At the Global Lodging Forum on April 9 & 10, Peter Kerkar, Chief Executive of Cox & Kings and Hannes Spanring, CEO of MEININGER, reviewed the company's development in Europe.
With three properties, MEININGER is part of the "new hotel concepts" movement, focusing essentially on quality/price ratio, location and conviviality to attract travelers who want to feel "at home". The variety of accommodations ranges from traditional double rooms to rooms with up to six beds in dormitories.
Subsidiary of the Cox & Kings group, the time has come for MEININGER to accelerate significantly. In France, three properties are under construction and will open between 2019 and 2020: Paris Porte de Vincennes (249 rooms), Lyon (169 rooms) and Bordeaux (162 rooms). Other projects are under discussion for implementation. Within two years, MEININGER wants to operate at least 580 rooms on the French market.
France is only one stone in MEININGER's European edifice where its development is going well. In addition to the latest openings: Milan (80 rooms), Berlin (245 rooms) and Amsterdam (186 rooms), a property in Lisbon (121 rooms) is planned for the end of 2019.
"The hotel's location in the midst of the dynamic design district of Santos, with its cosmopolitan and creative residents and visitors, is a perfect fits for the diverse MEININGER guest mix of backpackers, business travellers, groups, families and individual travellers," said Hannes Spanring.
True to its concept, the offer will range from standard double rooms, to private rooms with multiple beds through to a bed in a dormitory. All public areas, including the guest kitchen and games room, typical features of a MEININGER hotel, will be located on the ground floor.
Hannes Spanring added: "With the project in Lisbon we are entering a new and important market. Lisbon is a beautiful city and has enjoyed increasing popularity with travellers from Portugal and across Europe for years. We have been looking for a suitable property for some time and are therefore very happy about this new project."
This year, the brand is preparing to inaugurate five additional addresses: Saint Petersburg with 158 rooms (May 2018), Rome with 118 rooms (June 2018), Berlin with 238 rooms (July 2018), Budapest with 184 rooms and Milan with 131 rooms (during August 2018) then Munich with 172 rooms (end of September 2018). By the end of the year, MEININGER expects to operate a total of 3,979 rooms in Europe.
Finally, MEININGER has just officially committed to six new European locations. The first three will open in 2019 in Heidelberg (100 rooms), Brussels (150 rooms) and Zurich (174 rooms). In 2020, the opening of 104 rooms in Geneva and 160 rooms in Glasgow will follow, then Dresden (165 rooms) in 2021.
By early 2021, MEININGER will operate at least 5,412 rooms in Europe. MEININGER has also indicated its intention to expand in North America and Asia.
"The focus is not only on Europe anymore at MEININGER. We very recently began to aim for a roll out in the United States, where we have created a potential pipeline of about 25 hotels, mostly on the East Coast," said Hannes Spanring in an interview during the Global Lodging Forum 2018.
