Read the latest hotel industry news from around Europe.

Hoteliers throughout Germany hope the return of the biggest global football tournament next to the FIFA World Cup will provide a significant boost to the country's hotels. The 17th UEFA European Championship 2024 — colloquially referred to as Euro 2024 — takes place between June 14 and July 14, and the strongest numbers so far are coming from hotels in the cities of Cologne, Stuttgart and Leipzig.

According to CoStar hospitality data as of May 6, hotel occupancy on the books for the event was highest in Cologne on June 19 for the game between Switzerland and Scotland, at 81%; in Leipzig on June 21 for The Netherlands vs. France, at 77%; in Cologne on June 15 for Hungary vs. Switzerland, at 77%; and in Stuttgart on June 19 for Hungary vs. Germany, at 76%.

As the largest hotel company in France and all of Europe, Accor is ready for the Paris Olympic Games this summer. Using experience from managing soccer team accommodations during 2022’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Accor has been chosen to manage the athlete and media hotels for both the Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

Accor’s CEO Sébastien Bazin said that 40,000 employees have been specifically trained for the events and more than 1,200 bars and restaurants will have some form of Olympics-related events and offerings. As for Accor's regular hotels, Bazin said occupancy on the books as of the end of May is at 71% occupancy for the games.

“You probably heard some silly things were done by some hoteliers a year ago, asking for outrageous prices, thinking their hotel was going to be absolutely fully booked. We will probably be at 85% during the games,” Bazin said.

Small, family-owned hotels are still numerous throughout the European hospitality market, but recent investment data suggests the existing status quo is unlikely to last. According to 2023 research by Booking.com and Statista — with acknowledgments to CoStar’s hospitality data — approximately 77% of European hotels are independently owned, writes Hotel News Now contributor Vladislav Vorotnikov.

“A significant portion of investment in the European hospitality sector comes from larger hotel chains, which pose a competitive threat to independent and family-owned hotels to a certain extent. The next step will be market consolidation, which will potentially marginalize the industry’s smaller players,” said Markus Gratzer, secretary general of Österreichische Hoteliervereinigung, or the Austrian Hotelier Association.

Major changes could be coming to the United Kingdom’s government much sooner than anticipated. Hospitality leaders say this creates uncertainty, but also opportunity. Last month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the U.K. will hold a general election on July 4. Business rates, value-added taxes and energy and food-and-beverage costs are all top of hoteliers’ minds.

Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality, said an election year brings a lot of uncertainty, but also opportunity for real change hotel owners need to thrive.

“There is a sense of being in limbo, a sense of being in waiting, that we need something to change the game, to be game-changing, to happen to be able to unlock that potential, and I think the general election this year could be that transformative act,” she said.

Hyatt Hotel Corp.’s Briana Swift sees growth opportunities for the company across Northern Europe, especially in Germany. She added the country “has proven itself to be a resilient market thanks to the high levels of domestic travel and domestic demand.”

In a video interview with Hotel News Now, Swift said that Hyatt is now deploying a “phase two” strategy in the country focusing on secondary markets that rely on domestic demand and that “we’re seeing long-term office landlords [who] now are interested in hotels.”

Eurazeo Real Estate, which is publicly listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange, has agreed to sell 23 hotels in France from its 70%-owned Grape Hospitality subsidiary to a consortium formed by owners Swiss Life and Amundi and operator B&B Hotels.

Officials said the deal, which is expected to conclude by the end of the year, would “materialize a 15% premium to the value of the portfolio in Eurazeo’s accounts as of Dec. 31, 2023. It is expected to generate net proceeds of approximately €35 million ($38 million) for Eurazeo’s balance sheet, subject to possible adjustment based on the closing accounts.”

• IHG Hotels & Resorts has announced the first hotel in Lisbon for its Kimpton Hotels & Restaurant brand, with the 141-room Kimpton Lisbon due to open in early 2025. The owner is Real Hotel Group.
• The 42-room Anandes Hotels is to open later this month in the Chora, or Old Town, district of Mykonos Town on the Greek island of Mykonos. The boutique hotel has a spa, and many of its rooms have private pools.
• Beaconsfield-based owner Starboard Hotels Group has renovated and reopened the 182-room Ibis Styles Gatwick for £14 million.
• Boutique hotel The Store opened last month in Oxford, one of England’s principal university cities. The 101-room hotel occupies the site of former department stores, Boswells, hence its adopted name. The owner is the Reef Group.
• Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ flag will continue to fly over what will soon be Wroclaw, Poland’s largest hotel, with the 152-room Wyndham Wroclaw Old Town adding an additional 205 rooms. The property will continue to be managed by Latvian operator Mogotel Hotel Group.
• Berlin-based Primestar Hospitality GmbH has opened the second hotel in its June Six brand with the 115-room June Six Hotel Hannover City. The parent firm now has 19 hotels, mostly in Germany but also in Austria and Italy.
• Accor brand SO/ Hotels has signed a deal to convert the existing Sofitel Budapest Chain Bridge Hotel. The hotel will become the SO/ Budapest, which will open in 2026 with 350 rooms. The hotel is in Accor’s Ennismore division, while the Sofitel brand is part of the French firm’s premium, midscale and economy division.
• Generator has announced the first renovations deal since it announced its white-label management deal in Europe. Schroders Capital and the hybrid-hostel firm will fully renovate the Generator Berlin Alexanderplatz, which once completed will have 695 beds in 132 guestrooms.
• The Ellen Kensington opens early this summer in London. Its Singapore-based owner KOP, which also owns the Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square, has elected its in-house operator Montigo Resorts to run the 105-room hotel, which is named in honor of Victorian actor Ellen Terry.
• Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and owner Merope Asset Management will open the Mandarin Oriental, Rome, in a series of 10 19th-century villas collectively known as the Villini Sallustiani. Merope bought the properties for a €100 million in September 2021 and said at the time it would invest a further €80 million in their restoration.

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