Looking positively to the 2021 travel year - Interview with Marion Muller from Lifestylehotel SAND
In our Green Pearls® newsletters, we write about hotels and destinations, and their green initiatives. With a great deal of personal commitment, Green Pearls® hoteliers work day in and day out for more sustainability in tourism and continue to inspire us, even in the midst of a pandemic.
Marion Muller and her husband Lambertus have been running the Lifestylehotel SAND at Timmendorfer Beach on the Baltic Sea since 1995. We spoke with Marion Muller about the current pandemic situation. The hostess sees the crisis as an exciting challenge and looks positively into the future.
How do you stay positive despite the crisis? What gives you inspiration and motivation at the moment? How do you motivate your team?
As an independent entrepreneur, I am used to reacting quickly to changes and developing and implementing new ideas. The pandemic means an exciting challenge for us and our SANDteam, it has forced us to rethink processes in the hotel and turn them upside down. This is in line with our concept of progress instead of standstill.
In the current situation, I increasingly realize that our concept and the hotel, located close to the beach and nature on the Baltic Sea, are fit for the future. Moreover, we can react flexibly and quickly to changes. This motivates me, in particular, to continue on the path we have chosen.
The future viability of the hotel and the opportunity to develop and contribute through our team workshops are currently motivating our employees as well.
We have positioned ourselves positively both mentally and verbally in this situation and transformed the feeling of crisis into a feeling of togetherness.
What does your daily work routine currently look like / What kind of (daily) work is involved in a closed hotel?
Personally, I am currently spending the majority of time in my home office and am devoting more time to making us marketable as a hotel in the future (beyond the virus). This includes, for example, developing our image in the areas of lifestyle and sustainability as well as the optimization of our sales and communication channels.
Currently, our management, Yvonne Bork and Sarah Speckels, as well as six employees are on-site at SAND and working on optimizing sales for 2021 and 2022, advancing digitalization, guest communication, and repairing and refreshing the rooms. In addition, our CI and sustainability goals are discussed in workshops, as well as in staff interviews, and team building activities.
What innovations can the guests look forward to? What other projects are you planning for this year?
Guests can look forward to the most carefree time possible and of course, a motivated team. We are using the time to advance staff development and promote individual talents.
In these times, service, and contact with our guests are particularly important to us. We digitize where possible while still remaining there personally for the guests: contactless yes - heartless no.
We are also working on new projects in the culinary field. For example, we are in the process of setting up a herb garden. For our bistro, we are working on new homemade specialties. We are also planning monthly changing cocktails with our own recipes. Our choice of suppliers is becoming even more regional; we attach great importance to organic products and short transport routes. The kitchen acts according to the motto consume, recycle and only then throw away. For our breakfast, we combine the advantages of a buffet with the zero-waste idea. Portions are replenished according to need and prepared according to taste in our Front Cooking Station for each guest.
What do you miss most in this "compulsory break"?
As an independent entrepreneur, it is a completely new experience for me to be "forbidden" from earning money. We want to make our SANDwelt accessible again. Up till now, we have gladly taken on responsibility for society and used the enforced break to optimize our hygiene concept even further. But now we are more than ready and are excited to host again. I miss the inspiring, personal exchange with guests, suppliers, bloggers, and colleagues, and the resulting ideas.
What sustainable goals do you have for your hotel?
In 2016, we announced sustainability as a guiding principle in the Declaration of Conformity within the framework of the Sustainability Code and are currently in the process of updating it with our consultant Dr. Meves and developing the implementation levels, and making them measurable. We integrate the three dimensions of sustainability environment/ocean, economy/corporate action, and society/social responsibility through a holistic management approach.
Do you think Corona leads to a rethinking of people's (travel) behavior?
I believe that the Corona era will take us away from over-tourism. It will be more about quality rather than quantity. Destinations will have the chance to regain their authenticity and tourists will learn to appreciate finding offers that are typical for the region instead of the one-size-fits-all mass tourism that copies the comforts of home. I think that travel will be planned more consciously again and turn away from the trend of "higher, bigger, further".
What do you hope for this (travel) year?
I hope that the current "little- to no-tourism" will stop by Easter and that in the long run, we will be able to find a balance to allow mindful and responsible holidays to take place. The trend towards individual small events will allow us and nature to relax, which has been needed for a long time. Access to nature will become a precious commodity. I see the conscious use of nature and our resources as an opportunity for sustainable tourism in our region.