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march 2013 SPECIAL i TB ed iTi o n F or e X P e rT S in h oS P i Ta L i T Y & T ou riSm TraVeLLinG diFFerenTLY. coSmoPoLiTanS oF TomorroW.

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hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 March 2013 Natural make-up for the highest standards Riches of the sea, harnessed for beauty Skin care à la carte with NUTRIDERMOLOGIE® Sensorial luxury spa treatments for all senses Holisitic spa concepts from one single partner THALGO COSMETIC represents four strong brands, unique spa concepts, intensive training and marketing support. THALGO explores the sea’s wealth to develop authentic cosmetics and rituals. Ella Baché creates efficient beauty recipes for natural, radiant beauty. TERRAKÉ offers sensorial luxury with exceptional spa rituals. Couleur Caramel provides organic make-up with an extraordinary variety of coulours. Innovative service concepts such as SPA GYM® complete the range of THALGO COSMETIC. info@thalgo-cosmetic.de | .at · www.thalgo-cosmetic.de | .at

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March 2013 hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 Dear hospitalityInsiders and guests of ITB Berlin 2013, Are you and/or do you think „young“? Dynamically, unconventionally? Love creative ideas and people? This is exactly what ITB Berlin offers you at the 8th „ITB Hospitality Day“ at ITB Berlin. The headword „young“ will stretch through the entire hotel conference – from young travellers through to young concepts and up to young CEOs and young distribution channels. You will find this and more in this special edition, 3rd „hospitalityINSIDE SPECIAL ITB“. Its contents are worth more than this 250 gram weight – but, if you do not wish to carry this paper packet along, you can also find us as a virtual, ultra-light packet under www.hospitalityInside.com. The entirety is in German and English because our online hotel trade magazine is acting internationally. We, as producers of this SPECIAL, have had a unique relationship with the world‘s largest tourism trade show: As a hotel industry journalist with more than 25 years‘ experience and as the Editor in Chief of hospitalityInside.com, I have been organising the „ITB Hospitality Day“ hotel conference since the beginning. And from the outset, it has been among the most highlyattended of the ITB convention programme which, by the way, is celebrating its 10th birthday this year. 92,000 professional visitors have made the ITB Convention the largest Think Tank in the world. We warmly congratulate Messe Berlin on this gigantic success! Both persons responsible for ITB, Dr. Martin Buck and David Ruetz, talk about what is new at ITB 2013 – and this is more than the premiere of the much-discussed, first-time sales of travel products at the trade show. In addition, this SPECIAL takes up the trend-setting topics within the hotel industry – among them are trends such as the couch surfing, of Generation Y as well as distribution subjects like Mobile. For 2013 and thereafter, casually put, only one thing counts: The better idea, the better target group knowledge or the better distribution strength. It has also remained suspenseful within the international hotel industry in 2013 since the basic conditions have not become any easier. In the „World of Hospitality“, our joint stand in Halle 9, Stand 109, you will find me and our team from hospitalityInside as well as our 12 co-exhibitors from the areas of Consulting, Software Development, Online Payment, Hotel Industry, Sustainability, eCommerce, Workforce Management and Media. By names, you will meet ATOSS Software, Futour Wenzel Consulting, Gold Inn/Dormero Hotels, HR Group, HSDS Hospitality Software Development Services, Macnetix, Media Carrier, meinpep;TUI 4U, Puetter GmbH, Siemens Enterprise Communications, Treugast Solutions Group and Worldpay. Stop by, read us offline or online, speak with us or send me an email personally at maria@hospitalityInside.com. We always have an open ear for topics that help the industry. Have a successful ITB 2013! Yours, Maria Puetz-Willems Editor-in-chief Do you have any questions or suggestions? Please, contact us: Editorial office: editor@hospitalityInside.com Publishing company: office@hospitalityInside.com SGABE // ITB-AU MÄRZ 2013 SPECIAL EN FÜR EXPERT LERIE AUS HOTEL MARCH 2013 // MUS & TOURIS Visit us! WORLD O F HOSPITA Hall 9 9 Stand 10 SPECIAL N ITB EDITIO S FOR EXPERT ALITY IN HOSPIT M & TOURIS LITY AND ERS REISE N. OPO DIE KOSM MOR GEN LITEN VON ble as also availa e at emagazin ! e.com italityinsid www.hosp TRAVE LLING DIFFE RENT OPOL LY. COSM . TOMO RROW ITANS OF

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hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 March 2013 CONTENT editorial The world’s largest Think Tank Congratulation to the 10th anniversary of ITB Convention and 92,000 visitors Knowledge and networking Platform ITB Berlin 2013: 10th year convention, travel sales for the first time, new markets Bigger, nicer, and more varied Hotels and experts present the “World of Hospitality” at ITB Young and unconventional 8th “ITB Hospitalit y Day” presents new directions, concepts and faces neighbourhoods are the new cities 20 years Design Hotels – CEO Claus Sendlinger about the new philosophy discovering destinations WYSE Travel Confederation release new data about young travellers Between dream and reality Hospitality students and their wish list addressed to employers 3 5 8 14 19 20 22 24 Verified sleep Couch surfing now following private room portals The new insider codes The rich kids of today discover “Stealth Luxury” do not shoot from the hip How Starwood Hotels filters trends and hypes – and goes its own way mobile becomes natural The figures speak for themselves – the hotel sector will have to react an example, myTaxi: Simply sexy networking Social Media Column Learning from the best – ITB Experts Forum Wellness expansion in 3d – Dormero Stuttgart SI Centrum Places of respect – Italian Sextantio Group turns rural sites into Design Hotels The secret brand strengthener International chains further expand with resort hotels IMPRINT 28 29 30 31 32 Publisher: hospitalityInside GmbH, Paul-Lincke-Strasse 20, 86199 Augsburg, Gemany. www.hospitalityInside.com // Editorial office: Maria PuetzWillems, Editor-in-chief, hospitalityInside.com // Articles: The articles published in this Special are written on the occasion of ITB 2013 or are extracts of articles published in the online magazine www.hospitalityInside.com // Authors: Maria Puetz-Willems, Susanne Stauss // Cover: © ruf Reisen, André Bitter // Photos were kindly provided by the hotels and persons mentioned, furthermore Estrel, fotolia violetkaipa/Vlastimil Šesták, Hanhart, ITB Berlin, Maria Puetz-Willems, Christian Rokosch // Advertisements: This Special is supported by advertisements of HR Group, Living Hotels, Messe Berlin, Motel One, Ronnefeldt, Quality Reservations, Thalgo Cosmetic // Layout: Cornelia Anders, www.blueorangeblue.de // Print: Silber Druck, www.silberdruck.de // Copyright: hospitalityInside GmbH. This content is protected by law. Publishing this content or parts of it in print or online media requires the written permission of hospitalityInside GmbH. In case of violation we will charge current market fees. Beyond, we reserve the right to take legal action and claim damages.

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March 2013 hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 CONgRATuLATION TO THE 10TH ANNIvERSARY OF ITB CONvENTION AND 92,000 vISITORS The world‘s largest Think Tank Berlin (March 6, 2013). The ITB Berlin Convention celebrates its 10th anniversary. In the last 9 years 92,000 trade visitors listened to the presentations and discussions of more than 2,000 top speakers in about 800 sessions. art of ITB Berlin is since 2004 also the ITB Berlin Convention. In 2012, there were 17,000 participants, 250 high-ranking speakers and panel guests from the industry and politics, and more than 120 sessions in 15 tourism theme days, the world‘s largest tourism convention. As the Leading Travel Industry Think Tank the convention addresses the most important issues in the global tourism industry and presents solutions and best practice examples for current and future challenges. At the ITB Berlin Convention 2012 particular attention was paid to the financial debt crisis, technology trends, the over-exploitation of destinations, sustainability, mobility as well as internet and social media. Participants and speakers praised the ITB Berlin Convention for being highly topical and covering relevant issues. Exclusive empirical studies, expert panelists and innovative concepts offer indispensable insights into the major trends of the global tourism industry and also provide specific guidance on how this could relate to your own business. In addition, the ITB Berlin Convention is also an excellent networking platform. As Scientific Director, Prof. Dr. Roland Conrady is in charge of the ITB Berlin Convention. A team of 60 students that major in travel and tourism at the University of Applied Sciences Worms supports the process of the convention. The Convention addresses decision makers in all segments of the global tourism industry. Important topics of different tourism segments (future, hospitality, aviation, corporate social responsibility, business travel, travel technology, etc.) as well as issues specific regions or destinations are presented with, will be discussed. The broad thematic variety has something to offer for every ITB Berlin exhibitor and visitor. The majority of the ITB Berlin Convention events are free of charge for ITB Berlin visitors and exhibitors and no prior registration is required (www.itb-convention.com). // kn

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hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 March 2013 ITB BERLIN 2013: 10TH YEAR CONvENTION, TRAvEL SALES FOR THE FIRST TIME, NEW MARkETS Knowledge and Networking Platform Berlin (March 6, 2013). Ten years of compressed knowledge: The anniversary of the ITB Berlin Convention is a highlight of this year‘s ITB Berlin. Also in the 47th year of its existence, the world´s largest tourism trade show remains a stable anchor for the global travel industry. Once again, it is registering a very high demand from emerging destinations such as Asia as well as from the Middle East and South America. The trend segments are likewise continuing to grow. For the first time, ITB is allowing the sale of travel products to private visitors over the weekend. The trade show management feels validated by the positive feedback during the run-up in spite of the often expressed criticism. Dr. Martin Buck, vice President Messe Berlin/ITB and David Ruetz, Senior Manager ITB Competence, Travel & Logistics in a conversation with hospitalityInside Editor in Chief Maria Puetz-Willems. What new accents has ITB Berlin put in place organizationally and content-wise in 2013? Dr. Martin Buck: The ITB Berlin Convention will celebrate its 10th anniversary with numerous discussions and talks by wellknown experts. Included among other things are the megatrends of tomorrow from within commerce and society and the development of the cruise and hotel industries. As in each year, the best minds from within the industry will be present. A few names, for example: Prof. Michael C. Burda, Professor of Economics, Chair for Macroeconomics and Labor Economics at Humboldt University Berlin on the subject ‚Europe in 2023‘; Dr. Antonella Mei-Pochtler, Senior Partner & Managing Director Vienna from the Boston Consulting Group on the future perspectives of information technologies or Dr. Temel Kotil, CEO of Turkish Airlines on the future of aviation. The entire programme is ready for download at www.itb-kongress.de/programm. David Ruetz: Our Convention & Culture Partner this year is Azerbaijan that, among other things, will provide an understanding of the beauty of the Silk Road to visitors in Halle 7.2b as well as at the joint stand in Hall 3.2. For the second time and together with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), ITB Berlin takes a look at the tourism development of the Silk Road and the 2nd edition of „Silk Road Ministers‘ Meeting“ will take place on the 6th of March. New this year is Blogger Speed Dating on the 7th and 8th of March from 16.30-18:00 on each day in Hall 7.3. The Travel Bloggers come from diverse areas such as Adventure, Luxury or Family Travel. also from Latin America: Each of the countries on the continent are represented at the travel trade show. Dr. Martin Buck: Syria has foregone participation in ITB Berlin. As a countermove, there are newcomers or returnees: South Sudan, independent of Sudan since the 9th of July, 2011, is joining for the first time; they are exhibiting with the African countries. Yemen and Libya return after a break from ITB. Arabian countries like Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia or United Arab Emirates have already secured places for themselves. Iraq has even increased its stand area in comparison to the year before. Some exhibitors will take new paths: Seven of the ten Danube states will unite – Bulgaria, Germany, Moldavia, Austria, Romania, Serbia and Hungary. What added value do the convention event programmes of the trade show bring? Dr. Martin Buck: Aside from the wide range of offers, thanks to the conventions, ITB Berlin is also addressing that which concerns Innovation and Information throughout the market activities. The ITB Berlin Convention has developed into the largest Think Tank of the international travel industry. Up to now, approximately 100,000 professional visitors have followed the talks and discussions of more than 2,000 top speakers. The convention has set new standards every year with a wide spectrum of tourism, commerce and policy, partnership and sustainability. Valuable Best Practice examples, talks and discussions act as an indispensable knowledge and an excellent networking platform. Directly in a time of the flood of information, this is ideal The world remains in times of disquiet, what fluctuations or changes are you experiencing on the exhibitor side? David Ruetz: In spite of the difficult economic situation worldwide, ITB Berlin is presenting itself as a stable anchor for the global travel industry and is registering a very high demand for emerging destinations such as Asia, the Middle East and South America as well as the expansion of trend segments. The area of Travel Technology as well as the Gay & Lesbian Travel segment has continued to grow. The Travel Technology areas in Halls 6.1, 8.1 and 10.1 are already completely booked. New and returning exhibitors from the areas of Mobile Travel and Social Media will present the latest in Hall 7.1c. In the eTravelWorld, experts will also discuss subjects relevant to the industry once again this year. Hotel platforms will additionally exhibit in Hall 25. As a partner country, Indonesia stands in focus in Hall 4.1 with a clearly enlarged exhibition space. Hall 5.2b is also completely booked by India. As a result, the Indian exhibitors dr. martin Buck, Vice President have grown into Hall 5.2a and messe Berlin/iTB are present there with the Province of Uttarakhand for the first time. Trend destinations like Nepal and Bhutan have also grown strongly (also in Hall 5.2a). Good news

