THE INTERVIEW : FRANK FISKERS
the next level and make it a world-class Nordic hotel company and become one of the best in the business .
H : What will be Scandic ’ s competitive point of difference on this bigger stage ?
FF : If , for example , you take the Hilton in Stockholm and the premiere Scandic ,
A rendering of the upcoming Scandic Haymarket in Stockholm
Scandic has one HTL open in Stockholm , two that just opened in Oslo and a fourth that will open later this year .
today we give our hotel all the support the Hilton gets from Hilton . That comes from our leased business model . This is our money and the entire P & L is our responsibility . That becomes a very strong focus compared to most of the brands .
Plus , we have full control of our brand , costs and processes . We make all the decisions and it gives us a reaction time and a speed which few hotel companies our size and even bigger can match .
And if you look at Scandic ’ s operating margins compared to some of our peers , we are amongst the best in the business , which also comes a bit from our Nordic heritage where we operate in an environment where labor is amongst the most expensive in the world . We have to be very efficient with labor since it ’ s such a huge cost .
H : What is your biggest challenge going forward ?
FF : When things in the world change so fast [ distribution , customer preferences , brand relevance , brand importance ] you must avoid all the pitfalls and get the most out of the opportunities and to translate these changes into your business model . H : What is the strategy for the HTL brand ? FF : The main thing about it is quality with the best bed , the best towels , the best technology , the best breakfast and lunch experience . It is an extremely good value . We have one very large HTL in Stockholm , which has been running at 80 % occupancy since it opened in May . We just opened two HTLs in Oslo and a fourth is under construction and will open later this year .
HTL will never be the big machine like Scandic has been as it fits into a limited number of markets . It also has very specific requirements for the physical facilities because the trick is to providing this quality at a 25 % rate discount is the space efficiency . So , I think we will see a limited development of the brand , but potentially it grows to be brand that we could export out of the Nordics .
What is very important is that HTLs must have triple-A locations . We have said that we don ’ t want to compromise on that , so we will wait for these locations to materialize .
H : What inspires you about the hotel business ?
FF : I find inspiration primarily by
46 HOTELS March 2015 www . hotelsmag . com