The team met with Edwin van der Meijde, Owner, Suitehotel Pincoffs at his beautiful hotel in Rotterdam. This award-winning boutique hotel is located in a national monument from 1879 on the riverbank, in the heart of the city. It was great to learn about Edwin's experience within the hospitality industry as well as how his previous experience as a journalist has influenced this and helps create the unique guest experience at Suitehotel Pincoffs. 

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Tell us about yourself and your experience in the hospitality industry.

I didn’t have any experience in the hospitality industry before setting up our hotel, I was a journalist for 20 years, travelling around the world which led to the inspiration behind opening Suite Hotel Pincoffs. It had always been a dream for me and my wife to set up a hotel and in 2006 we began the plannings, we wanted to create a hotel made by guests. I think that is why we are unique because we always put the guests first under any circumstances. For 14 years now we have been the number one hotel in Rotterdam on TripAdvisor and have a general rating of 9+.

What made you choose to pursue a new career in the hotel sector?

Ready for a change I wanted to do something in the hotel or restaurant business as it was completely different to what I had done previously. It was obligatory in Holland to have a hospitality diploma to set up your own business, so I secured that when I was still a journalist to make sure I had a backup option should I want to change careers.

I kept small notebooks with me throughout my travels with my job and would write down my likes and dislikes about where I stayed. When you spend more than 40 days in a country, like I did when I had the chance to write about big sports tournaments such as the Olympics and Tour de France, you hop from hotel to hotel. This meant I had a lot of experience being a hotel guest. This knowledge helped me build the foundations to creating this hotel, we merged everything that we wanted when travelling. Somewhere cosy and entertaining, but without any failures such as a dripping shower or an uncomfortable bed. We wanted to create a hotel that is affordable and where everyone can be comfortable and feel welcomed.

What is your favourite part of your job?

In the first few years it was creating the hotel and making our vision come to life. Since then, I have found joy in the dynamic process of implementing and quickly addressing any challenges that arise. Operating a hotel is often challenging but I enjoy the constant adaptation and continuous improvement necessary to enhance the guest experience.

How would you describe the hotel and the concept behind it to someone that is not familiar with the hotel?

Suite Hotel Pincoffs is an incredibly small hotel with only 17 rooms, however our skills with our marketing strategy and the free publicity the hotel has received over the years has ensured the hotel has not been noticed for the personal attention to detail and guest experience not by the number of rooms we hold. We are a typical boutique hotel, and we are not just about filling rooms; we wish to make the experience special for all our guests and make sure they always leave our hotel with a smile.

What does a great customer experience look like at your hotel and what do you think makes it unique?

When we first secured the building, it wasn’t in a very good condition. We had the opportunity to create the hotel we had dreamed about, off course together with the experienced architect company WDJ Architects.  I put my experience as a journalist into the hotel and everything I would want as a guest. As a journalist it was essential to have internet and power wherever I visited for my computer, so that was necessary, and a non-negotiable was that Wi-Fi must be free for our guests, which when we opened in 2008 was not common for hotels, we were the first hotel in Rotterdam to offer free internet connection.

I am a coffee lover and so I wanted to make sure that every room had ‘real’ coffee from well-made machines. Every room also gets a sounds station, although this cost us a lot it is worth it as every guest enjoys using it and it sets us apart from other hotels.

At Suite Hotel Pincoffs we do not have a reception desk, we have an open table which is very informal. We want our guests to feel welcome and be greeted openly with a smile every time they arrive. Our bar is an open space where people can feel relaxed and have a drink, but they can also relax in here without buying anything from the bar, once again very informal. All our rooms are big and spacious, with large windows making it bright which we played on with the decorating as wanted to keep the space feeling open.

If our guests have a wish, they just need to tell us and we will grant it, no request is too big. Our aim was to have a personal hotel, informal and warm but with good additional services. We are constantly developing to ensure our guests have the best experience with us.

How do you approach the issue of sustainability?

Everything we do at our hotel reflects our own lifestyle choices. We choose to buy organic meat personally, so why wouldn’t we also serve that at the breakfast here? Although it is a lot more expensive, we want to feed our guests food we would eat ourselves. It is the same with the wine, there is no wine in the bar that I wouldn’t drink myself, we always love the wine we serve our guests. Although it is not the most financially efficient option, it is what we love. In 2008 when we opened the hotel, we launched our own sparkling wine from Germany that our guests can enjoy doing their stay here and buy and take home with them.

It was always our aim to be a sustainable hotel but when we started it was hard to do as it wasn’t such a talked about topic. We are transforming our hotel to be as sustainable as possible. We have 52 windows that were singled glazed glass, we have changed them to double so they are more energy efficient. This wasn’t an easy task as the building is a historical monument, but we persevered. The original doors were not fire safety compliant, instead of disposing of the wood we re-used it to create other things for the hotel such as a desk, bed or wardrobe. One of our Suite’s is completely refurbished using reused materials, which both the New York Times and The Guardian wrote about it as it was completely new for its time.

In 2010 we were certified with Green Key Gold Level, and from that point on we have always looked at news ways to be sustainable. It is driven by our heart not by numbers as we want to be a sustainable hotel and are the most sustainable hotel in Rotterdam.

What piece of advice would you give someone choosing to go into a career in hospitality or the hotel sector?

Follow your heart. When we were starting plans for our hotel, we reached out to experienced people within the industry and they were very negative, saying that it would not work as 17 rooms were not enough to build a business on. You must be able to find your own solutions which I think begins with following your heart.

How does your hotel tailor its services to meet individual preferences?

About 70% of our guest’s book through our website or by phone so we have strong communication with them before their stay. We offer them packages and recommendations for our favourite restaurants, they just need to mention something they would like, and we will ensure it happens.

In terms of the guest’s journey, we try to keep constant contact until they check in and all our rooms have a tablet in, allowing them to order anything or request anything at any time with the touch of a button.

What’s the greatest piece of business advice or any advice that you've ever received that always sticks with you?

A former director from a hotel bedding company always said to me, to start your own company you will have to be proud like a peacock, but also slender as a dove when the time calls. Meaning, you can be playful and proud but if the times get rough sometimes you need to be mobile and able to adapt. This is something I have always kept with me.

If your hotel had a theme song what would it be?

When we first set up the hotel, it was documented on national television for 43 weeks and there was a soap series of the creation. My favourite song was played in this show as a coincidence and I feel it reflects Suite Hotel Pincoffs well, Meravigliosa Creatura by Gianna Nannini. It is about a relationship with a beautiful creature.