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März 2012 hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 2 for attaining compressed knowledge in the shortest time. Does the hotel industry remain a strong pillar of ITB? David Ruetz: Of course, the hotel industry remains a fundamentally important component – the number of exhibiting companies from the accommodation area alone speaks for itself. Moreover, the ITB Hospitality Day as an independent theme day in the convention programme points to the great importance that ITB Berlin attaches to its exhibitors from this area. What do you wish from the hotel industry in the coming years concerning the trade show? Dr. Martin Buck: We wish that the hotel groups increasingly utilise ITB Berlin as a platform for their own younger talent. A visit to the globally leading trade show of the international travel industry should remain a „must“ for every young hotelier. Messe Berlin has made alterations. What measures are already initiated, what are the next steps in what time frame? Dr. Martin Buck: The ‚CityCube Berlin‘ in the immediate vicinity of the south entrance of the Berlin ExpoCenter City has sprung up. In this multifunctional trade show and convention hall, trade show events with a capacity of up to 10,000 participants can take place from the1st quarter of 2014. The foundation for it was laid on the 5th of July last year. The CityCube Berlin is nearly booked for 2014. The calendar of events for the coming years is also filling up at a pleasantly high tempo. Particularly with the realisation of large-scale medical conventions, our extensive know-how is strongly demanded. In this segment, there are already reservations in the CityCube Berlin through to 2020. For quite some time, the Messe Berlin has urgently needed further exhibition space for the security of its competitiveness, particularly to reduce the surplus of demand by internationally leading trade shows and in order to place new trade shows on the market. How dynamic, how interactive is the longest-running and largest tourism trade show in the world today? David Ruetz: With the Speed Dating between Bloggers and exhibitors, ITB Berlin offers a free service with many possibilities that should aid exhibitors in interactively marketing their destinations or products more successfully. In addition, discussion rounds, workshops and talks are on the programmes for the eTravel World and the ITB Berlin Convention. Of course, we are also active ourselves. We intend to launch a Social Media Newsroom in the middle of February. ITB Berlin is also offering a mobile phone App with which its guests can easily find their way to the Berlin exhibition centre as well as the list of exhibitors and that concerning the convention and events and much more. Eight years ago and as the first exhibition organiser worldwide, the Messe Berlin developed the Virtual Market Place for exhibitors and visitors. This instrument for communication on the Internet throughout the term of the real trade show has proved itself very well. Your decision to permit the sale of travel products at this ITB has also drawn harsh criticism toward Messe Berlin. What resonance has reached you during the run-up and will you stick to the sale of travel products in the future? Dr. Martin Buck: The Messe Berlin is obligated to continually develop products and to optimally target the needs of its clients. Sale to the private audience means an increase in attraction and with this, a benefit to the exhibitors. As a result, we have also received a great deal of positive feedback and a strong demand for sales opportunities at ITB Berlin. Many tourist information offices, numerous German state marketing organisations as well as the Corps Touristique have long wished to be permitted to sell travel to private visitors during the ITB weekend. The exhibitors at ITB Berlin who are organised as mid-range tour operators in the German Travel Association (DRV-Deutsche ReiseVerband) also recommend this. As our survey impressively indicates, more than 50 percent of the interviewees spoke out for sales on the weekend. We are very curious as to how it will run this year. We will evaluate the results and experiences at this ITB Berlin before we advance toward further planning. Many thanks and much success! david ruetz, Senior manager iTB competence, Travel & Logistics

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hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 March 2013 HOTELS AND ExPERTS PRESENT THE „WORLD OF HOSPITALITY“ AT ITB Bigger, nicer, and more varied Berlin (March 6, 2013). The circle of hospitality experts at the joint „World of Hospitality“ ITB booth has become more colourful and varied compared to last year. The participating 12 partners at the booth initiated by HospitalityInside, the specialised publisher based in Augsburg, germany, come from the areas of Consulting, Software Development, Online Payment, Hotel Industry, Sustainability, eCommerce, Workforce Management and Media. As a result, trade fair visitors will find hoteliers and experts at one place from all fields of business that are part of the core areas of today‘s hotel business. Pay them a visit at hall 9/booth 109 ! Stand b 1, s of Fe plan a ng Renderi 2013. en by flieg debau ten24.d

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March 2013 hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 PARTNER „World of Hospitality“ 2013 Below, the partners will introduce themselves in alphabetical order. ATOSS SOFTWARE Ag is a provider of consulting, software and professional services, specialized on professional workforce management and demand-oriented deployment of staff. ATOSS solutions are renowned for maximum functionality and the latest technology. The company’s software is in use in 25 countries worldwide and 8 languages. When it comes to workforce management, some 4,000 customers– from SMEs to major corporations – rely on ATOSS. Our customers include companies such as apetito catering, CocaCola, DB Gastronomie, Grand Hotel Esplanade, Hotel Bareiss, Lufthansa, Maritim Hotel Kaiserhof, PUMA, Sixt, Starbucks and Deutsche Seerederei Holding with its A-ROSA Hotels and the Hotel Louis C. Jacob. At the „World of Hospitality“, the company is presenting the ATOSS Hospitality Solution – a workforce management software specifically tailored to the requirements of the hotel and catering industry. The scalable product concept supports professional workforce management to suit all requirements. ATOSS Hospitality Solution BASE is the entry-level product that opens the door to more efficient workforce management, offering central workforce deployment and scheduling. ATOSS Hospitality Solution ADVANCED mirrors the HR processes used in the hotel industry and supports comprehensive automated workforce scheduling based on personnel demand and a series of variable criteria. ATOSS Hospitality Solution ENTERPRISE is designed for national and international hotel chains, providing central access to the personnel resources at all integrated hotels. The goal is to reduce personnel costs in the long term, standardize processes and improve employee qualifications – whether at single or multiple hotels. Organizing hotel staff is complex and time consuming. Varying shift patterns, weekend work, short-term deployments and overtime are the order of the day. Not to mention the increasing speed with which reservations can be made, resulting in short-term fluctuations of occupancy rates. With the ATOSS Hospitality Solution, staff scheduling processes are centralized and planning costs reduced to a minimum. International hotel chains, business hotels or family-owned individual establishments – ATOSS Hospitality Solution supports customer-oriented workforce management at optimized cost while taking due account of employees‘ own needs. Contact: Ulli Beckmann, Sales Director Hospitality. www.atoss.com As HR Group takes the role of the owner within all projects, the company differs from conventional hotel companies. Especially on the capital-intensive hotel real estate market there are significant advantages if the hotel operation is aligned with the needs of the owner. Furthermore, operational processes will be streamlined. The property’s value increase is always in the foreground. Extensive market knowledge of the hotel real estate market as well as professional management structures build the base for the success of HR Group. Contact: Katrin Raithel, Sales & Marketing. www.hrgroup.eu HR gROuP is a privately owned company based in Berlin which focuses on ownerships and operation of hotel properties. Meanwhile the group has grown to eight hotels in Germany. The portfolio ranges from a resort at the Baltic Coast to classic business hotels in metropolitan areas such as Stuttgart and Frankfurt. The majority of our operations is positioned in cooperation with major franchisors such as Mercure (Mercure Hotel Bad Homburg/Friedrichsdorf, Mercure Hotel Stuttgart Schwieberdingen, Mercure Hotel Garmisch Partenkirchen) InterCity Hotels (InterCityHotel Schwerin) and Lindner Hotels & Resorts (Lindner Hotel & SPA Rügen). Smaller properties are operated as stand alone individual hotels (Markgraf Hotel Leipzig and Schlosshotel Neustadt-Glewe). The recently acquired Dormotel Hotel Europa in Halle (Saale) is about to undergo an extensive renovation and will then be positioned as a budget design hotel. Regardless of the brand and location our guests enjoy a high level of comfort and personal service in all our properties. HSDS – HOSPITALITY SOFTWARE DEvELOPMENT SERvICES: The company creates web applications for some of the world’s leading hospitality players, from leading hotel brands, through OTAs, to leading application providers in the hospitality industry. Recently founded in 2011 around a core team that has been working together for the last fifteen years, the company already has a proven track record and understands the hospitality industry, driven by a group of the finest professionals in the industry. As a near-shore IT development & services provider HSDS builds complete solutions for some clients in full service, other clients „simply“ want their own applications managed – so HSDS takes over support and maintenance for them. With a team of 40 specialists the company scales up for projects where required with the exact required resources. So HSDS keeps its customers from paying for

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hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 March 2013 unnecessary overheads. The emphasis is on quality not quantity. Clients can choose how they wish to work with HSDS: Have their own dedicated team, pay on time & material basis, or agree on a fixed project price – the client decides which is suitable for his own situation. Contact: Adriaan Kleingeld, CEO. www.hsdsuk.com MACNETIx: It all started with a vision: When Peggy Bielke and Dirk truth in 2000 founded Macnetix, the two young entrepreneurs had one main goal: the development of intelligent software solutions. With the emphasis on intelligent. „Our programs should not only work, but are designed to support people in their labor surroundings,“ says Peggy Bielke. This project Macnetix could implement into practice. During the ten-year history, the company grew steadily, increased the number of its employees and has expanded its business premises. In the field of new communication systems, it is undoubtedly one of the leading companies in Germany and within Europe. Several well-known companies such as Bacardi, Lufthansa Cargo and the Otto Group and known hotel chains such as Marriott, Moevenpick and Hilton are belonging to the buyers and customers of the Berlin products. „Our customers appreciate especially our professional and flexible service,“ Bielke explains. All benefit from the good quality of Macnetix products. In addition to numerous software solutions that are tailored to the needs of its customers, Macnetix could bring its own standard applications on the market. „It is quite extraordinary that we develop individual software and distribute our own products – but that in fact makes us so unique,“ says CEO Dirk Wahrheit. The knowledge of the product range is an advantage in creating custom solutions. Conversely, the project experience helps in the optimization of its own systems. The standard applications, however, are programs within the range of modern communications solutions. This claim is also in the name Macnetix (MArketing Communication NETwork Inter-eXchange). While editIT/playIT is used as advertising and information system for digital signage, IPTV-HD, the multimedia television Macnetix, for inroom entertainment is at its best. Macnetix is taking care of the changing market and provides in times of Smart TV its own Android-based products. OpenApp.tv transforms conventional television in Smart TVs and OpenApp.DS the innovative technology is set to revolutionize the digital signage market. „We look back on a grown experience and will further develop our programs,“ explains CEO Wahrheit. In consequence it is not surprising that Macnetix is established both in the market for digital signage as well as in the field of IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) and is among the top ten in the industry. A success that has already been honored twice with the „Digital Signage Best Practice Award“. Contact: Dirk Wahrheit, CEO. www.macnetix.com MEDIA CARRIER: Media Carrier is specialized in the distribution of digital newspapers and magazines and is the most recent company established by Trunk Holding, one of Europe’s largest press-distributor. Media Carrier has developed a digital library, which offers digital editions to download on any mobile device such as smartphones, tablets or laptop without any prior installation or registration of apps. According to the clients‘ requirements, Media Carrier buys digital editions of newspapers and magazines from publishing houses and composes individual portfolios using its own technical solution for distribution: the „Media Box“. This service is offered to the Travel and Hospitality Industry, such as Hotels, Airlines and Lounges. Amongst others, hotel guests of the Steigenberger chain, the Novotel hotels and passengers of airberlin are already enjoying the great benefits of the „Media Box“. The company is a subsidiary of the Trunk Group. Through Trunk Press Distribution, one of the five leading press distributors in Germany, and the sister company NewsLog which supplies airports, lounges and airlines in Europe and in the U.S. with print media for over 10 years; Media Carrier has access to a wide range of national and international publications, which adds to an attractive portfolio for all its clients and customers. Contact: Frank Ecker, Managing Director/ Sandra Bardewyck, Key Account Manager. www.media-carrier.de

