The new coalition in Frankfurt's Römer - consisting of the Greens, SPD, FDP and Volt - has agreed on a coalition agreement, which was presented last Friday. The associations of the Frankfurt hospitality industry, DEHOGA Hessen, Kreisverband Frankfurt (DEHOGA Frankfurt), Frankfurt Hotel Alliance (FHA) and Initiative Gastronomie Frankfurt (IGF) have reacted positively to the plans of the future Frankfurt city government, as the important significance of the hospitality industry and tourism would be shown in its breadth. The industry representatives welcome the fact that the topics regularly demanded in the past years have found their way into the working paper for the coming years. These include the installation of a public W-LAN network and the expansion of public toilets. These are long overdue basic measures that are indispensable for the welcoming culture of the Main metropolis. Other metropolises had set standards here for a long time, which are simply necessary to be marketable as an international tourist player.
"The variety of topics that the coalition agreement takes up in the area of the hospitality industry and the post-Corona aid that is being considered make us optimistic," underlines Robert Mangold, board member of DEHOGA Frankfurt. "In the award procedure of municipal gastronomic properties as well as in conceptual ideas for the upgrading of Alt-Sachsenhausen, we are happy to contribute our professional expertise," Mangold continues.
Another important point is the revitalization of the city center. For this, the still young and for years demanded by the business representatives* City and district management is urgently needed and requires municipal support. The past months of the Corona pandemic in particular have shown that the attractiveness of a city centre can only function in the joint context of gastronomy, trade, services and culture and can bring back an improved quality of stay, e.g. as "strolling miles".
Trade, gastronomy, tourism - these are important pillars in Frankfurt. At least as important is the trade fair business, which absolutely must be strengthened again after the crisis. The promised political support for public events such as the Frankfurt Fashion Week or the Music and Book Fair were also positively received, as they are vital for the survival of Frankfurt's hotel industry. The city's accommodation businesses also live to a large extent from international business travel tourism, which has been completely eliminated by the pandemic. The market will also change in the future due to the pandemic, which needs to be addressed now.
"The hotel industry faces two major issues in the post-pandemic period. On the one hand, the meeting and congress business will change and in the future will partly take place virtually. On the other hand, the shortage of skilled workers and junior staff is getting worse. During the long lockdown, many of our employees have migrated to other industries. In this context, we welcome the fact that the expansion of affordable housing for trainees and not only for students has finally been included in the coalition agreement," explains Angelika Heyer, FHA Managing Director.
The new city government can be sure of support from the associations with regard to a seal of approval for family- and child-friendly restaurants. There is already a great potential of experience here.
"The restaurateurs and hoteliers will take the future top politicians at their word regarding the support in saving the clubs, bars, restaurants and hotels after the Corona pandemic," Madjid Djamegari, board member of IGF, explains. He thanks "the fact that the strengthening and preservation of hospitality structures were given a separate paragraph in the coalition agreement." "We see it exactly the same way: diversity is what makes Frankfurt. The promised support for the gastronomy and club scene can contribute significantly to ensuring that the city does not become deserted in its vibrancy."
"To this end, it is important that the city representatives* continue on the chosen path of liberalizing outdoor gastronomy in the long term and rethink bureaucratic ordinances and statutes," adds James Ardinast, board member of DEHOGA Frankfurt and IGF.
With some skepticism, the hospitality industry associations look at the ideas and implementation plans in the area of traffic planning. From all aspects, it is important to keep an eye on Frankfurt's businesses and to provide tourists, guests, suppliers and customers with an attractive, convenient and sensible means of getting to and from the city. The representatives of the association already signal their willingness to talk about the corresponding topics and wish the new Frankfurt coalition good success in the implementation of the measures in the sense of maintaining and expanding the tourist infrastructure of the Main metropolis.
