Dear Jennifer, congratulations on receiving top marks on your thesis! As you noted in your thesis, hotel concept development has barely been addressed in academic literature, so why did you choose to tackle it as the subject of your bachelor thesis? What sparked your interest – besides our close contact during your mentoring year?

Thank you very much! I remember a conversation with a fellow student who enthusiastically told me about your work at MAp. My first thought was: “Hotel concept creators? Is there such a thing?" As probably many others, I had never heard of hotel concept development. A bitter conclusion when you consider that the subject is all the more important nowadays. After all, the hotel industry is facing completely different challenges than it was 10 years ago, when free WiFi was a unique selling point.

During my time as a flight attendant, I had the privilege of staying in many well-known hotels around the world. In contrast to the hotel chains, which can pull a suitable brand out of the drawer for every guest need, independent hotels have to develop their "concept" themselves.

The complexity already begins here; a hotel concept sounds fancy, everyone claims to have one, but in truth the term is abstract and difficult to define. So on the one hand there was the hotel concept development, which from a theoretical point of view is almost undefined, and on the other hand there was the urgency for unique and competitive hotel concepts in practice. A paradox that was made for research work ;-)

Before we get into it, how would you define what a hotel concept is? And why is it so critical to the strategic planning process for hotels?

The simple answer is: a tailor-made and long-term oriented document for the strategic direction of the hotel project. However, this definition would not do justice to the term “hotel concept.” A hotel is much more than a restaurant and overnight accommodation. It is a place of encounter, interaction and sensory experiences. Furthermore, it is also a property and a business model where the needs and expectations of a wide variety of stakeholders meet. As a result, a harmonious interplay of so-called hard and soft factors is required in order to develop a coherent and holistic hotel concept.

The hotel concept is like a puzzle. To solve it, you need a methodical approach and creative imagination. Specifically, a strategic basis is required. This results from a well-founded analysis of the market, environment and trends. An individual concept can then be formed from this, which takes into account aspects such as architecture, design, sensors but also the direct and indirect influences on people and the environment. The result of this development process is a clear “raison d’être” for the hotel project.

What did your study set out to achieve? And what approach and methods did you use to reach this destination, i.e. your overall aim?

Although there are numerous studies on hotel management and project development, to the best of my knowledge, hotel concept development has not been discussed much in theory or in practice. Consequently, with my thesis I wanted to make a small but significant contribution to this existing knowledge gap.

To do this, I wanted to research how the industry understands the term “hotel concept” and how widespread hotel concept development is in the Swiss hotel industry. To this end, I conducted interviews with industry experts, hotel owners and managers. The research focus was on non-branded hotels in rural areas. The exploratory nature of my research enabled me to develop a deep understanding of the topic and to gain insights into the status quo of hotel concept development.

You interviewed both industry experts and hotel managers/owners: what did your findings reveal in terms of their understanding of what hotel concepts are and their practical use? What did you deduce from this?

Basically, the industry experts as well as the hotel owners and managers found it difficult to define a hotel concept in words. This is because a concept is more often associated with an idea than with a strategic document. It is not uncommon for the concept to be understood as part of the business plan in practice.

While the industry experts are generally of the opinion that a hotel concept should be as holistic as possible, hotel owners and managers primarily associate it with their hotel product. For example, they named the extraordinary interior design or the diverse gastronomic offer as important for “their” hotel concept. It was noticeable that the questioned hoteliers developed their concept based on experience, assumptions and gut feeling. Some even honestly admitted that nothing was planned in their hotel, but simply made. This approach is contrary to the expert opinion and the current literature, which suggests that a concept should be based on facts. As a result, it was not surprising that in the five out of six hotel projects examined, no written hotel concept was developed using a strategic planning process.

These facts strongly suggest that written hotel concepts are the exception rather than the rule in the Swiss hotel industry (unless an external consulting agency is involved). A possible reason for this is the fact that the purpose and benefits of hotel concepts are simply too unknown in the hotel industry.

What do you see as the risks to not having a proper hotel concept in place for hotel managers/owners? As it relates to the hospitality industry as a whole, what can we do to mitigate these risks and ensure hotel concept development becomes more commonplace?

Hotel projects are usually long-term, costly and risky projects. I believe that if you want to sail to a distant destination, you need to know the right course to actually get there. Only very few people manage to steer “on gut feeling,” so navigation is the only solution. This guiding document is a holistic hotel concept for all stakeholders involved. Without a hotel concept, however, those stakeholders and partners involved run the risk of losing the course or missing the right one from the start. This may only show up after the opening in the form of operational and financial difficulties. That is why it is important to deal with the hotel concept at a very early stage of the hotel project, regardless of whether it is a new building or renovation.

I see a great opportunity here for hotel consulting agencies as well as industry associations and universities, which can take up the topic further and spread the necessary know-how. For example, students at the Graubünden University of Applied Sciences develop a hotel concept directly on a case study. As young professionals, they can use this knowledge to bring new impulses to companies.

Now that you’ve successfully defended your thesis, what are your post-graduation goals and plans? How do you want to change the hospitality industry?