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March 2013 hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 MEINPEP; TuI 4 u: meinpep is the new online tour operator from TUI 4U Ltd dedicated to the travel and hotel industry. meinpep provides enticing so-called pep and interline offers to all travel industry staff. These offers have a built in core function of further education or training. The headquarters of TUI 4U Ltd is located in Bremen. The central focus of this 140 strong workforce is in the fields of flight consolidator, flight database management and call center services. The online tour operator meinpep exists since 2012 as a further strategic business interest in the TUI 4U portfolio. Staff are almost all fully trained travel and hotel salespeople. The company places great importance on high standards of training and on the implementation of cutting edge technology. Automated systems process customers transactions efficiently and cost-effectively. TUI 4U is the sole developer of the technology and content involved in meinpep. In addition to the elaborate system of entitlement for the various customer groups, meinpep employs highly modern databanks and innovative booking systems to combine all of the content. Exclusive pep and interline offers, hotels, rental cars, insurance and transfers are on offer as well as one of the largest flight databases in the world. More than 120,000 pep fares in the flight department, 4000 hotels with cheap pep and special rates and many other travel services are checked for availability and can be booked directly online. None of the offers need to be requested or reconfirmed. Holidaymakers also have a 7 day telephone and email service if any questions arise. Independent hotels and hotel chains are provided with a fast, modern marketing platform which is customer target group oriented and reaches the resale market effectively. As hotelier, you can decide which customer group receives which travel dates. He can also choose in which market he makes his product available. meinpep can be booked in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland and in the Benelux states. meinpep will increase your market profile in the B2B sector, and customers will benefit from the marketing expertise, not to mention the fast and customer friendly payment and booking procedure. Contact: Angela Fast, Head of Product Management. eMail: produkt@ meinpep.de, www.meinpep.de ships. Siemens Enterprise Communications dedicates itself to adopting unified communications and collaboration applications in a cost effective manner so that customers are able to mitigate risk. Siemens Enterprise Communications is a joint venture of The Gores Group and Siemens AG, and includes Enterasys Networks, a provider of network infrastructure and security solutions, creating a complementary and complete enterprise communications solutions portfolio. Contact: David Leonhard Steinbauer, Global Hospitality Service. www.siemensenterprise.com SIEMENS ENTERPRISE COMMuNICATIONS (SEN) is a leading global provider of unified communications (UC) solutions and network infrastructure for enterprises of all sizes. Leveraging 160 years of experience. From the first pointer telegraph and the first transatlantic communications cable, through acclaimed voice telephony solutions right up to today’s market leading unified communications solutions, we have a track record of delivering innovation and quality to many of the world’s most successful companies, backed up by a world class service capability. Our OpenScape communications solutions provide a seamless and efficient collaboration experience – on any device – which amplifies collective effort and dramatically improves business performance. The OpenScpae-Solutions are found in any hospitality segment from the smallest Guesthouse up to multinational hotel chains. Together, our global team of UC experts and service professionals set the standards for a rich communications experience that empowers teams to deliver better results. SEN Service capability is represented in 90 countries, directly, or through partner- TREugAST uNTERNEHMENSBERATuNgSgESELLSCHAFT MBH, founded 1985 in Munich, is a member of TREUGAST Solutions Group and belongs to the leading consulting companies in hospitality industry in Europe. Years of experience and expertise of more than 30 Consultants and 600 employees worldwide in TREUGAST Unternehmensberatung, TREUGAST Hotellerie and TREUGAST International Institute provide decision-makers with the planning reliability, which is essential for the development and execution of projects within the tourism environment. Its portfolio encompasses around 120 consulting projects per year, among others in fields like development of tourism destination, site surveys, feasibility studies, operational analyses, expertises, coaching & controlling as well as marketing & sales; since 1995 more than 130 self-operated hotels in terms of Pre-Opening-Management, Interim Management, Turn-AroundManagement as well as Operational Asset

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hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 March 2013 Management; scientific activities of TREUGAST International Institute, among others publisher of several industry-relevant publications like Hotel Investment Ranking Germany and Austria, Hospitality Trends, Business Comparison Hospitality and Gastronomy as well as Hotel Location Attractions Index. The American Academy of Hospitality Sciences bestowed TREUGAST Solutions Group as the first consulting company worldwide with the Star Diamond Award. Furthermore, TREUGAST was distinguished by the German specialist publisher „AHGZ” with Special Award „Hotelier des Jahres 2011“. Contact: Prof. Stephan Gerhard, Founder & CEO. www.treugast.com WORLDPAY: WorldPay is the only payment processor in the world that owns the whole payment cycle; from card acquiring to processing and fraud screening. It means that Worldpay‘s travel sector experts can help merchants develop and deploy a payment system that will penetrate their target market by creating a seamless checkout process for their customers. Integrating easily with existing reservation systems, WorldPay’s payment gateway lets merchants take control of all of their sales distribution channels. It gives merchants a seamless payment experience across their entire online, mobile and tablet devices. Making it easy for them to sell more and improve their experience with their brand. And with Worldpay’s M-ticketing solution, merchants can make it even easier for customers to order, revise and pay as well as receive tickets, boarding cards, and vouchers via their mobile phone. Merchants will also be able to reach out to new customers with the Worldpay’s multicurrency acquiring and settlement service across Europe, the US and the Asia Pacific region. With WorldPay’s global banking coverage, merchant’s can accept more payments by accessing over 200 global forms of payment. It means that customers can pay merchants using their preferred method in their local currency. Plus, with the Worldpay Foreign Exchange service, merchants can minimise their trading risk with up to the minute, competitive and guaranteed exchange rates. Merchants can also get access to the Worldpay network of over 200 bank accounts, giving them an effortless way to make low-cost money transfers to other agents, travel organisers or service providers in over 190 countries worldwide. 90% of WorldPay’s payouts arrive the same or next working day – helping merchants to stay ahead of rivals by offering a fast, local payment. Worldpay understands that managing fraud is an essential part of the payment package. That’s why every transaction goes through +200 screening checks. By working with WorldPay’s fraud experts, merchants are able to keep their margins high and chargebacks low with a fraud screening programme designed to maximise legitimate sales. WorldPay supports all businesses within the travel sector including: hotels, rail & cruise operators, and travel agents, helping them to make the most of defining their individual eCommerce opportunity. Worldpay merchants will have access to their own travel relationship manager and operational teams, making sure that their integration is quick and efficient. And because Worldpay builds systems around their merchant‘s needs, it can support the merchant as it grows or as its payment needs change. Contact: Paul Morrissey, Vertical Lead for the Travel Sector. www.worldpay.com

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March 2013 hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 ASSOCIATED PARTNERS on the „World of Hospitality“: DORMERO trademark is the premium brand of the Gold Inn AG, which already runs 12 hotels in Germany under various brand names. It is of prime importance to DORMERO that guests should be able to sleep well – hence the name, which is derived from „dormire“, the Latin word for sleep. A special „Sleep System“ was conceived. Another focus is on the technical amenities of the rooms with two large flat panel screens – for free internet access and the individual choice of international blockbusters in HD quality. The room lighting can be flexibly dimmed and there are various colour options. The minibar, current feature films, adult entertainment channel and WLAN are basically included in the price of the rooms as well as the use of fitness and wellness facilities. DOMREO Hotels intends to grow its portfolio to 20 properties in the next five to ten years, all of them in Germany. Behind the DORMERO brand is the GOLD INN AG with its two partners Aleksej Leunov and Hans Rudolf Wöhrl, one of Germany‘s most successful entrepreneurs. Directors of the Gold Inn AG are Aleksej Leunov and Marcus Maximilian Wöhrl, founder of the DORMERO brand. www.dormero.de FuTOuR WENZEL CONSuLTINg. Following the slogan „We shape the tourism & leisure industry“ the full-service consulting firm FUTOUR WENZEL Consulting offers assistance in strategic planning, development and optimization as well as realization of national and international tourism & leisure concepts and real estate to developers, investors, financial institutes, operators, companies, tourism experts, hoteliers, tour operators, countries and communities as well as to industrial enterprises with a leisure affinity. Focus points are: Master plans as well as regional, tourism and leisure concepts; Feasibility studies; Market and location analyses; Development analyses and plausibility studies; Re-use concepts for properties and fallow land; Regional development and management; Tourism offer and theme development; Destination management and marketing; Marketing concepts and consulting; Quality management; Sustainability concepts, audits and certifications; Presentation and support for different types of workshops; Training and further education; Operative management consulting and personnel selection; Address to investors and operators; Funding program and competitive acquisition. www.futour-wenzel.com PuETTER gMBH, located in Duisburg and Cologne, stands for qualified consulting and services in the sector of networked communications. The owner-managed company focuses on services in the fields of and supports hotels with their digital communications work from the goal setting to the completion through to the performance measurement and optimisation. Puetter GmbH specialises on hotels and improves online performance to a measurable, sustainable and verifiable extent. Michael Puetter and his team provide the following services: search engine optimisation (SEO); search engine advertising (SEA); email marketing; website optimisation & care; public relations – online and offline; social media. Most recent, Michael Puetter was a member of the executive board of Althoff Hotels, with over 1,000 employees and responsible for the areas of marketing, sales and eCommerce. www.puetter-online.de Advertisement Online Online Marketing Marketing Reputation Reputation Management Management Quality Reservations Success in worldwide sales Success in worldwide sales for your hotel(s) Distribution at affordable costs! Beneficial use of the google hotelfinder! Online marketing at its best! Get answers to tomorrow’s online distribution challenges already today. B– us at IT alk to ooth 133 T b hall 8.1 Strategic Strategic Partnership Partnership Yield Yield Management Management Quality Reservations Deutschland GmbH, Ostpassage 11, 30853 Langenhagen Phone +49-511-72696-23, www.qr-hotels.com QR ITB 2012 Anzeige hospitalityinside Quer v3en.indd 1 15.02.2012 15:51:23

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hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 March 2013 8TH „ITB HOSPITALITY DAY“ PRESENTS NEW DIRECTIONS, CONCEPTS AND FACES Young and unconventional Berlin (March 7, 2013). Young travellers, employees and CEOs, new hotel concepts and distribution channels – on Thursday, 7 March 2013, at this year’s „ITB Hospitality Day“ in Hall 7.1b/ Auditorium London, the focus is on new, dynamic and unconventional developments. In his keynote, Claus Sendlinger, CEO, Design Hotels will talk about the hotels of tomorrow and the „neighbourhood principle“. Afterwards, experts will engage in a discussion with young people about their demands on travel and hotels. Two students will be interviewing employers to find some concrete answers to generation Y’s concerns. At the CEO Panel the founders of 25hours Hotels based in Hamburg and unlisted Collection from Singapore will span a bridge between boutique hotels in Europe and Asia. What is more, the Hospitality Day will present four exceptional hotel concepts from germany, Spain, Italy, and China. The last hour will be devoted to mobile technology and the question of ”Mobile – The Power Of The virtual World“. t the ITB Hospitality Day, part of the ITB Berlin Convention, the focus is on young people and new ideas. Maria Puetz-Willems, Editor in Chief of hospitalityInside.com, the exclusive media partner of the ITB Hospitality Day, is again responsible for the programme of this eighth event. Commenting on the programme’s approach in 2013, Maria Puetz-Willems said: „At a time when smartphone ownership has outstripped that of stationary PCs, young travellers and new ideas are transforming the world. Naturally, that leads to controversy, and we are looking for a lively debate.“ 12.30-1.00 p.m. „Hot Spot“ generation Y – What are this generation’s expectations regarding their employers in the hotel industry? Two students interview two hotel executives. Moderated by: Ruud Reuland, Hospitality Education Advisor Panel guests: Katharina Jaeger and Adrian Ruch, Students Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne; Reto Candrian, Member of the Board of Directors, Suvretta House St. Moritz; Ingrid Eras, Vice President People Development & Staffing EAME, Starwood Hotels & Resorts 1.50-2.00 p.m. Sleeping in the city – sustainably. URBN, Shanghai‘s first emissionfree hotel. With Scott Barrack, Co-Founder und Managing Director, URBN Hotels & Resorts. in Italian World Heritage. With Daniele Kihlgren, Founder & President Sixtantio Group, and Danilo Di Pasquale, General Manager Sextantio Hospitality Group. 2.00-2.10 p.m. Rent a Cave. Sleeping 2.45-3.45 p.m. CEO Panel: The secrets of Boutique. Young CEOs talk about young hotels in Asia and Europe. Moderated by: Maria Pütz-Willems, Editor in Chief, hospitalityInside.com Panel guests: Christoph Hoffmann, Co-Founder & CEO, The 25hours Hotel Company, Hamburg; Loh Lik Peng, Founder & CEO, Unlisted Collection, Singapore 10.30-11.00 a.m. key Note: Hotels of Tomorrow – The Neighbourhood Principle. Speaker: Claus Sendlinger, CEO, Design Hotels 1.00-1.30 p.m. Break 1.30-2.30 p.m. A spectacle in 3-D, music at the beach, a sustainable city hotel, living in a cave. Four hotel groups present exceptional ideas. Moderated by: Mary Gostelow, Editor in Chief, Gostelow Report PRESENTATIONS: 11.15 a.m.-12.15 p.m. „Hot Spot“ The Young generation – What are this generation’s expectations regarding travel and hotels? Moderated by: Ruud Reuland, Hospitality Education Advisor Presentation by Greg Richards, Professor of Leisure Studies, Tilburg University Discussion with Hilmar zum Buttel, Student, International University of Applied Sciences Bad Honnef-Bonn; Carl Michel, CEO, Generator Hostels; David Chapman, Chairman of the Board, World Youth Student & Educational (WYSE) Travel Confederation; Dirk Foeste, Director of Sales, Marketing and PR, ruf Reisen 4.00-5.00 p.m. Mobile – The power of the virtual world. A young distribution channel moves the hotel industry. Moderated by: Carolin Brauer, Managing Director, Quality Reservations Panel guests: Susanne Fittkau, Managing Director, Fittkau & Maaß Consulting; Dr. Bernd Fauser, Global Accounts Director Travel, Google; Andreas Erlemann, Managing Director, Zenith Hospitality Solutions; Michael Hucho, Vice President Distribution Commercial, Accor Germany 1.30-1.40 p.m. A spectacle in 3 D – Light and Sound create an after show magnet in Germany. With Aleksej Leunov, Chairman, Gold Inn AG/Dormero Hotels. Hotel – A Playground for Music Lovers. A Mediterranean music concept. With Alfonso Gimenez, Group Marketing Director, Palladium Hotels & Resorts. 1.40-1.50 p.m. Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Program experts Forum Wellness see page 29.

