Corporate information

Welcome Hotels furthers expansion plans
New hotels and further investment to strengthen brand recognition

Mario Pick and Carsten Kritz, Managing Directors WELCOME HOTELS

The Welcome Hotel group can look back on twelve successful years on the German market: a success that is substantiated by positive figures, the expansion of the group portfolio and of the services offered as well as the implementation of cross-the-board quality control management. Welcome Hotels 2009 financial year finished with a year-end turnover of almost €48 million. Successful figures for the hotel group based in the Sauerland town of Warstein that show not only an increase over the previous year’s turnover but also a promotion of three places in the current AHGZ rankings from the group’s previous 33rd position. “Although we didn’t quite reach our growth target for 2009“, admits Managing Director Mario Pick. "we are of course satisfied with this outcome“. For 2010 Mario Pick is counting on an upswing in the catering sector towards the middle of the year. The highlight of the year for Managing Director Carsten Kritz is the planned hotel opening in Frankfurt. "This hotel has it all: location, concept and, of course, a fantastic price performance ratio“, is how Carsten Kritz describes the new business hotel set to open on Leonardo-da-Vinci-Allee.

The Welcome Hotels group focuses on the business and conference sectors and has, since 1998 made a good name for itself as a professional partner for both a national and an international clientele. The group currently operates 3 and 4-star hotels in 14 locations across the country. Headed up by the Mario Pick/Carsten Kritz duo, the staff of some 1,000 employees ensures that each day guests arriving at a Welcome Hotel are truly given the feeling of “You’re Welcome”.

Sights set on Germany’s trade fair metropoles
The group’s 15th hotel - the Welcome Hotel Frankfurt – that is set to open its doors in November 2010 will be the first group hotel in a German metropolis. The 3-star business hotel adjacent to the Frankfurt’s trade fair centre hopes to welcome an international clientele. 173 rooms on seven floors, a soft-wellness centre on the top floor affording fabulous views of the "Mainhattan" skyline and 320 m2 of conference facilities will ensure just the right balance of business competence and well-being.

In the spring of 2011 Welcome Hotels also plans a presence in the city centre of Cologne. This new 4-star business hotel in Perlengraben will have something very special: a sky bar on the 17th floor where guests can enjoy a snack, a cocktail and the stunning view over the historic centre of Cologne to the cathedral. The Welcome Hotel Köln will have 229 rooms and suites on 18 floors.

Investing in quality and service
Inline with group corporate philosophy equal importance is given to the expansion of the group’s portfolio as to the continued investment in the existing 14 hotels. The Management’s “strategy for success" focuses on the location of the hotels that promise sustained success.

Investment in the existing portfolio of Welcome Hotels focuses on all aspects of the service provided to guests to strengthen the group’s image in the business sector and to ensure continued customer satisfaction. Planned group investment for 2010 totals some €7 million in hotel fixtures and furnishings and €1 million in the maintenance of existing sites.

Signs of this service oriented investment were already in evidence last year when the 4-star Welcome Hotel Bad Arolsen invested some €1 million in the expansion of the in-house wellness facilities to its current size of some 2000 m2. Facilities now comprise five saunas including a classic, sauna, a bio-sauna, a Finnish sauna and a more unusual rose quartz sauna. The fantastic range of beauty and massage treatments together with the expansive sauna centre means that the Welcome Hotel Bad Arolsen is now considered as group’s wellness flagship.

The Welcome philosophy: setting our hearts and minds on success
Welcome Hotels aims to ensure that each and every guest at a Welcome Hotel feels first hand the group’s corporate philosophy of "you are welcome" in every aspect of their stay. Corporate culture focuses on providing a high level of service and furthering a love of one’s profession. The continued success of the Welcome Hotels relies primarily on the consistent provision of benefits for guests, the continued mastering of the day-to-day running of the hotel and furthering of training and qualifications for members of staff.

Cross-the-board quality management controls introduced in 2009 ensure the implementation of mandatory standards and thus the group-wide application of the corporate motto. The aim is to optimise processes in all corporate areas and ensure that operational procedures are transparent and optimised with regards to time-saving for all employees both internally within departments and across-the board. By the end of 2010 the aim is that this process of consolidating standardisation whilst maintaining maximum individuality of each Welcome Hotel should be complete and the Quality Management system firmly entrenched.

Heads of Department WELCOME HOTELS on QM-workshop in July 2009

This is where Welcome Hotels are ready and waiting to welcome you
Welcome Hotels are located in science and university centres such as Darmstadt and Paderborn, whilst further hotels in Bamberg, Bad Arolsen and Lippstadt are within easy reach of the business and trade fair centres of Nuremberg or Dortmund. Hotels enjoying a more rural setting can be found in Meschede, Warstein and Wesel whilst others are located in centres of culture such as Meissen or Essen - the city voted “City of Culture 2010.

The Welcome Hotel Essen is located close to the centre of this metropolis making it ideal for visitors to the RUHR 2010. The 4-star, first-class hotel on the Schützenbahn has 176 comfortably appointed rooms and suites as well as four "Ladies Superior Rooms” catering specifically for the needs of female guests. A separate seating area, a Senseo coffee maker and an extra large window bestow these rooms with a very special ambiance.

The Welcome Hotel Marburg, that joined the group in 2009 also offers in addition to its 136 rooms, ten so-called "boudoirs” that are specifically appointed to make female guests feel “welcome” A bath robe, a hot water bottle, a range of beauty products and a personalized choice of pillows all add an extra touch of comfort. This focus on superb service, friendliness and excellent cuisine in locations that are well connected to the transport network as well as being culturally of interest makes Welcome Hotels also highly popular with tourists who come for either a short break or a weekend trip.