About Tophotel

Tophotel

Tophotel is the hotel trade magazine of the Freizeit-Verlag in Landsberg am Lech, a subsidiary of the Holzmann Medien GmbH and Co. KG in Bad Wörishofen. For over 35 years, it has been the decisive impulse giver and credible mouthpiece for the hotel industry, the entscheidender Impulsgeber und glaubwürdiges Sprachrohr für die Hotellerie. In 2020, the Deutsche Fachpresse named it Fachmedium des Jahres, the trade medium of the year, in the category Best Trade Magazine with turnover between one and 2.5 million euros.

Overview

The Deutsche Fachpresse award is the German trade press industry's annual prize for the best specialist media in eight categories. The 2020 jury's citation for Tophotel praised the title's ability to reach the managers and makers of the hotellerie on the whole line, the opulent optics and the depth of information with the well-rested reading pieces, and the fresh content elements, the #Monotalk and the Social Wall, that surprise the readers again and again and stage print perfectly. The award category, Best Trade Magazine with turnover between one and 2.5 million euros, places Tophotel among the mid-sized specialist titles that the German trade press honors.

The media data's target group voices sketch the magazine's editorial contract with its readers: the most important industry news in overview, one of the most important media for staying informed about the current and most important trends and developments, with both the high-quality print magazine and the online articles state of the art, delivering beyond the normal measure of information always the something more that inspires and helps to new ways of thinking. The refreshing layout, the newest trends, and the broad spectrum of hospitality information, from association reports through personalities and product information and practical tips to the legendary hotel test, are the qualities the hoteliers name.

Tophotel is the print and digital trade magazine for the managers and makers of the hotel industry. The expert jury of the Deutsche Fachpresse, in its 2020 award citation, credited the title with fully meeting the claim of reaching the managers and makers of the hotellerie: through the opulent visual design and the depth of information with its well-rested reading pieces, the print target group is perfectly picked up, and with fresh content elements such as the #Monotalk and the Social Wall, the title surprises its readers again and again and stages print perfectly.

The magazine's signature editorial product is the legendary hotel test, the legendärer Hoteltest the media data name among the brand's formats. The target group voices in the media data describe the magazine's role: the most important industry news at a glance, one of the most important media for staying informed about the latest trends and developments, with the refreshing layout and the newest trends as the greatest inspiration, and the broad spectrum of hospitality information from association reports through personalities and product information and practical tips to the hotel test.

History

Tophotel has served the hotel industry for over 35 years, published by the Freizeit-Verlag in Landsberg am Lech. The Freizeit-Verlag is a subsidiary of the Holzmann Medien GmbH and Co. KG in Bad Wörishofen, the Bavarian specialist publishing house.

Three years of hard work preceded the 2020 award: the publisher Alexander Holzmann, in the award announcement, described the sharpening of the content profile and the relaunch that revitalized the strong media brand Tophotel. The award arrived in a difficult time for the target group, the hotellerie in the Corona crisis, and for the media company itself, and gave, in Holzmann's words, confidence and courage to get wind in the sails again quickly in the post-Corona times and to continue the successful path on all media channels.

Coverage and Content

The hotel test is the brand's legendary editorial product: the anonymous, critical hotel reviews that the media data name alongside the association reports, the personalities, the product information, and the practical tips. The test format, in the tophotel.de collections, positions the houses between their concepts: the house in the Lüneburger Heide between nature hotel, retreat, and conference address, with the first innovations in lobby, rooms, and breakfast, and the merged house of 208 rooms with the Tui Blue signature on 60 rooms opposite the campus.

The digital news agenda shows the magazine's daily editorial tempo: the openings, the signings, the brand launches, and the leadership changes that move the German and international hotel industry. The 2026 headlines carry the Andaz Munich's brewery taproom, the hotel group's 28 additions and its Northern Europe and Italy focus, the second Bodensee house, the fashion collaborations from collections to catwalks to overnight concepts, the Expo Real contracts for 2027, and the Smartments founder's move to the supervisory board with the new brand chief's ambitious plans.

The investment headlines show the trade's analytical side: the first nine months' transaction volume of around 960 million euros, 39 percent below the previous year's value, with buyers focusing primarily on individual properties. The talent headlines show the industry's next generation: eight talents from Austria and Germany, one shared commodity basket, and the cooking competition for the industry's young talent won by a representative of Le Meridien Vienna.

Tophotel covers the hotel industry's full spectrum: the most important industry news at a glance, association reports, personalities, product information, practical tips, and the legendary hotel test. The digital news mix, in the tophotel.de headlines, shows the editorial range: the Andaz Munich's in-house brewery and its Schwabinger Tor Bräu taproom, the hotel group's 28 additions in 2026 and its reorganization of responsibilities with a stronger focus on Northern Europe and Italy, the hotel chain's second house on Lake Constance, hotels discovering fashion as part of the guest experience, the Hamburg operator's Expo Real signings with IHG and HD Hotels for 2027 openings, and the founder Harald Ultsch's move to the supervisory board after 20 years.

The fresh content elements the jury praised, the #Monotalk and the Social Wall, mark the magazine's editorial signature: the interview formats and the social media integration that surprise the readers and stage print perfectly. The opulent optics and the depth of information with the well-rested reading pieces define the print experience the jury credited.

Organization and Ownership

Tophotel is published by the Freizeit-Verlag in Landsberg am Lech, a subsidiary of the Holzmann Medien GmbH and Co. KG in Bad Wörishofen. The publisher is Alexander Holzmann, the Verleger who celebrated the 2020 award with the team. The company profile lists the publishing industry and the hotellerie keywords.

Current editor-in-chief details for the magazine are not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed. The media data for 2023, published by Holzmann Medien, carry the target group voices and the brand's advertising formats.

Digital Presence

Tophotel.de is the magazine's digital home, the Magazin der Hotellerie with its daily industry news, the hotel tests, and the collections. The site's current headlines document the industry's 2026 agenda: the hotel openings, the operator signings, the brand launches, and the leadership changes.

Dedicated apps or podcasts for the Tophotel brand are not detailed in the sources reviewed; the brand's digital presence rests on its website, the online articles the target group voices praise as state of the art, and the print magazine's #Monotalk and Social Wall formats.