News & Stories
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.
Vienna. Austria is proud of the new international names present on Vienna's hotel landscape. Luxury is now booming. After the opening of Ritz-Carlton and Kempinski and before that of Hyatt and Four Seasons, established luxury hotels have also begun to spruce themselves up. Then comes the new boutique hotels. But will the pie be big enough for everybody? New chains must raise their rates if a price war is to be avoided. Which luxury hotel chain will find its niche and where will it find it? A quick tour through Vienna's luxury hotel landscape.
Lucerne. Greece's tourism lies idle and the minister has only one tenth of the former budget at her disposal to promote the country. In Greece, a huge wave of privatisation has started, and considering the tight public expenses, online has received an entirely new meaning. Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni provided a short overview of her current hardships at the "World Tourism Forum" in Lucerne.
Moscow. The Russian hotel market has minimal branded capacity with only about 130 chain hotels out of the more than 5,500 transient lodging establishments in the country. Branded hotel expansion in Russia is primarily being led by major international players, as Russian-owned chains have shown a largely lethargic trend, with the exception of Amaks Hotels. Among the international chains, Hilton is stepping up its pace, Moscow's pipeline up to 2025 exceeds all expectations and Sochi does not have enough luxury accommodations to offer. Russia's development is focused on Moscow, St. Petersburg and Sochi but there will also be new – if not limited – capacities in the new casino destination of Vladivostok.
Berlin. The next new German resort brand is called Holler Hotels. They should translate unconstrained concepts into the resort hotel industry. The initiators are seeking out locations and are also taking over the projects with joint responsibility.
Berlin. With 170,000 visitors and 60,000 of these private visitors, the ITB was just as popular in 2013 as in the past year. The mood, however, was much improved: From the very start, the halls buzzed with activity, and as the event climaxed on Thursday, many exhibitors were simply overwhelmed by the flood of contacts. It was then quiet again at the weekend - at least in Hotel Hall 9. There, only a few Air France critics stirred things up with a short protest. Otherwise, visitors enjoyed ice-cream and popcorn. For the first time, travel sales were allowed at the ITB: According to a trade fair survey, every tenth private visitor came to the ITB for this reason. A walk through the hotel hall revealed various changes reflecting the transformation taking place in the hotel industry. The world's largest tourism fair must also adjust here if it's not to lose ground.