“Our story began at the Gran Hotel Son Net, the Majorcan five-star hotel. Björn Wild, as CEO, had the objective of making a turn around together with the owner of the hotel, David Stein”, Luis Rubió tells Condé Nast Traveler. “David called me at the end of 2009 to turn around a critical economic situation. If Björn made me an expert in finance, I explained my business and operational tricks to him.”
“Although we have very different characters and schools, we have many things in common. Luis was financial director at the age of 24 and I was the director of 2 hotels at the age of 28. We both love to work efficiently. We put values such as honesty first. I could not find a better travel companion”, recalls Björn.
between the two add experience in more than 39 hotels around the globe –highlighting openings in London, Paris, Amsterdam and Spain, and they have clients mainly in Catalonia and Mallorca– and together they founded White Brand Hotels, a 2.0 hotel strategy project.
Luis Rubió and Björn Wild, architects of this 2.0 hotel strategy project.
“We are like ghost writers, we work to make the hotel brand shine. We raise the quality of the service, we train the team, we create loyal customers, we supervise the operation and we market 24 hours a day, just like a good manager would do, but the boutique hotel concept distinguishes us”, summarizes Björn, who is inspired by hoteliers who dare to think differently.
"What Adrian Zecha, who did not allow teles to facilitate the connection with nature. Today the big chains dominate and, nevertheless, it is more important than ever to be different. 15 years ago, an independent hotel could not compete; thanks to on-line, can be successful."
Why did you decide to work 'in the shadows'? “Based on our experience (and its positive results), we wanted to offer boutique hotel owners a management 2.0 thought of them and not the management company. The client will recognize the brand of the hotel and not of its managers”.
Stružná Castle, in the Czech Republic, with which White Brand Hotels has collaborated.
“When I started in the hotel industry there were 30 important chains in their different categories, now there are 5 or 6. We believe that today it is more important than ever to offer a tailored customer experience and have staff with personality and character,” says Wild.
“With White Brand Hotels we want to give the property an authenticity and added value to its product. We can perfectly adjust to the needs of the hotel without being an extraordinary expense”, he concludes.
“Although many hotels function in the same way, each property is unique, both due to the location, type of building, local culture or simply due to seasonality –continues–. We do not intend to sell rooms, but to create unique experiences. We can offer a 'turnkey', preparing the entire pre-opening of a hotel, since we have the experience, in addition to a trusted team of architects, interior designers, riggers and builders. What really sets us apart is the way we manage hotels”.
Stružná Castle, in the Czech Republic.
How? “The hotels managed by us have an emphasis on the food and beverage department, always attracting local people apart from the hotel customer. We believe that the well-being and connection between the staff and the client is fundamental. We make the most of the sensitivity of the environment and create unusual activities to connect with the surroundings and to make the experience authentic. We anticipate the wishes of our clients before they have to ask for it, since we bother to know our client without losing detail”.
A WIDE TOUR AROUND THE GLOBE
Björn has worked with the most diverse cultures, from the Baltic to Maldives or the Caribbean – hosting everything from dishwashers to celebrity events on a private island. “I decided, 21 years ago, to travel and work in seven different countries for 5-star superior chains such as One&Only or St Regis and in individual luxury boutique hotels,” explains Wild.
“I think that no event has done as much damage to our sector as the pandemic,” he reflects. "Businesses that fed thousands of families are for sale and will hopefully be bought for below market value. This is terrible and although I think that everything will return to normal shortly, I am suffering with my friends in the sector”.
The St. Regis Florence (Florence, Italy).
What do they bring now? "We are a Manager 2.0 that offers hotel management services combined with the care of the hotel asset, as well as obtaining the economic result," says Luis. A hybrid between classic hotel management and asset management, “which will allow the property to create value for its own brand and hotel asset, and not for the manager's brand as it happens to date”.
It is, ultimately, an alternative for owners who want to create their own brand and maintain its essence, without giving up professional management What does outsourcing offer you? “This formula will allow the property to develop all the necessary knowledge to be prepared in a few years, to take the reins of management with a consolidated team and knowledge, and therefore White Brand Hotels would go on to supervise the operation and fulfillment of the objectives set, as well as the maintenance of the hotel asset”.
One & Only Palmilla (San Jose del Cabo, Mexico).
White Brand Hotels has developed different verticals, such as Luxury Boutique Resort, Urban Design Hotels and Sport Resorts, in which he has been accompanied by a team of former professional athletes with extensive knowledge in the sports, investment and leisure industry.
And it offers two types of service: asset management using the hotel's own brand, training the hotel's own executive team, strengthening the destination, and therefore, the hotel's resources are reinvested to increase the value of the hotel itself. And, on the other hand, it also offers the management & co-investment option, where White Brand Hotels detects and develops an investment opportunity and presents the opportunity to its pool of investors.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
The company presents u n ambitious expansion plan for the next 5 years to grow, mainly in the management of boutique hotels, with between 30 and 100 rooms, and a category between 4*S and 5*GL. "We are contracted to make hotels with less than 120 profitable rooms," Wild stresses. The fewer rooms there are, the more difficult the task, but it is exactly what we know how to do best”.
Panoramic view of Mas Salagros and its swimming pool.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD HOTEL… A GOOD HOTEL?
“I think that the client, nowadays, With social networks, when he decides on one of our hotels, he knows quite well what he is going to find. I think it is key not to sell false expectations to the client”, says Luis.
“Good hotels have a clean room with a spacious bathroom, a comfortable bed, a good restaurant and that it has easy access to areas of interest –suma Wild–. Nevertheless, excellent hotels are the ones that excite you, those that do not leave you indifferent and those that you remember so fondly that you dream of returning when you can”.
“Of course there have to be all the amenities that are expected in a hotel within the category that is marketed, but much more important are the people who accompany you on your trip and who want your stay to be unique. I have seen many people cry when their stay is over, I have received many hugs, letters of thanks congratulating for a simple fact: the staff. yes i really think A hotel can be measured first and foremost by the staff it employs.”