Youri Sawerschel
The Future of Hotel Distribution Channels: Seizing Opportunity in Channel Disruption
Jochen de Peuter-Rutten | April 4, 2024
By Jochen de Peuter-Rutten, Youri Sawerschel The hotel distribution channel landscape is undergoing a seismic shift. Online travel agencies (OTAs) that once leveled the playing field for independent properties now dominate, their economic muscle squeezing hotel margins. Metasearch engines commoditize the search experience, making standalone properties indistinguishable. Meanwhile, the growth in alternative lodging threatens hotels' grip on the accommodations sector. Yet within this disruption lies opportunity for savvy hoteliers. Emergent technologies now enable hotels to tailor the guest experience as never before. Strategic partnershi...
The 7 Components of Designing a Hotel Concept
Youri Sawerschel | November 1, 2022
By Youri Sawerschel The seven components of hotel concept design The Story The People The Space The Identity The Services The Content The Channels Starting from the central story, components are interconnected and work side by side to build a unique, coherent whole. The hotel concept story The Story defines the role of a hotel as well as its aspirations. In other words, your story should convey why guests should stay at your property, beyond just getting a room and breakfast. Having a good story presents a number of clear advantages: A story lasts virtually forever and can evolve. A story is hard ...
Co-Living: Hotel Guest Community Integration
EHL Insights | March 19, 2021
By Youri Sawerschel What is co-living? Co-living is a way to live and share an inhabitable space with other like-minded people. Co-living is fast gaining in popularity across the globe as the younger urban generation increasingly puts more value on flexibility and convenience. It’s important to note that modern co-living comes in all shapes and forms. The term has been used loosely for different kinds of living arrangements: from “big box co-living” buildings with hundreds of small pod-style rooms to family-style apartments turned co-living homes (think of the apartment from the TV series, “Friends”). What all these co-l...
Industry Dematerialisation
Youri Sawerschel | May 14, 2020
By Youri Sawerschel What services can hotels offer that digital upstarts can’t? For centuries, the core of the hotel business has been essentially the same everywhere. Sell rooms, check in the guests, serve breakfast and check them out. But now Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) have taken over the booking element, apps like Deliveroo and Uber Eats offer a myriad of breakfast, lunch and dining options, and Airbnb is challenging even the room portion of the business. This disruption has forced hoteliers to rethink their value proposition around a simple question: what can I offer that these digital upstarts can’t ? One answer to th...
Hotel Concept Handbook: Developing a Compelling Hotel Concept
Hospitality Insights | April 29, 2020
By Youri Sawerschel The hospitality industry is anything but dull. Each year brings with it a bounty of exciting destinations, revolutionary new hotels and glamorous renovations. But whereas the challenges of the previous 20 years were mainly tied to one overarching paradigm shift – digitization – the decade ahead brings with it a number of industry disrupting trends and events that are changing what it means to be a hotelier. Beyond traditional amenities 10 years ago, hoteliers were still wondering if they should invest in in-room Wi-Fi (yes) and charge guests extra for the service (no). What has them biting their nails now is wheth...
