How does it feel to be a Pioneer of Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry, Stephan Bode?
That's not possible, that's too expensive ... I hear that every day. It takes composure, a clear vision, the will to create, and courage. The courage to break new ground and the confidence to be your greatest self.
Each Green Pearls® hotelier has found his or her individual path to sustainability. Some are building new structures, others are optimizing existing ones; some took a detour into the hotel industry, while others come from longstanding hotelier families. In this series of interviews, we present their unique stories.
Today's interview: Stephan Bode from the SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA in Bad Herrenalb.
About Becoming Greener, Awards, and Cycles
We met Stephan Bode, owner of the SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA, shortly after he presented his interior design concept in a competition. He says he is pleased with himself this time, laughing, and adds that this is really rare. There is always room for improvement.
This creed also determines how he has developed the wellness and conference hotel SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA into one of the most sustainable hotels in Germany over the past decade. Continuous development is a fundamental principle. We talked to him about the new Circular Living room concept, which has won Bode and his team numerous awards in recent months. But it is not only the awards that the hotelier and mastermind behind Circular Living is proud of.
Green Pearls®: Hi Stephan! Thanks for taking the time to talk to us today! You have been on a kind of "award tour" and have won quite a few awards with the Circular Living Concept. But before we get into that, I'd like to know: which of the new rooms would you choose to live in?
Stephan: *laughs* AI think they're all great. But I have two favorites: the Waldklang room, which smells like a forest thanks to the real moss elements and bark. And the Freigeist rooms. They have so much space, a free-floating canopy bed, and just the energy that comes from the three-foot-tall "Flower of Life" on the wall creates a really unique atmosphere. It's just a very open, clear design that lets your spirit breathe. If I were a guest, I would probably always book these two rooms in sequence.
The third room design, Falkenstein, is just as beautiful but in a different way. You have two walls where the plaster makes you feel like you could climb them like a boulder. They represent the real Falkenstein rock in Bad Herrenalb, a place of power and a landmark of the region.
Green Pearls®: How are guests responding to the new room concept? Do they share your excitement?
Stephan: Very good! The guests feel directly how the elemental forces inspire them and know through our communication channels that there is a literal future in the rooms. We're also seeing their excitement in the added value that we're selling the rooms for. If we can keep this up, the new rooms will have paid for themselves in four to five years.
Green Pearls®: How did you come up with the idea for each topic?
Stephan: The inspiration came relatively quickly. The main goal was to make the Black Forest tangible without making it a typical “rustic-style” Black Forest room. Instead, it is the real forest now.
Then regionality came into play: The Falkenstein rocks are inseparable from Bad Herrenalb. Freigeist simply stands for one's peace, one's actions, and also my personal philosophy. The quote from Gandhi "Be the change you want to see in the world", which hangs in the room, is something like my motto. That's how I live my life and that's how I run my company.
Circular Economy and its Challenges
Green Pearls®: The concept of “Circular Living” is based on the idea of a circular economy. This is already a term in sustainability circles but implementing it in reality and in full is often another story. What inspired you to turn the renovation of the space into a circular economy project?
Stephan: Sustainability has been a heartfelt concern for me since 2005. At that time, I transformed the 307-bed hotel where I worked into a 100% organic hotel. That was truly pioneering work. As a result, I developed a consistent environmental awareness. And if you look at the two highest quality organic associations, Demeter and Bioland, you quickly realize that their farmers already think and act in closed cycles to a large extent.
In 2008, I met Professor Braungart. He is one of the founders of the cradle-to-cradle design concept. Something I will never forget: How he was already wearing sneakers at that time, of which he said that their individual parts could be returned to the cycle once the sneaker was worn out.
I have internalized this circular thinking over the past decades. When I asked myself if and how I wanted to renovate my rooms, I couldn't just give up this mentality.
I have internalized this circular thinking over the last few decades.
Green Pearls®: When you develop something new, you automatically encounter resistance from people and practical hurdles. What was the biggest challenge for you in developing the Circular Living Rooms?
Stephan: I'll start with the biggest relief, at least for me. I would go from booth to booth at different trade fairs in our industry, where hotel outfitters and furnishers are specifically represented, and ask whether they offer Cradle to Cradle. And 99.9 percent of them didn't even know what it was. That helped me a lot. Normally you're on the road for 9 hours, your feet are burning and you don't feel like you've achieved anything worthwhile. My trade fair visits only lasted 1 hour and in the end, I knew that nobody had anything to show. Not having to choose between numerous providers and similar offers, as is usually the case, opened up a whole new perspective on how to approach things.
In contrast, the take-back agreements that we made with our suppliers to ensure that the materials used would be returned after their useful life proved to be challenging. That the 7-figure sum I had invested would be collected and reprocessed after around 15 years: That made me take a deep breath.
Green Pearls®: To be honest, the fact that there were no materials sounds more like a challenge.
Stephan: That's the thing: the cradle-to-cradle materials are out there! It's just that they're not at the conventional trade shows of our industry.
Green Pearls®: Can you briefly explain what cradle-to-cradle means?
Stephan: Cradle to Cradle is a holistic approach to product design. It was developed by Michael Braungart (chemist) and William McDonough (architect).
In essence, it means nothing less than a world without waste. It is thought of exclusively in terms of recyclables. Technical recyclables are those that can be or have been recycled. And then there are biological recyclables, which are anything renewable and biodegradable. There is nothing in between. No waste and certainly no hazardous waste.
Green Pearls®: In other words, material research was not the biggest challenge?
