News & Stories

Beirut. Lebanon's capital city, Beirut, is a desirable location for luxury hotels. Yet the lack of infrastructure, inflated prices for tourist services and the unstable political nature of the region all combine to make Beirut a risky investment. In this part of the world, even the best laid plans could collapse. Yet in January, the Four Seasons opened its hotel in Beirut, albeit eight years after schedule. Kempinski also plans two hotels in Lebanon. Hilton planned to open a hotel there in 2008. At the moment, Beirut is a "playground for the rich" with the majority of guests currently from Gulf countries. Yet despite such plans for the region, mass tourism is a long way away from Lebanon. A visit to an unstable city with an optimistic hotel industry.

Bodrum. Bodrum has very little in common with the cliché of Turkish holiday resorts. Instead of large hotels, jumble stores and pushy carpet vendors, there are trendy shops, nice restaurants and a growing number of hip designer hotels. The coastal town at the Turkish Aegean is especially popular among Turkish holiday makers. Now, more hotels are following the example of the design hotel pioneer Marmara. Bodrum has potential - and could become the St. Tropez of Turkey.

Munich/Doha. The city of Doha in Qatar is developing further – and looking, among others, for hotel operators for its new key project "Musheireb". The hotel operators should already be experienced in sustainable concepts. At the Expo Real, a large model bore witness to big plans.

Duisburg. The German tour operator Alltours continues to expand its hotel chain Allsun. The hotels give the company a unique selling point for which CEO Willi Verhuven sees a big future.

Munich. Last week's Expo Real presented four German alpine regions in order to advertise for hotels. They think: there are not enough specialised 4-star hotels and brand hotels in this region.

Munich. The dampened spirit of last year had completely vanished. This year, the prevailing mood at the Expo Real in Munich was one of optimism with a real desire for new projects. And the same is true of the hotel industry. Although the big news stories were lacking this year, there were still many smaller indications of where the future was heading. Nobody wants to use the word 'euphoria', but there's certainly a very welcome 'new realism' in the air. Most discussions were quick frank and to the point and exhibitors as well as visitors claimed – in their mutual interest – to only want to build quality hotels in future. And as was to be heard at the hotel conference, feasible hotel concepts will also have a stronger impact on hotel finance. 'Franchising', it seems, has also found some unexpected friends. One thing that was clear from this year's trade fair was that without a real concept, capital will remain strictly limited. Yet the upswing is certainly in the offing. Indeed, the Expo Real itself illustrates this trends with its visitor numbers: In 2010, the fair counted approx. 1,000 visitors more than in 2009 and four percent growth in exhibitors. A mood report.

Hanover. The TUI resort brands Iberotel and Dorfhotel now plan to improve their profile beyond TUI flight destinations and north of the Mediterranean. With two Iberotels and four Dorfhotels in Germany, the physical basis for this has already been created. Strong synergies to the source market are needed. Iberotel turns 40 this year and is set to get a marketing and quality makeover. Dorfhotel is developing somewhat slower, but with very exact ideas on new locations and target groups. Strategic explanations by Michael Franke, Managing Director of Iberotel and Dorfhotel.

Goehren-Lebbin. Palms, sea and permanently warm temperatures aren't on offer in the north-easterly German state of Mecklenburg Western Pomerania. Nevertheless, a Robinson Club, a Radisson Blu and a Dorfhotel joined forces there to become the destination resort Land Fleesensee as far back as ten years ago. Last year, the trio, which is comprised of one Rezidor brand and two TUI brands, was joined by a third TUI brand – Iberotel. A total of 220 million EUR has been invested in Land Fleesensee, the biggest resort complex in Germany and the jobs created by the complex are a godsend for the small state. Nevertheless, investors aren't so happy.

Cannes. "How have the demands of the luxury traveller changed?" and "Finding and satisfying high-yield travellers in today’s market" are the key themes the world of luxury travel will be addressing at this year’s ILTM, 6-9 December in Cannes.

Frankfurt. The business world will change fundamentally in the next few years. Travel managers are in the centre of the development and are able to transform into mobility or communications managers as well as lobbyists, and will therefore become the central entity of the business travel market.