press releases - 17 10 2019

Michael Widmann, Managing Director of PKF hotelexperts said: “The theme of this year’s hotelforum is the convergence of the residential and hotel worlds. There are more and more mixed forms that respond to modern living needs, such as smaller residential units, coupled with providing more services. This creates both opportunities and risks for cities – one example of this is serviced apartments. Despite all the innovations, many large cities however currently face the same problem: The rents are no longer affordable for large numbers of normal earners. This problem also exists in Vienna – but to a lesser extent than in Munich, for example. The main reason for this is the policy of subsidised housing that has been consistently pursued for around 100 years. More than 50 percent of Vienna’s tenants live in these homes. This helps create a well-balanced social structure in the city – especially since these homes are distributed relatively evenly across all of Vienna’s districts. We are awarding this year’s “Hospitality Innovation Award” to Vienna’s Mayor Dr. Michael Ludwig for the consistent continuation of this policy – who thus also receives it on behalf of his predecessors in office and the entire city of Vienna.”

read more