During my research time, I received great positive feedback and interest from the interviewees surveyed. I'm pleased because it shows that the industry is already rethinking. As a practitioner, however, it is important for me not to lose an understanding of the daily challenges in practice, despite having all the theoretical basics. After all, we don't just want hotel concepts that sound good on paper, but also ones that work in everyday business over the long term. This is a tightrope walk that I will certainly take on in the future.

As always, our final MAp meets question: what makes a hotel experience a truly outstanding one for you personally?

Being a “guest” is always a very personal experience for me and it becomes unforgettable when I am in harmony with the place and the people around me. It doesn't matter whether it's a luxury resort or a guesthouse - because the feeling of "arriving" is not created by star categories or brands, but from the heart.

The book “Humankind – a hopeful history” is a very careful, deep-dive analysis into our human history from a modern perspective, with the aim to provide an answer to the longstanding question whether human beings are innately “good” or “bad.” Rutger Bregman, the 33 year-old historian, philosopher and bestselling author from the Netherlands, did a great job digging deep enough to bring about some surprising new insights and facts about our history. He analyzed research pieces, reports and historical events that paint the picture of humans being a selfish, aggressive and greedy species. By looking very carefully “behind the scenes” of cannibalistic behaviors, wars, psychological experiments, and criminal scandals, he discovers - even despite utmost cruel behaviors - evidence for our prosocial and cooperative nature. But why do we all tend to believe in a rather dark picture of our species? Ironically, it’s exactly our greatest evolutionary strength - our ability of social learning – that misleads us here and draws a one-sided, dark picture. This in turn evokes in us mistrust and aggression against each other, which leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy. At the end of the book the author details how we can get out of this spiral by consciously designing institutions and individual encounters based on trusting our natural goodness.

What were my three most inspiring insights?

Kelsi : 1) The reason humans exist to this day, as opposed to other species that have died off, is because we’re friendly! Evolutionary biologists call this “survival of the friendliest,” and it’s what has allowed us to survive millennia. 2) Infants and toddlers, studies suggest, have an innate bias toward fairness and cooperation, which goes to show that we’re hard-wired for good. 3) There are hopeful examples of institutions that have done away with the culture of greed and selfishness to empower people to follow in the direction of their own instincts and motivations. It sounds utopian and too good to be true - but it’s not!

Eva: There were so many! But I guess the most intriguing ones were those I was not aware of before: 1) We are born with a moral compass of goodness. Rousseau was right. It’s inevitable in our nature. Babies can seemingly distinguish good from bad already before speaking and walking. 2) Our evolutionary advantage is – surprise surprise: kindness and blush. Individually, we are a pretty weak species: we are not bigger and don’t have a larger brain than other primates. Only relating, cooperating and learning together make us pretty amazing. So, the ability to be kind, and on the other side, be ashamed if we’re not, is our true hard-wired evolutionary advantage. It guarantees relating and cooperating - our survival. 3) When switching from a nomad to a more civilized existence, protectionism was born. When traveling around in nomadic times, we naturally accepted sharing natural resources and land with others, treating them and mother nature with respect. Our prosocial and kind nature helped us all to survive. With civilization and property we implanted a feeling of superiority and the need to defend our property, which increasingly disconnected us from our true nature of relating and cooperating.

How does the content relate to today’s times?

Kelsi: I think Humankind is the right book for this moment. There is this narrative that, when a crisis takes shape, the cracks in civilization appear and people devolve into the worst versions of themselves. But this book shows us the opposite is true; when faced with a crisis, humans are indeed more cooperative, altruistic and caring. And when you look at the pandemic through this “rose-colored” lens, you find that poignant examples of people coming together to help each other out – delivering food to those home bound, donating supplies to frontline workers – far outweigh any negative stories out there in the world.

Eva: Bregman indirectly provides us with the reason for today’s increasing rates of burnout, depression, addiction, loneliness and other psychological diseases: Due to our underlying competitive economic system, in the past 100 years we were trained only to compete. This me-or-you paradigm has been an exceptional motor for welfare, innovation and growth, but at the price of disconnecting our true human nature of being relational and cooperative. Bregman helps us understand the hard way what we all have experienced during the pandemic: We are relational and cooperative creatures but hard-wired for a me-and-you paradigm. I personally think if we trust this core and play out our cooperative and kind strengths, there is much hope that we can master all the burning societal issues of our times.

How did the book change my thinking?

Kelsi: It completely changed my perspective on history. The history books teach us it’s all “doom-and-gloom,” that history is marked by nothing but turbulent times and horrific events. And while I’m certainly not denying our (very) dark chapters, history has predominantly and overwhelmingly been peaceful and good – it’s just that “feel good” stories and events don’t make it into the history books.

Eva: Reading the book broadened, of course, my view on our hard-wired cooperative roots. But maybe more importantly, it changed how I categorize my own thinking. Up to now I always thought I must live with the label of being a helpless “idealist” when believing that human beings are prosocial and good in their nature. Reading the book I realized that all who trust in the human nature to be “good” are rather the “realists” among us. It inspired me wherever I can to support such a thinking, to stand up for it and to promote all empirical evidence around it.

