EXPO REAL 2020

That was the World of Hospitality 2019 with the new individual spaces on the right-hand side. A perfect complement to the still efficient main stand. / Rendering: meplan

Augsburg/Munich (March 20, 2020). The final registration phase for participation in the renowned joint stand "World of Hospitality" has started! You can still secure a place in this hospitality magnet. And become part of an attractive networking programme at executive level! Here you find the conditions 2020.

Editorial: Hard measures, stay positive!

Dear Insiders,

We are trapped between the garden fence and despair, with limited freedom of movement but far too much room for negative thoughts. Therefore, we are happy to spread the views of the German futurologist Matthias Horx, who has mentally rushed ahead 12 months from now. Until then, we will have learned to use technology differently, be more social, have voted Trump out of office, and have experienced smog-free cities in China for the first time. Thanks to corona.

Tomorrow, Saturday, we have "Earth Hour" again at 8:30 pm: For one hour, everybody is asked to turn off the lights and think of the planet. Corona has swiped away the topic of sustainability… But the virus will disappear, our climate problems will not, unfortunately. Therefore, we are showing how real estate experts and sustainably-thinking hotel operators at the ESG (Environment Social Governance) Conference in Frankfurt saw certificates critically, talked about energetic upgrades and cost-savings, and apparently showed a lot of trust in the cradle-to-cradle principle…

Stay positive: Sustainability will change the world for the better. This is future, just like the corona vaccine, which will be available in future. The wheel of economy has to start turning again soon. Therefore, it is important to slowly and carefully start the discussion about the right time for the "re-start".

Governments around the globe are fighting the virus with rescue programmes amounting to billions. If short-time compensation or loans are too late in arriving at companies and employees, corona will have won. Hotels, restaurants and cafés are only able to survive economically for a few weeks when the cash flow is cut off. Despite everything, Markus Luthe and Otto Lindner from the German Hotel Association IHA found calm words although they strongly criticised the government's programmes in their details: They fear that the industry is going to fall through the grid. On Tuesday, the lobbyists sent an urgent reminder to Angela Merkel and her ministers.

"Government money is not a horn of plenty," cautioned Martina Fidlschuster of Hotour Consulting the industry. As one of the most crisis-experienced consultants in the market, she provided a checklist for owners and operators, which helps them to prepare for their negotiations with the banks.

Corona continues to rage and is forcing angry employers to cut labor costs radically. Dismissing, granting leave or promoting? The latter is only done by private hotels, the chains execute the first. Sylvie Konzack has discovered blatant reactions. Marriott, IHG and Hyatt have reported how and where they will reduce labor costs: There will be dismissals in the tens of thousands.

As a growing number of (closed) hotels have their eye out for conversions, we asked our editorial experts about the legal framework in Germany.

However, corona might provide some other unexpected positive effects: Due to the crisis, Airbnb and Oyo are losing a lot of power, as well as OTAs. This would be a mega chance for the hotel industry to re-position themselves collectively, says Susanne Stauss. And one other positive aspect. Today, we have another non-corona article for you: the further development of Travel Charme Hotels.

In the light of the flood of information, we will be even more selective in future to provide you with a more compact overview. Please regard the second edition of our "snippets" as quick reading of mixed news. Our corona link list on page 1 has been refined and supplemented by new links. On the front page, two CEOs - Giovanna Manzi of Best Western Italy and Prof. Max Schlereth of Living Hotels from Germany -, tell us what they think about corona.

What are your thoughts about the crisis? Please write to me…

Yours, Maria Pütz-Willems
Editor-in-chief

Your opinion? maria[at]hospitalityInside.com