DEHOGA Bundesverband

What DEHOGA Bundesverband does

DEHOGA Bundesverband (legal name: Deutscher Hotellerie- und Gastronomieverband e.V.) is the federally recognized umbrella trade association for the German hospitality industry, headquartered in Berlin at Am Weidendamm 1A. Founded in 1949 and structured as an eingetragener Verein (registered non-profit association), DEHOGA represents hotels, restaurants, caterers, and discotheques across Germany. It operates a federated model comprising more than 250 state-level member associations (Landesverbände), specialized industry associations (Fachverbände) including the Hotelverband Deutschland (IHA) and UNIPAS, and internal departments (Fachabteilungen) covering Systemgastronomie, Gemeinschaftsgastronomie, Discotheken, and Catering.

The association's core offerings are member services and industry infrastructure rather than commercial products. These include Deutsche Hotelklassifikation (the official German hotel star-rating system, the association's registered brand asset), the oneDEHOGA-App (mobile member portal), the Deutscher Hotelführer (hotel directory), the DEHOGA Akademie (professional training and continuing education), and the DEHOGA-Zahlenspiegel (industry statistical yearbook). Technology is essentially digital association infrastructure — website, mobile app, newsletter, and partner portal — with no proprietary AI or platform technology disclosed. Marketing and member engagement are run through the website, Instagram, email newsletters, industry events (Branchentag, Deutsche Jugendmeisterschaften), and political advocacy assets such as the DEHOGA-Wahlcheck.

DEHOGA's business model is membership-fee-based subscription recurring revenue drawn from dues paid by hotels, restaurants, caterers, and other hospitality businesses — with no external investors, parent company, or capital structure disclosed. Distribution flows through the state associations (primary SMB channel), specialized Fachverbände (enterprise/large-hotel channel), Fachabteilungen (mid-market specialized segments), and the Berlin Bundesgeschäftsstelle for direct engagement with large enterprises and policy stakeholders. The organization reported 37 employees at the federal headquarters and is led by President Guido Zöllick and Hauptgeschäftsführerin Jana Schimke.

Name

DEHOGA Bundesverband

Legal name

Deutscher Hotellerie- und Gastronomieverband e.V.

Website

https://dehoga-bundesverband.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DEHOGA Bundesverband is the federally recognized German trade association for the hotel, restaurant, catering, and discotheque industries, operating a federated network of 250+ state and specialized associations to deliver advocacy, training, and the official Deutsche Hotelklassifikation star-rating system to its members.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: DEHOGA Bundesverband generates revenue through membership fees from hotels, restaurants, caterers, discotheques, and other hospitality businesses across Germany. The association operates through a federated structure with state-level (Landesverband) and specialized (Fachverband/Fachabteilung) organizational units that collect membership dues.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

DEHOGA Bundesverband is a non-profit trade association (eingetragener Verein) that represents the German hotel and gastronomy industry at the federal level. It provides political advocacy, collective bargaining support, professional training through DEHOGA Akademie, the Deutsche Hotelklassifikation hotel star-rating system, an online hotel directory (Deutscher Hotelführer), the oneDEHOGA member app, and industry statistics publications for its member hotels, restaurants, caterers, and discotheques.