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March 2013 hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 THE PANELISTS (Selection) Dr. Bernd Fauser, Global Accounts Director Travel, Google: He joined Google in 2009 with the task to set up a global key account function within the sales organization. He has built a global team based in 9 cities and 5 countries managing the partnership with Google’s largest customers in the travel and tourism industry. Claus Sendlinger, Founder & CEO, Design Hotels: Following a degree in public relations, Claus embarked on a career in event planning and PR for hotels and clubs. At the age of 23, Claus founded Coordinates GmbH, an incentive and event agency. In 1991 he laid the foundation for Design Hotels, in 1993 Claus co-founded Design Hotels Inc. in Sausalito, California, which began as a marketing agency for hotels and later incorporated a reservations system. The creative network and services then formed the basis for the foundation of lebensart global networks AG, which was renamed to Design Hotels AG in 2004. Christoph Hoffmann, Founder & CEO, The 25hours Hotel Company: The German sales and marketing specialist studied at Swiss Glion Institute and Cornell University. He occupied executive positions, e.g. at Kempinski Hotels, at Swiss Buergenstock Hotel and Resort and at the private hotel Louis C. Jacob Hotel in Hamburg. In 2005, with his partners Kai Hollmann, Ardi Goldman and Stephan Gerard, Christoph founded The 25hours Hotel Company to set up a chain of unconventional boutique hotels. Loh Lik Peng, Founder & CEO, Unlisted Collection: Dynamic hotelier and restaurateur, Loh Lik Peng was born in Dublin, Ireland to Singapore parents. He attended Law school in England, University of Sheffield and Postgraduate at London School of Economics before returning to Singapore in 1997. Loh became a corporate litigator upon his return before leaving the profession to step into the hospitality industry. Since then, Loh has started ventures across Singapore, Shanghai and London. Ingrid Eras, Vice President, People Development & Staffing EAME, Starwood Hotels & Resorts: She joined Starwood Hotels in May 2006. Prior to her appointment as VP, Ingrid was leading the Global HR Integration of Le Meridien Hotels. Ingrid has a Bachelor of Administration (Hotel School Den Haag, Institute of Hospitality Management), holds a Diploma in Clinical Organizational Psychology and Professional Certification as well as several Train the Trainer Certificates. Advertisement GREAT DESIGN FOR LITTLE MONEY! More information and contact details: 03112MO_AZ_Hospi_185x128_RZ.indd 1 15.02.12 12:33

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hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 March 2013 20 YEARS DESIgN HOTELS – CEO CLAuS SENDLINgER ABOuT THE NEW PHILOSOPHY Neighbourhoods are the new cities The 1980s were revolutionary in the hotel industry. An industry that could not boast a lot in terms of design came to life. The movement started in New York. A new hotel of Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell opened there – they were known across the country‘s borders as the owners of the legendary nightclub Studio 54. On their commission, the grande Dame of Design, Andrée Putman from Paris, converted a run-down male boarding house at a top location into the first „design hotel“. „For the first time, travellers found more than a place to sleep,“ sums up Claus Sendlinger, Founder and CEO of the globally unique co-operation of Design Hotels, which was founded exactly 20 years ago. The development of this group made him a pioneer in the international hotel industry. Today, he asserts: „Neighbourhoods are the new cities!“ Sendlinger will hold a keynote speech about this subject on the 8th „ITB Hospitality Day“ at ITB Berlin 2013 (Thursday, March 7, 10:30-11:00 a.m., Hall 7.1b/Auditorium London). An extract. a global mastermind: claus Sendlinger. retro-future hotel in Paris montmartre: design hotel Kube and its characteristic plexiglas cubes. he opening of the Morgans was a great sensation in 1984. In 1987 and 1989, Schrager and Rubell opened the Royalton and the Paramount, both designed by Philippe Starck. This was the startup for a great boom of designer hotels that would change the industry completely. During these years, design opened up to a broader market and became more democratic. This clearly reflected the new demands of a certain group of travellers that were looking for more in hotels than a simple place to sleep. A movement of creative and like-minded people was looking for alternatives in all spheres of life that conformed with their style and philosophy of life. Even in the early 1990s, when the Design Hotels co-operation was founded, the number of design hotels was limited. The concept of connecting design and hotel was still something new. When the brand of Design Hotels was founded 20 years ago, we had the vision and were convinced that design would become an essential part of hotels, and that design-oriented hotels would become a real alternative for travellers. In 1993, when we started as a marketing business for modern hotels, we represented a small group of ten unique member hotels, among them was another hotel designed by Andrée Putman, the Hotel im Wasserturm in Cologne. In the last few years, design has become indispensable for the hotel sector, and the term „design hotels“ has been used more and more excessively. However, according to our definition, design has to be more than just an Eames chair in the lobby. For us, design is not a shallow marketing strategy, but a compre-

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March 2013 hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 Dear Readers, In this magazine, we focus on the content of the „ITB Hospitality Day“ and other hotel-related events taking place at ITB. Furthermore, you will find, among others, an interview with the responsible ITB managers on the development and the forthcoming changes round about the trade fair (see page 6). On the following pages, you will also find excerpts from the hospitalityInside.com online magazine. hensive concept with interplay of many factors that make the hotel a „real“ design hotel in its entirety. In order to find these special hotels, we pursued a holistic approach from the beginning: our business philosophy is based on the notion of individuality. We do not have standardised admittance criteria for the hotels that want to become members. Instead, each new hotel is evaluated individually from a fresh and critical perspective. Instead of looking only for aesthetics, we put great emphasis on the entire concept from the beginning: the quality of the equipment, the love for detail, the architecture, the hotel‘s integration in its environment, and the networking with the neighbourhood, and especially the personae behind the hotels – the idea and the spirit connecting everything. on the creative heads, the owners, the architects or designers, the so-called „originals“ behind the scenes. We wanted to present the people as they really are: authentic, responsible, creative and just as unique as the hotels they brought to life. What started as a campaign has become an integral part of our Design Hotels brand today. We tell their stories and make their passion perceptible. The exchange and interconnection with the neighbourhood are decisive criteria for admission. Our hotels are gathering places for locals, like-minded people, artists, creative minds, and meeting points with visitors from all over the world. In his book „The Rise of the Creative Class“ the economist and urban theorist, Richard Florida, states: „Cities are the new countries.“ We even go one step further and claim: „Neighbourhoods are the new cities.“ In a time where an increasing number of people live in cities, the individual neighbourhoods give us room for creativity, social exchange and a feeling of belonging to this place. Through our member hotels, the guests have access to the world‘s most creative backstreets. Luxury in five levels Over the last decades, the needs of hotel guests have continued to change. Be it the booking of a room, looking for an experience in a luxury grand hotel, or searching for a temporary home with direct access to the creative scene. The needs are as various as the hotels. For every hotel manager, a significant factor of success is the clear focus on the right target group and its motivations for travel. In our strategy and therefore also in the positioning of our hotels, we rely on the Access to creative backstreets With the campaign „Made by Originals“ in 2009, we put a focus for the first time „five levels of luxury,“ defined in a study that was carried out by the English trend research institute „The Future Laboratory“. In the first level, there are affluent consumers who start purchasing luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton or Chanel in order to show their prosperity. This level can be observed in countries like Russia, China, Brazil, and India for the most part. In the second level of luxury, mainly silent brands are important, where the story behind a product is told. In the third level, a story becomes an overall experience with an individual and unique brand world. In the fourth level, the subject of social and ecological responsibility becomes more important, and the fifth level of luxury has been defined as a journey to oneself. Our portfolio includes hotels that offer luxury from level one to five. Studies reveal that especially the fourth and fifth level bear great opportunities for growth. A study commissioned by us supports this; it reveals that the responsible approach to people and nature and authentic experiences has become increasingly important for travellers. Already today, sustainability is a driving force in the industry and it will become more important in future. In co-operation with Earth Check, the market‘s leading consultancy for environmental and sustainability management in the tourism industry, we have initiated a global sustainability programme. Out of conviction. All our member hotels show that with our formula, success is possible on all defined luxury levels: the interaction between architecture and design, the networking with the neighbourhood, the focus on sustainability, a holistic concept, as well as our originals.“ // Advertisement INSPIRINGLY INNOVATIVE Discover tomorrow’s global travel industry trends at ITB Berlin – today.    ITB Academy – capitalize on customized training from our treasure trove of over 45 years of experience 10 years of ITB Berlin Convention – benefit from the world’s largest travel industry convention Partner country Indonesia – experience innovative and sustainable concepts from this successful destination 6 – 10 March 2013, itb-berlin.com Official Partner Country ITB Berlin 2013 BECOME A FAN FOLLOW US

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hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 WYSE TRAvEL CONFEDERATION RELEASE NEW DATA ABOuT YOuNg TRAvELLERS Discovering destinations Berlin. Young people are vital for the future of travel. The current generation of travellers under the age of 35 is making more trips and spending more money on travel than previous generations, and will keep feeding the travel market for decades to come. No wonder so many countries and travel suppliers are now waking up to the potential of youth travel. Recent data reveal the power of a young market. ecent research on the youth travel market by World Youth Student & Educational (WYSE) Travel Confederation has revealed the power and resilience of the market. WYSEC‘s recent publication with United World Travel Organisation (UNWTO), „The Power of Youth Travel“ underlined the unique characteristics of the market: • Young travellers often spend more than other tourists; • Young travellers are likely to return and give more value to the destination over their lifetime; • Young travellers are a growth market globally, while the spending power of older generations in Western economies may decline in the long term; • Young people are less likely to be deterred from travelling by terrorism, political and civil unrest, disease or natural disasters; • Young travellers are the pioneers who discover new destinations; • Young travellers are at the cutting edge of using new technology; • Young travellers gain cultural benefits from their travel, and contribute to the places they visit. WYSE Travel Confederation is a global notfor-profit trade association dedicated to promoting and developing opportunities for the youth, student and educational travel industry. The global community of 550+ member organisations in 120 countries provide international travel experiences to more than 10 million youth and students each year. The confederation provides specialist industry support to these organisations through their membership with WYSE and its sector associations. The preliminary findings of the „New Horizons global survey“ of more than 29,000 young travellers in 2012/2013 has shown that: • The number of long trips taken by youth travellers has grown in the past decade; • The most important motivation for travel were exploring other cultures, increasing knowledge and interacting with local people – little changed in the past decade; • The length of the main trip taken has increased to 69 days on average; • The average spend for a main trip was 3,300 Euro in 2012, an increase of almost 60% since 2007. Youth travel therefore has the power to open up new destinations and market niches, even in these challenging times. This is underlined particularly by the recent growth of youth travel accommodation (YTA), including hostels and budget hotels aimed at young people. The recent „STAY WYSE“ research on accommodation indicates that: • Almost 20% of youth travel accommodation establishments are planning to expand their business in 2013. This suggests a growth of almost 12% in the total supply compared with 2011; • The proportion of business travellers rose from 12% in 2010 to 14% in 2011, reflecting the continued upgrading of YTA facilities; • Third party hostel booking sites accounted around 30% of bookings in 2011, an increase compared with 2010; • Social networking was utilised for marketing by 81% of YTA establishments in 2011; • Almost 50% more YTA operators were using mobile applications in 2011 than in 2009 or 2010. To find out more about the confederation‘s extensive research programme and to hear the first official findings of the „New Horizons III“ study, come to WYSE‘s launch event on Friday, March 8th, in hall 4.1 from 10:30-11:30am. The confederation‘s analyists and representatives also join a panel at the „ITB Hospitality Day“ on Thursday, March 7th, in hall 7.1b/auditorium London from 11. // kn

