Insights from Philip Ibrahim

<div class="article_quote"><div class="article_quote_contain"><div class="article_quote_quote">"Digitization is about freeing staff from monotonous tasks. This gives them more time to spend with guests."</div><div class="article_quote_name u-text-style-main">Philip Ibrahim</div></div></div>

Philip Ibrahim has been the general manager of The Student Hotel Berlin since October 2019. In the first part of the interview, Ibrahim provides insights into The Student Hotel brand, the special location of Berlin, and his experience of managing a "small" group hotel in contrast to his previous positions. He also comments on the current exceptional situation.

In the second part of the interview, the "coolest GM in town" (more about this title in part one) focuses on the topics of digitalization in the hotel industry and online marketing, especially the role of user-generated content. In addition, the well-traveled general manager talks about hotel concepts that he finds particularly exciting.

<h3 class="interview-question">What does "digitalization" mean to you in the hotel industry? What opportunities and risks do you see?</h3>
In a smaller hotel, the risk is of course always greater than in a larger one, where you can absorb costs and errors better. However, I believe that we have to try everything that fits our scope and makes sense for us. That's why I'm happy that I was able to test a lot at Accor and that I can continue to do so at The Student Hotel. Here, a lot of things are done through the app that the students use: Bluetooth control of the bicycles, availability of the washing machines and dryers, defect reports from the rooms. I think it's great, and the rest of the hotel industry won't be able to ignore it either.The fear is usually that it's about saving staff. In reality, it's about freeing staff from monotonous tasks. This gives them more time to interact with guests.

<h3 class="interview-question">How many people do you employ in marketing/online marketing & communications? Is there one person in charge of the digital strategy?</h3>
The Student Hotel has a central leadership in this area. We are the first hotel in Germany and would like to have more influence, especially with social media. The brand is already better known in Holland, where more is done centrally. This means that I have my team of 35 people here at the hotel who are familiar with the various social media channels, such as Instagram or TikTok, and can contribute to the creation of content. We also have a core team that looks at social media and content and provides the content. I support my colleagues, but I don't have to do as much as I used to at Accor. We've come up with a general strategy, a general content fill, and where possible we work with agencies.

Hotel Trends and Personal Inspirations

<div class="article_quote"><div class="article_quote_contain"><div class="article_quote_quote">"And that makes all the difference: you can be a top host, but if you're busy filling out sign-in sheets all day, it's going to be debilitating. If you can digitize those processes, there are a lot of opportunities."</div><div class="article_quote_name u-text-style-main">Philip Ibrahim</div></div></div>

<h3 class="interview-question">Do influencers matter for marketing and sales?</h3>
Not yet. User-generated content is very important to us. That's because this is a real "Instagram hotel" where you can take beautiful photos at every turn. But we definitely need to do more, especially in the food and beverage area. I would like to separate the hotel from the restaurant. For the restaurant, I can work with regional influencers. I need people who are from the region, who know about food and beverage, and who will share content about our restaurant.

<h3 class="interview-question">When we talk about new and outstanding hotel concepts around the world, what are the first projects that come to your mind?</h3>
However, I don't see any comparable hotel concepts of this size on an international level. But I am looking forward to what is to come. Of course, there are countless hotel concepts, from small to large, that I find fascinating. In terms of corporate brands, I'm excited to see what my favorite brand Mama Shelter is up to, I always like to check out 25hours, and I can't wait for Jo & Joe to open in Vienna. So inevitably a lot of Accor. For me, these are the brands that have their finger on the pulse at the moment. Everything else remains interchangeable, not in a bad way. Because 80 percent of the business is generated with this broad mass, so we still need hotels that serve this mass.

The absolute favorite experience I've ever had was with Accor in Bangkok at the Sofitel, because I felt so strongly about the "service delivery" factor there, in terms of what they made possible for us as guests. To this day, that is the benchmark of hospitality for me. Because of my background at The Student Hotel, I always try to look at what others are doing in the same segment. For example, there's the Volkshotel across the street from our flagship in Amsterdam.

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<h3 class="interview-question">Is there someone in tourism (or any other industry) that you have always wanted to meet? Why and what would be your main question to this person?</h3>
This is a very exciting question for me. In tourism, people know each other more or less, so I have already had the pleasure of meeting some personalities. Otherwise, I am impressed by all the great athletes. My big idol is Muhammad Ali, I would have loved to meet him. I got an original autograph from him for my fortieth birthday, from the year I was born. I would also love to meet Colin Kaepernick. One of the best quarterbacks in the world, he took a knee in protest during the playing of the national anthem in the NFL as a political statement. It ended his career at the age of 28. I wanted to ask him about his feelings about failure.

Continue to part 1.