interest rate environment are additionally attracting more and more institutional as well as private investors. At the same time, the banks are opening their monetary sluices again. Reason enough for a super mood at this year's Expo Real in Munich. Exactly this also is bringing sceptics to the scene who have been considering this to be the last real estate and investment trade show with this mood – at least for Germany. Some nuances have changed within the hotel development and financing itself. The summary of facts and opinions.
Hannover. The management of TUI AG as well as TUI Travel PLC have contractually agreed to the conditions of the merger between the two companies. Their strategic advantages and synergies should lead to considerably higher savings than originally assumed. The hotel portfolio should grow further.
Rome. Despite economic stagnation and bad weather, the Italian hospitality sector managed to limit its summer losses. The most important national industry associations saw recovery dwindling, but the months from June to August showed a similar performance to that of last year.
Wiesbaden. The crisis in Ukraine has hit tourism hard, not only in Ukraine and Russia, but in other European markets. Whilst a whole range of Russian tour operators went insolvent in the first half of the year, European tourism companies fear that business with Russians in the west will collapse in the second half. Particularly interesting is how investors are behaving: Russians who like to invest their money, in Germany for instance, are changing their plans - and some even pray together with their German business partners in Moscow for peace. A situation between hope and fear, on all sides.
Salzburg. The bloody conflict in the east of the Ukraine is undoubtedly a catastrophe. But not so for Austrian tourism for the time being. At least the "Russian strongholds" in Austria are bracing themselves against image losses and the idea of turning their backs on the market due to sanctions. The closer the winter comes, the more intensive becomes the – tourism-related – travel diplomacy towards Russia. Whether Salzburg Airport, Zell am See, Salzburger Land Tourism or Oetztal in Tyrol: "Selling from door to door" is meant to impress upon important business partners in Moscow and St. Petersburg how important the Russian guests still are. The market is important: last year, nearly half a million Russians spent nearly two million nights in Austrian beds.
Nuremberg. In the current year, 14.5 million people have used long-distance coaches so far. By the end of the year, this figure could reach 21 million.
Brussels. For many people, Brussels is the "unofficial” capital of Europe, the place where its future is designed and its rules set. For the 3.1 million visitors who experienced Brussels in 2012, there is more to it than meets the eye under the European flag. Meeting the demands of both leisure and business interests, the city actually comes in 8th in the top 10 of "Lonely Planet’s" best place to visit" this year and remains, for the fourth consecutive year, Europe's no. 1 destination for congresses and meetings. This sounds like a good basis, as occupancy is good. But RevPAR is devastating. The hotel association complains about "killing labor costs", while the hospitality union criticizes the market's oversupply and the industry for its unprofessional behavior.
Brussels. The Brussels Hotels Association fights for clear rules and fair competition conditions. Belgian hotels have the lowest gross operating profit in Europe, complains Rodolphe Van Weyenbergh, Secretary General of the Brussels Hotels Association. In this respect, he regards the labor costs as an unreasonably high burden, which prevents many hoteliers and investors frominvesting. At the same time, there are reportedly 5,000 rooms in the market that are illegal or benefit from legal uncertainties. In addition, numerous 5-star hotels are currently planning to have themselves downgraded to 4-star hotels. The Secretary General on the current situation in Brussels and the region.