ITB Berlin presents a preliminary list of topics and speakers at the travel industry's leading think tank – major topics in 2014 include luxury tourism and new technologies – extended programme from 5 to 8 March 2014 – admission is free for visitors to ITB Berlin
Visitors interested in a career in tourism will receive a boost for their job prospects at next year's ITB Berlin in Hall 11.1. Training & Employment in Tourism is moving from Hall 5.1. to Hall 11.1, where it will have information on vocational training and advanced training opportunities. A wide-ranging programme tailored to the needs of young tourism professionals awaits visitors to the stage. International exhibitors will be presenting details of training courses, for example. Personnel managers from leading tourism companies will have information on starting a career and the necessary qualifications in order to apply. Those interested in obtaining more information can visit the ITB Job Exchange powered by YOURCAREERGROUP, which in 2014 will again form part of Training & Employment in Tourism. At this main meeting place for newcomers and those already working in the hotel trade, restaurants, catering and tourism visitors can find out about job vacancies and meet directly with personnel managers.
Around two and a half months after receiving its first guests, the Steigenberger Hotel Bremen, a four-star Superior Establishment, officially marked its opening at a special ceremony staged yesterday evening. More than 250 invited guests, including Peter Siemering, Managing Director of the Bremen Tourist Office, and Puneet Chhatwal, CEO of Steigenberger Hotels AG, assembled in the GOP Variety Theatre adjoining the hotel to witness the handing over of the key. Located directly on the banks of the River Weser in Bremen's new "Überseestadt" District within walking distance of the city centre and enjoying excellent transport links, the Steigenberger Hotel Bremen is set to appeal to business travellers and city break visitors alike. The hotel, which brings modern and elegant seafaring and nautical flair together under its roof in a unique way, met with instant success. Over 5,000 guests including such prominent visitors as ex-German international footballers Thorsten Frings, Oliver Kahn, Lothar Matthäus and Michael Ballack have already been welcomed since the beginning of August, and demand continues to grow. "We are proud to be represented at such an important and forward- looking location as Bremen and are delighted that this hotel has got off to a highly promising start", explained Puneet Chhatwal, CEO of Steigenberger Hotels AG. The Steigenberger Hotel Bremen offers 137 rooms, including 4 suites. These are complemented by six conference rooms extending over a total area of 450 m2, by a generously proportioned spa and gym area and by a restaurant that features a panoramic glass frontage from where unrestricted views out over the river can be enjoyed. The adjoining GOP Variety Theatre provides guests with a combination of attractions unique in northern Germany.
Located in a historic 1900’s building in the bohemian neighbourhood of Mitte, the design-led Generator Berlin Mitte accommodates up to 552 guests across 139 en-suite rooms and dorms. Public spaces include a lively Generator Bar, chill-out library, café, historic central courtyard and a basement event space that will be used to showcase the work of local artists, designers and musicians.
Locally born Joachim Sommer has been at the helm of the InterCityHotel Mannheim since the beginning of October, having made the move from the nearby InterCityHotel Speyer, where he held the position of Director until mid-2012. There was a change in management at the InterCityHotel Mannheim on 1 October, when Joachim Sommer formally took over as the establishment's new Director. Mr. Sommer succeeds Robert Boller, who moved to the Head Office of the Steigenberger Hotel Group.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®), one of the world's largest hotel companies, has concluded a multi-development franchise agreement with Bierwirth & Kluth Hotelmanagement GmbH to develop five hotels across Germany. The first hotel under the agreement – Holiday Inn Hamburg - City Nord – has already been signed.
An opportunity for travel industry and internet tourism decision-makers – ITB Berlin is looking for fascinating subjects for papers and workshops on mobile solutions and social media – the deadline for entries is 1 November 2013
INNSIDE by Meliá, pioneers of the design-led business hotel movement in Germany and moving to the UK (Manchester) in 2014, launches its third property in Dusseldorf on Monday 16th September. The brand's concept seeks to blur the boundaries between business and lifestyle hotels.
The partnership aims to build a portfolio of 26 hotels in Germany, Austria and Switzerland by 2020 for a total investment of about €160 million. The first development phase will place priority on locations in major regional cities such as Munich, Vienna, Salzburg, Basle and Zurich.
