The economy of Switzerland is one of the world's most advanced and a highly-developed free market economy. The economy of Switzerland has ranked first in the world since 2015 on the Global Innovation Index and third in the 2020 Global Competitiveness Report. According to United Nations data for 2016, Switzerland is the third richest landlocked country in the world after Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. Together with the latter and Norway, they are the only three countries in the world with a GDP per capita (nominal) above US$90,000 that are neither island nations nor ministates.
Swisscom AG is a major telecommunications provider in Switzerland. Its headquarters are located in Worblaufen near Bern. The Swiss government owns 51 percent of Swisscom AG. According to its own published data, Swisscom holds a market share of 56% for mobile, 50% for broadband and 37% for TV telecommunication in Switzerland. Its Italian subsidiary Fastweb is attributed 16% of private clients and 29% of corporate clients share of Italian broadband and is also active in the mobile market.
Accor S.A. is a French multinational hospitality company that owns, manages and franchises hotels, resorts and vacation properties. It is the largest hospitality company in Europe, and the sixth largest hospitality company worldwide.
Home exchange, also known as house swapping, is a form of lodging in which two parties agree to offer each other homestays for a set period of time. Since no monetary exchange takes place, it is a form of barter, collaborative consumption, and sharing. Home exchange can cover any type of residence including apartments, houses, holiday cottages, boats, or recreational vehicles. It can include an exchange of the entire home or just a room. The length of the swap can vary from a weekend to over a year. The swap can be simultaneous or non simultaneous. Home exchanges are usually arranged via specific types of social networking services, most of which charge a fee.
CouchSurfing is a hospitality exchange service by which users can request free short-term homestays or interact with other people who are interested in travel. It is accessible via a website and mobile app. It uses a subscription business model, and while hosts are not allowed to charge for lodging, members in some countries must pay a fee to access the platform.
University College Birmingham is a university in Birmingham, England. It was awarded full university status in 2012 along with Newman University. It is not a member of Universities UK. The university was awarded 'University of the Year' in the 2022 WhatUni Student Choice Awards, as well as coming first in the 'Student Support' category.
Alexandre Remi Picard is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Kuehne + Nagel International AG is a global transport and logistics company based in Schindellegi, Switzerland. It was founded in 1890, in Bremen, Germany, by August Kühne and Friedrich Nagel. It provides sea freight and airfreight forwarding, contract logistics, and overland businesses. In 2010, Kuehne + Nagel was the leading global freight forwarder, accounting for nearly 15% of the world's air and sea freight business by revenue, ahead of DHL Global Forwarding, DB Schenker Logistics, and Panalpina. As of 2022, it has nearly 1,300 offices in 106 countries, with over 78,000 employees.
Greece won the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, its first Eurovision Song Contest victory. Greek national broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) internally selected Helena Paparizou who sang "My Number One" in Kyiv, winning the competition with 230 points. The song is written by Manos Psaltakis, Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou. "My Number One" was selected through a national final on 2 March 2005, where the public and a professional jury chose it over three other candidate songs.
Hockey Club Slovan Bratislava is a professional ice hockey club based in Bratislava, Slovakia. In 2012, it left the Slovak Extraliga and joined the international Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In 2019, it returned to the Tipos Extraliga. The club has won nine Slovak championships, one Czechoslovak championship (1979) and one IIHF Continental Cup (2004), making it the second most successful hockey club in Slovak history after their biggest rival HC Košice. The team plays its home games at Ondrej Nepela Arena, also known as Slovnaft Arena. The team is nicknamed Belasí, which means the "sky blues" in English.
Richard Stücklen was German politician of the Christian Social Union (CSU). He had previously been a member of the NSDAP (1939–1945). From 1957 to 1966, he served as Federal Minister for Post and Communication. A member of the German parliament for more than 40 years, he served as the seventh president of the Bundestag from 1979 to 1983.
Klaus-Michael Kühne is a German billionaire businessman. In October 2021, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated Kühne's net worth to be US$36.2 billion, making him the richest person in Germany. He is the honorary chairman and majority owner (53.3%) of the international transport company Kühne + Nagel, co-founded by his grandfather, August Kühne (1855–1932).
The National Library of Luxembourg, abbreviated as BnL, is Luxembourg's national library. It was founded in its current form in 1899, as a result of a series of different institutions originating in the 18th century. It is located in the Kirchberg district of Luxembourg City. The BnL is a public establishment under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture.
Homestay is a form of hospitality and lodging whereby visitors share a residence with a local of the area (host) to which they are traveling. The length of stay can vary from one night to over a year and can be provided for free, in exchange for monetary compensation, in exchange for a stay at the guest's property either simultaneously or at another time, or in exchange for housekeeping or work on the host's property. Homestays are examples of collaborative consumption and the sharing economy. Homestays are used by travelers; students who study abroad or participate in student exchange programs; and au pairs, who provide child care assistance and light household duties. They can be arranged via certain social networking services, online marketplaces, or academic institutions. Social networking services where hosts offer homestays for free are called hospitality exchange services.
Germany–Iceland relations are the bilateral relations between Germany and Iceland. Both countries are also members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Council of the Baltic Sea States and the Schengen area.
Hospitality exchange services are social networking services used for accommodation of travellers, where hosts do not receive payments. The relationships on hospitality exchange services are shaped by altruism and are related to the cyber-utopianism on the Web in its beginnings and to utopia in general.
Viktor Stålberg is a Swedish former professional ice hockey winger. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, Ottawa Senators and Chicago Blackhawks with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2013.
Radisson Hospitality, Inc. is an American multi-national hospitality company. It started as a division of Carlson Companies, which owned Radisson Hotels, Country Inns & Suites and other brands. In 1994, Carlson signed a franchise agreement with SAS International Hotels (SIH), after which SIH started to use the brand Radisson SAS in the Europe, Middle East and Africa markets. In 2005, Carlson acquired 25% of the shares of SIH, at that time known as Rezidor SAS Hospitality. In 2010, Rezidor Hotel Group became a subsidiary of Carlson. The enlarged hotel group adopted a new trading name, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, which was one of the top hotel corporations in 2013.
Warm Showers (WS) is a non-profit hospitality exchange service for people engaging in bicycle touring. The platform is a gift economy — hosts are not supposed to charge for lodging and are not bound. The legal form is a Colorado 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Klaus Mack is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag since the 2021 elections. Previously, he was mayor of the town of Bad Wildbad from 2006 to 2021 and mayor of the municipality of Enzklösterle from 2000 to 2006.