What did I appreciate most reading?

Kelsi: I appreciated that Bregman deconstructed and presented counter-narratives to studies and events we thought we knew. Take, for example, the Stanford Prison Experiment. Recent discoveries and evidence suggest that the experiment was a hoax, with the guards being coached on how to mistreat the prisoners as opposed to being driven by their hunger for power. These anecdotes and case studies - there are over 700 in the book (!) – not only present compelling evidence in favor of his argument that humans are actually pretty decent (puncturing the Veneer Theory that we’re all brutes), but reassure me that some things are not always as bad as they seem.

Eva: I must admit I normally stay away from historical books. But this one I truly loved reading. Bregman writes in a very catchy storytelling manner, artfully weaving in all research evidence. What I appreciated is that Bregman offers not only reasons for his thesis; in the last chapters he offers as well institutional examples where it paid-off and worked to build upon a positive view of human beings. He outlines a school, a company and a prison where it paid-off to trust our cooperative and prosocial core, as it helped grow humanity and efficiency in reducing costs.

What wisdom in this book will I use in my daily life?

Eva: At the very end of the book, Bregman outlines 10 very concrete rules for everybody who would like to more consciously live-up our prosocial nature, which I find all very helpful: (1) When in doubt, assume the best 2) Think in win-win scenarios 3) Ask more questions 4) Temper your empathy, train your compassion 5) Try to understand the other, even if you don’t get where they’re coming from 6) Love your own as others love their own 7) Avoid the news 8) Don’t punch Nazis 9) Come out of the closet: don’t be ashamed to do good 10) Be realistic. Personally, No. 1 – when in doubt, assume the best - sang particularly to me. I would say it is the most important one of the 10. So whatever happens, if we assume everybody has good intentions, our minds, lives and our world become radically much more peaceful as self-fulfilling prophecy power is put at work.

Kelsi: I hail from the land of the 24-hour news cycle, from FOX News to CNN, where we are constantly bombarded with sensationalist stories that stoke fear and spread misinformation. It’s so easy to get sucked in and feel depressed, anxious and cynical. To adopt this bleak view of human nature. But it’s important to know that these news organizations have their own agendas, and it’s not to report on world events, but to get more eyeballs. So my take-away for daily life is simple: turn off the TV! And believe in the generosity and kindness of my fellow humans.

My most inspiring quote

Kelsi: “An old man says to his grandson: ‘There’s a fight going on inside me. It’s a terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil–angry, greedy, jealous, arrogant, and cowardly. The other is good–peaceful, loving, modest, generous, honest, and trustworthy. These two wolves are also fighting within you, and inside every other person too.’ After a moment, the boy asks, ‘Which wolf will win?’ The old man smiles. ‘The one you feed.’”

Eva: “What is truth? Some things are true whether you believe in them or not. Water boils at 100 degree Celsius. Smoking kills. President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on 22 November 1963. Other things have the potential to be true, if we believe in them. Our belief becomes what sociologists dub a self-fulfilling-prophecy: if you predict a bank will go bust and that convinces lots of people to close their accounts, then, sure enough, the bank will go bust.”

Who should read this book?

Kelsi: The simple answer is: everyone. But it’s especially suited for those who are feeling down or finding themselves in a rut, thanks to the pandemic and life’s other challenges. You will walk away feeling inspired and – to borrow a term from the title – hopeful.

Eva: Everybody who is interested to understand the evidence for why we are rather a kind and prosocial species – despite all we hear in contrary. And particularly those, who once believed that but somehow have given up this belief due to the desperate news surrounding us. Above all, I would wish that teachers, journalists and IT-programmers read this book in order to NOT generate an ill-induced perspective about our nature, understanding their responsibility for the self-fulfilling prophecy dynamic as a consequence of it.

Those who have no time to read the whole book might be interested in an inspiring podcast and interview about Humankind to get a taste of both the book and the author, recorded in 2020 in the U.S.

Link: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/talk-easy-with-sam/a-case-for-human-decency-by-yXHIoP24kV_/#episode

Marlene, thank you for taking the time to speak with us! As a start, can you please tell us a bit more about you? Where does your passion for sustainability and hospitality come from?

Like so many in my generation I came to a point where I could not accept that sustainability was something left to be cared for by others, I just wanted to make an impact myself!

For as long as I can remember I enjoyed travelling and discovering new destinations. With the feeling that a community of travellers with a conscious approach, such as myself, was increasing, I developed the idea of eco suites and just went through with it.

Can you tell our readers a bit more about eco suites? Why did you feel compelled to start the company and what’s your purpose?

ecosuites.travel is an online platform designed to present premium accommodations with a sustainable approach. We aim to support the eco conscious traveller in searching for a fitting hotel and shed light on accommodations that act sustainably. We carefully curate our collection of conscious hotels and are proud of presenting them to our community!

Personally, I aimed to take responsibility for contributing to a sustainable future. Once I had the idea for eco suites, I completely dove into it and wanted to bring it to life! I was convinced that luxury travel can be sustainable. Our purpose is to bring together the eco-conscious traveller with outstanding accommodations that share our approach and values.

eco suites has an impressive portfolio of hotels that are both stylish and sustainable. What makes your hotels “eco suites?”

