Vienna International Hotels & Resorts (VI) is setting itself up for a promising future with a new strategy. As one of the largest Austrian hotel groups, VI is aiming at continuing its growth and tapping new markets. The focus will be on developing a new umbrella brand concept, using new technologies, and more strongly positioning itself as a restructuring specialist.
After his first 100 days in office,
Dr. Andreas Karsten, CEO of Vienna International Hotelmanagement AG, presents the Austrian hotel group’s new business strategy. The focus will be on a new umbrella brand and marketing concept, new technologies, and a clear alignment with the group’s strengths. “We are positioning ourselves as a competent hotel management chain with special know-how in market observation and development. VI’s restructuring expertise is another good basis for continuing to grow profitably in the next few years despite the difficult market environment,” Dr. Karsten said, pointing out the company’s strengths.
Marketing and new technologies
In the future, all services will be marketed under the umbrella brand of “Vienna International Hotels” or “VI” without weakening the strong individual brands. For customers, clients, investment partners and future employees, this clear umbrella brand strategy serves as a clearly recognisable single brand with the promise of quality. Also planned is a professional emotionalisation of the product and the brand image. Top priority will go to the new web presence, including website and social media relaunch: “With our new online look, we are creating additional ways of offering better services and better targeting our customer groups,” Dr. Karsten said.
The company website is also being more strongly positioned as a sales channel, with the in-house travel agency VI Travel working more intensively as tour operator and in direct sales.
VI as restructuring specialist
VI will continue to concentrate on management contracts on the European market and in Russia, with a special focus on positioning itself as a restructuring specialist with turnaround expertise. This involves developing and implementing exit strategies and coming up with restructuring solutions of hotels that have often been taken over by banks. These tailored solutions are of great interest especially for individual hotels. VI intends to position itself as the best service provider on the market in this field. The range of services will focus especially on the areas of optimal chain acquisition, channel management, VI GDS code and the group’s international corporate sales structures.
Growth in Europe
Securing and consolidating profitability will require growth. In the future, this is to be achieved through hotel acquisitions in the core markets. VI’s core markets are those countries in which it possesses many years of experience in marketing and operations, such as Austria, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and Russia, but new markets such as Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland are also possible expansion targets. The specialisation will be on city, conference and airport hotels in the 3-star and 4-star segment. Continued growth is also planned for the portfolio of successful design and business hotel products with the andel’s and angelo brands. Given profitable growth and a sustained increase in earnings, VI will be able to go public in the medium term.
Current hotel projects
Vienna International Hotelmanagement AG is realising another angelo Hotel in Munich together with UBM Realitätenentwicklung AG. Opening is planned for 2013. Also opening in 2013 will be another hotel in Shelkovo near Moscow jointly with Shelkovsky Holding.
Vienna International Hotelmanagement AG (VI)
Vienna International Hotelmanagement AG was founded in 1989. On the basis of individual management contracts, Vienna International operates and is developing a total of 31 first-class hotels & resorts and 2 hotel projects. The portfolio, which includes one Leading Hotel of the World, comprises city, resort, spa and conference hotels. The hotels are located in nine European countries: Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, France, Germany, Romania, Slovakia and Russia. In addition to holiday and leisure products internationally, e.g. in Loipersdorf, Salzburg, Carlsbad and Opatija, the focus of the destinations is on business centres such as Salzburg, Munich, Berlin, Paris, Prague, Cracow, Łódź, Bucharest, Ekaterinburg and Vienna.
The hotels managed by VI generated approximately € 164 million in revenues from 2.3 million bed nights in 2010. The group currently employs about 2,500 employees.
