Bygone are the times when hospitality meant just bed and breakfast. Today, the most human-centric industry covers all aspects of how we live, work, dine, socialise and entertain ourselves and others. Step into a retail outlet or a mall and get straight into collaborative social spaces for work, meetings and networking. Enter the lobby of a hotel and shop at pop-up stores and explore a hand-picked selection of retail flagship stores and local brands that bring footfall at all times of the day. Arrange a meeting space with break out areas – a solution classical meeting room floors no longer are suited for.

How to repurpose space with the guest experience and the owner's return at the forefront of an operator's innovation when optimising space from both – experiential and revenue perspective? Is innovation alone sufficient for such re-imagined spaces aimed to curate a destination with a longer lifecycle that supports the community around and connects it to international travellers and nomad workers.

Unequivocally, the answer is to be found in the discussion between Nicolas Mayer, Global Hospitality and Tourism Leader, PwC Middle East and Marloes Knippenberg, CEO of Kerten Hospitality - a mixed-use, ESG and lifestyle operator that has been building a pipeline with a purpose for over 6 years.

Innovation is critical in building places to sleep, eat, meet, collaborate, socialise and work. forming areas within the building can be optimised from a revenue and income perspective. How these connect together, deliver value and build destinations with a purpose, in the latest episode of Insiders with some game-changing and future-focused ideas for owners, investors, operators and the whole Ecosystem.

About Kerten Hospitality

Kerten Hospitality (KH) is a mixed-use sustainable and responsible lifestyle operator managing and operating hotels, branded residences, serviced apartments, workspaces and business hubs and clubs under its 100% own and developed brands. KH transforms destinations through impactful collaborations both with our own and other branded Food & Beverage, Retail, Entertainment, Art and Wellness brands with a focus on building Ecosystems, and unique community-centric destinations, that connect International & local travelers.

A division of Kerten, an Ireland-headquartered investment vehicle, KH manages a portfolio of 11 owned brands including: Cloud7 Hotel and Residence, The House Hotel and Residence, Ouspace – a collaborative Social Hub and serviced offices concept. KH has a suite of in-house designed and operated Food & Beverage offerings and employs and collaborates with world renowned Michelin chefs to up and coming local foodpreneurs.

The current pipeline includes 35 projects from Eco-Luxury Resorts in the UAE, to Art Hotels including residencies in Georgia curated by the curators of the Louvre AbuDhabi, Urban City Centre Destinations in Italy, extension of the Cloud 7 Residence Ayla Aqaba success with an experience hotel & hub in Jordan, a Suite-only project in Kuwait, Leisure, Business, and Meeting Mixed-Use in the first Sustainable destinations in the most prestigious developments in the Egyptian North Coast, to name a few, with many further projects in Europe, Middle East and North Africa.

Velina Nacheva
Head of Communications
Kerten Hospitality