We are proud to present hotels that are special in every way. Whether it is the design, the concept, the facilities or the team – our eco suites make luxury vacation dreams come true. The huge difference to many other hotels around the world is that they follow a highly sustainable approach and are committed to define modern travel. It is the combination of both aspects that makes them our “eco suites.”

To become an eco suite, what specific criteria and standards are you looking at? What is your process for selection?

We carefully choose every accommodation on ecosuites.travel. All accommodations featured on our platform meet at least five out of ten criteria that have been established as our eco suites standard. After careful consideration, our eco suites criteria have been adapted from internationally acknowledged standards for preserving the environment. It mattered greatly to us to also include criteria like “Female empowerment” or “Social impact”, to show the full range of what we believe sustainability implies.

At MAp, we too believe sustainability is the future. What are your hopes for the hospitality industry as it relates to sustainability in the short- and long-term?

My hopes for the foreseeable future are that the hospitality industry will continue to focus on implementing a wide range of eco-friendly measures, from saving resources to using clean energy. Many short-term solutions can be installed quickly and would have a huge impact on the environment. Speaking of long-term expectations, I hope that travel choices will be made carefully and will increase to focus on slow tourism, on getting to know the destination, its people and its culture.

As many of our readers are hoteliers: what are the 3 most important measures hotels should implement on the road to sustainability?

While every hotel and its guests are different, we do know what our community of responsible travellers is mostly looking for. In our experience, the measure with the highest direct impact on guests is the careful selection of food & drinks. Most exclusive travellers are keen on being offered local, seasonal and organic choices when it comes their catering. They are well informed and try to reduce their footprint with their shopping choices in their everyday lives and do expect the same from their accommodation.

Another measure that directly relates to the guest is the effort to reduce and carefully recycle waste. Many hotels are implementing recycling opportunities in each room or easily accessible in the common areas, and many guests are delighted to see the measures they are used to at home as an option in their hotel as well. Products without packaging are in high demand, and careful sourcing and recycling “behind the scenes” is mandatory.

We do strongly believe that happy employees are key to provide a unique and exceptional experience for their guests. A modern work environment needs to be implemented to include all aspects that sustainability contains. Fair working conditions, diverse perspectives and safety therefore should always be a priority. This is certainly the third measure I would recommend on the path to sustainability.

As always, our final MAp meets question is related to our core business, as we’re specialised in crafting innovative hotel concepts and brands: what makes a hotel experience a truly outstanding one for you personally?

A truly outstanding hotel experience for me comes with the people. Feeling at home away from home is what I am looking for, and that comes with attentive service. I love exploring innovative concepts, hotels that are brave enough to try something new and follow a unique path.

The main idea behind “Everything is Figureoutable,” obviously, is that everything in life is figureoutable! Whatever it is you want to achieve, whatever that ONE thing is, there is always a way to achieve it – no matter the obstacles you face or excuses you come up with. According to Marie, it’s about training your brain to think more positively and break down any dream into manageable steps. In her book, she presents those 9 key steps to figuring out any obstacle in life, and gives the reader practical Insight to Action Challenges or exercises to help make them happen. What you’ll discover: “Everything is Figureoutable” is more than just a mentality; it’s a practical, actionable discipline to help guide you through life and achieve your one thing.

#1: Train your brain

To achieve results, you need to train your brain for growth by eliminating excuses, trying new things and surrounding yourself by those who inspire. And, be willing to put in the work toward achieving your one thing.

#2: Believe

Everything in life starts with a belief, so don’t be scared to believe in your dream. Because people believed in their dreams is the reason why there’s good music, nice cars, delicious restaurants – and so much more to enjoy.

#3: Eliminate excuses

You – and only you - are responsible for your life. Every time you say you can’t do something, it’s not because you actually can’t, it’s because you won’t. So get rid of the excuses.

#4: Deal with fear

Fear is only a danger when it stops you from pursuing your dream. The antidote to fear is action, because only by acting does your dream have the chance of becoming reality.

#5: Define your dream

Here’s the connection to “The One Thing”: figure out what it is you want, paint that picture in your head and never give up until you have it. 

#6: Start before you're ready

There is never a good time to start pursuing your one thing; there will always be obstacles and challenges. But again, action is the antidote to fear, so jump into the uncertainty.

#7: Aim for progress not perfection

Perfection is unattainable. Instead, focus on simply progressing, because progress puts you into a productive mindset and sets you free from the stress and burden of being perfect.

#8: Refuse to be refused

There will always be people intent on bringing you down. Don’t let them! Be the person who refuses to give up despite people telling you that you’re not talented enough, that your dream is dumb, etc.

#9: Remember the world needs your special gift

You have a special gift that no one else has, so don’t keep it from the world. Embrace your differences and use them to help change the world in a way only you can.

In order to help you apply the learnings of this book and take the steps toward achieving your dream, we recommend going through the Insights to Action Challenges that are found at the end of each chapter.

