Mixed thinking is the new mixed-use

Alexander Lackner has over 18 years of experience in the commercial real estate sector and has led the asset management teams at Cushman & Wakefield and Dawnay Day. Since 2010 he is with CR Investment Management, the last 5 years as responsible managing director of the operational real estate business and co-partner of CR Urban Living, which deals with managed properties along the entire usage chain: from serviced apartments, co-living, office-as-a-service and elderly living to urban farming. He is a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS) and holds a degree in Real Estate Economics (ADI).

Benjamin Roeber-Rathay has been active with the International Campus Group since 2017. He is responsible for Business Development, where he plays a key role in the areas of product development and strategy, as well as digitisation and the design of operational processes. Before entering the real estate industry, he worked for many years in television and publishing in the fields of communication, conception and marketing. Roeber-Rathay studied communication science and management in Muenster, Zurich and Hamburg.

David Renzmann, Area Manager Germany & Georgia at The Ascott Limited, is responsible for a portfolio of four Citadines Apart'hotels in Germany and one Citadines in Tbilisi, Georgia. Since joining Ascott in 2007 he has held various positions within the company - most recently as Residence Manager at Citadines Michel Hamburg. Renzmann has many years of experience in the hospitality industry, having previously worked for renowned hotel and cruise brands.

Since October 2016, Jens Schliessmann has been Director Sales Germany Central at Deutsche Lufthansa AG, responsible for B-to-B sales of all LH Group passenger airlines in the region. The graduate in air traffic management started his career in the LH Group in 2000. Since then, he has held various positions, such as Assistant to the Divisional Board Member for Product, Marketing & Sales, Head of the Nuremberg Sales Branch and Director Partner Management Airlines & Markets at Miles & More Intl. He is also a member of the advisory board of LH City Center Reisebüropartner GmbH.

Kolja Stegemann's entrepreneurial activity began in 1995 rather coincidentally, but all the more successfully as a party organiser. From this grew a small agency and his great passion for communication. He worked for advertising agencies, companies and start-ups as a communications and later as a marketing and strategy consultant in the areas of luxury foods, FMCG, fashion, technology and social business. In 2013, inspired by his own experiences, the idea for SUITE.030 was born: The first platform for high-quality designer apartments with transparent star standards and an excellent concierge service. He still works as a freelance consultant and workshop moderator, supports the social entrepreneur organisation Ashoka and is a member of the board of the Entrepreneur's Organization.

Matthias Niemeyer is Managing Director of Adina Holding in Germany and has been responsible for the expansion of Adina Hotels in Europe since 2012. Over the next three years, eight new hotels will open in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Numerous other projects and destinations are in the pipeline. Adina is a brand for high-quality apartment hotels of the Australian TFE Hotels. Matthias Niemeyer teaches at the International University of Applied Sciences Bad Honnef and is co-editor of the Compendium of Hotel Real Estate and the Compendium of Temporary Living.

After studying business administration, Oliver Meinicke worked in various companies in the consulting industry and in the area of real estate investments. Afterwards, he became head of the department of infrastructure management and travel and fleet management at Giesecke+Devrient GmbH in Munich. From there, his path led him to his current position as Director Global Account Management in the Global Client Team at BCD Travel Services GmbH. Since 2019, he has also been a member of the executive committee of the VDR, where he also completed the further training to become a Certified Travel Manager and Certified Mobility Manager.

After his studies at the FU Berlin, Reiner Nittka worked in the Berlin State Chancellery and as personal assistant to the Governing Mayor Walter Momper. Later, he worked as a consultant at the Treuhandanstalt in the presidential department for state issues and as an authorized signatory at the Berlin State Development Corporation. Before he became managing director of GBI mbH & Co. KG and the Estate Operating Company mbH & Co. KG, he was an authorised signatory at Bavaria Objekt- und Baubetreuung GmbH. Today he is spokesman of the GBI AG board (since 2016) and since 2018 also spokesman of the GBI Holding AG board. He is also managing director of SMARTments business.

Since August 2020 Stephan Plut is Director of Sales and Marketing at Locke Aparthotels. Together with his sales team he is responsible for the opening of the two Munich hotels in spring 2021 and the Locke East Side Gallery in Berlin. Further properties in continental Europe are planned. After completing his training as a hotel manager at the Hilton Munich Park, he graduated from the Munich University of Applied Sciences with a degree in business administration and the Metropolitan University in London with a bachelor's degree. In 2008 he started as Sales Executive Corporate Accounts at Hilton Hotels Munich, in 2009 as Sales Manager Business Travel at Hilton Worldwide Hotels Germany and rose to Senior Sales Manager Business Travel in 2011. From 2013 to 2016 he was Assistant Director of Sales and then Cluster Director of Sales Germany South for the hotels in Munich and Nuremberg. In his last position as Sales Manager he was responsible for all sales activities of the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich.

Ralf Krause ist COO of the Adapt Apartments Berlin GmbH.

