In the financial year ending March 2024, the hotel chain achieved growth in revenue, room occupancy and employee numbers. Additionally, new hotels were opened, further expanding the chain's portfolio.
Following a successful conclusion to the financial year 2024, MEININGER Hotels is focusing its strategy for financial year 2025 on modernizing and renovating existing hotels, while investing in key areas such as employer branding, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), and digitalization.
Positive Annual Results with Revenue growth and Optimistic Forecasts
The current financial figures for MEININGER Hotels show a revenue increase of over 18 percent for the financial year 2024 compared to the previous year, reaching 196 million euros with an average room occupancy rate of 77 percent. For the current financial year 2025, further growth is anticipated, with an estimated revenue of approximately 215 million euros and an average room occupancy rate of 80 percent. This development is also reflected in a continued growth in RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room), as Ajit Menon, CEO of MEININGER Hotels, highlights: “RevPAR has risen from 74,76 euros in financial year 2023 to 82,96 euros in financial year 2024. For 2025, we forecast a further increase to up to 89 euros."
To solidify this positive trend in the future, MEININGER Hotels is focusing on sustainable growth, as Menon explains: “Our focus is on optimizing our existing hotels while at the same time investing in future-oriented markets. To meet the expectations of our guests, ensuring consistent quality across our entire portfolio is crucial. Therefore, we are very selective in acquiring new properties and are investing in the renovation of our existing facilities. We have currently started renovating ten properties, with more in the planning stages. All projects are expected to be completed by 2026."
Expanding Locations and Employee Numbers
Another key element of MEININGER Hotels' strategy is the long-term expansion of its hotel portfolio. After new locations were put into operation in Cologne and Krakow in the financial year 2024, the company also recently announced plans to open hotels in Edinburgh and Barcelona, marking its entry into the British and Spanish markets. Moreover, MEININGER Hotels plans to explore potential new locations in emerging markets such as Greece and Portugal, as well as further expanding in Spain, France and Britain.
The geographical expansion of MEININGER Hotels is accompanied by continuous employee growth. In financial year 2024, the company had 1.270 employees and expects this number to rise to approximately 1.330 in the current financial year 2025. "In times of skilled labor shortages, our focus on the MEININGER employer brand has been advantageous. Our dedicated Employer Branding project team is continuously working to enhance our attractiveness as an employer and attract potential employees," Ajit Menon emphasizes positively. Furthermore, the hotel chain's active investment in existing employees helps reduce turnover. An example of this is the e-learning platform launched at the beginning of the year. It offers a variety of training opportunities, from general on-boarding presentations to department-specific training, enabling employees to develop professionally. "Additionally, all MEININGER employees can actively contribute to topics that matter to them, such as sustainability or diversity," Menon added.
Sustainability in focus
In 2023, MEININGER Hotels strategically realigned its commitment to sustainability and appointed Silvia Gonzaga to the position of full-time Sustainability Manager. Under her leadership, a Sustainability Steering Committee was established, composed of the executive management and key department heads. "The steering committee ensures that all our business areas are working towards our shared sustainability goals, which encompass Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria", explains Silvia Gonzaga.
Recently, in collaboration with the consulting firm Nordic Sustainability, the first greenhouse gas inventory for the financial year 2023 was created, covering the entire value chain and going beyond the usual industry framework. "In addition to direct emissions, we also examined 'Scope 3' emissions, focusing on the upstream value chain such as purchased goods and services and their transportation. This is crucial to gaining a holistic understanding and reducing our corporate carbon footprint, as most of our CO2 footprint lies here. Only by fully accounting for these can we advance our path to decarbonization and sustainability", Gonzaga continues. As a direct result of the insights gained, processes, products, and services are now being actively initiated in collaboration with suppliers to contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions.
Digitalization as a Future Topic
For the future-proof positioning of MEININGER Hotels, in addition to addressing issues such as the skilled labor shortage and sustainability, the automation and digitalization of processes and workflows are also of central importance. The tech roadmap developed for this purpose aims to introduce innovative technologies and digital solutions over the next three years that will sustainably improve the guest experience and make operational processes more efficient. In early June, the new website of MEININGER Hotels went live, featuring an improved customer journey with easier navigation and an optimized version of the existing online booking engine (IBE - Internet Booking Engine). The mobile-first optimization and the stronger focus on the needs of MEININGER Hotels' target audiences were central to the development.
The increased investments in digitalization, ESG, and employer branding underscore MEININGER Hotels' commitment to sustainable and future-oriented corporate management. Through these measures, the company strategically positions itself to meet the changing demands of the market and ensure long-term success.
