INVESTMENT
Our outlook for 2022 is best characterized as cautious optimism . While it ’ s tough to have rose colored glasses with the current variant , we were surprised the level of demand exceeded our expectations in 2021 the moment travel was more open .
H : How are you best managing through pandemic to control costs and drive revenue ? EL : We were fortunate to have a lean operating model where we could scale down faster and be a bit nimbler than others . We never closed a hotel during the pandemic , unless required to do so by a local municipality . We also looked at the pandemic as an opportunity to test and improve a number of product initiatives – some that created new revenue ideas and others that helped control costs and improve service .
Throughout the pandemic , we continued to invest heavily into technology – especially in areas where we can gather more insights and intelligence about our guests and improving mobile app functionality . This will allow us to become more efficient in our digital marketing , operational and retention activities .
One area we ’ ve been experimenting in our revenue model has been the exploration into a subscription type business . We started with a few beta launches – first in late 2020 by offering a long-term stay membership , and then again in 2021 we offered a one-night-per-month option . We learned a lot from these tests and are working towards a full launch in the coming months , with a product that ’ s a bit more fine-tuned .
H : citizenM has always had a lean staff model . How is that evolving , what are you doing to manage staff these days ? EL : We always look to technology to better enable our ambassadors to focus more time on guests and actual hospitality . That means continuing to invest in tools and platforms that will take over more and more of the utilitarian functions , so our teams can mainly focus on the human elements .
H : What are your upcoming ESG initiatives ? EL : We have a number of environmental and social governance initiatives underway , and they are central to our longrange business model . Among the latest is an update to our charity citizenMovement , which is founded on the goal of “ real caring .” Now , when guests decline room cleaning , € 3 is donated to the citizenMovement Foundation on their behalf . To date , the foundation has donated over € 830,000 ( US $ 940,000 ) to charity partner World Bicycle Relief .
H : How have you replaced COO Michael Levie ? EL : As one of the original partners , Michael was an instrumental part of citizenM ’ s creation , growth and culture . While it ’ s always difficult to replace someone that was part of the founding team , there ’ s a highly talented group of homegrown executives that are jointly leading the operating business to the next level . These include senior management team members like Chief Commercial Officer Lennert de Jong ; Chief Hotel Operating Officer Matt Bell ; Chief Marketing Officer
DEVELOPERS LIKE WORKING WITH US BECAUSE WE CREATE A BUZZ IN MIXED- USE PROJECTS , GENERATE BETTER UNIT ECONOMICS , AND ENHANCE THE OVERALL CREDIT AND VISIBILITY OF A SPONSORSHIP GROUP .
– ERNEST LEE
Robin Chadha ; Chief Experience Officer Casper Overbeek ; and me . We have a combined 50 years with the company .
50 hotelsmag . com May 2022