Product overview

DEHOGA Bundesverband is a trade association for the German hotel and hospitality industry, offering a portfolio of member services and industry standards rather than a commercial product platform. Key offerings include the Deutsche Hotelklassifikation (hotel quality classification system), the oneDEHOGA-App (mobile member app), the Deutscher Hotelführer (hotel directory), the DEHOGA Akademie (professional training), and the DEHOGA-Zahlenspiegel (industry statistics). These services support member businesses through standards certification, professional development, industry data, and member communication tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Deutsche Hotelklassifikation The official German hotel star-rating and quality classification system operated by DEHOGA, certifying hotels based on standardized criteria to help travelers identify accommodation quality levels.
• oneDEHOGA-App Mobile application providing DEHOGA members with access to association services, member information, and member benefits on smartphones and tablets.
• Deutscher Hotelführer Online directory and guide featuring classified German hotels, allowing users to search and find accommodations based on location and star classification.
• DEHOGA Akademie Professional training and continuing education programs for hospitality industry workers, including courses, certifications, and professional development offerings.
• DEHOGA-Zahlenspiegel Comprehensive statistics publication providing industry data on the German hospitality sector, including employment, company counts, and revenue figures.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Initiativkreis GastgewerbecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Initiativkreis Gastgewerbe (Initiating Circle Hospitality) is a core partnership coalition within DEHOGA comprising major industry suppliers and service providers. Partners include: ahgz (Allgemeine Hotel- und Gastronomie-Zeitung), Anuga, Apollinaris, Bitburger, Coca-Cola, Deutsche See, Duni, Ecolab, Froneri Schoeller, Gerolsteiner, Granini, Hagleitner, Heineken, HGK, Hobart, InoxAir, J. J. Darboven, König Ludwig Brauerei, Krombacher, Mannheimer, Meiko, Melitta Professional, Merkur, Metro, MKN, Nespresso, Nestlé, Radeberger Gruppe, Salomon FoodWorld, Schweppes, Servicebund, Signal Iduna, SIHOT, Sofidel, Transgourmet, Unilever, Vaihinger, Vandemoortele, Vectron, Warsteiner, Winterhalter. The coalition provides mutual business support, marketing initiatives, and industry development.
• Hotelverband Deutschland (IHA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHotelverband Deutschland (also known as IHA - Hotelverband Deutschland) operates as a specialized Fachverband within the DEHOGA structure, representing hotels at both national and international levels through membership in the International Hotel Association.
• UNIPAS (Union der privaten Automatenspieler)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNIPAS operates as a specialized Fachverband representing operators of gaming and amusement machines within the hospitality and gastronomy sector.
• Deutscher NachhaltigkeitspreisminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDEHOGA partners with the Deutscher Nachhaltigkeitspreis (German Sustainability Award) to promote sustainability initiatives in the hospitality sector.
• Unternehmensnetzwerk 'Erfolgsfaktor Familie'minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDEHOGA participates in the 'Success Factor Family' corporate network, promoting family-friendly workplace policies in the hospitality industry.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag (DIHK): The umbrella organization of the German Chambers of Commerce (IHKs) — a much larger German membership organization with a comparable federated structure and federal advocacy mandate, but covering the entire German economy rather than hospitality alone.
• Handelsverband Deutschland (HDE): Germany's national retail trade association, employing a similar federated advocacy model for the retail sector — adjacent to hospitality and structurally comparable, but focused on retail rather than hotels, restaurants, and catering.
• Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks (ZDH): The German Confederation of Skilled Crafts — a comparable German trade confederation operating under a similar federated structure with state-level member chambers, collective bargaining, and federal advocacy, serving as a domestic peer for organizational model comparison.

Direct peers

• UK Hospitality: The UK's national trade association for the hospitality industry, offering policy representation, training, and member services analogous to DEHOGA Bundesverband, with comparable federated structure and membership-based funding model.
• National Restaurant Association: The leading US trade association for the restaurant industry, offering advocacy, training, research (including the widely cited Restaurant Industry Forecast), and member services closely comparable to DEHOGA's gastronomy division mandate.
• American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA): The principal US hotel industry trade association, providing federal advocacy, classification/quality standards, training, and member benefits — directly parallel to DEHOGA's role for the German hospitality industry, but operating at much larger scale in the US market.

Regional players

• hotelleriesuisse: Switzerland's national hotel and restaurant association — directly comparable trade body representing the hospitality industry at the federal level with a federated structure, training programs, and policy advocacy, but operating in a different national market.
• Confederación Española de Hoteles y Alojamientos Turísticos (CEHAT): Spain's national hotel and tourist accommodation confederation — directly comparable in scope (hotel classification, advocacy, member services) to DEHOGA's hotel-side mandate, but serving the Spanish market.
• FIPE - Federazione Italiana Pubblici Esercizi: Italy's national federation of public establishments (hotels, restaurants, bars), representing hospitality businesses in collective bargaining and policy — functionally analogous to DEHOGA's role in Germany, but operating in the Italian market.
• UMIH - Union des Métiers et des Industries de l'Hôtellerie: France's leading hospitality trade body representing hotels, restaurants, cafés, and nightlife venues — directly comparable in scope and federated structure to DEHOGA Bundesverband, but serving the French market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/dehoga
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dehoga-bundesverband

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about DEHOGA Bundesverband