Ruben Schuuring returns to hotel business and launches RBS Hotels

After years at the top of the international hotel industry and a successful stint as Associate Director Hotel Investments at Savills, Ruben Schuuring is bridging the gap between hotel real estate and operations. 

With the launch of RBS Hotels, he positions himself in the market as a party that realises synergy between bricks-and-mortar and service. A conversation about entrepreneurship, the transformation of Hotel Franq and building a unique hotel collection in the Benelux. 

In the practice of the hotel industry, there is often a gap. On one side operators and hoteliers, responsible for hospitality and service. On the other side owners and property investors, who steer for returns, EBITDA and ‘bricks and mortar’. Ruben Schuuring is one of the few who understands and speaks both languages fluently. 

With RBS Hotels, he introduces a thoroughly integrated vision, in which property value and guest experience structurally reinforce each other. The new organisation focuses on the operation and strategic management of high-quality boutique hotels (four-star plus) in the Benelux. 

Guest's language, owner's gaze 

“My career started on the inside, in the heart of the operation,” Schuuring says. That foundation was laid in Zwolle. “For a school paper, I approached Jonnie Boer of De Librije. He lectured that you get the best information from practice, not from pretty stories. The following weekend I was there as a dishwasher.” 

It was the beginning of an impressive CV that leads past prestigious names: from the pre-opening team of the Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam to operational leadership of F&B at the Hilton Amsterdam. Also as quality manager at Pillows Hotels and during international wanderings in Ghent and Curaçao, he learned the trade in the niche where success is in the smallest details. “In that kitchen in Zwolle, the love for the craft was born, but also the ambition,” says Schuuring. “I knew even then: one day I will build my own collection.” 

The move to Savills seemed a surprise to many, but for Schuuring it was pure strategy. “As a hotelier, I saw how potentially good concepts stranded because the connection with the real estate side was lacking,” he explains. “RBS Hotels was an ambition I only wanted to start if I could also look at the sector as a professional through the lens of owners and investors. As a hotel broker, I therefore mastered the laws of yield enhancement at the transaction table.” It is precisely this combination - the ability to guarantee high-quality service as well as having an eye for the underlying property - that makes his profile unique. 

Hotel Franq: vision in progress 

Anyone who thinks RBS Hotels is a consultancy firm is wrong; Schuuring is building his own carefully curated hotel collection. Its first achievement is Hotel Franq in Antwerp, where he is realising an integral repositioning on behalf of the owners. 

“For us, Franq is proof of the standard we set with the RBS collection,” Schuuring continues. “The hotel has the right ingredients: a historic building with a soul, situated in a prime location. The Dutch owners gave us the mandate for a transformation. We are restructuring the operation and implementing an international quality standard that protects and enhances the property's asset value. The project serves as the blueprint for RBS Hotels” modus operandi: modernising its operations with the aim of merging superior guest experience and optimal profitability." 

The niche of character property 

Schuuring is selective in his expansion; he focuses on the four-star-plus segment with a size up to about ninety rooms. In cities with a rich history that offer room for an authentic story. This translates directly to the target group: culture lovers and business travellers who shun the anonymity of the big chains and have a love of high-level hospitality and gastronomy. 

Especially in ‘secondary cities’ such as The Hague, Maastricht and Antwerp, Schuuring sees opportunities. “There you often still find characteristic, undervalued properties whose potential is not fully exploited. That's where we step in: to unlock the synergy between the property and high-quality exploitation. We look for promising projects that can be taken to the next level with a targeted strategy.” 

No superlatives, but results 

In an industry that often floats on perception and fleeting trends, Schuuring stands out for his pragmatic, process-based approach. “I don't believe in empty slogans; I steer by processes,” he states. “My experience as quality manager at Pillows Hotels taught me that quality has to be reproducible. Whether you are guiding a start-up or repositioning an existing hotel: operational discipline is the foundation.” 

His time at Savills has reinforced that no-nonsense attitude. For owners and investors, he is an interlocutor who understands that hospitality has an essential business component. He speaks the language of the boardroom as easily as that of top-level gastronomy. That is the strength he now brings to RBS Hotels. 

The future 

RBS Hotels' expansion operates at the intersection of operating acquisitions and strategic real estate investors. The next few years will be dominated by targeted collection construction, with RBS Hotels acting as both operator and 

strategic partner for owners and investors. The organisation is open to dialogue with potential partners who want to link the value development of their properties with the operational clout of operations. With Hotel Franq as living proof of this vision, the course has been set. 

“We are building something lasting,” concludes Schuuring. “A collection of beautiful hotels where hospitality is deeply rooted in the history of the property, but where operations are future-proof and razor-sharp. That's the synergy between bricks-and-mortar and service. That's RBS Hotels.”