Stephan: Exactly! The next big step then was finding a general contractor who was not only sustainable, but also local, and is both top quality and a design specialist. I always wanted extraordinary and functional design rooms. Not "eco-rooms". So, I contacted Fritz Schlecht and his team. But only after they presented their design proposals did, I tell them that I wanted everything to be circular and recyclable. And it worked! I was actually able to bring everyone involved into my sustainable world, get them excited about it, and even inspire them to generate their competitive advantage from it.
Better than Awards
Green Pearls®: And it was worth it, considering all the awards and everything and everyone you moved and inspired.
Stephan: Yes, and I am really proud of and thankful for that. That we were able to take so many people with us. The icing on the cake is the new GreenSign Circular seal that we co-initiated. It is important to me that this concept becomes known and that as many companies and people as possible, no matter the industry, implement the idea. The many awards we have received in recent weeks and months underline the huge leverage we have developed with Circular Living.
But actually, the best part is this: Fritz Schlecht | SHL, our general contractor, changed his mind and got certified. The same goes for other manufacturers who got audited and certified because of our impulses, as well as for all the craftsmen who suddenly needed a whole new set of skills to work with our material – and got to know the benefits of sustainable products along the way.
Green Pearls®: You have probably met many of your colleagues at events over the past few months. What is their feedback and how was it in the past?
Stephan: When I started working on sustainability, I was managing director of what was then the Seehotel Zeulenroda, which I then transformed into an organic hotel. Many colleagues laughed at me back then. But it was only through this new direction that the Bio-Seehotel became economically successful.
Then, more than 11 years ago, the story of SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA began. Since then, we have positioned ourselves as a beacon and pioneer in terms of sustainability and have also become a flagship for the region, a popular source of inspiration, and a well-know keynote speaker.
Green Pearls®: Do you see yourself as a pioneer or a revolutionary, or would you describe yourself differently?
Stephan: In 2006, I was described as a revolutionary, which has a lot to do with the fact that I have always followed my intuition and my very own path. I was a hotel manager in my early 30s - without a high school diploma - as a trained restaurant specialist and an autodidact among academics. That was a burden for me at the time.
Green Pearls®: And how does it feel today?
Stephan: *thinks for a moment* Free. And detached from standardized thinking. This was the only way to become the free spirit that I am today. I am very grateful for that. This is also the mindset that I try to align my life with. I try to do the things that I am convinced of, that I believe in, and that brings me joy.
You asked me before about challenges. The biggest challenge is to keep trusting myself and never lose courage or be afraid of failure. It's not possible, it's too expensive ... I hear that every day. It takes composure, a clear vision, the will to create, and courage. The courage to break new ground and the confidence to be your greatest self. It's always about admitting our potential, drawing on it, and learning.
The Hospitality Industry can Help Change Attitudes
Green Pearls®: What would you like to see in the future of the hospitality industry?
Stephan: In our industry, hospitality, or hosting as we like to say, we have expectations of our guests. We expect them to be on time, to pay in full, and to leave no damage or trash as guests of our accommodations. We probably all share such basic requirements.
What if we understood that we are all just guests on our common host, Earth? What if we all treated it with the same care and respect that we expect from our guests?
I hope that our industry will recognize that it is not a fringe phenomenon in terms of its economic and political impact, but rather a market force – and that it will use this leverage to initiate, support, and accompany the shift in consciousness and the transformation to more sustainability. I want us to recognize it as a competitive advantage and adapt to it as the only viable way forward. After all, how can I run a business if I no longer have an intact habitat?
I hope that our industry will recognize that it is not a fringe phenomenon but rather a market force – and that it will use this leverage to initiate, support, and accompany the shift in consciousness and the transformation to more sustainability.
Green Pearls®: And what are your personal wishes?
Stephan: What do I wish for myself? That I will stay healthy and never lose touch with my inner child. That's very important to me.
And for the world as such, I wish for more respect, more appreciation, more unity, and love. Lots and lots of love. And that we learn to be part of a greater whole, and that we respect everyone else, and especially Mother Earth, the way we want to be respected.
Green Pearls®: Thank you for the beautiful closing remarks, the interview, and your insights.
About the SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA
The climatic health resort of Bad Herrenalb with its thermal springs and spas is situated in the northern part of the Black Forest. Here the SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA is located on a hill with a panoramic view of the town and untouched nature.
The hotel offers the ideal setting for both retreat and conference guests - whether you are looking to get away for a few days, take a (fasting) cure for several weeks, or are looking for an inspiring place for your conference or workshop. Special features of the hotel include a large wellness area with a mineral pool and sauna, a selfness area where yoga classes, mindfulness workshops, and forest bathing take place in addition to treatments and the like, and the hotel's restaurant La Vie that uses almost 100% organic products (preferably from the region). The hotel is Bioland-GOLD certified, bears both the GreenSign and GreenSign Circular labels, and is a Green Pearls® partner.
Pioneers of Sustainability at Green Pearls®
Under this title, various hoteliers and hosts have their say, share their thoughts on sustainability, and report on their careers. The interview series is ongoing. Look forward to the next part of the series.
Until then, we recommend the previous interviews:
- Marion Muller from the Lifestylehotel SAND about the creation of a sustainable hotel
- Marc Traubel from HUBERTUS Mountain Refugio about his path to becoming a sustainable hotelier
- Daniel Ganzer from Naturhotel Outside about the feeling of managing a sustainable hotel
- Lukas Obendorfer from Birkenhof***** Spa & Genussresort about sustainability in a 5-star-hotel
- Dr. Andreas Färber from Klosterhof – Alpine Hideaway & Spa about the connection of health, hospitality, and sustainability
- Bonus: Suzann Heinemann from GreenSign about developing a sustainability certification for the hotel industry