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March 2013 hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 Young, dynamic and welleducated: Generation Y‘s working power will be the first in high demand due to demographic changes. / photo: estrel HOSPITALITY STuDENTS AND THEIR WISH LIST ADDRESSED TO EMPLOYERS Between dream and reality Berlin. In large businesses nowadays, up to four generations work together: this leads to many different life experiences and expectations encountering one another. Two students of the Lausanne hotel management school, representatives of the generation Y, expressed their wishes for employers. n large businesses, different age groups with different educations and opinions about education and standards of living encounter one another today: Traditionalists (born between 1925-1945), Baby Boomers (1946-1961), Generation X (19611981), and Generation Y (1981-1997). In international hotel groups like Starwood Hotels & Resorts with „fresh“ lifestyle brands and dynamic expansion, nearly 40 percent of the staff members in Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EAME) are between 18 and 33 years old today. Ingrid Eras, Vice President People Development & Staffing EAME, Starwood Hotels & Resorts estimates that already half of the executives will be of that Generation Y in 2020. Gen Y knows: the working power of this generation will be the first in high demand due to demographic changes. At the „ITB Hospitality Day“ 2013, the 8th hotel conference at the world‘s leading travel trade show, Ingrid Eras will be the representative of an international hotel chain and she will discuss this subject with two students. On Thursday, March 7, from 12:30-1:00 p.m. in Hall 7.1b/Auditorium London, a young colleague will support her: Reto Candrian from the luxury hotel Suvretta House in St. Moritz, Switzerland. His family owns the hotel. He grew up in the hotel and gastronomy industry, but then became an investment expert in England and Asia before returning home and taking on the „leading position“ in his early 30s. This way, the young man is responsible for his employees. Ingrid Eras und Reto Candrian will answer the questions of the two hospitality students Katharina Jaeger and Adrian Ruch of the renowned Lausanne hotel management school when they address the expectations Generation Y has vis-à-vis its employers. For hospitality Inside‘s SPECIAL ITB 2013, they provided a „wish list“ with their ideas and hopes: EDuCATION/vOCATIONAL TRAININg: Many trainee programmes offered to Bachelor graduates today, aim at later employment as Front Office Manager, for example. These programmes often include working in various departments for several months (e.g. F&B, housekeeping). In our case, it is a repetition of our operational internships and offers only very few new perspectives to us. The graduation offered, for example, with internal certifications does not constitute an academic perspective for Bachelor graduates. Therefore, we would like to have an international and broadly recognised degree (e.g. EMBA) as is the case in other industries as well. CAREER MANAgEMENT: We wish for specific career management. Frequently, professional advancement within a business fails either because of missing trainees or due to lacking career opportunities (management positions are occupied for many years). In a regular job, it would be desirable to be able to determine one‘s own career together with the employer

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hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 March 2013 within the realms of possibility. Motivation and loyalty would be increased this way. SELF-REALIZATION: In order to become really active in one‘s job, self-responsibility plays an important role. Therefore, independence/self-responsibility and participation in decisions and innovations are of utmost importance to us. FAMILY FRIENDLINESS: Because starting a family is a great challenge in the hotel industry (keyword: working hours), we wish for greater support from employers to enable us to manage our private and professional lives. In larger hotels, childcare for the children of guests could be extended to the children of employees. INDuSTRY-SPECIFIC ISSuES: We are aware of the fact that the typical wage in the hotel industry is below average wage. Therefore, we hope that the hotel industry will capitalise on additional opportunities, which are able to be realised without large costs. These could be, amongst others: • travel opportunities by means of exchange programmes (e.g. a human resources staff member from Germany could exchange positions with a colleague from Singapore for 3 months); • using existing off-season offers (e.g. reduced spa offers and the opportunity to take friends and family along); vocational training with recognised certificates; • department-specific workshops for all interested staff members (e.g. bar workshop or cooking course); • places to stay (e.g. for staff members working part-time shifts) • a modern and positive working environment; • the management defines a small budget for expenses designed to benefit the employees‘ satisfaction. // COuCH SuRFINg NOW FOLLOWINg PRIvATE ROOM PORTALS Verified sleep Munich. The new trend movement of „Collaborative Consumption“ – collective sharing – has provided an immense impetus to private room portals worldwide. Airbnb, Wimdu and 9flat belong among the leading bed communities. As a result, a market segment has blossomed; the professional host classifies it as a „grey market“. If private individuals rent one or several rooms online for a small amount of money, they are subjected neither to the same operational nor legal or taxation requirements as hotels and pensions. The newest trend in the matter of „alternative sleeping“ seems to add further weight to the grey market trend: Couch Surfing. A conversation with a young woman who has been entirely enthusiastic about Couch Surfing and is of the mind to compete with the classic hotel industry. hospitality students of ehL: adrian ruch und Katharia Jaeger. ristin Dubois from Munich belongs to the travel-fond and enterprising „Generation Y“, well-skilled in dealing with the Internet and Social Media, but by no means uncritically. She scrutinizes everything exactly before becoming active online. An advertisement on the Internet had drawn her attention to Couch Surfing. „I had discovered whether this was serious through the socalled ‚Verification Process‘ for Couch Surfing,“ she reports on her initial steps. „Here, you transfer a small donation to an organisation in San Francisco. They will then send a postcard to your address with a security code that you can enter on the site. Afterward, a notice appears on your profile that you have been verified.“ Moreover, she herself has read through countless profiles with the progress reports of Hosts and Surfers and had additionally chosen reports and videos on the Internet – this persuaded her in the end. She had her first „Couch Surfer Contact“ in October, 2012. „I responded to a public post by the couch surfers who had arranged to meet in the English Garden, Munich. There, I met people from San Francisco, New York and Spain as well as Munich hosts. We spent the afternoon together, played music, sang and exchanged travel experiences – and I was able to hear countless stories about Couch Surfing,“ Kristin recounts in best memories.

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March 2013 hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 Disadvantage of the hotel industry In this respect, it almost looks like a fight between David and Goliath if the German Hotel Association boss criticises the new competition from the grey market. Markus Luthe, Managing Director of the German Hotel Association (IHA) has several objective reasons for it – applicable to the German market – that all indicate one thing: the unfair treatment of „accommodation“ and „accommodation“. A thorn in the eye of the hotel association is the defective security in private rooms or flats: There are „no identification check upon arrival, no registration form; no control of the actual guest number on the property and (over) occupancy; no signposting of escape routes; no tips on behaviour in the case of a fire; no smoke detectors and fire extinguishers,“ he complains. Today, a professional accommodation company must prove all this. If one looks at the security aspect alone at the hotel, the imbalance between the hotel/pension and the private room mediator quickly becomes clear: Luthe recited 15 points off the top of his head that the professional must consider – from fire plans through to fire-resistant doors and up to burglar alarms and the instruction of all staff in the event of a fire. „And what is with taxes and contributions, copyright fees like GEMA, the employment and the social security contributions for the cleaning staff? What happens with the nuisances and endangerments to the tenant?“ Doubts, yes, legal consequences, no Fairmas shares these concerns in its report: „City flats compete with hotels and partially have incomparably better conditions of competition. … Bed tax, cultural contributions do not result because, in most cases, it does not – factually and practically – however, formally concern an accommodation enterprise as defined in these contribution articles very well. Or they cannot be asserted because no knowledge regarding the tourist use of the living space is given to the local authority district.“ The municipal administrations have yet to recognise the significance of the subject, according to the analysts with Fairmas. But gradually, an opposition toward holiday apartments by flat neighbours and coowners of inner-city residential buildings is also being stirred up. And here, only a legal – and political – clarification obviously helps. // map a private room, as marketed by airbnb. The next trend is approaching: couch Surfing. The hotel industry resists this grey market. One month later, the first „Couch Experience“ followed in Duesseldorf. She sought out lodging for a one-week study seminar. On her general post on the Duesseldorf site, a doctoral candidate had contacted her and offered their couch for an entire week to her. She accepted and experienced a „great time“ in which the two had undertaken together and „I didn‘t have to be alone at the hotel in the evening,“ she sums up. Kristin paid nothing for the evenings on the couch. Couch surfing is based on the principle that one must pay nothing, she reports. The Couch Surfer cooks for their hosts or invites them out to eat or for a few drinks – knowing that they will also take in guests at some point. Within her circle of friends, only two friends have tried Couch Surfing up to now. According to her positive reports, others would like to try out it too. Word of mouth works. So far, most of them have booked hotels, guesthouses or hostels in their spare time. And why does she not go to a budget hotel or hostel? Even today, there are also super hostels at reasonable prices … Kristin had examined hostels and pensions over one week and found that these were too expensive and often poorly reviewed. Her result after the first experience: „I will definitely take up Couch Surfing again and likewise with longer journeys in European countries or even in the USA.“ Thorn in the side of the hotel industry The private room segment is obviously a market segment within tourism that is not to be underestimated. The German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga) for instance estimates that in 2011, about three million overnight stays in Berlin alone have been generated in this manner. „Market observers estimate that today, about 12,000 – 15,000 flats are held ready in Berlin for passing use by tourist guests and also for business travellers,“ the company, Fairmas Berlin, analysed the problems of the „city holiday apartments“ in its „Hotel Report“. Particularly in hotel markets like Berlin in which today, the overcapacities are already drastically pressuring the prices and an end to the glut of beds is not to be seen yet for years, the success of the private room portals is a thorn in the side of the professional hosts and their representatives. However, the newcomers will presumably not be so quick to give up: Enormous capital stands behind the start-ups. In the foreground, they all will presumably grow further presumably: The increasing number of travelling youngsters, families and other people conscious of budget, the economic crises in many countries and the „social experience“ stirred up by Social Media speak for it.

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hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 March 2013 The new status symbols, e.g. handmade wooden bikes by Waldmeister or a hanhart watch of a limited edition. photos: christian rokosch; hanhart THE RICH kIDS OF TODAY DISCOvER „STEALTH LuxuRY“ The new insider codes kelkheim. „The new status symbols of an educated and scrupulously upper-class function like a magic hat. Masked against the general public that does not perceive it at all – and as a spoken Insider‘s Code ‚for those who know‘.“ Holm Friebe says in the latest „Trend update“ describing the change in the consumption style of the new élites. ling and glamour are over; the public exhibition of status no longer counts, but rather the inconspicuous, concealed and ingenious. The change goes along with the fact that the gap between the rich and the poor (in Germany) is continuing to rise and the upper-class wishes to cultivate their own lifestyle among themselves. This should lure the luxury suppliers: The result is a small market with huge margins. „We leave the moral assessment of the subject to you. We merely hope to calibrate your radar toward a trend that also involves the many sales opportunities such as the socio-political powder keg brings“ author Holm Friebe anticipates in his preface. Friebe listens to the Zentrale Intelligenz Agency ZIA (www.zentrale-intelligenz-agentur.de), to a pool of lateral-thinking people „in the interface between journalism, economy, science and art“, according to his own description on the website. The following summary originated from Friebe´s contribution for the November „Trend Update“ by the Zukunftsinstituts of Kelkheim (www.zukunftsinstitut.de). From „Conspicuous Consumption“, the public exhibition, becomes „Stealth Luxury“: The perfectionism of the little things, the refinement of the once cheap and the professionalisation of hobby and free time have become an outlet to spend a great deal of money without the accompanying vulgarity – or even worse: Appearing to be nouveau riche. Those who want to sell something to this target group, which is becoming increasingly more attractive by the fact alone that they dispose of greater and greater available income amounts despite the financial crisis, must know these codes. The next generation of status symbols requires two components: Insider‘s codes for the insiders who read in them the enlightened and cultured awareness of their bearers. And perfect camouflage against the masses, so unobtrusively and insignificantly that nobody takes notice, let alone take umbrage at it. The wealth of the upper-class increases A narrow upper-class in Germany has been entirely undamaged by the financial crisis and could even still increase their assets. The current „Poverty and Wealth Report“ by the federal government is a striking example: Of the ten billion Euro of net assets of the Germans, the uppermost ten percent hold approximately half, 53 percent, with the trend rising. This upper-class wants to cultivate an elitist lifestyle among themselves and their peers – and be loved at the same time by the sliding middle class and substratum for socially acceptable behaviour – or at least be left alone. Because it is proving to be sensitively scrupulous in the „Age of Less“. The paradigm of „Stealth Luxury“ – consumption feeds itself on a mentality of

