Jump to content Jump to footer
At home on the road

At home on the road

Make a request

Do you have individual questions or want further information? Our experts will be happy to help you.

You can reach us by telephone at: +4940606066212

Project development & operation of hotel real estate

Developing, realizing, participating - we are also broadly and highly professionally positioned in the "hotel real estate" asset class. Both on our own account and for our premium partners, we develop top sites according to individual ideas with impressive architecture and a modern ambience that set new standards in the hotel world. With more than 3,500 hotel rooms completed or in planning stages or under construction, we are one of the top hotel developers in the German-speaking world.

Innovative hotel developments

Aerial view of modern high-rise buildings in Cologne.

Project development: Two hotels under one roof at MesseCity Cologne

Together with STRABAG Real Estate, we have constructed the seven-storey "Southern Cross" building in the center of the new MesseCity Cologne. The site impresses with its central location next to the so-called trade fair balcony of Koelnmesse, its good visibility and excellent transport connections to Cologne Messe/Deutz station. The entire property has already been sold to a DWS real estate mutual fund. The tenants are two hotels: a Motel One with more than 300 rooms and an Adina Apartment Hotel with around 170 studios and apartments, which is also the first hotel of this brand in North Rhine-Westphalia. Both hotels will commence operations in mid-2021.

View of the facade of the "niu" hotel with large windows.

Innovative solutions through space repurposing

"The niu Hide" hotel on the Ring-Center in Berlin

The niu Hide, the world's first modular hotel on the roof of a mall, opened in 2019. The novum hospitality brand's hotel is located directly on the parking deck of the Ring-Center, which we manage. The hotel was realized by the hotel project developer MQ Real Estate - in sustainable modular timber construction. One of many ideas on how shopping centers, for example, can be usefully supplemented with other suitable uses such as apartments, offices or hotels and just the beginning of our mission to integrate even more hotel uses into existing properties in the future.

View of a sleeping area in a hotel room with large windows flooded with light.

Participation in Ruby Hotels

The merger with Ruby Hotels shows that we are not only contributing and expanding our expertise in hotel development, but also in operations. As part of a capital increase, the Otto family acquired a 25 percent stake in Ruby Hotels. Founded in 2013, the "Lean Luxury Hotels" group already operates around 20 hotels with highly flexible room geometries, including in the Kö Galerie Düsseldorf, for whose former office space we were able to win Ruby Hotels as a tenant. Further Ruby Hotels are under construction or in planning stages - such as the Ruby in Rome or the Ruby in Copenhagen.

Building on existing properties

A lack of space in attractive city centers, long construction times and high construction costs as well as a change in usage behavior have led to the fact that building in existing buildings, i.e. the conversion of real estate, is becoming increasingly relevant - especially against the backdrop of climate change and dwindling resources. Due to changing requirements for contemporary, modern offices and a high proportion of people working from home, office buildings that are no longer needed are particularly suitable for conversion into hotels.

Successful Partnerships

Portrait of Michael Struck smiling friendly into the camera.

“Due to our highly flexible room geometries and construction methods optimized for mixed-use properties, we see great potential in the addition and conversion of inner-city retail and office spaces.”

Michael Struck, CEO Ruby Hotels

Portrait of Astrid Schafleitner, smiling friendly into the camera.

“Since completing our first hotel together, the Motel One Group and ECE have enjoyed a successful partnership that continues to have a bright future. We focus on high-quality, modern hotel design in prime locations. With a professionally positioned partner like ECE, we can be sure that we will succeed.”

Astrid Schafleitner, Deputy Head of Development Motel One

Our hotel projects

Exterior perspective of a house facade in Rome.

Ruby Rome: From office to hotel

In September 2021, ECE Work & Live acquired a listed property in the heart of Rome that was previously used as an office building, which we are currently converting into a hotel. We have profited from the rapidly growing lean-luxury hotel group Ruby Hotels as the operator. The conversion work for the planned opening in spring 2025 is in full swing.

Ruby Copenhagen: New hotel instead of offices

ECE is currently developing a hotel in Copenhagen in line with modern energy standards. The hotel is being built in place of an office redevelopment project in the Frederiksberg district, west of the city center. In spring 2024, the company acquired the plot of land with a former office property and an Existing / As-built space of around 7,600 m² gross floor area. The planned design hotel with more than 200 rooms is scheduled for completion in early 2027.

A modern dining area in a hotel with a window view of the city of Düsseldorf from above.

„Das Tour“ 25hours, Düsseldorf

The 200-room hotel "Das Tour", which we realized for the 25hours Hotel Company, impresses in Düsseldorf's new Le Quartier Central district with an exciting contrast between German engineering and French artistic flair on 17 levels. The highlight is a rooftop bar on the top two floors.

View of a seating area in a hotel with cosy furnishings and an electric fireplace on a dark wall.

Motel One Vienna Central Station

Complete service portfolio from project development and realization to leasing and sales of the property: As part of a major infrastructure and urban development project in Austria, we developed and realized the 60-metre-high, 18-storey hotel tower at Vienna Central Station in 2015, which will be home to the Motel One Vienna Central Station with 533 rooms in the long term. It is one of three properties that we have realized for the hotel group to date.

View of the grounds of a Steigenberger hotel, where a large grey building can be seen.

Steigenberger Airport Hotel Berlin, Airport Berlin Brandenburg

The hotel we planned, developed and realized is the only one at BER located directly at the terminal of the new airport. As one of the first and few hotels of its kind, the hotel, which is operated by Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts on a long-term basis, was awarded the DGNB Gold certificate for its sustainability. 322 rooms, an à la carte restaurant with adjoining bar, a spa and wellness area with separate fitness area and the conference center with eleven meeting rooms offer the ideal location "of short distances" at the airport.

View of a dark hotel building with many windows in Hamburg.

Holiday Inn HafenCity, Hamburg

Our Holiday Inn hotel in HafenCity, developed for the Union Investment Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), is making a further contribution to strengthening the city of Hamburg as a congress location. The four-star hotel with 268 rooms and a large conference area with three combinable event rooms for up to 220 people opened in 2018 and recently received the international iF Design Award in addition to the HafenCity Gold eco-label.