These challenges are questions and prompts to get you thinking – really thinking – about your dream and how you’ll achieve it. Sit down with a pad of paper and pen and go through them one by one! You’ll surely have some illuminating AHA moments and breakthroughs.

“You can do whatever you set your mind to if you just roll up your sleeves, get in there, and do it. Everything is figureoutable.”

We sincerely hope this book will change your attitude and motivate you to act! If you haven’t done so already, we recommend reading “The One Thing” and follow it up with this inspiring book so that you’re motivated to figure out how you’ll achieve your one thing – then go out and actually do it! 

Lastly, to be further inspired by Marie Forleo, head here: https://everythingisfigureoutable.com

All photos taken from https://everythingisfigureoutable.com

Hoteliers, answer this: what’s your hotel brand’s purpose?

If your answer entails earning a profit or serving a specific stakeholder group, such as your hotel guests, employees or investors – we kindly suggest that it’s time to rethink your purpose. You see, purpose must go above and beyond; above creating value for a single category of stakeholder and beyond making money. It must be broad, humanistic and socially-engaged, linking your hotel brand to a greater good.

Let’s just say that’s the difference between purpose and Purpose, with a capital P!

So are you ready to start the journey from purpose to Purpose? In this blog post, we’ll show you the way forward.

Before we continue, let’s be clear about what your brand’s Purpose actually is: Brand Purpose is the reason your hotel exists – its WHY. It inspires you, hotelier, and your team members to do what you do – and love it!

It is not a vision statement (where your hotel is headed) or a mission statement (what it does to get there), but it is the compass at the heart of your hotel that guides it - and all team members - in the right direction. 

Walk down the aisles of your local supermarket or scroll through Booking.com, and you’ll see: consumers have endless choices. So how do you get your brand (aka your hotel) to stand out? By connecting with them on an emotional level. By demonstrating that your hotel brand has a distinct Purpose - one that they connect with.

In its Strength of Purpose study of 8,000 global consumers, Zeno Group found that 94% of consumers say it’s important that the companies they engage with have a strong Purpose. And when they do, consumers are:

• 4x more likely to purchase from the brand
• 6x more likely to protect the brand in a challenging moment
• 4.5x more likely to champion the brand with friends and family
• 4.1x more likely to trust the brand

And there’s more compelling data out there. The Kantar Purpose 2020 study found that brands recognised for high-commitment to Purpose have grown at more than twice the rate of others. Over a period of 12 years, the brands with high perceived positive impact had a brand value growth of 175%, versus 86% for medium positive impact and 70% for low positive impact.

Need more reason? Purpose allows hotels to:

• Build greater customer loyalty
• Preserve reputation
• Attract and retain top talent
• Cultivate healthier work cultures
• Enable the development of innovative products and services
• Better navigate turbulent times
• Guide strategy-development, decision-making and transformational change

1. Define your Purpose

To define your hotel brand’s Purpose, bring together a diverse group of people within your hotel, across a range of departments, and ask yourselves the following question:

WHY do we exist beyond making profit? Why do we get up every morning?

Tips to a great Purpose statement:

• Be ambitious and inspiring.
• Be clear and coherent.
• Be authentic and unique to your brand.

2. Embed your Purpose

What is Purpose if it’s not properly embedded into your hotel? Rhetoric. Empty promises. Bullshit.

To realise the benefits of Purpose, it’s important to build a culture around it. Identify and empower those people who are equally driven by your hotel’s WHY and allow your Purpose to guide all steps you take together.

Tips to embed your Purpose:

• Communicate it to prospective employees.
• Make it a part of new employee onboarding.
• Use it as a lens for making all business decisions.
• Build it into your KPIs.
• Reward behaviours that reflect it.

3. Amplify your Purpose

Once your Purpose is properly infused internally, it’s time to take it external and attract those people – guests, customers, partners, etc. – who also believe what you believe. Here the goal is to inspire and spark a movement among your stakeholders, so that they’re motivated to join your hotel on the way to a more purposeful future.

Tips to amplify your Purpose:

• Repeatedly refer back to it in your communications.
• Serve as a role model and inspire through action.
• Identify partners who can help you to accomplish it.
• Get active in organisations and non-profits.

It is easy to define a Purpose. Actually living, breathing and effectively demonstrating a commitment to that Purpose is a larger task, but that’s what it takes for your hotel to create real and sustainable impact in the world.

The message is clear: begin your journey to a Purposeful hotel brand now. If you want a place to start, we suggest picking up “Start With Why” by Simon Sinek.

Dear Piero, thank you very much for taking the time for this MAp meets. A year ago you started the first SelfieHotel Pop-up Museum in Zurich, so can you please give our readers a brief insight into how this project came about?

The idea for the SelfieHotel came after the first lockdown in spring 2020, when we at Aroma were thinking about how the rooms that were vacant due to the pandemic could be used. The main focus here was on catering to establishments that were officially closed. But since a reopening in the bar and club area was foreseeable, and many city hotels still had a very bad booking situation, we sent initial inquiries and after a short period of time we decided in favour of the 25Hours Hotel on Langstrasse / Europaallee in Zurich.

