It is a difficult and trying time for all of us, as we see horrific pictures on the television and online on social media about the war in Ukraine. As we constantly consume a constant barrage of news about the war in Ukraine, our empathy with the people in Ukraine is making some of us depressed while others in the hospitality industry are going above and beyond to help the now over 1 million refugees from Ukraine (as my good friend Josiah has been curating over the past few days).
This brings me to an interview that I read a few weeks ago (when empathy wasn’t so strong but a topic I found interesting anyways) with the Managing Director Nils Janson from Lindenberg Hospitality. Lindenberg is neither hotel nor residential community and yet somehow both at the same time; being a guest there automatically means becoming part of a community. He describes what the term means to him.
What I found really interesting was Mr Jansen’s background as a trained educator from the social sector which gives him a unique insight into the topic of community from outside the hospitality industry. Having worked regularly in the catering industry during his degree studies in social pedagogy and having felt a great passion for the industry, he decided to switch professions. But not without bringing some of what he learnt in his previous studies.
According to Nils, it is the community that is key, and nothing can really function without it. Themes like sociability, togetherness and feeling connected to each other are crucial. And he tries to implement these ideas in his Lindenberg Hotels, which are characterized by the the concept of the “guest collective”. Nils and Lindenberg offer its guests a unique experience of a ‘lived community’, where guests can decide how much of this lived community they actually want. Indeed, they are encouraged to use and spend time in the many common areas, cooking, working, drinking, partying, or listening to music together, while at the same time being free to retreat to their rooms when they desire some privacy.
Thus, Nils has positioned Lindenberg to stand for this authentic and honest sense of community, which has been lived and transported by staff, friends, and partners from the very beginning. He is also convinced that this community attitude of the guests serves in connecting each other and will also play a greater role in choosing a hotel in the future, having a greater influence on the booking decision than it did in the past (in addition to usual criteria, such as value for money, location and facilities).
Thanks to the pandemic, there has already been a change in the importance of community, especially after over 2 years now of ‘social distancing’. With the warn in Ukraine reminding us of our common humanity, it will certainly be interesting to see how this concept of community and spending more time with others will affect the hospitality industry and its future offerings.
Thorsten Edu 