With 29 establishments, the Meininger has gone from being a local German channel to a European channel in a very short space of time. " The chain began in 1999 with hotels in Berlin, but in the last five years we've taken the plunge and opened a number of new hotels. european expansion strategy. We have moved our headquarters to London and are aiming to have a presence in the main European cities and capitals." explains Doros Theodorou, Chief Commercial Officer of Meininger Hotels.
Meininger is currently present in nine European countries, in 17 cities.. In particular, the chain is present in Amsterdam, Berlin, BrusselsBudapest, Copenhagen, FrankfurtLondon, LyonMilan, Munich, Rome and Vienna.
From family to business
The concept is to offer a recognised brand in the budget segment but with a certain conviviality. While there are no restaurants, each hotel has a bar and living areas, allowing a certain amount of interaction.
Although Meininger's business has been hit hard by the covid crisis, it has nonetheless weathered the crisis in tourism. According to the chain's management, not a single hotel has closed since the start of the pandemic. The occupancy rate even reached 70% during the summer..
The customer profile is also changing. " We started with the families, groups and backpackers market. Our hotels still offer dormitories or multi-bedded rooms for this clientele, who are quite similar in their expectations." says Doros Theodorou.
But it's the individual travellers and businessmen that the chain is increasingly turning to. The hotels are generally well located, close to train stations or town centres. " We are often in the immediate vicinity of office areas. In Lyon, for example, we're just ten minutes by public transport from La Part Dieu or the city centre." stresses the CCO.
Locations in Bordeaux and Marseille
While Doros Theodorou acknowledges that the businessmen who come to Meininger hotels may not be the most traditional, he has observed a growing interest in the chain from this segment. " There are two overlapping phenomena. Firstly, some companies or individual entrepreneurs have reduced their travel expenses because of covid. Our chain seems perfectly suited to welcoming these businessmen, who are often young entrepreneurs." says Meininger's CCO.
" Added to this is the need for some people to find a place to stay close to their work, at a reasonable price. And here again, we represent a good alternative. We have seen the share of business travellers rise from 10% last year to 15% this year." .
According to Doros Theodorou, the percentage of businessmen is unlikely to exceed the 20%. Simply because the number of single rooms generally represents 20% of the group's offer.
The chain is sure to generate interest among business travellers with a major programme of openings. Next year, the chain will inaugurate two hotels in Switzerlandone at Geneva and the other in Zurich. In France, Meininger will set up in Bordeaux in May 2021 and Marseille in February 2022. There are also plans for a hotel in Innsbruck and projects in Italy.
" Covid also offers us new development opportunities. We currently have five or six projects nearing completion, including three for existing establishments. These are often offices that we convert into hotels. We generally sign leasing contracts for a period of 20 to 25 years." says Doros Theodorou.
