“This has to be a living document”

The MICE business is attractive for all those involved across the city. Since it generates five times the sales of tourism, it is also very good business for hotels. Yet we also need to avoid a situation where, with ever cheaper rates, we end up cutting the ground from under each other’s feet. That is a real danger in destinations such as Berlin, which this year alone will again see hotel capacity rise by 15%. On the other hand, since large congresses and trade fairs only last three days on average, technically, any fall in demand would be perceptible. The aim is to balance that out with new fairs and conventions.

The Hotel Charter is a position paper for the entire city of Berlin. It’s a joint project by the hotel industry, the visitBerlin Convention Office, Berlin’s Governing Mayor, and the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises. For the first time, it provides the right conditions specifically for event managers organising large conventions and congresses. Moreover, it also ensures transparent and facilitates booking and billing with different players. On the other hand, it is also a huge help in the bidding and organisation process – for the city and especially for the visitBerlin Convention Office.

Only nine pages long – but those nine pages of Berlin’s new Hotel Charter for large congresses have an ambitious aim. They set out to enhance transparency and make it easier for international planners to hold events in Berlin in future. Nine pages opening up Berlin even more as one of the world’s popular meeting metropolis – and nine pages Chris Jung enthusiastically supports. As General Manager Maritim Hotel Berlin, he has championed the Hotel Charter from the start. We asked him why he so strongly backed this new initiative and what advantages it would bring.

Für Hotels: 

Das Buchungsfenster für Großkongresse wird zwar immer kürzer, liegt aber nach wie vor zwischen 18 und 36 Monaten. Somit unterstützt die Charta die Hotels bei einer besseren Planbarkeit ihrer Kapazitäten. Die AGBs und Rahmenbedingungen sind hierbei in der Charta für alle transparent und gleichermaßen akzeptiert. Damit sichert die Charta nicht nur ein geschlossenes Auftreten, sondern erspart uns auch lange, teils Ressourcen-intensive und umständliche Verhandlungsprozesse.

Für Veranstaltungsplanende: 

Berlin ist eine erfolgreiche Kongress-Metropole mit einer steigenden Anzahl an Veranstaltungen und Teilnehmern. Wir haben uns gefragt: Wie können wir Berlin noch attraktiver für Großkongresse machen? Und vor allem: Wie können wir die Arbeit mit den Agenturen und Veranstaltern einfacher und transparenter gestalten? Alle waren sich einig, dass eine Hotel-Charta notwendig ist, weil in Berlin so viele unterschiedliche Akteure in der Veranstaltungsplanung involviert sind. Die Charta soll diesen Prozess nun erleichtern und mit gleichen Konditionen und Bedingungen für alle den Ablauf transparenter, einfacher, schneller und somit effizienter und produktiver machen.

Für die Destination: 

Wien und Paris haben bereits eine Hotel-Charta und sind uns mit gutem Vorbild vorausgegangen. Dennoch ist dieser Vertrag ein starkes und in Deutschland einmaliges Service-Angebot für Agenturen und Veranstalter von Großkongressen. Sie zeigt vor allem, dass in der Hauptstadt alle an einem Strang ziehen und sich gemeinsam im Kongressgeschäft engagieren. Es ist ein allererster, wichtiger Schritt.

Our starting position was ideal, since generally all the hoteliers were, in principle, in favour of just such a Charter. In a first step, we primarily brought event hotels and major players together around the table to establish a common ground. The nuts and bolts of those discussions flowed into the small print – blocks of rooms, timeframes, cancellation deadlines, rate discounts and so on. After that was agreed, we had the details checked comprehensively for legal or antitrust issues. Then we all signed up to it. In the knowledge this framework was legally compliant, we could then contact smaller hotels without the legal resources to run such checks themselves. When we had around 80 or 90 hotels on board, we approached the Senate Department – a step we felt it was important to take together.

In future, the Hotel Charter has to be included in every sales talk. If an enquiry is too large for an individual hotel to handle, the Charter needs to be ready so we can convincingly say to the event organisers – in all areas, Berlin is the location for trade fairs and congresses. Unconditionally.

Thank you. Our thanks to Chris Jung for the interview!

Leverage our team’s expertise and contacts to hotels, locations and service partners! We can support you in planning and realisation, and connect you with event experts in our city. Whether you are planning a meeting, congress or incentive, contact us at convention@visitBerlin.de or browse our Meeting Guide Berlin to find the right venue for your event..