Germany Hotels & Chains Report 2021

A very warm welcome to this latest country edition of the Hotels & Chains report which a provides a snapshot of a fascinating moment in hospitality. Will we see the direction of the industry change forever?

When we wrote the last edition, we had no idea that global events would cause such chaos in a market which had seen unprecedented success in 2019. Needless to say the events of the last 20 months have thrown the ownership and performance of the hotel industry into sharp focus, exacerbating friction between owners and operators, putting pressure on lenders, making development debt something of a mirage and laying waste to the best laid plans of many giants in the industry.

Chain penetration hit an all-time high while the overall German market continued to grow steadily by more than 18,000 rooms and 125 hotels in 2019. Even though the share of the chain hotel industry in the overall German market is only 12.7%, a trend towards chain hotels continues to emerge, especially in Germany’s large cities.

Key Points

• Deutsche Hospitality was acquired in 2019 for €700 million by a subsidiary of the Chinese concern, Huazhu. In addition to Steigenberger Hotels, Deutsche Hospitality also owns IntercityHotels, MAXX by Steigenberger and Jaz in the City, among others. A total of 118 hotels in 19 countries changed hands.
• Best Western Hotels & Resorts took over the hotel brand WorldHotels with around 300 hotels, which will continue to operate under the same name. The purchase is intended to expand Best Western’s upper upscale and luxury segment.
• Pandox and AroundTown were the most active institutional buyers in 2019, acquiring 12 and 9 properties each, indicating a consolidation of the institutional hotel owners market and a healthy interest for hotel assets.