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March 2013 hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 „Lifestyle of health and sustainability“ and reflects the post-materialistic spirit in the times of luxurious asceticism as a „meditation on the essential things of life“. One virtually wears the fur on the inside and discreetly brings purchases from luxury stores home in No Name bags. hart has even expressly applied „Pioneer Stealth“. The traditional aviator‘s watch in an edition of 130 pieces at an individual price of 6,350 Euro comes in velvety matt Stealth Bomber black. Niche products, No Name labels: Central issue high quality The „Stealth Luxury“ trend causes rejections within the luxury segment: While the largest, globally distributed luxury brands, which have followed the battle cry „Brands not products“ for far too long, have come to distress in the long term – just as the universally qualified recognition value is becoming a disaster for them – the profiteers in this development are the small and niche labels. „Discreet designs are asked for today and for this, the highest-quality workmanship and the finest of materials whose value is only to be recognised by insiders“, as stated in a luxury goods study by Bain & Company. „Aside from the luxury classics such as Hermès or Patek Philippe“, the magazine mana- The car is out, the bicycle is the standard Beyond the classically measured luxury segment, „Stealth Luxury“ has caused absolutely new segments of status consumption to suddenly appear on the radar screen, while others disappear. Next to the iPhone and iPad, the current object of the self-styled in the metropolises is the bicycle in particular that has discovered an enormous appreciation in the simultaneous differentiation. From the daredevil-puristic Fixie up to the retro pushbike from the small north-Italian traditional manufacturer, the spectrum of the expression possibilities – and the prices for them – are already coming up to the used middleclass passenger car. In principle, nearly any everyday object can be luxuriated; the condition is that it has not already been branded as an old status symbol. // ger complements, „small and fine brands particularly win in prestige.“ With the watches, these are the rather simple timepieces by small manufactures, vintage watches and limited editions that are taking the ranks of the Rolex Submariner. A simple Patek Philippe or Jaeger-LeCoultre in white gold or platinum rather than yellow gold is hardly to be visually distinguished from a department store watch by laypersons. Following the spirit of the time, Han- Advertisement WELCOME WELCOME INVITATION TO OUR ITB TEA TIME AT THE RONNEFELDT TEA LOUNGE HALL 7.2.C BOOTH FRANKFURT/RHINE MAIN RONNEFELDT – SELECTED TEA SINCE 1823 WWW.RONNEFELDT.COM

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hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 March 2013 HOW STARWOOD HOTELS FILTERS TRENDS AND HYPES – AND gOES ITS OWN WAY Do not shoot from the hip Brussels. All trend researchers are talking of the digital revolution: of youngsters bringing dramatic change to the world; of masses booking via mobile devices; of the absolute interconnection between online and offline activities. Those who listen to trend researchers several times a year and are led to believe in the speed of trends could become depressive. How is it possible to distinguish between trends and hypes? We wanted to know this from a hotel group, which transfers global and social trends to its own brand or creates new trends based on this knowledge – as consequently as only very few other hotel groups do. „W“ is Starwoods’ strongest example for this. Oliver Bonke, Senior vice President Sales & Marketing EMEA, explains in an interview with Maria Puetz-Willems how Starwood Hotels keeps the overview and fluently moves with its customers/guests between the online and offline world. Mr. Bonke, do you have digital marketing at Starwood? Oliver Bonke: Yes, it is part of our international marketing activities. However, the terms are not decisive but the knowledge that marketing has become much more complex than ever before. Generally speaking, everything is a discipline today – not a campaign, more an instrument for customising. This is the future. But marketing always starts with a good and credible product. The brands are the roof under which the product will be explained to the broad mass. The product and the brand provide the story that identifies the community. And with this target group, you are able to communicate in „real time“ in the digital world today. And at which point do you start integrating trends? We integrate trends in our defined brand facets and marketing facets – not the other way round! But in the meantime, this has indeed become faster, because the pauses between trend changes have become shorter and the trends have become more granular. The increasing fragmentation at high speed has become the reality. Please give us some examples of how you have realised this specifically in the individual Starwood brands. For every brand, we identify „passion points“. These are the bridge between the offline and online world. We include new content in the product. At W, the passion points are music and fashion. Therefore, W Hotels are equipped with boutiques (W The Store) and we have our own W music compilation assembled by our Global W oliver Bonke, Senior Vice President Sales & marketing emea Music Director on a regular basis, which is played by DJs in the „W Lounge“ of the W Hotels all over the world. At the same time, there is a virtual iPhone application, which contains a booking feature as well as an integrated music platform and insider hints about the newest fashion and music trends. At Le Méridien, art is the passion point, at Westin it is wellbeing. Westin travellers will find wellbeing menus in the physical world and partnerships with the sports expert New Balance in the virtual world. How do you integrate social media? Facebook, Twitter & Co are the platforms where we bundle our messages and where we communicate. Social media is just one channel, a means to one end. But these channels create new realities as the users communicate among themselves and with us about our brands. Here our dialogue with customers/guests starts and we learn more about their preferences – which is a must for customising. This means: today, dialogues are taking place in both worlds; is the intensity already the same in both worlds? For us it is not as much a question of intensity as of integration. Today, one does not function without the other anymore. By means of our customer loyalty programme Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) I can best show you the interaction of the two-pronged communication with the customer. Our SPG members are our most valuable guests as they spend hundreds of nights in our hotels – we count at least 50 annual arrivals in the case of these „mega travellers“. Two percent of these most loyal guests contribute 30 percent to Starwood‘s profit. Here, we talk about a cross section of guests of various cultures and religions. Their opinions are very important to us as a globally operating business. Therefore, we have specifically created our own review platform called „Ratings & Reviews“. A connection via TripAdvisor, for example, was not enough for us. TripAdvisor is a booking and business platform, which is not independent and where unobjective comments are allowed. At „Ratings & Reviews“, only Starwood guests are able to log in on our own hotel websites with their booking numbers in order to give a rating. And our general

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aloft and its remix lounge or a room at W istanbul (photo) – Starwood proved its feeling for creative brands many times. managers are obliged to answer every comment. How fast do you make such sweeping decisions, for example, not to integrate TripAdvisor but to provide your own platform instead? It is not advisable to follow short-dated trends, to shoot from the hip, you could say. We worked for two years on the last SPG innovation, because we know that it is not sufficient to simply award bonus points today. This no longer creates brand loyalty. We wanted to know what the people really think – unfiltered. Therefore, we watched all feedback on all channels and talked to customers on road shows. This was the faster way of communication, as SPG bundles our nine brands under one roof. To obtain opinions on every single brand takes much longer. What did you learn from these interviews with SPG guests? That we should not talk about customer loyalty programmes but about loyalty! Internally, this resulted in numerous meetings. In March 2012, we introduced new services for our gold and platinum members, including membership status for life, a still unique 24-hour check-in and a personal „ambassador“, who is dedicated to the individual needs of every single member, and not only during the stay in the hotel. These additional services are a great success. Do you call in external experts for such projects? Yes, we spend money on research and external know-how. In the course of planning the brand Element we even asked for more external know-how than for SPG. Although we also listen to many subjects ourselves, e. g. at future panels, and talk to trend researchers, we do not react to their Power Point visions or time cycles; we rather try to find out larger correlations and are in continuous dialogue with our guests about their expectations and needs. If the trends of the expert researchers are put into practise for a too short period, which life cycles do you give your own passion points? This depends on the individual passion points: music lasts for a long time, Grab&Go concepts for the café in the lobby, for example, have to be questioned constantly. Our hotels/products have to be ready to react to changing guest needs quickly. Of course, time does not stand still here; the trend is now moving on to tablets. We have to react to this trend and our hotels will have to provide for more tablet charging stations, for example. And we certainly have to provide secure internet access. At the moment, trend researchers are accentuating the Generation Y – the so-called „digital natives“. According to your experience, how strongly will trends be influenced by certain age groups? Companies like Apple invented things my grandmother did not need, my mother partly needed, but my daughter needs on a daily basis. Today, mega trends encompass entire generations, like the use of new technologies or a new interpretation of luxury, no longer following the classical concept. The behaviour of the Generation Y definitely affects our products and brands. This generation wants to live and experience luxury differently, therefore we have to stay flexible and react to it – depending on the markets. This is because the Chinese Generation Y has different needs to the one in the Middle East. Largely, these needs are influenced by cultural, religious and political aspects of the respective country and are addressed accordingly by Starwood. In the last year, Starwood developed the „Starwood Personalized Travel“ programme for the fastest-growing travel market China in order give Chinese travellers a feeling of being at home outside of China – 100 million Chinese foreign travellers are expected by 2015. This programme includes information in Chinese, the opportunity to cook tea in the room, and menus including popular breakfast meals such as congee. To summarise: Which hints would you give your colleagues about digitalisation? Three simple things should be done right in order to find and fascinate an offline and online community. 1. Watch what the guests say about your hotel, your product or brand and respond always, either in a blog or on TripAdvisor. 2. Be authentic, keep your brand promises. In doing so, the users have the feeling that you understand them, that you know their lifestyle and that you do everything to fulfil their wishes. 3. Create and place online content, which is interesting and especially relevant for your target group. All this has to take place in the respective brand language and has to meet the brand‘s positioning. In doing so, you will be able to fill your brand with life in the online world as well in the offline world. Thank you very much for the interview!

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hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 March 2013 THE FIguRES SPEAk FOR THEMSELvES – THE HOTEL SECTOR WILL HAvE TO REACT Mobile becomes natural Berlin. Modern man has become a digital nomad; his shoulders slightly stooped and his gaze constantly directed downwards: he permanently checks his smartphone or tablet. Which of these two mobile devices will win in the end? Experts already have a hunch. The hotel sector feels their impact mostly through last-minute reservations. But how well prepared is the industry for everything mobile? Two experts from the mobile panel of this year‘s „ITB Hospitality Day“ conference present figures, facts and opinions. ndreas Erlemann, founder and Managing Director of Zenith Hospitality Solutions, a software developer for reservation systems and machines, firstly focuses on everyday life and figures. Afterwards, Caroline Brauer, Managing Director of the Quality Reservations consultancy specialised in hotels, provides her interpretation of the current market. „I read e-mails, news and Facebook posts while I‘m away,“ says Andreas Erlemann. „I search for phone numbers, local facilities or routes while I‘m enroute, and I also buy flight tickets, do my check-in, and use mobile boarding passes. I look for hotels and make reservations. When I‘m looking for something, I usually start with Google. I interrupt my research if loading times are too long or websites are not optimised for mobile use. I usually spend two hours a day on these activities and I stop halfway, when I realize andreas erlemann I have forgotten my mobile phone at home.“ Does this sound familiar to you? That would not be any surprise, as Google statistics say: • 29 percent own a smartphone in Germany, and 53 percent of the owners make use of mobile Internet every day, and 75 percent of them start a mobile search. • 28 percent of all mobile users look for special travel offers. • 42 percent of all mobile users look for local offers at least once per week, and 14 percent do it every day. • 38 percent of all travellers prefer a mobile browser to make a hotel reservation (and only 14 percent prefer apps). • 22 percent of all purchases via a mobile device are travel products (Topwert, eMarketer). • 28 percent of all smartphone owners increase its use, and 16 percent will make more purchases using their mobile devices. Mobile is mainstream Thus mobile is no longer a short-term trend, but mainstream since 2013. Today‘s digital nomads often use numerous media channels (73 percent). This means shorter attention periods on the part of the users and it requires perfect user guidance at the same time, as mobile travel reservations are mainly cancelled due to poor mobile web presence (36 percent cancel when a site is not optimised for mobile use; 28 percent if the connection is too slow; 25 percent if the process is too complicated). As mobile reservations mainly start on search engines (67 percent), a good mobile website is more important than an app. Each mobile site therefore needs a reservation function – otherwise potential customers are lost to competitors. At Travelocity, 55 percent of all reservations are carried out with a mobile device, and 65 percent of mobile hotel reservations are made 24 hours before arrival (according to bookassist). Tour operators without a mobile appearance probably need to act. The same is true for those operators with outdated or improvable mobile websites. The mobile design language is still being developed, and it may be that mobile sites need to be permanently renewed. In order for travel products to be found, both optimising and Photo: violetkaipa Fotolia

