From price lists to sustainable rate increases: Relais & Châteaux Landhaus Stricker & HotelPartner

At Relais & Châteaux Landhaus Stricker, the individual personality and well-being of staff and guests are paramount. For host and legendary chef Holger Bodendorf, the 5-star superior category and location on the prestigious island of Sylt are almost secondary. In an interview with our revenue management experts Karolin Grabbe and Robin Czullay, Holger Bodendorf explains how the focus on people is lived at Landhaus Stricker and what characterises the cooperation with HotelPartner.

Mr Bodendorf, what characterises Landhaus Stricker for you?

Holger Bodendorf: From the very beginning, our hotel has been characterised by the fact that we don’t aspire to be a typical luxury hotel. We are much more concerned with people, with our guests of course, but also – and this is very important – with our employees. We deliberately take a more relaxed approach to some things than other luxury hotels. But the most important thing for us is how we treat each other, as the interactions between guest and employee should be on an equal footing. We don’t want to tell our staff exactly how to behave with guests, but rather encourage them to be themselves. Those who laugh out loud and joke with guests are allowed to do so. Of course, introverts are encouraged to smile at guests occasionally, but we don’t want to dictate rules of behaviour or change the personalities of our staff.

This approach is indeed something special. And the destination itself – Sylt – must be something very special in itself?

Holger Bodendorf: That’s true, but I think that the cliché of the ‘rich and beautiful’ on Sylt no longer quite corresponds to reality. Sylt has developed as a destination and offers very high quality gastronomy outside the Michelin-starred restaurants as well as great, young, innovative hosts who have managed to create sensational quality in their establishments. In our hotel, for example, it is very important to me that there is no VIP status. Everyone who comes to Landhaus Stricker is always special.

To my knowledge, these many great hotels on the island are less than 12 per cent of the accommodation options. Most of them are apartments and there is a wide range of facilities and quality. There are countless beaches, 100 kilometres in total around the island. With so much to choose from, there’s something for everyone – and that’s what makes our beautiful island so special.

Thank you for these market insights! Now let’s take a quick look at the past: How did you handle your revenue management before working with HotelPartner and how did the cooperation come about?

Holger Bodendorf: Holger Bodendorf: I got to know HotelPartner about five years ago at Gut Steinbach through a hotelier friend and found the whole topic of revenue management very exciting. However, I didn’t know at the time whether it was something for the Landhaus, as we worked in a very structured way with fixed rates. But I’m a gut person, and I had a good gut feeling right away, so I entered into the partnership that very evening. As a small hotel, we are increasingly turning to external support in other areas, and we have had very good experiences with outsourcing – you just have to find the right partners.

For me personally, revenue management is a matter for the boss; I haven’t even tried to pass on the complex subject of revenue management to my staff. Instead, I talk shop with my contacts Karolin and Robin at HotelPartner, who I see more as members of my team anyway. I regularly give them my input from the frontline and we work together to optimise our strategies. It is very important to me that I remain involved even after handing over revenue management to HotelPartner. It is something I am very passionate about – after all, it has a direct impact on the bottom line and therefore on the long-term development and security of my hotel.

Very exciting! And how did the collaboration start, what were the first steps?

Robin Czullay: I remember the beginning very well, when Landhaus Stricker, like many others, had fixed seasonal prices. Even in the luxury segment, many hoteliers still work rigidly with price lists – many opportunities are missed, especially in the areas of revenue management, distribution and digital marketing. For Landhaus Stricker, we unlocked this potential and were able to significantly improve their positioning. As a result, we generated more bookings, including via Booking.com, Expedia, etc. The cooperation started in summer 2019, before the pandemic, and we tested the price elasticity of the few remaining rooms. We were able to achieve higher rates than before. This trend continued in the following years. It was an exciting process right from the start!

Holger Bodendorf: We hadn’t done much with OTAs before and suddenly we had much more visibility through these new distribution channels. We then turned our attention to search engine optimisation to generate more direct bookings.

This year we have completely redesigned our demand calendar. At the moment we have a real weather problem here on the island and have to pay more attention to the holiday periods. Many hotels are struggling at the moment because of the lack of sunshine. Fortunately, we at Landhaus Stricker have not been so badly affected, we have done well this year.

So the market on the island of Sylt is very much dependent on the weather. What else characterises it and how does Landhaus Stricker react to it?

Karolin Grabbe: Sylt is of course very popular during the holiday season, at weekends and on public holidays, and demand is high. It is important to balance this out well during the week and in the colder months of the year, so that we are also attractive at times when demand is lower

Robin Czullay: Before the pandemic, Sylt was doing well with its seasonal prices and there were a lot of advance bookings. During the pandemic, there was a pause for a while and only in the summer was there a strong upturn due to the huge domestic tourism. In 2023, the upturn slowed down again because many people went back to Portugal, Spain or Italy. It was not possible to achieve the same high rates as in 2021 / 2022. This year, the Landhaus Stricker took the opportunity of the renovation to introduce a leap in rates. Even though we lost some regulars, we were able to attract new guests and achieve the higher price level.

Holger Bodendorf: We have also noticed that we have fewer guests, especially in the restaurant, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Our aim is to offer even better quality with the same number of employees. This has worked well: We have been able to increase sales per head by 25 to 30 per cent because the staff have much more time to look after the guests.

What are some of the biggest successes you have achieved together?

Holger Bodendorf: Without HotelPartner’s support, we would never have got to where we are now.

We would never have dared to raise prices to the extent we did, and we have learned to deal with the OTAs in a completely different way, which has given us a very good rate structure. What I am really pleased about is that we are at 62-64 per cent online bookings. That leaves maybe four enquiries a day from guests who call us. As a result, the front desk is no longer a sales office, but can focus on guest relations to make the guest’s stay at the hotel more enjoyable. This in turn promotes sales in the restaurant and the sale of amenities or, in our case, art exhibitions.

Karolin Grabbe: We have gradually improved, tried different things and built on our successes. For example, spring was very good, although it is often difficult when it is still so cold. We have the same goal for the end of this year and the beginning of next year.

That sounds like a very positive development. Finally, a few words about the collaboration: how would you describe it?

Karolin Grabbe: For me it’s quite simple: I really appreciate the fact that Holger addresses his concerns and positive feedback directly and generally communicates a lot with us. This means that we are always up to date with the status of operations and can always find potential for optimisation. This direct, open and honest communication also has the advantage that we are all pushing in the same direction, which makes our work much easier.

Robin Czullay: I also really appreciate the fact that Holger is so open. Especially in the luxury hotel industry on Sylt, many people keep a low profile and are cautious about innovation. Landhaus Stricker is very different and welcomes new developments with open arms. This gives us the freedom to test our ideas very easily and quickly and to see whether something works or not.

Holger Bodendorf: Working with Robin and Karolin is great fun. I am aware that I demand a lot, which in turn meant a lot of work for the both of them, especially at the beginning, but we have achieved very good results together. What I particularly appreciate about Karolin is that she is always looking for ways to improve. Thank you for the excellent cooperation!

A perfect conclusion. Many thanks to Holger Bodendorf, Robin Czullay and Karolin Grabbe for the detailed insight into the cooperation between Landhaus Stricker and HotelPartner Revenue Management. We look forward to supporting the Landhaus on its future journey!