Sooner or later, every owner of a hotel, restaurant, guesthouse or tourism business faces the question of who will take it forward. For many, the business represents decades of work, a family legacy and a central part of their identity. A handover is therefore far more than a change of name on the ownership papers. It is an emotional, organisational and strategic step that passes on a life’s work and creates room for new ideas.
The scale of the challenge is significant. In Austria, a survey of accommodation and food service businesses by KMU Forschung Austria found that three quarters plan a handover, most of them within the next ten years. In Slovenia, a 2025 University of Ljubljana study found that two thirds of firms with owners over 65 have no succession plan at all. Similar patterns are found across Europe. Many tourism businesses that could continue successfully close simply because no one prepared for the handover in time.
DEHOGA Baden-Württemberg’s guidance sets out the key points owners and successors should consider. This article follows their advice and adds practical steps and questions to help businesses apply it.
1. What matters in a succession
A successful handover involves much more than transferring the business itself. DEHOGA highlights five areas that need attention.
Clarity. Goals, expectations and roles should be discussed openly, both with the team and with potential successors. Many difficulties in succession come from assumptions that were never spoken aloud: a parent assuming a child will take over, a manager assuming they are next in line, or a buyer assuming the owner will stay on to help. Putting expectations on the table early avoids disappointment later.
Documentation. Clearly recorded processes, figures and responsibilities make the handover far easier. In many small tourism businesses, essential knowledge exists only in the owner’s head: which supplier gives the best terms, how the booking system is set up, which regular guests expect a particular room. Writing this down, even in simple form, is one of the most valuable things an owner can do. Useful starting points include:
Emotions. Uncertainty, pride and a sense of farewell are normal, particularly in family businesses, and there should be space to talk about them. Owners often underestimate how hard it is to let go of something they have built. Successors can feel the weight of expectation and the fear of failing. Acknowledging these feelings openly is part of the process, not a distraction from it.
Legal and tax questions. Taking advice early helps to avoid unwelcome surprises. The choice of transfer route, whether a family handover, a sale to an employee or a sale to an outside buyer, has very different legal and tax consequences. These vary from country to country and can affect the final value of the business considerably. Accountants, tax advisors, solicitors and chambers of commerce can all help.
Brand identity. It is important to define what makes the business distinctive and what should be preserved. Guests often return because of a particular atmosphere, a family welcome or a signature dish. Identifying these qualities allows the business to keep its identity while continuing to develop under new leadership.
2. When to start planning
The answer is as early as possible. DEHOGA recommends a lead time of two to five years, and other hospitality experts suggest that a decade is not too long for a family handover. This time allows for:
Early planning reduces pressure, builds trust and greatly improves the chances of finding the right person. It also protects the business against the unexpected. An owner who falls ill or has an accident without any plan in place can leave staff, family and guests facing an uncertain future. Even a simple emergency plan, naming who would take charge and where key documents can be found, is a valuable first step.
A useful early exercise is to ask some honest questions:
3. Finding the right successor
There are several proven routes to finding a successor, and it often makes sense to explore more than one.
Internal candidates. Long-serving staff with leadership ambitions already know the business, the team and the guests. A handover to an employee or a management team can offer strong continuity, although financing the purchase is often the main hurdle. Public funding and guarantee schemes for business takeovers exist in many countries and are worth investigating.
Networks and industry contacts. Sector associations, hotel and vocational schools, industry events and trade fairs are all valuable places to look. Many national hospitality associations and chambers of commerce offer succession advice and can help with the search. Vocational schools in particular can connect owners with motivated graduates who are looking for an opportunity to run their own business.
Matching platforms. Business succession exchanges connect owners with people looking to take over a business. In Germany, nexxt-change.org is the largest; Austria has the WKO Nachfolgebörse, and chambers of commerce in other countries run similar services. Listings can usually be published anonymously, which protects confidentiality during the early stages.
Public relations and social media. Sharing the story of the business, and being clear about what kind of successor is wanted, attracts people who share its values. A well-told story about a family guesthouse looking for someone to carry it forward can reach candidates who would never have searched a formal listing.
