Design Hotels
Design Hotels AG is a publicly traded company providing hospitality services to a network of over 300 independently owned small boutique and luxury hotels in over 50 countries worldwide. The firm maintains offices in London, Barcelona, New York City and Singapore in addition to its headquarters in Berlin.
 | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Börse München: LBA | |
| Industry | Hotel Management, Tourism, Travel, Hotel, Hospitality, Marketing, Public Relations, Management Consulting, Business Development |
| Founded | 1993, in Sausalito, CA, United States |
| Headquarters | Berlin, Germany |
Key people | Peter Cole, CEO Dr. Holger Peres, Chairman of the Supervisory Board |
| Services | Marketing, Branding, Creative Services, Distribution Technology, Hotel Development, Sales, Hotel Management, Public Relations |
| Revenue |  € 6.29 Million[1] (2008) |
| Website | designhotels |
Member hotels
Design Hotels represents and markets a selection of over 300 independent hotels in more than 50 countries across the globe.[2]
History
Design Hotels was founded in 1993 as a California Corporation, Design Hotels Inc. by J. Peter Schweitzer and Claus Sendlinger. Claus was a part owner (with Hans Peter Knodler and Oliver Jamitzky) of German full-service travel agency CO-ORDINATES GmbH, based on Augsburg, Germany; the two firms, and several others, consolidated in 1998 under the holding company lebensart.net GmbH, subsequently known as lebensart Global Networks AG in 1999. The holding company went public in Germany on Dec. 10, 1999.
In 2000 lebensart Global Networks AG, with Daniel Adams as the CFO raised sufficient capital to transfer trading from the over-the-counter (OTC) markets to the Börse München.
In 2001 the firm re-branded itself as Design Hotels with 23 initial member hotels. That same year the firm completed the corporate merger of wholly owned subsidiaries ResExpress, Inc., Younger Direct Marketing, Inc. and lebensart technology, Inc. The company began trading under the name lebensart technology Arizona, Inc., with headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona.
In 2004, after several relocations of its headquarters from Arizona, California, to New York City, the firm settled its headquarters in its current location in Berlin, Germany, with its current name, Design Hotels AG.
In 2011, Starwood Hotels & Resorts acquired 72% ownership of Design Hotels AG. Following the merger of Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Marriott International, Marriott International currently owns 74% of Design Hotels AG.
Business model and services
Design Hotels charges member hotels a base membership fee and earns additional revenue by providing various supportive services on an a la carte basis.
Services include sales, marketing, PR and other creative services; online and telephone booking services, with associated customer service; yield revenue management and third-party business development deals; and hotel consultancy.
Publications and events
Design Hotels publications include DIRECTIONS, a bi-annual magazine on travel, architecture, and lifestyle; the Design Hotels BOOK, an annual edition showcasing the full range of member hotels; and various newsletters.
Architecture and design symposia include Design Hotels Arena, an educational event for member hoteliers on trends affecting the hospitality and design industries, as well as other events. The firm also participates in industry-wide trade shows for travel companies, including ITB in Berlin, Germany and ITB Asia in Singapore, International Luxury Travel Market (ITLM) in Cannes, France; and in Shanghai, China and LE Miami, Florida.
