Thomas H. Althoff has contributed significantly to the development of the German hotel industry - a sector that he joined in his early twenties - for over 35 years. He has become a recognised, extremely reliable figure amongst his peers and business partners and is undoubtedly considered to be one of the most important leaders on the German hotel scene. In 1984, he and his wife Elke Diefenbach-Althoff opened the Hotel Regent International in Cologne, thereby establishing the Cologne business now known as Althoff Hotels. Since then, the group has grown to encompass a total of 18 hotels with over 2,000 rooms in four countries. The continual recognition of opportunities and passionate pursuit of a vision have led to the hotel group’s successful growth.
In May 2020, Thomas H. Althoff placed the operational management of the company in the hands of Frank Marrenbach, who leads the Althoff Hotels in the role of CEO and co-partner. Thomas Althoff acts as Chairman of the Board and at the same time remains majority shareholder. Frank Marrenbach, who previously steered the business of the luxury hotel group Oetker Collection as CEO for 15 years, and Thomas Althoff have known and appreciated each other for more than two decades. With this change in personnel, the Althoff Hotels continue to belong to the small circle of owner-managed hotel groups in Europe.
The takeover of the converted Schlosshotel Lerbach in 1992 marks the group’s entry into the luxury segment. Eight years later, it also took over the management of the nearby Grandhotel Schloss Bensberg, one of the most renowned hotels in Europe.
Thomas H. Althoff’s ambition and perfectionism has created one of the best luxury hotel brands in Europe - the Althoff Collection. Today, the collection consists of five exclusive hotels in Germany, France and the United Kingdom. However, he is also continually refining his hotel concept and is now appealing to a new target group with the AMERON brand introduced in 2009. The AMERON Collection currently comprises ten upmarket hotels in Germany and Switzerland.
Sustained by the high level of satisfaction expressed by their guests and the fulfilment of a professional dream, Thomas H. Althoff and Frank Marrenbach continue to focus on expansion: “We want to considerably expand our presence throughout Europe - however, not at all costs. The plan is for every new hotel to be the result of a careful and meaningful evaluation which proves that Althoff Hotels will provide additional value to both investors and guests.” The two regard themselves as long-standing partners for whom reliable and trusting dealings play a major role - with business partners as well as with guests.
Our creativity revolves around experiencing the exceptional: we create rooms in which our guests, staff and partners can flourish and get excited.
Aside from value-centred behaviour, our company’s success is in particular based on a value-oriented approach, which has been the foundation of our hotels’ identity since the very beginning. It is our philosophy; it makes the stay in our hotels tangible and gives heart and soul to the rooms we have created. We also measure ourselves against it and thus set ourselves apart from our competitors.
As diverse as our different brands may seem, they are nevertheless united by our identity and the three interconnected pillars.
Architecture, art & design
Outstanding architecture creates distinctiveness and expresses the collection idea. Organically linking architecture and design is what gives our company a holistic approach.
Outstanding service
Value-oriented management, concise selection criteria for choosing our staff and tried-and-tested training systems mean that our staff are among the best in the sector.
High-quality gastronomy
Our expertise in placing unparalleled restaurants in our hotels gives us the unique opportunity of offering the finest in both gastronomy and hospitality in the same place.