Opinions made, reservations created

ITB Hospitality Day in a discussion with reviewers and private room portals


Privacy in Berlin - or other metropolitan cities. The P-2-P platforms promise social contacts in the heart of the city, and lower costs compared to hotels. / photo: Wimdu

Berlin (February 28, 2014). The Internet as a "democratic" platform: Initially, the traveller was only permitted to review online hotels and then it bore the new guild of the Blogger. Today, everyone can express their opinion on the Internet and thus have an influence on trends. This is equally valid for companies: The ability to book online has now paved the way for private room mediators.

Today, Wimdu, 9flats and Housetrip are competitors of the traditional hotel industry. How do both change the industry? Two talk rounds of great interest at the 9th "ITB Hospitality Day", the Hotel Conference at the ITB, will discuss these trends, the facts and the emotions behind this. On Thursday, 6th of March, 2014, from 15:15, in Hall 7.1 B / London Auditorium.

Is the hotel industry changing or are their reviewers changing? This question is posed to the panel under the title " A Different Perspective: How Do Bloggers And Hotel Review Platform Analysts View The Hotel Industry?" These days, guest opinions have a huge influence on reservations, hotel reviews have grown out of their baby shoes and on top of that, Bloggers in the opinion profession have changed the opinion parameters once more. What do these "outsiders" think about the hotel industry, has the industry changed from their perspective? And how must the hotel industry change in order to meet the demands of the Social Media platforms and the mediation platforms?


	Benjamin Jost, TrustYou.

The invited experts wish to truly discuss the trend subject through a different perspective. As a representative of the TripAdvisor hotel review platform, Tom Breckwoldt, Territority Manager for Business Listings in the German-speaking realm, will take the stage from 15:15 to 16:15; and from TrustYou, there comes Co-founder and Managing Director, Benjamin Jost. Marion Schumacher, Vice President PR & Communication for Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has a particular affinity for Social Media; and the second lady on the stage is the Travel Blogger, Yvonne Zagermann who primarily publishes her hotel experiences on justtravelous.com.


Yvonne Zagermann, Blogger.

And as insider, Prof. Dr. Axel Jockwer, Professor for Tourism Management at the EBC College Stuttgart, takes over the presentation: He has been active in a leading role at HolidayCheck for several years.

The reservation mediators follow the opinion makers

The next trend subject will follow immediately afterward in "ITB Hospitality Day": "Social Tourism or Gray Market?" The title will lead the direction of the discussion regarding the power of Peer-2-Peer suppliers as private room mediators. Will cities and industry associations be able to restrain their boom with their protests and regulations?


	Christopher Oster, Wimdu.

This will be exciting since the consumer trend is speaking a different language than the feeling of the traditional hoteliers. In this case, the Internet has opened the gate to a new segment and commercial hosts are fighting against it – worldwide.


Ramón Estalella Halffter, Spanish hotel association.

Both sides are considered within the circle of panellists: So representing the side of the hotels is Thomas Allemann, Member of the Management Board at the Swiss hotel association, hotelleriesuisse, and Ramón Estalella Halffter, Secretary-General, Spanish Confederation of Hotels. Three representatives of the P-2-P side also wish to join in on the discussion: Christopher Oster, Co-founder of Wimdu, Roman Bach, and Managing Director of 9flats as well as Arnaud Bertrand, CEO of HouseTrip. The moderator, Prof. Macy Marvel, an adviser of Lausanne Hospitality Consulting, has recently been required to immerse himself deeply into the study of the matter. This panel begins at 16:30 and ends at 17:30.

Hotel conference via Internet LIVESTREAM

hospitalityInside.com is exclusive media partner for the "ITB Hospitality Day" and responsible for the contents of the conference. Those who cannot attend the conference, will be able to watch live on the Internet - under this LIVESTREAM link. You will also be able to read summaries after March 14 on hospitalityInside.com under the "Network" (ITB Berlin) column. / kn

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