What exactly is meant by a selfie hotel? What is the concept behind it and which target groups did you primarily want to address?

The SelfieHotel is a temporary social media playground and is primarily aimed at a young audience who want to create exceptional content for their social media feeds. For this purpose, we create crazy sets in the hotel rooms for photography, filming, boomerangs, posing, dancing and laughing! You can then book time slots for your visit at selfiehotel.ch. Entry costs around CHF 25.

How were the reactions to the first SelfieHotel and what is the future project planning like? Is an expansion of the project planned and what can we expect this year?

We were massively surprised by the rush; the SelfieHotel was booked out for weeks. We have therefore adjusted the opening times and decided to extend the term by one month. Over the three months we were able to welcome almost 20,000 visitors to Zurich.

This year we are planning the opening of the SelfieHotel Lausanne on May 1st, provided the pandemic situation allows it. We would like to use the concept in other cities and are already in the planning stage for this, but we are also open to suggestions.

If we now look into the future together: What do you think awaits us after COVID-19? Which trends will shape the Swiss and the international hotel industry?

The hotel, catering and event industries are the most severely affected branches of the economy; therefore, a high level of mental and operational agility and frustration tolerance are necessary in order to get through this crisis. With this in mind, I hope that the crisis will produce no financial losers, and also that entrepreneurs will be strengthened in terms of character and perseverance.

At MAp, we specialise in the development of innovative hotel concepts and brands: What makes a really special hotel stay for you?

I really appreciate personal but unobtrusive service. If I find the right newspaper on the breakfast table on the second day of my stay, then I'm happy.

In this number one bestseller, Keller and Papasan make the case that, behind every successful person, is their ONE thing. By focusing one’s energy on one thing at a time, versus getting caught up in many little things, people benefit from more rewarding lives. Why? More distractions = less productivity = less time for what matters most (your own well-being, your loved ones, your biggest personal goal, your biggest career goal, your spiritual practice, etc.). To help you narrow in on your one thing, the book presents practical methods for cutting through the clutter, achieving better results in less time, dialling down the stress, mastering what matters most, and more. The key message: less is more! Now that’s something we can agree with.

#1: Don’t go big. Go small.

The common belief is that big success takes time and effort. That’s why people fill their calendars with appointments and create long to-do lists, which just leads to overload. They get lost trying to do too much, and as a result, achieve too little. The result? They settle for less or they abandon their dreams altogether. As the authors state, “Success demands singleness of purpose. You need to be doing fewer things for more effect instead of doing more things with side effects.” Think of your one thing as your “someday” goal. Once you’ve figured that out, you need to identify how many dominoes you need to line up – and then knock down – in order to achieve it.

#2: In that vein, use your time wisely.

It may surprise you, but being successful doesn’t in fact take that much discipline. The authors follow the 80/20 principle, which states that 20% of your actions will produce 80% of your results. Once you’ve decided on your one thing, then you need to identify the 20% (those “high-leverage” activities) that create the 80%. Set aside the time to focus on them – without distraction or multitasking – ideally every morning until they are done. After 66 days, which is how long it takes for a habit to kick in, this will become second-nature for you.

#3: Purpose, priority and productivity go hand-in-hand.

At MAp, we are big on purpose, so this message really resonates with us. Your one thing is your purpose, and you should use it as your guidance compass in every aspect of your life. However, purpose has the power to shape our lives only in direct proportion to the power of the priority we connect it to. As in, purpose without priority is powerless. When you’re clear about your purpose and your priorities, you become a more productive person. And - when you become more productive, you produce more value and get the success you want.

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

To figure out what that step is, first answer the question: What's the one thing I can do, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?

Next, the book presents a host of practical applications to achieving your one thing:

• Create a success list as compared to a to-do list
• Say “no” more
• Think of yourself as a surgeon in order to avoid distraction
• Reserve four hours of non-interrupted time from your day only to work on your ONE thing
• Break down your big goals into the steps you need to take in order to achieve them

“Success demands singleness of purpose. You need to be doing fewer things for more effect instead of doing more things with side effects.”

We truly hope this book is the one thing you need to get you on your way to achieving bigger and better results in your life! It sure has helped us to prioritise what truly matters. So tell us, what’s your ONE thing? Comment below.

Lastly, support a local bookshop by buying “The One Thing” here: https://bookshop.org/

Thank you for speaking to us today! As a start, can you please tell us a bit more about you and your background? Have you always been passionate about sustainability and hospitality?

At least from high school onwards. Quite nerdly, I joined the environmental club in my school in Sweden. Part of my curriculum at university also included courses such as “Sustainable Development”, “Environmental Studies” and “Human Rights”. That I want to follow a career within the hospitality industry became clear to me, when I was looking for a job while finishing my Master’s Degree in Maastricht. I sat down and asked myself: “What do I want to do now? What am I passionate about?” The answers were: gastronomy, travelling, being a host, bringing people together, and designing memorable experiences. Thus, I moved to Berlin and worked in a hotel concept development company.

