After 48 years of service, including 35 in the Steigenberger Group and 21 years at the Steigenberger Parkhotel on Königsallee in Düsseldorf, Michael Görres has taken his well-deserved retirement. He can now devote himself to the more relaxing aspects of life whilst looking back on an illustrious career that has contained such highlights as the achievement of a Michelin Star.
Dorint Hotels & Resorts (www.dorint.com), with 41 hotels and resorts in Germany & Europe, and Trust International celebrate their 7th anniversary of distribution partnership following a year of excellent results using Trust's new Internet booking engine (IBE) technology Trust|Guestbooker.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®), one of the world's largest hotel companies, has announced its seventh multiple development agreement (MDA) in Germany with existing owner partner Sierra Hotel Management Ltd. The first property already signed under the agreement is Holiday Inn Express® Karlsruhe – City Park, due to open in mid-2016.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) today announced the debut of its trailblazing Element brand in Europe with the opening of Element Frankfurt Airport. This marks the first Element hotel outside of North America. Offering bright, modern design and green-minded sensibilities, the hotel is located in Gateway Gardens, Frankfurt's new business district adjacent to Frankfurt International Airport, Europe's third-busiest air travel hub. Element Frankfurt Airport offers travellers a reimagined interpretation of the extended stay experience and an atmosphere to fuel a life in balance and on the move.
Germany confirmed as number one source market for European destinations – Study by the European Travel Commission and shared with ITB Berlin provides information on the most important source markets for tourism to Europe
Doris Greif, currently general manager of Jumeirah at Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi, has been appointed to the role of regional vice president Europe as well as general manager of Jumeirah Frankfurt.
Oliver Goslich, Director of Sales and Marketing at B&B HOTELS, shares the company's results with TrustYou's online surveys and online reputation monitoring tools. B&B HOTELS is the fastest growing hotel chain in Germany, with more than 65 properties across the country.
Emile Bootsma is the new General Manager in the Hotel Adlon Kempinski, succeeding Oliver Eller, who will continue his career at the Baltschug Kempinski Moscow. Mr. Bootsma, a native of the Netherlands, spent four years at the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest, and he aslo managed the similarly important Kempinski property Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in Munich, Germany. Prior to this he worked for Arabella Sheraton in Cape Town, South Africa, where he was responsible for Food & Beverage operations.
Swissôtel Bremen has appointed Daniela Maeckle as director of sales and marketing. Maeckle is responsible for the hotel’s overall sales strategy as well as coordinating the sales, groups and events, and revenue teams on property. Maeckle began her career in the hotel industry at Hotel Alpenrose in Zermatt, working her way up to her previous position as director of sales MICE at Hilton Spain & Portugal hotels.
Jumeirah Frankfurt, the first Jumeirah hotel in Germany, has teamed up with 'Velotaxi' to offer environment-friendly city tours.Experienced and knowledgeable drivers can now collect guests from Jumeirah Frankfurt in the Velotaxi and show them the city's must-see sights. Guests sit comfortably on the Velotaxi while enjoying the fresh air and remaining well sheltered from any rain, an unforgettable way to explore the city.The drivers can transport their passengers around secret spots, favorite places and past all major sightseeing destinations such as the Römer – city hall, the Old Opera House and the river embankment. The 'Velotaxi' experience is available when booked through Jumeirah Frankfurt as part of a stay and starts from EUR 22 for 40 minutes. The city tours should be booked in advance and the languages available are German, English, French and Spanish.Different city tours are available and guests can hire the Velotaxis parked in front of the hotel for short trips within the city, to the main train station or to the banking district. Even airport transfers are available on request.
