Crowdfunding for boutique hotels: the Amberlair project
BHN talks to Kristin Lindenberg and Marcus Orbe, the founders of crowdsourced boutique hotel initiative Amberlair.
• Please tell about yourselves and your
backgrounds.
KL: "My background has been in the tourism industry, ever since my
joint Masters in tourism management, urban development and
geography. I have also been a freelance travel writer and an
in-house reviewer for the TUI group, where my responsibilities
included travelling around the world, evaluating destinations and
assessing hotels."
MO: "I have put my joint MBA and industrial engineering Masters
degree to good use in the more nitty-gritty part of travel - the
airline business. I have worked for Lufthansa for three years,
before joining Airbus, where I progressed to a senior strategic
planning role on the implementation of the Airbus A380. In 2010, we
decided it was time to make a significant change in our lives, so
we quit our nine-to-five jobs and started travelling the world
together. We felt that wanderlust that so many people feel, and we
wanted to explore the world. So we set off on a tour of more than
40 countries across the globe, and that was when our idea for the
world's first crowdsourced boutique hotel began to take
shape."
• Can you explain the concept for Amberlair - how did you
come up with the idea and how does it work?
MO: "Before launching the concept of Amberlair, which will be the
world's first crowdsourced boutique hotel, we used our long-term
travel experience - of over 600 days - looking for the best
boutique hotels around the world with a view of understanding what
works and what doesn't. We discovered that there are plenty of
other well-travelled people out there who share our passion for
small, authentic hotels in inspiring locations, and Amberlair's
crowdsourcing process is tapping into that global enthusiasm.
Through crowdsourcing and crowdfunding, our future guests will be
involved from the very beginning, not only financially but also
creatively. And that is very exciting."
KL: "We have been building and fostering our community for almost
two years now, and these people, who we call #boholovers (or
boutique hotel lovers), will have the chance to put their heart
into the process of designing the perfect boutique hotel. We
actually crowdsourced our name first - asked people to suggest two
words that would sum up our ambitions: amber, which is a unique
fossilised raisin and lair, which translates as a 'cosy
refuge'."
MO: "The great ideas and suggestions we have already received from
travellers and boutique hotel lovers around the world demonstrate
what our future guests want and - and don't want - in a hotel or
travel experience. And we won't stop collecting great ideas that
will shape our concept as long as Amberlair exists. Crowdsourcing
will always be one of the key drivers of Amberlair. This is really
at the heart of our hotel concept."
KL: "After a voting process and shortlist, our #bohoLover
community voted for Italy, as the location of the world's first
Amberlair. And Puglia in Italy is where we will set the roots for
our first property. We're excited because we love Italy, and we
think it has potential for a truly unique boutique hotel in an
incredible location."
MO: "Our community has already shared a lot of their ideas and
experiences with us, but there will be more. The next step will be
our crowdfunding campaign, where those who are really on board with
the concept and the project have the chance to invest in our
company. This will happen mid 2017, so do keep an eye out and watch
this space."
• What sort of investors are you attracting with your
crowdsourcing? Is there a typical Amberlair
investor?
MO: "There are so many compromises involved with mainstream
investment and, in all honesty, we don't want to give up the power
to corporate investors. We would really like to attract investors
who have disposable income, love to travel the world, enjoy unique
experiences and have, or want to have, a personal relationship with
Amberlair."
KL: "By inviting Amberlair's online travel community to invest in
Amberlair, we'll make sure that it's the guest experience that is
always the driving force in decisions. The investors will come from
around the world, in all shapes and sizes - and our financial
proposition is sound and interesting. But I would love to think
that we can offer a bit more than just another investment."
• What are the main benefits for investors?
MO: "Investors get to enjoy the journey of the hotel development.
Investors will be kept abreast of the activities, progress and
challenges that a hotel developer would normally experience. We
will provide regular updates on the development journey, and will
use the latest technology to do so, be that live cameras and/or
broadcasts. Investors will also be able to enjoy the value
appreciation of a hotel investment. Getting in early, the value of
the hotel will increase once it is open and operational and
achieves a stabilised performance level, which normally takes about
three years. Lastly, we will have a program of incentives for
investors that will make them eligible for room rate discounts,
upgrades and/or other benefits."
• Your first property is going to be in Italy - can you
tell us about it in terms of sourcing, location, purchasing,
renovation and opening etc?
KL: "Following the first round of location nominations, South
Africa, Italy and Spain were the most suggested countries, which we
shortlisted and put to a vote. Our community voted for Italy! We
packed our bags and literally travelled around Italy with the
objective of understanding what was on offer and which regions
would be most interesting - and in need of a hotel concept like
ours. We fell in love with Puglia. It is an unspoilt and untouched
area with beautiful beaches and vineyards. In the last years,
tourism in the region has had respectable growth rates.
"We found a beautiful villa from 1902, that we would love to turn
into Amberlair's first location in southern Italy. Once the
crowdfunding campaign is finished, we will start the renovation as
soon as possible. It is still very early days, but we can say that
the opening is probably going to happen before 2020."
• How do you envisage the future roll out plans, both in
terms of numbers and locations?
MO: "Our goal is to expand into various locations around the
world, but first and foremost, our goal is to focus on the first
location and make it a true commercial success. Given our base in
Europe, it makes sense to concentrate our efforts here during our
initial years. However, as we are a crowdsourced boutique hotel
brand, we will listen to our strong community - our boutique hotel
lovers - when considering new locations."
• Where do you see the Amberlair project in 10 years
time?
KO: "We'd love to continue with our concept and roll-out the idea
to other countries and open Amberlair boutique hotels in every
great destination that lacks a pretty awesome boutique hotel. Well,
we have ideas, but really it is up to the crowd! The crowd needs to
support our development and our hotels as and when they open. The
world really is our oyster."