We recently discovered TUTAKA and love your approach to sustainability. Can you share with our readers a bit more about TUTAKA? How did you come up with the idea for it and what’s your purpose?

Thank you! We are also enthused about MAp and can’t wait to see how we join forces to bring more sustainability into our beloved industry.

TUTAKA makes sustainable procurement easy. How? By relieving buyers from the hotel, restaurant and event industry of the complex task of searching: On our digital marketplace, hundreds of audited products and services can be directly bought or enquired.

TUTAKA Island is our marketplace’s sister. As a consultancy, “the Island” supports hosts in the transformation towards more sustainability by taking an advisory role within the fields of strategy, communication and procurement. Overall, marketplace and agency alike, our mission is to make the hospitality industry more sustainable. 

Can you explain to us how you define a product as “sustainable?” What criteria are you looking at? How do you go about sourcing products?

Either we get in touch with a producer that we think might fit, we meet them at an event or fair, or the supplier contacts us. Then, we elaborate firstly whether the product(s) is suitable for the hospitality industry from a functionality, design and price perspective and whether the supplier can deliver large quantities within an attractive lead time.

After this basic check, we take a close look. First on a company level via a questionnaire, which asks questions such as “Tell us about your company's mission and product features and the social challenges you are tackling” or “Are you already a sustainability superstar? Or are you rather at the beginning of your journey? What are you particularly proud of? Where do you still have room for improvement?” And then we move on with our TUTAKA product assessment, which evaluates the entire life cycle of the product in terms of positive and negative social and ecological impacts. To be precise, we look at the design, end of life scenario, logistics, production, materials, and usage of the product. Then, we sort the offer into our impact scoring, develop an overview on the sustainability performance and also state transparently what needs further improvement in terms of sustainability.

At MAp, we too believe that the future of hospitality needs to be sustainable. How important is sustainability in the hospitality industry? And where do you envision the future of hospitality going as it relates to this?

Sustainability should be all our rationale. There is no hospitality industry without a “sustainable” in front of it. 

With sustainability becoming so important and trendy, there are, of course, some negative side effects to it. Talking about “greenwashing” – how do you define it and how do you feel about it?

Franziska, my Co-Founder, hosts a panel on HospitalityNet, where we tackled this question with other industry leaders. Have a look!

Greenwashing is amongst the biggest traps to fall into when communicating sustainability. A "let's save the world" claim and tacky towel policy stickers are superficial and unappealing. Greenwashers pretend that they have made efforts, however just for the sake of being perceived as green and thus trustable and a brand to stick with. Believing that solely a change from plastic straws to no straws is worth sending out messages across all channels and media, declaring a new ecoistic era, is too simple. So, what to do? As a first step, the sustainability activities of hospitality companies should be embedded in a wider sustainability agenda such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Secondly, sustainability should be driven by corporate culture and people, and not merely by checklists. Thirdly, and here I would like to quote Franziska: “Sustainability communication must leave behind the classic marketing practice of hiding products, services and people behind empty slogans and hoping they will resonate with current trends and lifestyle models. Sustainability communication should be about revealing, sharing and letting in.”

As many of our readers are hoteliers: can you share with us 3 easy tips on how they can become more sustainable?

Sure! First, sustainability is a journey. Take it step by step. Second, on-board your whole team and take them with you on this journey. Third, implement a long-term strategy with goals and measures. “Quick and dirty” does not work with sustainability.

As always, our final MAp meets question is related to our core business, as we’re specialised in crafting innovative hotel concepts and brands: what makes a hotel experience a truly outstanding one for you personally?

A hotel that is in true balance with the nature and “Umwelt”/ Environment surrounding it. A hotel that offers outstanding materialistic and non-materialistic experiences. One, where well-being is at the core. And one, where you can feel that all employees are being appreciated and participative.  Oh, how I look forward to travelling again!

Becker is a former correspondent for The New York Times, who spent five years criss-crossing the globe to measure the impact of the tourist trade. The result is “Overbooked,” part travelogue and part examination, exploring how what was once a hobby became a giant industry, employing 1 in 10 people globally and becoming the main source of income for many countries across the world. Becker looks at case studies both good and bad: eco-tourism in Costa Rica and business travel in France, to the destruction of Angkor Wat and the over-tourism plaguing Venice. The book is eye-opening in its facts and data, and makes an impassioned plea for why sustainable tourism is imperative for the future. However, after reading the book, we felt that Becker falls short of offering real solutions to the problems she observed as well as giving the reader the tools he or she needs to be a responsible traveller.

#1: It’s easy to be blind to the effects of tourism.

Tourism is both enriching and destructive, leaving winners and losers in its wake. But most vacationers are blissfully unaware of the toll their vacation can have in moments and places on the local population and the environment at large. Why is that? Despite its size, the tourism industry is a largely neglected topic - unlike the oil or pharmaceutical industries, for example, which come under immense scrutiny from governments and the media. Instead, it is still seen as a 'soft' issue, relegated to the travel pages. Because of this, vacationers simply don’t know how to travel in the most responsible manner.

#2: Travel journalism perpetuates this problem.