On 31 July 2014, Vienna International Hotelmanagement AG (VI) acquired the 4-star Arcadia Hotel Trier. Austria's largest hotel operator now runs 13 hotels in Germany. The Arcadia Hotel Trier, which was taken over on 31 July, has become the tenth hotel of the Arcadia Group to be managed by VI. Dr. Andreas Karsten, CEO of VI Hotels, sees great potential in the group's latest addition and in Trier as a travel destination. "In Trier we find all prerequisites for a successful hotel. The highly professional team and the infrastructure facilities will contribute to the ongoing success of the establishment, as will the city's numerous sights, educational institutions, the internationally renowned Academy of European Law and the strong local industry," says Dr. Karsten. The Arcadia Hotel Trier was purchased by VI's German subsidiary, VI Asset GmbH. The hotel will be integrated without any interruption in service. Both parties agreed to keep the purchase price confidential. With the acquisition of the Arcadia Hotel Trier, VI continues to pursue its value-driven growth strategy and to meet the economic interests of its shareholders and prepares for the planned IPO. After purchasing a total of EUR 50 million in real estate assets (based on fair market value) in 2013, the group has continued its resounding success in 2014 with four more real estate acquisitions. Shareholders allowed VI to retain a large portion of last year's profit, which had increased by more than 22%. The agreed capital increase, as announced by VI in early summer, was successfully completed. "Vienna International boasts an excellent strategic position and robust earnings," Dr. Karsten goes on to say. "We are also very pleased that our equity ratio, as defined by IFRS, ranges close to 30%, despite intense acquisitions on a scale typical of real estate transactions. This goes to show that we have cut good deals, that we manage hotels superbly, secure appropriate funding and pay back debt quickly on the back of a strong cash flow." Arcadia Hotel Trier The 4-star Arcadia Hotel Trier offers 102 rooms and 3 suites and is located in a quiet, yet central part of the university city on the Moselle river, right next to the well-known Imperial Baths. With a population of around 100,000, Trier is the fourth-largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate and is believed to be the oldest city in Germany. Visitors to Trier will find many well-preserved archeological structures, some of which have been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, such as the Porta Nigra – the foremost landmark of the city.
The following interview is with Gunnar von Hagen, Corporate Director Operations and Central Project Management for Lindner Hotels.
Leonardo, technology and online media company for the global hospitality industry, today announced a new, multi-year agreement with trivago, a major global travel meta- search site with 45 million monthly visitors. trivago is now part of Leonardo's VNetwork and joins the more than 120+ travel websites that subscribe to Leonardo's MediaConnect product. trivago will source hotel visual content for hotels listed on trivago's consumer websites in 47 different countries.
It's the ultimate luxury, a perfect combination of style, tradition and culture: The 5 star superior hotel Regent Berlin, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Berlin and the Berlin based fine china manufacturer KPM have teamed up to offer a package which leaves no wish unfulfilled.
ith a strong background in sales and marketing, this new role will see Jacqueline in charge of MICE sales in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for Corinthia’s nine hotels in Budapest, Khartoum, Lisbon, London, Malta, Prague, St. Petersburg and Tripoli.
Hotel reservations for Trust International hotel group clients continue to increase through multiple channels in the first five months of the year, states Trust International, one of the world's leading central reservations systems (CRS) for hotel groups.
Trust International gave its hotelier clients an eye-popping glimpse of the future that ranged from improved operational CRS technologies to augmented reality sightseeing tours and navigation, the coming trends through the eyes of Google, and leveraging Big Data for comprehensive CRM that seems almost as if you can read customers' minds.
Scandic is increasing its presence in Germany by taking over the Alsterhof Hotel in Berlin. The hotel has 217 rooms, which have just undergone an extensive refurbishment costing EUR 8 million, and is strategically located close to all the shopping and entertainment of western Berlin. When Scandic takes over the hotel on 1 September this year, it will change its name to Scandic Berlin Kurfürstendamm.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and Design Hotels AG have started negotiations regarding the conclusion of a domination agreement (Beherrschungsvertrag) with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. being the dominating company and Design Hotels AG being the dependent company. These negotiations will be concluded shortly. After the finalization of the valuation work by the jointly commissioned valuation expert, Design Hotels AG and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. agreed today, subject to the final result of the assessment by the court appointed auditor and the approval of the supervisory board of Design Hotels AG, that the domination agreement will provide for a cash compensation pursuant to Section 305 of the German Stock Corporation Act ("AktG") in the amount of EUR 2.25 per share and a guaranteed dividend pursuant to Section 304 AktG in the amount of EUR 0.10 gross per share (EUR 0.08 net per share) for each full financial year. The domination agreement must be signed by the authorized representatives of both companies and requires the approval of the general shareholders' meeting of Design Hotels AG, which will presumably take place on 21 July 2014, and registration with the commercial register of Design Hotels AG.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into an agreement with Badriah Investments B.V. to develop a Hyatt-branded hotel within a 16th century castle in Baden-Baden, located in southwestern Germany.