Towards a United Europe?
I drive a Volkswagen. This VW came with a Satnav system that kept telling me I was off-road when I was driving along a relatively major English road. When I complained, the response from VW was “What do you expect? England is on the periphery of Europe”. More worryingly they also said the system was designed in Germany, written by a Finn and translated from German into English by a Swede
In a single paragraph this explains the attraction of Berlin for so many hotel chains. It is becoming once again the cosmopolitan centre of Europe. The Poles, Slovaks, Czechs, Slovenes and other peoples of what we Brits have loosely called Eastern Europe for most of my lifetime strongly object to this label. "The Russians are Eastern Europe" they say.They are Central Europe, they proclaim. Berlin is reclaiming its role as the central hub of Europe.
The still quiet zone in all this tumult is the peaceful landlocked island of Switzerland, land of accurate timekeeping, defiant independence and famous efficiency – to rival the Germans in fact.
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Prime location near the Zoo, on the Ku'damm, the hotel has 316 rooms of 15 different room types at five star category between the fourth and tenth floors. Click for another exterior view
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Bedrooms are well laid out with good sized work desks, wifi internet etc..Refurbishment is on the horizon but the rooms still look good thanks to effective housekeeping.Click to see the bedside unit
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Brand values can surface in quirky ways, and here is another reinforcement of Swissness. Click to see Swiss neat functionality of the desk power sockets
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"Swissôtel sells itself on its Swissness, defining its brand qualities"
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Switzerland itself is almost a brand. In fact there is a strand of thinking in the tourist industry that tourist boards should identify their countries as if they were a brand and market accordingly. Ah to see ourselves as others see us! Are the Brits 'whingers' as the Australians say, or 'barbarians' as the French see it? Dare any hotel group sell itself on Britishness abroad (interesting that Microsoft’s dictionary tries to change ‘Britishness’ to 'Brutishness...')?
Swissôtel sells itself on its Swissness, defining its brand qualities as
• Global and Innovative
• Caring and Sensitive
• Healthy and Sporty
• Uncluttered and functional
• Passion and Perfection
• Knowledgeable and Discreet
• Contemporary and Understated
• Environmentally Friendly and Socially responsible
My stay in Berlin was to look at the brand identity and to see how it was expressed through the design. It really doesn’t matter what the nationality of the designer is, as the design management system should ensure that the brand criteria are met through the design. The obvious expression of the brand qualities is also through the operation and the training of the staff in understanding and expressing them in their daily contact with Guests.
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The lounge bar has large windows overlooking the Ku'damm (click for another view of the bar)
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