SPECIAL REPORT
hear a lot of the younger generation saying , ‘ Oh , look at my points and I ’ m only going to stay there because I get those points .’ Now , they ’ re asking , ‘ What is this company doing ? Who are they and do I want to be associated to this ? What is the community who stayed there ? Let me check online . Let me check the pictures . It ’ s a very different philosophy .”
In response to endless conversations and concerns about high OTA commissions , Knippenberg insists it is something that can be negotiated and suggests that building direct business is not cheap . “ Would I set up a loyalty scheme or anything like that ? Definitely not ,” she says . “ I ’ d rather partner with people that really have something to bring … Consumers are interested in staying at different projects , and if you nurture relationships from the beginning , that ’ s something you can scale with . You build that into the whole philosophy of the company and the way you do business . The moment that your head office is a service center , you have a really different business going on .”
BUTTERFLY EFFECT Continually questioning industry norms is
PEOPLE CAME BACK TO US SAYING , ‘ CAN YOU TELL US ONE MORE TIME WHAT YOU BELIEVE IT IS PEOPLE WANT TO DO AND HOW WE CAN REALLY LOOK AT OUR ASSETS ? THEN CREATE SOMETHING THAT BRINGS IN ROI FOR THE LONG TERM AND NOT JUST FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS .
– MARLOES KNIPPENBERG
typical for the Kerten team and the biggest emphasis is on ESG-focused programming and the advancement of women in hospitality . “ We ’ re going by the butterfly effect . So , even small actions can eventually have a massive global impact ,” Knippenberg says .
The connection to community helps push the story further , as well . For example , when it comes to sustainability initiatives , Kerten prefers to look for direction by understanding the focus of local governments , where shortages lie , and the availability of local materials . “ Once you set the rule , it ’ s so much easier to doing it locally rather than trying to set an overall company global rule because every part of the world is so different . Local requests and the requirements are so different ,” Knippenberg explains .
To further opportunities for women , it helps that Kerten Hospitality team is 70 % women and that its leader is a woman . Nonetheless , Knippenberg says more initiatives and even some pushing is required because not enough organizations are following through on their proposals . “ I ’ m not sure our generation will necessarily change that so much ,” she adds . “ But I think we have a responsibility to leave something behind that ’ s responsible and cared for – that we did our utmost to support .”
The other hot topic on Knippenberg ’ s mind , even as she hesitates , is the metaverse and NFTs . Warily , she knows it ’ s a conversation that must be had . “ A company our size could never have grown as much if we didn ’ t have a platform to share and communicate ,” Knippenberg says . “ I think this is something that we will try to embrace without going crazy . We ’ re not building in the metaverse at the moment , but we ’ re definitely taking a close look at it . And it will be great for a company like ours to further collaborate with tech companies , retail companies who really are a bit more progressive .”
Collaboration and looking outside of the hospitality industry for ideas is vitally important to success , according to Knippenberg . “ The industry has been talking about this for so long , but there is such slow integration ,” she says . “ We ’ re one of the only sectors that is still within its own box and frame instead of really looking out there . The world is changing so fast that we have a responsibility to owners to change with it so their assets actually remain profitable and remain relevant for the future .”
This is the kind of thinking that seems to drive often impatient Knippenberg and Kerten Hospitality . “ I love the journey and what we ’ re developing , but I question it every day ,” she says . We ’ re working so hard every day to progress and question how we can become better , collaborate better with owners … I sometimes wish we had more hours in the day to do more collaborations because we meet such incredible people … I ’ m really thankful for this journey and , yes , it ’ s a work in progress every single day .”
60 hotelsmag . com June 2022