The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) – the voice of the global business travel industry – and German business travel buyer association VDR – today announced that Mr. Carsten Spohr, Chairman and CEO of Lufthansa Group, will be a featured speaker at their joint conference, 9-11 November, at the Congress Center, Messe Frankfurt.
Hoteliers each year eagerly anticipate Trust International's annual Customer Conference for group sessions with top industry experts; brainstorming sessions with industry partners, executives and product development teams; and nuts and bolts workshops that help them drive the biggest value out of their distribution investment. This year, Trust Customer Conferences in Frankfurt and Singapore over the past weeks again exceeded expectations for the 120 attendees who attended to "Get the Pulse of Distribution."
The Rezidor Hotel Group has appointed Arno Schwalie as Area Vice President Central Europe. He joins Rezidor from Design Hotels AG in Berlin where he currently holds the position of Chief Operating Officer. Effective 1st September 2015, Arno Schwalie will oversee the operational business for 74 Rezidor hotels with 16,300 rooms. He will be based at the Area Support Office in Frankfurt and report directly to Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer Olivier Harnisch.
Carlson Rezidor, one of the most dynamic hotel groups worldwide, and its franchise partner Provent Hotels announce the Park Inn by Radisson Neumarkt in Germany. The new built mid-scale property featuring 105 guest rooms is scheduled to open in Q4 2015. The signing brings Carlson Rezidor's Park Inn portfolio in Germany to 20 hotels with 3,600 rooms – the group's total portfolio in the country grows to 43 hotels with 6,500 rooms.
Carsten Willenbockel will be taking over the reins at the Steigenberger Grandhotel and Spa in the Baltic Sea resort of Heringsdorf with effect from 15 June. He will succeed Rolf Haug, who is leaving in order to seek out new professional challenges. 47-year old Mr. Willenbockel is a state-certified business economist in the field of tourism and has over 20 years of experience in the branch. He was previously employed as a General Manager at the Robinson Club Camyuva in Turkey, at the Arabella Sheraton Golf Hotel Son Vida on Mallorca and on cruise ships operated by the Aida Fleet. "We are delighted to have secured the services of Carsten Willenbockel as a new Steigenberger Director," said Puneet Chhatwal, CEO of Steigenberger Hotels AG. "He will continue to ensure that our hotel in Heringsdorf remains successful." The Steigenberger Grandhotel and Spa in Heringsdorf was recently awarded the accolade of "Hotel of the Year 2014" by the travel portal Kurzurlaub.de, which evaluated a total of 3,000 hotels.
Which of your guests come back? Which hotels did they use in the past? What distinguishes them as guests? Up to now, hoteliers had to either completely rely on their experience or perform extensive surveys in order to answer these kinds of questions. However, hetras is now making it possible for users to use ElasticSearch – a hugely powerful open source solution designed for searching through vast amounts of data – in its cloud-based property management system. These searches are performed in real time and can also be easily performed from a smartphone.
Thomas Rettig, a German national, also brings broad experience to Jumeirah Frankfurt. He was part of the pre-opening team at ‘nhow’ Hotel and Hotel Maritim both in Berlin, as well as roles in France, South Africa and England during his early career. Prior to joining Jumeirah Frankfurt, he was Food and Beverage Manager at Swissôtel in Berlin where he managed five outlets. In his new role as Food and Beverage Manager, Thomas is responsible for overseeing all Food and Beverage outlets in the luxury hotel including the signature restaurant Max on One, chic Ember Bar & Lounge and the conference banqueting.
A German national, Nicole Kienzler brings extensive expert knowledge to Jumeirah Frankfurt gained from her roles at hotels in Germany and the United States. Previously Nicole worked as the Director of Rooms at Hotel Plaza Athenee in New York, Louis C. Jacob in Hamburg, Starwood Capital in Berlin and The Plaza, a Fairmont managed hotel in New York. Nicole is now responsible for the entire Front Office, Housekeeping and Talise Spa operations of Jumeirah Frankfurt. With a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Hotel Management from the Duale Hochschule Ravensburg, Nicole also has several certifications from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Carsten Fritz will succeed Michael Kain as Director of the Steigenberger Parkhotel Düsseldorf. Mr. Kain will be taking over the reins at the Steigenberger Grandhotel Petersberg in Bonn-Königswinter with effect from 1 June. Michael Kain has held a number of management positions in the Steigenberger Hotel Group over the past 30 years. Having successfully overseen the completion of renovation works and a repositioning at the Steigenberger Parkhotel, he will be now bringing his extensive experience to bear as he takes charge of the Steigenberger Grandhotel Petersberg.