Finding the right person can take time. If the search does not succeed straight away, it is worth persevering and trying different routes.
4. Family succession: the challenges are personal
Handing a business to the next generation has clear advantages. The successor usually knows the business from childhood, understands its values and has the trust of regular guests and staff. However, close relationships can either ease the process or strain it. Unspoken expectations, unclear roles and different visions for the future are common sources of tension, as are questions of fairness between siblings when only one of them takes over the business.
DEHOGA’s succession advisors stress that planning early is a good decision, and that solutions can almost always be found when everyone talks openly and in good time.
Three questions are especially worth discussing early:
Some further questions can help families prepare:
External support can make a real difference. DEHOGA Baden-Württemberg supports family successions through facilitated succession conversations and succession advice, and reports running more than 80 facilitated sessions a year. A neutral facilitator can help families discuss difficult subjects that are hard to raise around the kitchen table. Many associations and advisory services across Europe offer similar support.
A clear roadmap, external advice and mutual respect can turn a generational change into a shared project.
5. Life after the business
For the outgoing owner, the handover marks the start of a new stage of life, and preparing for it matters as much as preparing the business. DEHOGA offers four recommendations.
Step back from daily presence. Being in the business less often gives the new leadership room to lead, and gives the former owner more personal freedom. Staff and guests need to see that the new owner is genuinely in charge.
Let go of operations. Handing over day-to-day tasks allows the former owner to focus on strategy, an advisory role or new interests. Agreeing in advance what role, if any, the former owner will play helps avoid confusion.
Welcome new ideas. The next generation’s plans may feel unfamiliar, and some changes may be hard to watch. However, new ideas can keep the business ready for the future and relevant to new generations of guests.
Find a new focus. Volunteering, travel, hobbies or new projects can make the transition an opportunity rather than a loss. Owners who have a clear idea of what they will do next tend to find it much easier to let go.
Having a clear plan for what comes afterwards makes the change much easier emotionally, and it is one of the best things an owner can do for their successor.
6. Advice for successors
Taking over an established business brings opportunities and responsibilities. DEHOGA suggests four priorities for those taking over.
Get to know the business thoroughly. Talk to staff, regular guests and suppliers to understand the concept and how things work. Listening carefully in the early months builds trust and reveals what the business does well.
Respect the history and build on it. Keep what works and modernise where needed. Guests and staff are more likely to accept change when they can see that the qualities they value are being protected.
Use digital tools to work more efficiently. Digital systems for reservations, staff planning and stock control can save considerable time. The best approach is to start with the most time-consuming task and test simple solutions before making larger investments.
Build trust and clarity in the team. Communicate clearly, give regular feedback and offer development opportunities. Rather than simply inheriting existing structures, successors should shape them actively, while involving the team in the process.
Successors may also find it helpful to:
7. Succession is a shared process
A handover in hospitality is both an emotional and a strategic milestone, for the person handing over and for the person taking over. With good planning, open communication and mutual respect, it can succeed on both sides, and the business can continue to welcome guests for many years to come.
Further support from NextGEN Tourism
The NextGEN Tourism training programme covers each of these themes in depth across seven modules and four transition phases:
The Tourism Succession Readiness Assessment helps owners and successors identify where to begin, and the Knowledge Hub offers further articles, videos, podcasts and case studies on every stage of the process.
Source: DEHOGA Baden-Württemberg, “Nachfolge im Gastgewerbe: Worauf Sie bei der Betriebsübergabe achten sollten”, DEHOGA Blog, 11 August 2025.
This article is based on “Nachfolge im Gastgewerbe: Worauf Sie bei der Betriebsübergabe achten sollten”, published by DEHOGA Baden-Württemberg (the German Hotel and Restaurant Association, Baden-Württemberg) on 11 August 2025. Their guidance has been adapted and expanded for tourism businesses across Europe by the NextGEN Tourism partnership. The original article is available in German at dehogabw.de.