Alexander Trappiel is investment manager at Union Investment Real Estate, where he is responsible for the acquisition of micro-living investments throughout Europe. The spectrum ranges from small apartments in urban locations to serviced apartments in Germany and European metropolitan regions. Alexander Trappiel studied real estate economics, is a trained real estate agent and has 7 years of professional experience, 5 years of which he gained at Union Investment.

Photo: Union Investment/Simone Scardovelli

Christian Strieder is Country Manager DACH for STR based in Munich. Here he is the local contact for the customers of the world's leading benchmarking provider. He also represents STR at events and presents current industry developments. Christian sees his mission in further increasing market transparency for providers and supporting them with data for management decisions. After studying economics at universities in Germany, France and Great Britain, he held leading positions in revenue management for international hotel chains.

After 5 years in consulting at KPMG and BCG, he led the business development of Tirendo. In 2014, he founded Zipjet, an on-demand textile cleaning service, together with Rocket Internet, which he successfully led to its sale. With The Base, he has been revolutionising the real estate market since 2019, creating globally unique co-living spaces that inspire, connect and redefine urban living. He lives in Berlin, is married and father of a 2 year old son.

Henrik von Bothmer is Senior Investment Manager at Union Investment Real Estate, where he is responsible for the acquisition of micro-living investments throughout Europe. The spectrum ranges from small apartments in urban locations to serviced apartments in Germany and European metropolitan regions. He was largely responsible for the launch of the Urban Living No. 1 special fund for institutional investors in the micro-living segment at Union Investment. Henrik von Bothmer studied business law and real estate management and has 19 years of professional experience, 11 years of which he spent at Union Investment.

Photo: Union Investment/Simone Scardovelli

Marc P. Werner, LL.M. (Miami), is Head of Global Hospitality Group and Managing Partner of Hogan Lovells' Frankfurt office. He has more than 25 years of extensive experience in real estate transactions and real estate financing. Especially in his special niche "Hotels and Serviced Apartments" he is considered one of the "Best Lawyers in Germany". Marc P. Werner is the "Go to" lawyer as far as management contracts, lease and rental agreements, franchise agreements or the purchase and sale of single properties or portfolios in the field of "hospitality" are concerned. Competitors, investors, banks, operators and hotel brokers describe him as "one of the best lawyers for hotels". He is known for his pragmatic and solution-oriented approach and "his opinion counts; when he talks about market standards, everyone believes him." (Chambers Europe).

Matti Schenk has been supporting the research department of Savills Germany since the beginning of 2014. Since April 2020 he has been working there as an associate for analyses, studies and market reports on the German real estate market. Prior to this, the studied economic geographer gained his first industry experience at CBRE, among others. One of his work focuses on temporary and student housing, which Schenk has been working on since his master's thesis.

Oona Horx-Strathern is from London. For over 25 years she has been a trend researcher, consultant, speaker and author. She has written books on the history of futurology, the architecture of the future, and collaborated on numerous studies of the Zukunftsinstitut. As a trend consultant she has worked for international companies such as Unilever, Beiersdorf and Deutsche Bank. The spectrum of her lectures ranges from architectural conferences and universities to the construction industry and the design sector. She currently lives in the Future Evolution House on the outskirts of Vienna, which she helped design and build.

Photo: © www.strathern.eu / Klaus Vyhnale www.vyhnalek.com

Sabrina Handke is a partner in the Munich office of Hogan Lovells and manages the firm's established German hotel team together with Frankfurt partner Marc P. Werner. She has been successfully advising for several years in the field of real estate and hotel law. She has focused on the special real estate "hotel" and offers economically oriented, pragmatic solutions for all legal issues related to it. Her advice covers all contracts to be concluded in connection with hotel real estate and hotel operations as well as the purchase and sale of individual properties, portfolios and hotel operating companies. Her clients in the field of hotel law include owners, operators, franchisors, investors and financing providers. Sabrina Handke was awarded the title of "Rising Star" in the field of real estate law by Expert Guides in both 2019 and 2020.

Sylvie Konzack is editor-in-chief of the new online travel magazine Bleisure Traveller, which presents major cities and nearby destinations worldwide for business travelers who want to extend their business trip by two or three days privately. She also works as a freelance journalist for various magazines. Until the end of 2017, she worked for twelve years in the editorial office of the hotel trade magazine first class, and since 2012 as editor-in-chief. The development of the serviced apartments segment has been the subject of numerous articles for many years, including the "Serviced Apartments Market Report 2018" Since 2013 she has been supporting SO!APART as author and jury member.

Markus Beike has been responsible for the development of the Staycity Aparthotels brand in Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe since 2017. Prior to this, he was Managing Director at CBRE, responsible for hotel transaction consulting in Northern and Eastern Europe. As Managing Director at Christie + Co he was previously responsible for the development of the brand in Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe. His professional career includes responsible positions at Arthur Andersen, Deutsche Bank, Kempinski and Steigenberger Hotels. He holds a degree in business administration (FH), real estate economics (ebs), hotel management (IHK) and is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS). He is a speaker at trade events, co-author of the standard work "Kompendium der Hotelimmobilie", author of articles in the trade press and guest lecturer at universities.