Matt Talks Hospitality: Real conversations for innovative hoteliers

This hotel doesn’t have a lobby, but it also doesn’t need one. Scattered around Amsterdam's canals, 28 abandoned bridge keeper houses have been transformed into SWEETS hotel, a collection of standalone suites. Suzanne Oxenaar, SWEETS' Curator and Artistic Director, shares how the hotel came to life and how technology helps manage rooms when they’re spread across the entire city.

De L’Europe Amsterdam recently became the first hotel in the Netherlands to earn a record three MICHELIN Keys. Open since 1896, De L’Europe Amsterdam carries a long history. What makes it stand out? And what comes with running the landmark everyone measures themselves against? De L’Europe’s Managing Director Robert-Jan Woltering talks heritage, luxury and the kind of hospitality that keeps a hotel at the top.

How do you grow from one hotel into a group and don’t become a rigid chain? Inge Decuypere, Owner of C-Hotels, breaks down the operational choices and technology decisions that enabled their growth from a single property to a multi-hotel group along the Belgian coast. Inge also shares how walking away from a global franchise meant gaining control over their own operations, without sacrificing the occupancy they'd built.

Vicky Irwin has spent over six years shaping how Mews looks, sounds and feels as the company's Creative Director. In light of Mews launching a new identity, she joins Matt to talk about branding in hospitality. What is a brand when you strip away the logo? What makes hotels feel disconnected from their own identity? And when does a rebrand become necessary? Listen in.

Can a hotel brand successfully scale while building social impact into its business model? The Social Hub, now certified as a B Corp, is built on the belief that a hotel can serve its city as much as its guests. The Social Hub’s Founder and CEO, Charlie MacGregor, shares what it takes to keep profit high and purpose alive as the company scales.