Kempinski Hotels Gets Creative to Stay in Touch with Guests; Drive Revenue

Despite the currently limited travel and contact opportunities, Kempinski Hotels said in a recent press release that it remains in close contact with their valued guests and have initiated creative actions in recent weeks to provide a high level of service – albeit somewhat different from ‘normal times’. In addition to numerous charity campaigns and donations of medical supplies, the hotel teams around the globe have put business ideas into practice, ranging from takeaway apps and virtual real-time hotel tours to an online wedding salon.

According to the company, one of the strengths of Kempinski Hotels is its culinary expertise. The Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Center has capitalized on this by developing its own bilingual takeaway and delivery app, which appeals not only to locals but also to the surrounding embassies and a large number of expats living in Beijing. Popular here were, among others, the hearty dishes from its in-house Paulaner Bräuhaus. At peak times, the luxury hotel baked up to 300 cakes in its patisserie, including 200 Black Forest cherry cakes per day, and delivered them to customers.

Meanwhile, the Kempinski Hotel Muscat in Oman set up a "drive-thru" window at the hotel for food pick-up and the Kempinski Hotel Frankfurt Gravenbruch was able to establish a Drive-in Ice Cream Boutique, selling its homemade ice creams, including a delicious seasonal one made from asparagus. On the first day more than 200 cars pulled up in front of the hotel. Additionally, Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin has been working in close collaboration with the institution Too Good To Go and offers Adlon classics at reduced prices on its ‘We care’ app.

But the Kempinski teams were also inventive in completely different areas: customers who are, for example, interested in future events at Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest are guided on a virtual tour by a member of staff in real time via a selfie-stick camera through all facilities in order to get a better picture of the entire hotel. Kempinski Hotel Huizhou in China hosted an online wedding salon, where wedding planners and providers of various wedding services could contact potential customers and future couples via a live connection from one of the hotel ballrooms and present their offers and tips. More than 5,300 viewers were online during this event, and numerous requests for weddings at the hotel resulted from this successful campaign.

Thanks to social media, numerous Kempinski hotels have managed to stay in close contact with their followers and loyal guests. Initiatives range from a meditation course at The Apurva Kempinski Bali in Indonesia, where the resort’s wellness expert guides guests through a simple meditation to release tensions, to an online tutorial at Grand Hotel Kempinski Riga, which focuses on a daily make-up removal and care ritual under the guidance of the hotel spa manager. Online fitness courses, cooking tips from top chefs and yoga exercises round off the wide range of offers.

‘Our hotel colleagues are extremely active and creative in implementing new business ideas and staying in touch with our valued guests,’ said Amanda Elder, Chief Commercial Officer and Member of the Executive Board of Kempinski Hotels. ‘The hotel teams are showing tremendous entrepreneurial spirit and, in addition to the current initiatives, are already working intensively on strategies for the post-crisis period.’

In the Russian Kempinski hotels, which are still open, a choice of ‘staycations’ are available – hotel stays in one’s own city, which offer guests a change from home in their immediate vicinity. One such Russian Kempinski hotel, Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow, offers luxury rooms and suites with a view of Red Square at a 50% discount through its ‘Island of Serenity’ package, which includes yoga mats, fitness equipment, healthy drinks and room service around the clock under the strictest hygienic conditions.