‘Hotels are there for local residents too’

Not just filling rooms, but also building connections

Anyone walking into a hotel tends to expect a lobby full of wheeled suitcases, international guests and a receptionist asking for a passport or booking reference. But what if that same hotel also became a place for local residents? For a coffee after walking the dog, a local exhibition, a Portuguese evening or even a neighbourhood get-together? That is precisely the idea behind Buurthotel, the initiative that aims to reconnect hotels with their immediate surroundings.

Behind the concept is co-founder Laura Viaene, who recently also ranked 44th in the Hotel Influencers 100. This is remarkable, as hospitality was certainly not her natural habitat. The Belgian studied clinical psychology and health promotion in Ghent and worked in the social sector for many years. In Amsterdam, she ran a charity that made fruit and vegetables from local farmers available at low prices to people on a tight budget. “I realised in clinical psychology that things were moving too slowly for me,” she explains. “You help people one by one. I wanted to explore how you can motivate or support larger groups of people.”

It was through the creative agency D/DOCK that she came across the idea of the Buurthotel. Architect and D/DOCK partner Thomas van Leeuwen noticed how residents in Amsterdam were becoming increasingly critical of tourism and hotels. According to Viaene, the complaint was often the same: “Hotels reap the benefits of tourism, whilst we bear the burden.” “Hotels were often keen to do something, but simply didn’t know the neighbourhood well enough. That’s where we wanted to build a bridge.”

Social cohesion

Buurthotel therefore aims to literally open up hotels to the local community. Not just as a commercial place to stay, but as a community facility. The initiative focuses explicitly on social cohesion, fostering connections within the city, and utilising existing spaces to address social issues. “How can you make a difference to a neighbourhood using the facilities that are already there?” says Viaene. “That’s about loneliness, social interaction, but sometimes also about poverty or employment.”

That may sound idealistic, but Buurthotel is explicitly not trying to be a charity project. “We encourage every hotel to highlight its role in the local community, which is why hotels can be listed on the platform free of charge,” says Viaene. “If hotels also want support in terms of advice, concept development and promotion, they can opt for a paid membership costing 1,500 euros a year.” In addition, Buurthotel also collaborates with local authorities, trade associations and partners who contribute to the initiative through grants, media coverage or in-kind support. According to Viaene, the initiative must also be financially attractive to hotels. “Hotels are going through a turbulent period, with staff shortages, VAT increases and rising costs. In such circumstances, you also need to look at local target groups and additional revenue streams.”

And it turns out there really are. For example, following a campaign by Buurthotel, Pestana Amsterdam Riverside saw interest from the local community increase. The hotel organised Portuguese evenings with special dishes and live music, whilst at the same time offering last-minute stays at a substantial discount to local residents. “We really noticed that residents were booking rooms for anniversaries or family visits,” says Viaene. “And once people have been in, they come back later for a coffee or dinner.”

She also cites hotels such as Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam and The July Boat & Co as examples of hotels that have been strongly focused on the neighbourhood right from the design stage. “At Hotel Jakarta, you can see that the bakery has really taken on a community role. And at The July Boat & Co, many people are more familiar with the Vessel restaurant than with the hotel itself.”

Not a marketing tool

However, the initiative goes beyond the hospitality and events sectors. Buurthotel is also investigating whether local residents can be helped to find work in hotels more easily. In addition, it collaborates with educational institutions such as the Maastricht Hotel School, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, The Hague Hotel School and Erasmus University College Brussels. For example, students are helping with environmental analyses and investigating how the concept might work in different cities.

One important lesson we’ve learnt by now is that not every hotel is automatically a Buurthotel. Viaene soon realised that some hotels mainly wanted to use the concept as a marketing tool. “We had hotels that thought: a five per cent discount on a meeting room and that’s it. We didn’t want to go along with that.” Hotels must therefore organise at least one neighbourhood activity and open up at least one facility to the local community. Hotels that didn’t do enough in this regard were temporarily removed from the platform. “Otherwise, you become a sort of ”social washing’ platform.”

Creativity is at least as important. According to Viaene, many hotels still think too much from the traditional hotel perspective. “They mainly look at what they already have: a hotel package, a special offer, a discount on a room. But local residents don’t just walk into a hotel for a discount alone.” That is why Buurthotel organises so-called ‘Think like a local’ sessions, in which hotels learn to think from the perspective of local residents. In addition, Buurthotel actively seeks input from the neighbourhood itself, after which targeted matches are made between local initiatives and hotels – ranging from yoga instructors and personal trainers to mindfulness sessions, neighbourhood get-togethers and voluntary organisations.

International

She has now also noticed that interest is growing outside Amsterdam. Rotterdam has joined the scheme, Maastricht is exploring the possibilities, and cities such as Barcelona, Berlin and various Belgian cities have also got in touch via the international website Hotels for Locals. From June, Viaene herself will be moving to Brussels to further develop the Belgian expansion. “Belgium feels like the logical next step,” she says. “That’s where my roots lie, and at the same time I see plenty of opportunities there too.”

Viaene is not yet ready to say whether Buurthotel will actually provide a solution to overtourism. The initiative has not been running long enough for that. She does, however, notice that residents“ attitudes towards hotels are changing. ”People are increasingly realising: hey, I can just pop in here too. Hotels are there for local residents too.”