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March 2013 hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 marketing search engines (SEO and SEM) is becoming increasingly important as an additional discipline. And finally there is the question: does mobile always stay the same? When tablets (like iPads) record 180 percent growth in 2013, and smartphones only achieve 68 percent, then tablets are a dimension of their own from now on. Although the market share of tablets is still smaller than that of smartphones, tablets generate more revenue through travel products. The conversion ratio of tablets is seven times higher compared to smartphones. Therefore, it is likely that tour operators will need more than just one mobile site from 2013 – they need two: one for tablets and one for smartphones. carolin Brauer, Quality reservations of money in professional photographs, image films, multilingualism, bookability, and care of social networks. Today, all news on hotels and special offers can be accessed online via ‚Like‘ and ‚Share‘ buttons, while outdated content is immediately looked upon with disdain by the public. hotels information on developments and trends. The whole app issue was introduced already three years ago at a HEDNA (Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association) meeting, and celebrated as the only solution for mobile guests. Today, the industry knows that an app is a suboptimal solution – at least for an individual hotel. The problem is neither development costs nor marketing, but the fact that the number of downloads is of no relevance. Downloading does not mean booking. No stereotype solutions But this is only an example that shows how precisely the hotel has to know its market and guests in order to choose the right tool and channels in online marketing. In future, the mobile world will change even faster and will have great influence on the guests. There are many technical solutions to provide online users or trendsetters with exactly the right sense of life before, during and after a hotel stay. It is important to find the right strategy for a business and its clientele, then the right partner and together with the partner, the right solutions. Whether it is mobile check-in and checkout, sustainability or the trend of BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices) – these are subjects the hotel industry will have to react to sooner or later. For every hotel, it is fascinating to find the balance between ‚product and guest‘, between ‚today and future‘, between ‚technology and human beings‘. With all the sensitive data and amount of data the hotel industry has to cope with on a daily basis, technical solutions are necessary in order to simplify the workflow and perfect customer relations. The hotel industry has always been fascinating, now it is matrix-fascinating.“ // Advertisement HOW DOES THE HOTEL SECTOR REACT TO THESE MOBILE FACTS AND TRENDS? Carolin Brauer of Quality Reserverations considers „mobile to be a mega trend the hotel sector will need to show once more that it grows with the challenge.“ For 17 years the consultancy has been accompanying hotels, hotel chains, and consortiums in hotel sales. „The changes the hotel sector had to cope with in this period were massive and included both new technologies as well as a different, new way of communication with customers: online communication. Being bookable from all over the world means dealing with different cultures and their preferences and languages. Welcoming ‚guests from all over the world‘ is not a slogan, but reality in this industry. Based on the motto ‚Ccontent is King‘, the hospitality industry has invested large sums Between suboptimal and optimal solutions Hardly was it done, then mobility got out of hand. Everything the hotel sector provides via PC must work on smartphones and tablets as well. Within only two years, sales figures for these „mobile devices“ have more than doubled and, according to an IDC (Int. Data Corporation) estimation, will reach the new record of 840 million sold units worldwide compared to only 354 million sold desktop PCs and laptops in 2012. Facing the increasing dominance of the mobile Internet, the industry has no other choice: the target group is rapidly growing, travels a lot and is attractive in terms of wealth. In order to exploit this trend profitably, each hotel needs to find its own strategy. There are no stereotype solutions. Both a clear target and an exchange of experience are important. Various associations and organisations have been dealing intensely with these issues in the past few years offering It’s time to put your feet up! From now on, The Living Hotels takes care of sales and marketing for your serviced apartments.  Let us make your product known. You have the product. We open up the market. Worldwide! The Living Hotels offer a variety of marketing actions and tools in print, online and social media channels to increase this awareness and selling your apartments. Visit us at ITB 2013 | hall 9 | stand 207 www.living-hotels.com

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hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 March 2013 SOCIAL MEDIA COLuMN An example, myTaxi: Simply sexy networking For hospitalityInside.com, Hotelier Marco Nussbaum regularly comments on social media experiences and observations in the industry – always in a punchy way, up to date and close to real life. The CEO of prizeotel Management group headquartered in Bremen experiences social media every day. Today, he encourages the hotel industry to think about revolutionists like mytaxi. ot all taxi drivers are bad. But many simply annoy travellers: One wants to travel a short distance – so the driver is quickly ill-tempered. If one also wants to pay with a credit card, the atmosphere in the taxi is in the dumps for good. That‘s why I am happy about every taxi journey during which there is „myTaxi“. It is simply a great experience to use this App every time. Why? Because it is so damned easy. I can either book my taxi in advance or spontaneously at my location. I can even select my payment method (by credit card, by EC card, in cash or by mobile phone); I can select my preferred driver (split according to reviews or according to my regular drivers) and much more. Gone is the constant insecurity of whether I can expect an old junker as the car or whether the driver will be unfriendly toward me. With „myTaxi“, an App has revolutionised an entire market. And it is only the beginning. The old-established taxi dispatch cen- tres (to which, by the way, the App was introduced in the beginning), in their arrogance and market dominance, have not taken this technical „game“ seriously and have dismissed it as merely a trend. This reminds me of some hoteliers who, e.g., had not also properly taken HRS seriously and now complain about the fact that this company is supposedly raising their commissions as they please... With the taxi control centres and companies, nothing will be like it once was. In my view, it is no longer the individual product, but the networking, that sweetens the guest´s stay and provides excellent value for money. In reservations or the classic sales of hotel rooms, it is no longer as it used to be. If we are honest: Is the reservation or check-in at the hotel a special experience? By no means! In everyday life today, there are complicated reservations masks, staff that are not always in a good mood and much more. As a result, the reservation portals have rightly produced a certain transparency and comparability of products. Now, I cannot operate differently at all as a hotelier than to qualitatively maintain my product and develop new concepts oriented toward guest. Now, however, it continues on. What does the new myTaxi user generation want? How do we position ourselves as hotels to the „App Kids“? Can we keep up with these Apps that are first-class customer-connection programmes? „Creative Destro- yers“, was how myTaxi was recently referred to in the magazine, „Impulse“, and they are also beginning to catch a foothold in the hotel industry. Certainly next will be the Property Management Systems (PMS) that have become extremely slow and complicated because they must cover the most varying of demands and the rank and file. Up to now, it is not a great „experience“ working with these systems: Many staff members moan. Innovations take too long. Which is why a hotel does not have their own, attractive reservation form on their website through which one can book similarly comfortably as with myTaxi? And if the guest could pay while mobile? And use their mobile phone as a room key? And then even Twitter to their friends about the good experience? We need a sexy networking! A quote from Goran Kikic to counter all sceptics: „Everybody said: It won‘t work. There came someone who did not know this and simply did it“. //

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March 2013 hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 ITB ExPERTS FORuM WELLNESS Learning from the best Berlin. The wellness boom in the last 20 years does not allow for a break. The guests have become experts now; therefore the professionals have to be all the more sensitised for new trends, concepts and developments in the market. Renowned spa experts will characterise the „Experts Forum Wellness“, gfk presents the current figures once again. n the last few years, the ITB Experts Forum Wellness has become more and more popular. In 2013, the cooperation of the Wellness-Hotels & Resorts is organising the convention again. It takes place on March 7, 2013 in Hall 7.3/Auditorium Berlin. The visitors will be presented with interesting lectures and discussions on the following subjects. Benchmarking: successful hotel managers orientate themselves towards the best in the industry and they are self-critical – this is the opinion of consultants Dagmar Rizzato and Dr. Manfred Kohl in their presentation. Rizzato: „On one hand, the industry complains about decreasing pre-booking figures, on the other hand, in the spa sector of the market, key figures are increasing by means of uncomplicated changes in behaviour within the team, in sales and marketing.“ Awareness: comparison of figures on the one side, up-to-date subjects on the other side – keynote speaker is Dr. Franz Linser. He will lecture about the subject of awareness, and also on the millennial Buddhist method that has become more important again in times of permanent stress and overstimulation in the western world. Success in spa and wellness hotels: what makes them successful? Students from the Institute for the Tourism Industry at Hochschule Lucerne, Switzerland, interviewed hotel managers and will present informative results together with their lecturer Roland Lymann. Spa consultant Anna Bjurstam has also devoted herself to the criteria of success. In her lecture, she will explain how spa areas can be operated optimally – she shows her results in an exciting comparison between Europe, Asia and USA. global Spa Economy Report: Susie Ellis of SpaFinder from New York has conducted studies about the situation of global spas on a regular basis. She gives an insight into the results of the „Global Spa Economy Report“ 2011/2012, and SpaFinder‘s forecasts for the trends in the American spa market. Best Practise: can you risk entering the wellness market when you are new to the industry, and become a winner only five years later? Hans Dolman, Owner of Thermen Bussloo in the Netherlands, was successful, even though he was a newcomer. guests‘ expectations: in 2012, the interest in wellness trips increased in Germany. Especially amongst the younger people up to 29 years, the trend was positive. Among the people interested in wellness and spas, recovery from stress in their daily life was the focus of a wellness trip. Antonino Minneci of the market research institution GfK will expand on the expectations of the customers. He will present the recent survey „Wellness Trends 2013“ carried out in collaboration with Beauty24 and WellnessHotels & Resorts. // THE PROgRAM 10.30 – 10.35 hours FORuM OPENINg by Michael Altewischer, Managing Partner, Wellness-Hotels & Resorts 10.45 – 11.35 hours WELLNESS TERMS AND FIguRES – AN uP TO DATE OvERvIEW! With Dagmar Rizzato, CEO, Rizzato Spa Consult and Dr. Manfred Kohl, Managing Partner, Kohl & Partner 11.35 – 12.15 hours kEYNOTE – AWARENESS. With Dr. Franz Linser, CEO, Linser & Partner 12.20 – 12.50 hours gENERAL CRITERIA FOR SPA AND WELLNESSHOTELS I. With Roland Lymann, Institute for Tourism Economy, University of Applied Sciences Lucerne 12.55 – 13.40 hours gENERAL CRITERIA FOR SPA AND WELLNESSHOTELS II. With Anna Bjurstam, Managing Director, Raison d’Etre Spa-Consulting 14.30 – 15.00 hours gLOBAL SPA ECONOMY REPORT. With Susie Ellis, President, SpaFinder 15.05 – 15.45 hours BEST PRACTISE: WELLNESSHOTEL THERMEN BuSSLOO. With Hans Dolman, Developer & Owner, Thermen Bussloo 15.50 – 16.30 hours WELLNESS TRENDS 2013 – WHAT DO guESTS ExPECT? With Roland Gassner, Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GfK) 16.35 hours ITB WELLNESS FORuM – Summary & To do´s. By Michael Altewischer Advertisement Unsere Tätigkeitsfelder und Kernkompetenzen: s uen un Wir fre Besuch en auf Ihr 13 ITB 20 auf der alle 9, H in der 109. Stand Hotels by HR GmbH Trabener Straße 27 D-14193 Berlin T +49 (0)30 / 773 27 80 – 0 F +49 (0)30 / 773 27 80 – 29 info@hrmc-b.com www.hrgroup.eu • Erwerb und Betrieb von Hotelimmobilien • Management der eigenen Hotels (Fokus auf das 3- und 4-Sterne-Segment) • Entwicklung individueller Positionierungskonzepte • intensive Zusammenarbeit mit global agierenden Franchisepartnern wie z.B. der Accor Hospitality GmbH • umfassende Erfahrung auf dem deutschen Hotelimmobilienmarkt • Optimierung operativer Prozesse • Hotelbetrieb mit Fokussierung auf eine nachhaltige Wertsteigerung der Immobilie

