Best Western partners with Deutsche Bahn Deal
Best Western International has started 2014 on the right track, following the signing of a new partnership agreement with Germany's national rail operator, Deutsche Bahn.
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Branding Challenges and Investor Insight: Just Two of the Important Topics to be Discussed During IHIF 2014
Continuing the long standing commitment to delivering a varied and comprehensive educational programme, the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) Berlin will host some of the most respected and learned speakers from across the world. Over the follow weeks, we will highlight some key topics to be addressed across the broad IHIF 2014 programme.
Valuable tips for beginning a career in tourism
Researching and networking in order to look for a job: these are the skills required of students and graduates, and for them ITB Berlin, the world's leading travel trade show, is an important platform as well. This year, for the first time, the show will be assisting this audience by providing them with a comprehensive online guide which enables visitors in search of courses and jobs to make the best possible use of the opportunities at ITB Berlin.
Foremost Hospitality is expanding their hotel portfolio two hotels at a time
The hotel operator Foremost Hospitality is continuing to expand by adding two hotels to the vibrant city of Hamburg with the help of Munich based developer Investa Immobiliengruppe. After Foremost Hospitality's success with their City Centre and Hamburg St.Pauli Hotels, Foremost Hospitality wants to add not only two more hotels but also introduce a new brand to the thriving metropolitan city.
ITB Berlin Business Travel Days: Knowing what is important tomorrow
Meeting place for business travel and event managers at the world's leading travel trade show – outstanding papers and workshops – latest: Peter Schaar, former Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, will speak about "leaving a data trail on one's travels – how accessible should traveller information be?"
The International Hotel Investment Forum Announces 2014 Conference Program
The International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF), has announced its coveted conference program and speaker line-up for 2014. Scheduled to take place at The Hotel InterContinental Berlin, March 3 – 5th, 2014, IHIF is the leading international meeting place for the hotel investment community. The prestigious event routinely steers the direction for the hotel investment industry and is attended by nearly 2,000 of the most senior level professionals from around the world, with over 60 countries represented.
PPHE Hotel Group In Joint Venture With Nakash Group For Berlin Hotels
Further to its announcement on 1 July 2013 of the acquisition of the freeholds and associated inventories of art'otel berlin mitte and art'otel berlin kudamm (the "Hotels") by companies within the Company's group of companies (the "Group"), the Company is pleased to announce that those companies amongst others have today entered into a 50:50 joint venture in relation to the Hotels with the Nakash group and its wholly owned entities ("Nakash").
Steigenberger Hotel Group looks back to a successful year 2013
A number of new hotels were opened or joined the Steigenberger family in Germany under the brand name Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts (in Bremen and Braunschweig); internationally, new hotels were opened in Brussels (Belgium) and Madinat Makadi (Egypt). At Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof in Frankfurt/Main the guest rooms were refurbished and a large SPA was added, and Steigenberger Parkhotel in Düsseldorf was improved with new terraces, restaurants and guest rooms, following extensive modernisation work to provide contemporary comfort of the highest quality. Steigenberger Inselhotel in Constance re-opened in renewed splendour, in Switzerland, Steigenberger Grandhotel Belvédère re-opened in Davos, and Steigenberger Alpenhotel and Spa in Gstaad-Saanen. Steigenberger Hotel and Spa in Krems re-opened in Austria. In 2013 the Steigenberger Hotel Group also opened new, highly attractive InterCityHotels in Leipzig and Berlin, and refurbished five more in various German cities. The Steigenberger Hotel Group is to maintain its expansion course in 2014. It has exciting new openings coming up for the Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts brand. The first of these will be in Beijing with "Hotel Maximilian" managed by Steigenberger, within the "Audi World" complex with Training Center and Showroom. That will be followed by another Steigenberger in Berlin, that is Steigenberger Hotel Am Kanzleramt (next to the Chancellery), and in Hurghada (Egypt). The InterCityHotel brand is also growing, with new hotels opening in 2014 in Hamburg, Ingolstadt and Duisburg, and in Enschede (Netherlands). There will be plenty more new openings in the coming years, most of them abroad. Many of the contracts have already been signed. The Supervisory Board also decided in its meeting to enlarge the Management Board, appointing Michel Novatin as Management Board member with responsibility for Operations, Sales and Marketing, from 1 January 2014. He comes from France/Alsace and was trained at the Hotel and Management School in Strasbourg and INSEAD Paris; he then gained practical experience in numerous international hotel companies, including positions at InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Le Méridien Hotels, SBM Monte Carlo and Kempinski Hotels. The enlargement of the Management Board will enable Chief Executive Officer Puneet Chhatwal to concentrate more on international expansion of this heritage hotel company, alongside his responsibility for Communications and Strategy. Matthias Heck will continue to be responsible for Human Resources, Finance, Accounting and Construction. "I am delighted that we can now enlarge the Board of the Steigenberger Hotels AG to include Mr Novatin. He will be a great enrichment, particularly in this phase of expansion, thanks to his many years of experience – he has a strong track record which is both international and exceptional," said Dr Ralf Corsten, Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
Torsten K. Schulze has been appointed as General Manager at Steigenberger Hotel Am Kanzleramt
Torsten K. Schulze is to head up the new first-class establishment Steigenberger Hotel Am Kanzleramt in Berlin when it opens for business at the start of May. 50-year old Torsten K. Schulze moves from the Steigenberger Hotel Berlin, where he has held the reins as General Manager since 2007. With very few exceptions, he has remained loyal to the Steigenberger Hotel Group since the outset of his career. After completing initial vocational education and training in the occupation of hotel clerk at the Steigenberger Conti Hansa in Kiel, Torsten K. Schulze went on to gain further experience at Kempinski and Sheraton Hotels before returning to the Frankfurt-based Steigenberger Group and taking over as Deputy Director at the Steigenberger Drei Mohren in Augsburg in 1993. In the role of Director, he supported the openings of the Steigenberger Esprix Hotel in Celle and of the two Steigenberger Hotels Frankfurt City and Metropolitan, Frankfurt between 1996 und 2007. In addition to his duties as Director of the new Steigenberger Hotel Am Kanzleramt in Berlin, Torsten K. Schulze will continue to act as Area General Manager (AGM) for the Berlin Region.
