Cycas Hospitality is continuing its European expansion with the signing of its inaugural property in Germany. The hotel management company has secured a deal to operate the privately-owned 133-suite Element Frankfurt Airport on a long-term lease from 18 December 2018.

The extended-stay Marriott International property – which incorporates a ground-floor restaurant, two meeting rooms plus underground parking – represents Cycas Hospitality’s tenth European hotel and sixth airport property. Further reinforcing Cycas’s position as one of the leading extended-stay operators in Europe, the Frankfurt property becomes the fifth long-stay brand in Cycas’s portfolio, alongside Staybridge Suites (IHG), Residence Inn (Marriott), Hyatt House and South Point Suites.

Originally opened in 2014 as Europe’s first Element hotel, the seven-storey property is in the heart of Gateway Gardens; a 700,000 sqm global business village within walking distance of Frankfurt International Airport’s Terminal 2. Home to over 500 companies and a 78,000-strong workforce, the vibrant development benefits from easy access to the neighbouring the A3 / A5 motorway junction and, from late 2019, will also have its own rapid transit station with direct high-speed trains into central Frankfurt.

The hotel will be managed by Cycas Hospitality’s Area General Manager, Bart Luijk. A fluent German speaker who managed Marriott’s second European Element hotel (Amsterdam), before joining Cycas in November 2017, Bart is also responsible for the management company’s newest double-decker hotel, which combines Marriott’s Moxy and Residence Inn brands in Amsterdam’s creative Houthavens district.

Eduard Elias, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Cycas Hospitality, said: “Last year Cycas identified Germany as one of our target markets, thanks in part to the country’s strong extended-stay potential. This deal to manage our first German hotel therefore signals a key step in our ambition to triple our European portfolio.

“As Germany’s financial hub, Frankfurt’s reputation as the ‘gateway to Europe’ has become even more significant since Britain’s vote to leave the EU. There’s no doubt that the increased connectivity planned for Gateway Gardens this year will boost the hotel’s appeal to business travellers and project workers alike. We are therefore thrilled to have introduced our fourth Marriott flag to the Cycas portfolio.”

The deal follows an active year for Cycas’s European expansion, with nine signings across the continent in 2018 which have ensured its hotel portfolio now covers three of Europe’s busiest airports; London, Paris and Frankfurt.