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high Tech with high Touch: hotel and musical guests can enjoy such a light and sound show every night at the dormero Stuttgart. DORMERO STuTTgART SI CENTRuM: HIgH-TECH CONCEPTS AS AN AFTER SHOW MAgNET Expansion in 3D Stuttgart. Flames blaze on the property facade, then it rains in streams, water gurgles from the spiral staircase and later, poison-green blades of grass will grow over the facade and finally, screws turn wheel in wheel. It glows, flashes and flickers, at times the space collapses within itself and is built anew. In the future, this light and sound spectacle can be experienced every evening by musical guests of the Stuttgart SI Centrum and hotel guests at the new Dormero Hotel. esign and high-tech have entered into both high rises of which the Millennium Copthorne had held the legends up to last September. Now is the turn of an era: The owner of the musical centre is sweeping out the plush and patina throughout. The 454-room large Dormero Hotel will provide the design line for the entire centre. „Technology is our core competence“, says Managing Director, Aleksej Leunov. The expansion and concepts have been propelled forward since July, but with only two, rather than three, Managing Directors. An update on Dormero and Gold Inn AG that officially opened its seventh Dormero Hotel one week ago in Stuttgart. The light and sound show in the new „Whitelounge“ – an extension of the hotel lobby – is an absolute technical novelty created by Aleksej Leunov and implemented by the two firms, Macnetix from Berlin (www.macnetix.de) and Nightlab from Bielefeld (www.tnl.de). The IT and light professionals use software that has „measured“ the scenery wall, so that a 3D-projection is generated that fills the entire space with the help of nine projectors and 21 speakers. A spectacular experience in 360 degrees! He wants to produce this show three times per evening to hold, above all, external guests and musical visitors even longer in F&B Outlets of the Dormero Hotels (www.dormero.de). White, red, leather and lacquer characterise the Dormero interior, high-tech provi- des for the experience factor. „Technology is our core competence, but we make it people-friendly,“ Leunov also gives the line for the next new hotels. Of the existing hotels, it is only the Dormero Koenigshof Dresden (formerly Four Points) that is to be „retrofitted“. And the Managing Director, a techno and computer science freak himself, even does one better: „Within the changeability is the sustainability of the concept“ – which means: The decoration changes constantly, but without using new material or having to dismantle or build anew. „What sounds like huge energy consumption is, in reality, the most sparing and most ecological way to operate a hotel,“ says Leunov. High speed photos as a new frame for events The high-tech play with its immense armada of video projectors and lights can be used in the entire hotel and event-specifically controlled and adapted. Another highlight and novelty is to be experienced in the huge banquet hall, „Dormero“, holding up to 1,000 people: There are eleven interconnected video projectors that run colossal „films“ (pictures) on the 21-metre long walls at high speed. A perfect backdrop for product presentations, parties, celebrations or general meetings. Moreover, events can be transmitted live to screens everywhere in the property, up to the cosiest corners. The high-tech thread stretches further into the rooms in which right from the beginning – as a USP – Dormero has installed colossal double screens across from the foot of the bed. So now, one can watch TV on one screen and in parallel, surf the Internet on another. The Dormero Stuttgart has further expanded this multi-tasking seduction into 256 rooms: In these hangs „only“ a large 42‘‘ flat screen – and the naked white wall acts as the second, huge screen alongside it: A video projector projects films, pictures or websites on a surface of 3 metres diagonal. This is pure home cinema! For the couples who cannot decide on a programme, there are, by the way, headphones. Another IT comfort: The guest puts their iPod in the docking station on the wall and it also connects with the sound and screen system. All TV programmes, features, erotic programmes (with child protection function) and music titles as well as web surfing are included in the overnight price at the Dormero. Also, nothing is charged for the minibar stocked with non-alcoholic beverages. Moreover, the experience in the room is further underpinned by a LED lighting system with which the guest can select four different light and colour moods via the touch panel. Dormero is the only chain worldwide to install two screens side by side as a unit in the room and surprise its guests with multimedia fireworks. The group simply positions itself anti-cyclically and gains new target groups with it. //

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March 2013 hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 ItAlIAn SextAntIo GRoup tuRnS RuRAl SIteS Into DeSIGn HotelS Places of respect Rome. In the world of tourism, for almost a decade in Italy, there is a new definition „Albergo Diffuso“ (Hotel Diffused), which implies that urban planning and architecture, for certain specific and historical sites, should not bend to their final destination but is the history and the respect for it. talian Sextantio Group picks it up – at the Sextantio Albergo Diffuso in S. Stefano di Sessanio, the reception is inside a cave used to grow the pig, or at the Sextantio Albergo Diffuso Le Grotte della Civita in Matera a Rock Church is the common room for the guest (www.sextantio.it). Both Albergo Diffuso are members of Design Hotels today. In Italy, where always a culture of Landscape, in terms of a heritage to be protected, struggles to impose itself and it’s been systematically destroyed by new urban development usually in a strong contradiction with the historical „soul“. Sextantio decided to purchase nine of the few preserved historical villages, some of them build in the Middle Ages, located on top of the Apennine mountains, other more rural but in a seductive fusion with the surrounding area. At this time, Daniele Kilhgren, President Group Sextantio has realized the first two Albergo Diffuso as an example of what he wants to save in the country and of what the company could, in the future, do: 1. Santo Stefano di Sessanio, a Middle Ages village. A suggestive expression of an historical patrimony but also a seductive „landscape” endangered in its architectural heritage and agricultural landscape integrity. 2. The Sassi di Matera, the most extreme expression of an „Historical Minor Heritage“ on the verge of misery (when the group entered there were illegally dump site, traces of mercenary love, remains of illegal drugs abuse and Pitbull shamefully relegated in sordid spaces …). The economical strategy was: 1. the village restored, as well as an Albergo Diffuso, will have few houses which can be sold and other related services (restaurant, serving wine cellar, tea room, shops with domestic crafts, and an annual music calendar … 2. The Albergo Diffuso can service to the real estate – always characterized by a family management – and the real estate may be offered to the hotel’s guest during the periods of owner’s absence … Italy has in its mountains about 2,000 semiabandoned historic towns and 15,000 where the abandonment was nearly total. In a global market with a trend depriving places of their own identity and absorbing everything that is not clearly protected, everybody should look for safeguard policies in those places of „marginality” – like in the Apennine Mountains in the South of Italy, Daniele Kihlgren strongly believes. Sextantio has acquired nine villages in the „Abruzzi” and a grant in the Sassi in Matera; received about 500 to 600 restoring village proposals; had the professional and motivated support by the Architect David Chipperfield; has the intention to export throughout Southern Italy this model, purchasing the 30 to 50 most significant expressions of these „landscapes” on the verge of extinction. // Albergo Diffuso Le Grotte della Civita in Matera: a Rock Church for the guests.

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resorts complement city hotels. „urban resorts“ transport leisure ambiance in the heart of a city, like the Jumeirah creekside hotel dubai with its golf course view. INTERNATIONAL CHAINS FuRTHER ExPAND WITH RESORT HOTELS The secret brand strengthener Berlin. Although they are primarily in the minority, resort hotels still play an important role in the international hotel chains. They serve to attach habitués to the brand and vice versa, help to draw the attention of leisure guests and holiday-makers to the city hotels. Thus, it is all the more important to also be successful in this area. A cross-section of the current strategies. otel chains with a reasonable mix of city hotels and resorts have advantages compared to the pure resort or business chains. One of these is the strengthening of their own brand through a more frequent presence, another is the connection with habitués who can therefore fall back on this brand professionally and privately. „Resorts are important to being able to fulfil all customer demands. Moreover, this hotel type is needed in order to allow the customers to redeem their points from the customer loyalty programmes“, explains Christian Karaoglanian, the Chief Developer of the Accor Group headquartered in Paris. The resort share of the total portfolio is still relatively low among the global chains with a USA base of operations. Starwood Hotels contributes around 16% with more than 1,100 properties. With Hilton Worldwide it is 75 of 550 properties, barely 14% resorts. Around half of them lie on the American continent. The group sees the need to catch up. Likewise, Starwood wants to gain a share up to 20% from the 15%. With Marriott, the hotels/resorts ratio lies at about 85 to 15%. With the chains of European origin, the history of the groups decides on the mix. Accor, with 3,500 hotels worldwide, particularly strongly represented in the budget hotel industry, disposes of a small share in resorts. There are no resorts in the lowest categories, they start only with the 4-star brand Novotel. Kempinski, European luxury group with Thai owners, originally comes from the city hotel industry and has, in the meantime, a resort share of about 25%. „The goal is to offer 30% resorts“, says Spokesperson Kerstin Heinen. Pure and hybrid resort brands Meliá Hotels International from Mallorca demonstrates a quite well-balanced mix in business hotels to resorts (47:53%). However, this could change because the share of tourist guests is rising. Differently than Meliá, Madrid-based NH Hoteles with a portfolio of barely 400 hotels, comes from the city and business hotel industry, but has also recently acquired a resort portfolio of 15% – particularly through the merger with Hesperia. These properties lie on the Balearic Islands, the Canaries, on Costa del Sol in Spain, on Isla Margarita in Venezuela, on the Amalfi coast in Italy, on Sicily, in the Mexican Veracruz and in Galicia. The ambitious star from Arabia, Jumeirah Hotels from Dubai, is currently developing more strongly in the resort area than in the business hotel industry. Up to now, the group counts eleven city hotels and nine resorts. With the hotels currently planned, the ratio reverses: 60% resorts, 40% city hotels. Most global players do not differentiate between the resorts and business hotels within their brands. This is valid for Kempinski, Jumeirah and Marriott by 100 percent. Starwood differentiates more stron-

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March 2013 hospitalityINSIDE Special ITB 201 3 gly: Brands such as St. Regis or The Luxury Collection can be tailored to customer wishes more individually and as a result, are suited for resort – as well as for city locations, as is said from the European headquarters in Brussels. However, Sheraton, Westin or Le Méridien and W Retreats (the interpretation from W Resorts) are also to offer wonderful resorts. So opens in December, for example, the first W Ski Resort in Verbier in Switzerland that should offer an absolutely new alpine lifestyle experience to modern travellers. Unlike Meliá: The Spaniards call their core brand „hybrid“ and with this, is flexibly utilised; the only pure resort brand in the portfolio is Paradisus. China and South America in the expansion focus Starwood currently operates resorts in 60 countries. The developmental strategy stands in close connection with the growth of the worldwide markets. So, one grows resort impressions: (top-down) nh Grand hotel convento di amalfi, Sofitel So mauritius Bel ombre, melia Paradisus in cancun. within the ambitious markets of China, India, Brazil, Africa and the Middle East. Meliá thinks similarly – from Vietnam through to the Chinese Riviera and over to Chile and Colombia. For Marriott, the resort destinations of the present and future are in the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, the USA, Southern Europe, Asia and the Red Sea region. Osama Hirzalla, Vice President Brand Marketing & eCommerce Europe with Marriott, says: „We have just opened the JW Cannes in France and the Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco in Italy and are always open to new opportunities. Moreover, we are expanding in this area through our Autograph Collection.“ Jumeirah, currently with six resorts in Dubai, two on the Maldives and one on Mallorca will open additional resorts in 2013 in Kuwait and in Baku in Azerbaijan. In the longer term, the pipeline includes locations on the West Indian Islands, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Bali and Sanya and Qiandaohu, both in China. Kempinski‘s new resorts must all dispose of a unique location or the hotel itself must exhibit a special feature. Moreover, it should bring the potential to turn into a market leader in the respective region. compensate for the weak demand by the Spaniards.“ Where is the trend going? The demands for resort hotels have radically changed – particularly with the more demanding, more solvent guests – over the past years. They expect far more than the sun, pool, beach and good food. „The international traveller is placing an increasingly greater value on technology, environmental friendliness, health consciousness, authentic values and individual experiences,“ as is said by Starwood. As a result, they improved the programme for children in 2011 and condensed the food and drink for them as „all-inclusive“. For Osama Hirzalla from Marriott, the trend question can be answered with two words: „Internet Connection. The guests want to be connected while they change back and forth from work and pleasure.“ Kempinski has basically identified the desire for a carefree package in its 5-star resorts: From the qualitatively excellent facility through to an outstanding offering of meals, up to the golf course in close vicinity and a comprehensive wellness offer. Along with this, a continually increasing meaning is placed on the subject of relaxation – and Kempinski assists through yoga offers and cooperations with internists and energy doctors. As the most traditional resort supplier, Mélia always handles trend research very intensely and diversifies their resorts according to the target groups, e.g., following families with children or only for adults, following sporting primary focuses, following all-inclusive hotels or those that only offer overnight stays and breakfast because their guests wish to become familiar with the many restaurant and leisure offers in the surrounding area. Last but not least, Mélia relies on theme resorts like the new Kathmandu Park & Resort on Mallorca. Result: Hotel groups in the upper-scale segment need resorts in the portfolio mix. And those who wish to be truly good here must always set forth intensely with this special hotel type and its target groups. The resort hotel industry has not yet entered into the lower categories. The fact that more and more private investors and even tour operators (Explorer Hotels, A-Ja Hotels, Thomas Cook with Smartline) are nevertheless interested in this area should give the hotel giants something to think about. // Susanne Stauss global players are prepared for crises Holiday-makers react to crises particularly sensitively. Ultimately, sufficient alternative destinations exist so that the loveliest weeks of the year are not necessarily spoiled by demonstrations, tumult or civil wars. Most resort suppliers are currently concerned with the repeatedly sprouting riots in Egypt. „The security of our guests and staff members has top priority for us. Should some risks arise, we would consider the temporary suspension of our operations and offer alternatives at our other hotels worldwide to our guests,“ states the strategy for Starwood brands. Marriott also states likewise. Meliá looks at the various crisis cookers of the world relatively clarified. „We could have temporary problems in North Africa due to the current situation,“ Umbert believes. „But our largest, most protracted and most intensive crisis market is Spain where we have most properties. Fortunately, this crisis has been dampened by the resorts thanks to our international target group that

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