Carsten Fritz will succeed Michael Kain as Director of the Steigenberger Parkhotel Düsseldorf. Mr. Kain will be taking over the reins at the Steigenberger Grandhotel Petersberg in Bonn-Königswinter with effect from 1 June. Although Carsten Fritz is new to the Steigenberger family, he has spent over 25 years in the hotel sector including stints as Director at various Ritz-Carlton Hotels in Japan, Korea, Singapore, Spain and Qatar.
Today Booking.com, an operating business of The Priceline Group [NASDAQ: PCLN] announced it will waive enforcement of its existing wide parity provisions with German accommodations with immediate effect and will amend its standard terms and other agreements with German accommodations by 1 July 2015 to be consistent with the binding commitments given to the French, Italian and Swedish National Competition Authorities.
Sorell Hotels Switzerland will be transitioning its 17 Switzerland-based 3- to 4-star hotels to Trust International's hotel distribution services on a staggered basis, with the final hotels to be transitioned by August 2015.
Swissôtel Bremen appoints Sven-Erik Richter as general manager. Richter joined the company in 2000 at the Raffles Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten, Hamburg – today part of the Fairmont hotel collection – as duty manager. In 2008, Richter moved to the United States and became director of operations at Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Seattle, until 2011. His most recent position was hotel manager, Fairmont Mayakoba.
Rita has more than 10 years’ experience in the hospitality market, finances and business development, holding different positions with International companies such as Sprachaffe, Vueling Airlines, Mango and Budgetplaces.com. Rita joins us from Availpro (Channel Management Platform) where she worked as Area Manager taking care of the German, Austrian, Swiss German, Hungarian and Croatian territories for the past two and a half years.
Verena NOSKE ESSEC IMHI 2010 has been appointed as Asset Manager for Steigenberger Hotels AG , based in Franckfurt. She started her career at PwC Hamburg as Consultant for two and Senior Consultant for two other years.
The Steigenberger Hotel Munich will offer 292 rooms and suites together with a restaurant and bar. A large conference facility extending over an area of 1,200 m² will provide plenty of space for meetings, whilst those seeking relaxation will very much enjoy the 300 m² health and beauty spa and gym area. "Munich is one of the world's leading destinations," says Puneet Chhatwal, CEO Steigenberger Hotels AG. "We had it right at the top of our expansion list as a site for a Steigenberger Hotel and Resort. The Bavarian capital is the ideal location for the very successful continuation of our national and international growth." Steigenberger operates the hotel under a Lease Agreement. The Lessor is Swiss Life Germany, a financial advisory and insurance company. "We are delighted to have entered into this partnership with the prestigious Steigenberger Hotel Group. The new hotel will be created in a special property, which was previously the headquarters of our insurance activities in Germany. The conversion of this office building into an appealing, state-of-the-art hotel is an exemplary project," says Stefan Mächler, Chief Investment Officer of the Swiss Life Group.
Your favorite drink ready and waiting as you arrive, your room lit just the way you like it and the pillow is exactly the type you prefer … A utopian dream? Actually, pretty much reality, thanks to Business Intelligence, a feature of the cloud-based hotel management platform hetras. And one of the first hotels to use hetras' Business Intelligence, the hotel chain Qbic, is already impressed with its effects.
Last week Top Hotel magazine, the leading journal for hotels across Germany, named ABreez by Mobile Simple a "Best Product" for 2015. The cloud-based mobile minibar management solution earned a "Silver Top Hotel Star Award 2015" in the IT category. More than 100 companies submitted applications for their products to be nominated in one of 12 categories; only three products in each category achieved a Gold, Silver or Bronze distinction.
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) – the voice of the global business travel industry – and its German partner association VDR – the German Business Travel Association – today announced that they will be joining forces again for another record breaking European business travel conference. The joint event, which begins on 9 November 2015 in Frankfurt, promises to be the largest event of its kind in Europe.
With a population of around 3.5 million, Berlin is the second most populated city in the European Union. The German capital is home to numerous tourist attractions, historical sights and political infrastructures. Since its reunification in 1989, the city has undergone a dynamic development and transformed into the country's most important political, economic and cultural centre. The steady growth of overnight stays over the past decade has positioned Berlin among the top 3 European destinations for both leisure and business tourism. Our Hotel Market Snapshot provides a presentation of the German capital's current hospitality market.