There will be a new challenge for Stefan Marczinkowski from September 2013 when he takes over as Director of the InterCityHotel Magdeburg. The 47-year old Rooms Division Manager will be making the move from the InterCityHotel Frankfurt Airport to the banks of the River Elbe in order to start his new role.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. today kicks-off the company's sixth annualRoad to Awarenessbike ride challengeincluding CEO, Frits van Paasschen, joining for the second year in a row, and 23 other Starwood executives and associates from across the globe. The cyclists begin their journey in Munich at the Sheraton Munich Arabellapark Hotel where they will embark on a three-day journey through the mountains of Austria in the Tyrol and Salzburg counties. They will cycle more than 400 kilometres and ascend six climbs before they finish the ride at the Sheraton Fuschlsee-Salzburg Hotel Jagdhof. The bike ride is part of the annual associate fundraising campaignRoad to Awarenesswhich launched in 2008 and since then has raised over US$2.5 million for UNICEF education projects through local fundraising initiatives across its 250 hotels in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Hoteliers in Berlin saw profits per available room increase by 25% in July this year which was solely attributable to non-rooms revenues and effective overhead cost management, according to the latest HotStats survey. Occupancy and Average Room Rate (ARR) both decreased marginally in July resulting in a slight fall in RevPar of 1% to €78.80. Meeting room revenue, however, increased by over 140%, equivalent to an additional €5.58 per available room, and consequently was the main driver of Total Revenue (TrevPar) growth of 9.6%. Other revenue drivers were food and beverage, with growth in this department improving departmental payroll efficiency by an impressive 12 percentage points and ultimately more than tripling food and beverage departmental operating profit per available room to €10.40 when compared to July last year.
The Steigenberger Parkhotel in Braunschweig is ready. On 26 August 2013, the four-star superior establishment will officially greet its first guests. They will be arriving at a modern business hotel with historic construction elements which are listed. Accommodation: timeless design and state-of-the-art technology
Carlson Rezidor, one of the ten largest hotel groups worldwide, announces the Radisson Blu Hotel Mannheim in Germany. The new built property featuring 225 keys is scheduled to open in 2016. Radisson Blu is Europe’s largest upper upscale brand and offers first class, full service hotels with contemporary architecture and design, innovative concepts, and signature services such as free high speed internet access.
Two Worlds Collide – this is the theme for the first conference to be jointly hosted by HSMAI Europe and HSMA Germany. The conference takes a detailed look at the converging disciplines of Revenue Management and Digital Marketing and the issues this raises in leadership, management skills, new performance benchmarks, and how to optimise profitability across the disciplines.
Vienna International Hotelmanagement AG (VI) is setting a milestone in its announced growth strategy with the acquisition, via its German subsidiary, of the 4-star Arcadia Hotel Coburg from the German hotel group Arcadia effective 1 June 2013.
Construction has commenced on this very first double hotel project by Foremost Hospitality. The city of Nuremberg will soon benefit from an 80 bedroom Hampton by Hilton and a 124 bedroom Holiday Inn Express Hotel within walking distance of the main station.
In December, Meliá Hotels International signed a strategic alliance with the Chinese Greenland Group to promote growth and brand awareness for Meliá in China through the management of hotels owned by Greenland, as well as promote the growth of Greenland hotel brands in Europe with the assistance of Meliá,
Steigenberger is expanding in Stuttgart. The Frankfurt-based company will be represented in the exclusive hotel and residential project Cloud No. 7 (www.cloudno7.de) of the new Europaviertel district, with a design-driven first-class hotel. The Steigenberger Hotel will take up seven storeys of an 18-storey hotel and residential tower, providing some 175 guest rooms and suites. It will have five meeting rooms with about 550 square metres for meetings and conferences. It will also have a restaurant and a spa area, and special highlights such as the "Skybar" with an outside terrace and a view over Stuttgart.
The takeover has begun – from the beginning of April, the 20 former hotels of the Queens Moat Houses Holding GmbH Germany, including 15 Holiday Inn Hotels, four Best Western Hotels and one Queens Hotel, were included in the portfolio of the Leonardo Hotels and put into operation. The hotels were acquired as part of Europe's biggest hotel deal in recent years by the Israeli hotel chain Fattal Hotels Group. The hotels are located in Berlin, Munich, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Wolfsburg, Mannheim, Hanover, Baden-Baden, Aachen, Mönchengladbach and Karlsruhe. The new portfolio includes more than 3,600 rooms, 28 bars, and 29 restaurants, as well as 154 conference rooms with a total area of 9,675 square metres.