Chairman André Witschi and Financial Director Matthias Heck unveiled the 2013+ corporate strategy on 18th December 2008. The aims are to establish lasting competitive advantages in order to attract and retain guests in the long term.

The focus is on three basic principles:

• Quality leadership of the brands Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts and InterCityHotel in their areas, through a constant increase in brand awareness.
• Expansion within the existing brand portfolio - in the core markets as well as in cities and resort destinations popular with Germans.
• Increased profitability through consolidation and Best Practice processes and ideas.

These elements are at the heart of the strategy. A key feature here is the focus on the two brands, Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts and InterCityHotel. In the future, the intention is to build on their leading position in terms of performance and guest satisfaction and to increase their competitive edge by redefining their brand profile. Furthermore, greater emphasis is being placed on staff training in order to induce a greater sense of responsibility and to encourage above-average motivation.

Strategically significant locations in Germany and major European cities are central to the expansion. At the same time, it is of particular importance for Steigenberger to remember their tradition as a German hotel business. The words “Made in Germany” are recognised worldwide as representing the highest standards of quality. And the name Steigenberger has been synonymous for first-class German and European hotel business, quality and integrity for almost 8 decades.

At Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts the brand profiling will be underlined by a homogenisation of the portfolio and a rise in standards. The new strategy will see the introduction of the label “Grandhotel”. This will be awarded to Steigenberger hotels that already represent the classic German grand hotel tradition – hotels such as the Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof, the Steigenberger Parkhotel in Düsseldorf, the Steigenberger Grandhotel Petersberg, the Steigenberger Belvédère in Davos and the Steigenberger Kurhaus Hotel in Scheveningen.

The InterCityHotel brand is affected by two key elements of the 2013+ strategy: contemporary design and a new F&B package. The modular architecture of InterCityHotels will increase the usability of the hotel’s public areas. The culinary concept will be based on modern gastronomic ideas and will focus on international trends.

With the 2013+ strategy the Steigenberger Hotel Group hopes to sharpen the brand profile of Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts and InterCityHotel and to raise awareness of both brands. This will give the company a strong base for further expansion at home and abroad.