Vienna. 25hours is now also drawing the crowds in Vienna. 2,000 people were invited to the opening of the boutique hotel for a "circus" spectacle. The former student halls of residence, built in the 1970s, is now one of the most trendy hotels in the city. Yet breaking the rigid hotel mould requires quite a different attitude in other matters too. Christoph Hoffmann, CEO of The 25hours Hotel Company and one of four shareholders, and Fanny Holzer-Luschnig, Director of the 25hours Vienna Museumsquartier, explain their unconventional approach in an interview with Fred Fettner.

Frankfurt/M. Germany continues to grow as a European business destination, even on a higher level than the rest of Europe. At this week's MICE trade show IMEX in Frankfurt, the "Meeting- & EventBarometer 2013" revealed plenty of new facts and figures. International demand for meetings in Germany is increasing all the time. Data from IPK International and the World Travel Monitor show that the number of business trips from within Europe to conventions and conferences held in Germany increased by almost a quarter during 2012, to a total of 3.3 million. Visits to these meetings now account for 26 per cent of total business travel revenue from European travellers coming to Germany, up from 24 per cent in 2011. Germany's trade fairs and exhibitions are also making their presence felt; in 2012 they prompted around 2.6 million trips to Germany from within Europe, representing a year-on-year increase of 9.2 per cent. European business travellers made 6.3 million traditional business trips to Germany, three per cent more than in the previous year.

Frankfurt. Last week, the arch competitor TUI released its entire hotel strategy for restructuring; it is making cuts everywhere and is thus causing a stir in the entire scene. The situation is similar for the Thomas Cook group: in March already, the group announced a tight cost-saving policy; however, the group does not question its hotel strategy as radically. On the contrary: it wants to refine the "concept hotels" more. With two strong brand poles – Sentido as an upscale resort brand, and Smartline as an upper budget product – the group does not want to repeat the mistakes of TUI by getting bogged down in a myriad of hotel brands. As of late, the operator is even willing to take over entrepreneurial responsibility: it provides help for financially weak family businesses by means of loans and is even prepared to agree on lease agreements for a brand.

Dubai. "Half of our hotels now stand in United Arab Emirates, now come the other countries." Guido de Wilde, Senior Vice President and Regional Director Middle East for Starwood Hotels and Resorts, speaks out on what many other hotel chains are thinking and doing: After 15 years of construction, Dubai as well as the UAE are identified as a hub and from here, there is now a branching out into the remaining markets in which the hotel construction is substantially more difficult, however. The "Arabian Travel Market" in Dubai the week before last was once again a good mirror for the current pulse of the region. No one talks of the crisis anymore, likewise of budget hotels. On the one hand, the new blossom once again strongly tempts toward luxury thinking and on the other hand, however, the big chains are primarily thinking about the dispersion of their brands in the large, small, more important and more insignificant emirates of Arabia and countries in the Middle East.

Hanover. Under the new chairman, Friedrich Joussen, numerous changes are in queue at TUI. The first heads rolled this week in the hotels division. The current divisional chairman for the Hotels & Resorts at TUI AG, Karl Pojer, was shifted to Hapag-Lloyd, hotel strategies and brands are facing new scrutiny. The hotel star in the first half-year of 2012/13 was RIU. The destiny of Dorfhotel and Robinson Clubs is apparently still hanging in the balance. The aqi brand is not mentioned at all.

Dubai. Dubai is picking up speed, and so too are its police: With each officer in a Mercedes SLS AMG, Ferrari FF, Bentley Continental GT Coupe, Aston Martin ONE77 or Lamborghini Aventador, they pursue criminals - and distribute penalty notices to speeding drivers and illegally parked vehicles. Indeed, the fancy cars stole the show at this week's 20th Arabian Travel Market hosted by Dubai. They advertised the Dubai's intention to host the World Expo 2020 outside the trade fair halls. A decision here will be taken this coming November. If Dubai were to secure the event, hospitality experts will also celebrate the decision like a lottery win. Dubai again has as many plans as it did in the good times. Behind everything though, there's still a question mark. This time too, nobody knows precisely what will become of the new mega-projects. Only one thing is certain: Dubai continues to build sensitively on its lead in the Middle East. The other Emirates and Arabian countries have jumped to support Dubai as driver and combine all their horse power. Airlines provide the volumes, the destinations the force and the hotel industry follows the trend. Europe would be well-advised to take a very close look at this mechanism.

Atlanta. In the US, the national hotel occupancy rate is approaching its long run averages and scarcity has returned in certain markets and property types. That means, guests have to pay more to rent rooms. But there is a restraint.

Salzburg. Right on time for the start of the summer, Austria's private hotels have invested again – especially in luxury chalets and luxury suites. New concepts are in high demand. Austria wants to win back market shares! Lavish investments were and are still made in accommodation quality. Topped with innovative offers by the destinations, this leads to a small boom among the accommodation businesses. Geographically speaking, these investments concentrate on the region of Kitzbuehel Alps and Salzburger Land.

Dubai. With the Arab Spring entering into its third year, tourism prospects in the Middle East and North Africa are divided between 'safe haven' countries like the United Arab Emirates and countries still mired in turmoil, such as Egypt, Tunisia, and Syria. The clear star of the industry is Dubai, which continued to be the hot topic at the annual "Arabian Hotel Investment Conference" which took place last Sunday and Monday. And the first announcement of a deal at the conference was a Wyndham hotel in Dubai, the first for the Wyndham brand in the hotel group, which has other brands operating in the city.

Bregenz. In coordination with all tourism partners, Austria wants to become "Europe's meeting point" in 2014. At the tourism day in Bregenz, they showed "what they are made of" and declared culture the big topic of the event.