Steigenberger paves the way for a successful future with new shareholder

STEIGENBERGER, a leading European hotel Company based in Frankfurt, has completed its process of strategic repositioning that has started in 2008. With the Egyptian tourism group TRAVCO Group International Holding S.A.E., owned by Hamed El Chiaty and his family, a new partner has been found for the hotel business of STEIGENBERGER Hotels AG as of today, comprising the brands “STEIGENBERGER Hotels and Resorts” and “InterCityHotel”. The new partner will continue to pursue and further develop the long-term targets of the Company. In addition to hotels and Nile cruise ships, TRAVCO’s business activities also include complete tourism services. The parties have agreed not to disclose the price of the transaction.

After a period of consolidation of the hotel portfolio, international expansion is the next strategic stage for the STEIGENBERGER Hotel Group. The STEIGENBERGER Family, the previous owner, is convinced that this key element of the initiated strategy, as well as an improved brand awareness and quality leadership, can be realized easier with a strong international partner. In the family-run company TRAVCO, which is, inter alia, already operating an own hotel chain, STEIGENBERGER has found a partner who appreciates the long and proud tradition of this German Company which was founded by Albert STEIGENBERGER in 1930 and successfully developed by his son Egon STEIGENBERGER. In line with this tradition, TRAVCO is committed to continue STEIGENBERGER’s plans for the future maintaining the excellent German hotel culture of STEIGENBERGER.

“We want to secure STEIGENBERGER’s future in the long run. In TRAVCO we have found an experienced partner in the hotel industry, which fully supports our initiated strategy. The international hotel and travel services of TRAVCO enable us to offer our guests a new world of travel destinations. The enlarged hotel network creates new experiences and career opportunities for our employees,” said André Witschi, Chief Executive Officer of STEIGENBERGER.

STEIGENBERGER will be the stepping stone of TRAVCO’s hotel presence, as well as its entry into the city hotel business, particularly in the German, Austrian and Swiss markets, and will allow to further strengthen the Company’s positioning in quality segments. The two hotel brands, “STEIGENBERGER Hotels and Resorts” and “InterCityHotel”, which have been established especially in German speaking regions and have access to a wide, trusted and long-standing customer base, will perfectly complement TRAVCO’s product and geographical set-up. The mostly complimentary businesses of the two companies will allow for cross-selling opportunities across the brands and further economies of scale. TRAVCO fully supports STEIGENBERGER management’s internationalisation efforts and both companies firmly believe to be able to accelerate these efforts through TRAVCO’s existing international network.

“This is a very important strategic step on our long-lasting and continuous course for growth, which positions us as a global player in the tourism and hospitality industries and allows us to offer an even greater and more appealing value proposition to our customers,” says Hamed El Chiaty, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of TRAVCO. “In addition to the clear strategic benefits, we will aim at increasing our joint added-value through accessing new growth opportunities and realising operative synergies. At a particularly challenging time for the entire tourism industry, this decisive move strengthens our leadership claim within the leisure business. Together we will shape the hotel industry in Europe and the Middle East for the years to come. By combining STEIGENBERGER and TRAVCO, two traditional family businesses come together.”

STEIGENBERGER Hotels AG, based in Frankfurt, currently operates 81 hotels in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands and Egypt. The umbrella brand of the STEIGENBERGER Hotel Group covers two individual brands: STEIGENBERGER Hotels and Resorts, with 50 upscale and five luxury hotels, and InterCityHotel, which has 31 hotels in the upper mid-range. In 2008, the STEIGENBERGER Hotel Group generated revenues of € 500m.

The Egypt based company TRAVCO GROUP INTERNATIONAL HOLDING S.A.E. (TRAVCO GROUP) is one of the largest integrated tourism groups in the Arab region. With over 60 integrated companies in the field of tourism and hospitality and assets in excess of €1.25 billion including; a portfolio of 43 hotels and 9 underway with capacity exceeding 10,500 rooms which are operated by Travco’s hospitality brands “JAZ”, “IBEROTEL” and “SOL Y MAR” in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates; the largest fleet on the Nile comprising 22 cruise ships and over 1300 cabins managed by the group’s own “TRAVCOTELS” and “IBEROTEL”; a low cost airline to be launched later this year. The group represents a powerful force in Egypt's travel, tourism and hospitality industries making it the only fully integrated business in its sector. Their incoming agency Travco Travel – a joint venture with TUI AG – caters to over 1.3 million guests per year with over 1000 buses and 200 luxury limousines. The destination management company organizes a wide array of travel packages in Egypt and its network of international offices in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Syria, China, Japan, UK and Germany and soon Jordan. Their main source markets are Germany, Russia, Italy, France and the UK. TRAVCO PROPERTIES is their development arm and the division in charge of construction and marketing for their real estate projects on total land banks of more than 10 million square meters. TRAVCO GROUP is the brainchild of its Chairman and CEO Hamed El Chiaty, who founded the company in 1979. Today it’s still fully owned and run by Mr. El Chiaty, his wife Dora and children Karim and Tania. In 2008 it posted consolidated revenues of € 600m and employs 18,000 people.

Christopher Holschier
Director Corporate Communications
+49 69 66564-422
H World International