German tourism holiday segments report: Increased demand for adults-only hotels

German tour operators are offering more adults-only hotels as the former niche product grows into a significant part of the holiday market, according to the following report by fvw.com:

Despite occasional controversy about hotels that do not permit children, Germans are booking more and more holidays in properties targeted at adults, tour operators told fvw. In response, they are now contracting more capacity in these specialised properties, which normally only take bookings for guests aged over 16.

“There is a trend towards products that focus on the needs of individual target groups,” noted Jörg Wagner, product manager at major tour operator Alltours. This trend not only refers to adults-only hotels but also to properties targeting, for example, families or offering a special focus on lifestyle, wellness or sports. Alltours itself now offers a total of 74 adults-only properties in its total portfolio of about 3,300 hotels, including several resorts belonging to its own Allsun hotel chain.

Similarly, Andreas Rüttgers, tourism chief of mainstream tour operator Schauinsland-Reisen (SLR), commented: “A few years ago it was only a question of enabling adults seeking peace and quiet to enjoy a holiday away from the children’s pool. Today most of these properties have adapted their products and services to this target group, with perfectly designed rooms and a broad range of wellness and diverse leisure activities.” With over 50,000 bookings in summer 2017, adults-only hotels have grown into an important product for SLR, which now offers more than 200 such properties.

DER Touristik is currently expanding rapidly in this niche market, especially through its premium tour operator brand Jahn Reisen. The number of customers booking adults-only hotels increased by 20% this year, said product manager Nils Lübbe. He is now dedicating 10% of the hotel portfolio to this customer segment and will continue with the target group brochure ‘Adults together’ that was launched last year. This brochure contains all the hotels and holiday resorts worldwide for guests over 16 offered by the tour operator.

With its Sensimar hotels, German market leader TUI has already offered its own hotel concept for this target group since 2008. Generally, the tour operator has expanded the number of adults-only properties that it markets in Germany from a double-digit figure just three years ago to about 400 hotels worldwide at present.

TUI even differentiates within this market segment. Patrick Hogrefe, head of Sun & Beach product management, pointed out: “The Sensimar hotels are targeted at couples seeking relaxation, so the entertainment is suitably low-key. In contrast, sport, fun and joint activities are the priority in the Magic Life Candia Maris on Crete, which is a pure adults-only club.”

In the same way, Thomas Cook Group has its own adults-only hotel brand with Sunprime Hotels, which will grow to nine properties next summer. But there are also adults-only hotels within the group’s other concept hotel brands, including Sentido, Casa Cook and Smartline. Sascha Büsseler, head of yield & product, pointed out that some hotels are tending to switch over to an adults-only business model following renovations.

FTI has also responded to this growing demand by broadening its hotel portfolio, although it still only offers a small number of such properties. One example is the Labranda Marieta on Gran Canaria.

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Source: fvw.com