Norman Mark has been appointed as General Manager at Steigenberger Hotel Sanssouci
Gondra Wettley will be succeeded at the Steigenberger Hotel Sanssouci in Potsdam by the 37-year old French national Norman Mark. After training as a restaurant specialist at the Brenners Park-Hotel in Baden-Baden, Mr. Mark held a number of jobs including Catering Event Supervisor at Catering's Best by InterContinental Frankfurt, Assistant Banquet Convention Manager and Assistant F&B Manager at the Sheraton Frankfurt Hotel & Towers and Director of F&B at the Hôtel Concorde Berlin. He moved to the Steigenberger Hotel Berlin in the spring of 2012, where he rose to the position of Executive Assistant Manager.
Gondra Wettley has been appointed as General Manager at Steigenberger Hotel Berlin
57-year old Gondra Wettley stepped into Torsten K. Schulze's shoes at the Steigenberger Hotel Berlin with effect from 1 January 2014. Before joining the Steigenberger Hotel Group in 1992, Ms. Wettley had already completed two courses of study at the Dresden Trade School and at the Leipzig School of Management. She also brought more than 15 years of experience in the hotel business to the table, having worked in the field of procurement before moving into human resources management. Following two years as Management Assistant at the Steigenberger Maxx Hotel Jena, she was appointed General Manager at the Steigenberger Esprix Hotel Halle, a position she held for two years. Gondra Wettley had spent the whole of the period since 1997 as General Manager of the Steigenberger Hotel Sanssouci in Potsdam, beginning by successfully guiding the establishment through its pre-opening phase. Between 2007 and 2009, she studied part-time for a Masters Degree in Tourism Management at Chur University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland.
Vienna International Hotelmanagement AG grows, remains on course for success
Vienna International Hotelmanagement AG (VI) once again reports an increased full-year profit for the 2013 financial year. A decisive contribution to this result came, among other things, from the Arcadia hotel purchases and the associated growth on the German market.
Georg-Friedrich Gerstenkamp has been appointed as Director of Revenue at Jumeirah Frankfurt
The German national has over 16 years’ experience in the industry and will be responsible for revenue management, the management of room inventories and pricing strategies. Georg joined the team under the leadership of General Manager Dagmar Woodward, in October 2013.
Wyndham Hotel Group Surpasses 100 Hotels in Germany
Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company with approximately 7,440 hotels and part of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: WYN), today announced its portfolio of hotels in Germany has grown to more than 100, following the recent openings of a further eight hotels across the country in association with leading hotel management company Grand City Hotels.
Germany - a 2013 market snapshot and the outlook for 2014 and beyond
Germany is a beacon for foreign investors, given its strong economy and tourism outlook. Cities on the radar are Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich, where 70% of the investments in Germany are made.
IHG expands its Holiday Inn Express® brand in Germany
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®), one of the world’s largest hotel companies, today announces the expansion of its Holiday Inn Express® brand in Germany with the signing of two more hotels: Holiday Inn Express Hamburg - City Hauptbahnhof and Holiday Inn Express Freiburg - City. These franchised hotels are part of a multiple development agreement (MDA) with IHG’s long standing lessee partner Foremost Hospitality HIEX GmbH.
Vienna International Hotels taking over sixth Arcadia Hotel in Germany
The expansion of Vienna International Hotels & Resorts (VI) in Germany continues unabated with the acquisition of the 3-star Arcadia Hotel in Neckarsulm effective 14 December 2013. The Austrian hotel operator now manages nine hotels in Germany.
Sofitel to Manage Hotel Concorde Berlin in Germany; To Rebrand as the Sofitel Berlin Kurfürstendamm
Sofitel has signed a management contract for the Hotel Concorde Berlin which, as of February 1st 2014, will be operated under its new name, the Sofitel Berlin Kurfürstendamm.
Malaysia: Convention and Culture Partner of ITB Berlin
Malaysia is to launch its global promotion campaign entitled 'Visit Malaysia Year 2014' at ITB Berlin with cultural events and information on Malaysia as a nature and beach holiday attraction as well as a MICE destination
Bargain Hunting for Luxury Hotels - A Comparison Of The Luxury Hotel Markets In Berlin, Prague And Warsaw
The capitals of three neighbouring countries – Berlin, Prague and Warsaw – have a reputation for being affordable destinations. These cities are also home to a large number of international-standard luxury properties, so guests might wonder, 'where can I get the best value for money?' To answer this question, we analysed the characteristics of the luxury hotel markets in these cities. By examining the dynamics between supply and demand, we explore how occupancy and rates vary amongst the three markets, illustrating how luxury hotel rates compare to those of upscale hotels. From a guest's point of view, a luxury hotel is affordable and provides a good value proposition if the price difference to the upscale category justifies the superior quality and extra services. So getting value for money means happy guests, but what about the hoteliers? From their perspective, it's all about maximising rooms revenue per room (RevPAR) and bottom-line profits; thus, we provide an illustration of the RevPAR dynamics across the three markets.
By Arlett Oehmichen, Director with HVS’s London office, HVS