Becker contends that travel journalism is compromised, serving a PR function rather than tackling the adverse effects of mass tourism. In return for free flights, stays, meals and tours, travel journalists are expected to write rave reviews and less inclined to provide critical commentary on a place. After all, not only will they not be invited back, but they may lose out on other invitations in the future. The singular goal for travel writing has been to help vacationers pursue their dream of a perfect trip.

#3: Governments can make or break a country’s tourism industry.

As Becker states, “Tourism is that rare industry whose ‘product’ is a country.” This gives governments the ultimate decision-making power. Governments can choose to “preserve cultural sites or allow them to be destroyed; they can set aside wilderness areas or issue permits to build resorts along a deserted beach...”

They are also the main sales force for tourism. Becker has found that governments that have chosen to remove themselves from the tourism business, such as the United States, which resigned from the U.S. World Tourism Organisation in 1996, have suffered as a result. France and Costa Rica, on the other hand, have taken proactive measures to protect their countries while growing their respective tourism industries.

When you plan your next trip, skip the glossy magazines and really research the destination – the good, the bad, the ugly – in order to have a more well-rounded perspective of the place and better inform your buying decisions - with the goal to have the most positive impact possible. Nowadays you can rely on online resources promoting sustainable tourism, such as cooperations for hotels and accommodations that are local, green and sustainable (i.e. eco suites).

We all know, to travel sustainably is a work in progress. So, as we say at MAp, take it step-by-step. Small improvements to your travel plans and conscious decisions make all the difference over time.

“Taken together, all of our innocent vacations and trips have changed lives and the fortunes of nations.”

We hope this exposé into the travel industry was enlightening for you and will help you in the future to consider your impact on local economies, cultural heritage and the environment when you set foot in a new place. We’d love to hear which country case studies you found to be most interesting – please comment below.

Lastly, support a local bookshop by buying “Overbooked” here: https://bookshop.org/

The start of each new year brings with it a spate of articles touting the most anticipated and hottest hotel openings for the year ahead, and despite the pandemic, 2021 was no different! Just take a look at this Forbes article and this Conde Nast Traveller article to get a sense for the new offerings flooding the market this year alone.

The hotel landscape looked very different 20 years ago, when there were less offerings, bigger players and clearer differentiation between brands. Today, the market is saturated. And if you factor in the disruption of new entrants, such as Airbnb and the like, it is no surprise that customers struggle when faced with so much choice.

So how do hotels discover, create and maintain their competitive edge? How do they distinguish their offering and add value to guests? How do they remain relevant to today’s consumers? The answer is with a strong and sustainable hotel concept.

A hotel concept is the basis for everything that follows. It’s the foundational idea that defines your hotel’s brand, character, product + services, sales + marketing, and more. It curates a distinctive identity in the market and in the eyes of your clearly-defined target group.

Furthermore, it acts as a strategic and creative outline on how to realise a hotel venture by piecing together various elements (“soft” and “hard” facts) and outlining to all stakeholders HOW your hotel should look and feel and WHY that is.

At MAp, we craft our hotel concepts around the following key elements:

• Purpose: WHY you exist beyond making profit. Read here why defining your purpose beyond making profit will actually make you profit.
• Principles: Your vision, mission and values.
• People: The people you are serving with a solution to their problems, as well as the people you are working/partnering with to make an impact.
• Story: The unique story that you – and only you – are telling in order to emotionally connect with your people.
• Positioning + USPs: What differentiates you in the market.

These constituent pieces, together, form one complete whole, laying the foundation of your hotel project.

Whether you are a hotelier looking to develop a boutique hotel or are part of a hotel group looking to reposition your existing hotels, a clearly-defined and sustainable hotel concept offers many benefits:

• Gives you clarity on the what, how, why
• Aligns your stakeholders around a shared purpose and vision
• Enables you to use resources more efficiently (think time, money, etc.) - but also the resources of our planet
• Makes you stand out from the crowd (as you know what you stand for)
• Creates a better future for your hotel and business, for people and planet

Hotels with strong concepts are able to demand a premium price, provide a coherent guest experience, sell and market themselves smartly, recruit talented staff and a community following, and have a marketable platform when pitching for investors and partners.

Our holistic and end-to-end process for developing hotel concepts consists of the following steps:

1) Concept Discovery: Set the groundwork by looking inwards at your goals, motivations, strengths and weaknesses, and outwards at your competition, the market and innovative trends.

2) Concept Development: Using the insights collected in the Discovery phase, address each of the key elements of your hotel concept in order to define its core idea.

3) Concept Activation: Translate your hotel concept into the operations of your hotel, by applying it to your product + services, brand, and sales + marketing.

4) Concept Implementation: Identify strategic partners and ensure they are aligned and in keeping with the hotel concept, all the way up through (re-)launch.

With a strong hotel concept in place, your hotel stands out from the competition. But more importantly, it stands for something. So before kickstarting any type of hotel project, make sure you first establish what your hotel concept is. As MAp says, “First the concept, then comes the rest.”

In need of some inspiration? Check out our Hotel Concept Trends 2021 blog post.