Introducing MM:NT Berlin Lab: The Innovative Hospitality Lab Letting Guests Shape Their Stay
BERLIN: The launch of MM:NT Berlin Lab marks a pioneering move by award-winning apartment hotel operator, Adina Hotels Europe – owned and operated by Australia’s International Hotel Group, TFE Hotels.
MM:NT Berlin Lab, an ever-evolving mini hotel laboratory, will operate in an on-going beta mode, continually gathering feedback from guests to redefine stays and enable TFE to reshape hospitality products in the future.
According to TFE Hotels’ CEO, Antony Ritch, this innovative and agile approach to hotel development is set to be extremely beneficial for the evolution of new brands and hospitality experiences and will assist TFE in bringing them to market quicker than a traditional hotel build.
To bring MM:NT Berlin Lab to life, Adina Hotels in Europe has partnered with Häfele, Germany’s leading supplier of architectural hardware systems, furniture fittings, electronic access control and LED lighting, to combine their core respective strengths in technology and hospitality to set new standards in space-efficiency.
Together, the MM:NT Berlin Lab team is currently conducting a two-month experiment where guests are invited to stay for free and provide real-time qualitative feedback of the hotel design, public spaces, and overall experience. This fresh new approach to hospitality development with its agile learning process, allows the hotel design experience to adapt and shift to travel trends and customer needs and wants. To tap into Gen Z and Millennial travellers, MM:NT Berlin Lab took to social media to recruit these first-in guests.
The trial will see recruited guests test out six different rooms, all with their own unique design approach spanning the look and feel, storage solutions, room flow and bathroom styles. The beta hotel also enables TFE Hotels, together with Häfele, to refine and alter MM:NT Berlin lab offering and guest experience in real-time with real guests - something not usually possible when opening a hotel.
Six stylish yet minimalist room designs, small footprint, and thoughtful use of sustainable materials deliver on ¬ delivers cost, space, and energy efficiency. And, through rigorous testing, MM:NT Berlin Lab has removed the clutter and instead focused on those all-important essentials for today’s modern traveller - low-key, high-style spaces that mix thoughtful design, with smart storage. Put simply, it’s a considered touch, with comfort and convenience in equal measure.
Driving their mission is a desire to create consciously crafted hotels the materials used are already in re-use, return or recycle phase. The Berlin Lab will operate with a self-serve model, providing easy-to-use in-room digital functions. A concierge web based mobile app enhances the overall guest experience, allowing guests to check-in, check-out, open spaces, access shared amenities and communicate with staff. What’s more, mindful of its digital footprint, MM:NT’s website and app are run entirely on green energy. Off-line, this progressive mindset is also highlighted by The Hub, a communal space at MM:NT Berlin Lab that allows guests to have food, groceries and laundry securely delivered.
Adina Europe’s Chief Executive Officer, Asli Kutlucan, said the MM:NT Berlin Lab existed to test market reactions to new ideas and innovations.
“Our theory is there’s a cohort of Gen Z and Millennial travellers in particular that are open to new ways of interacting with hotel services,” she said. “We’re therefore using the lab to explore various hotel interfaces to see how we can adapt to changing behaviours and demands. Berlin is the ideal location for our beta hotel as it attracts the culturally curious and is a mecca for change-makers and creative minds.”
Adina’s Senior Director of Development Adina Europe, Matthias Niemeyer, added the lab was about focusing on the small ‘moments’ in time and had been developed in direct response to the changing travel, living, and working habits of post-pandemic travellers.
“Over the past few years, in collaboration with our Lab partner, Häfele and its specialists from Häfele Hospitality solutions, and designers ACME and BWM, we have curated an ever-evolving collection of spaces for staying, working and playing,” he said. “Together we are working to refine and finesse the lab’s three hotel room types - Little, Middle and Big – ahead of our consumer opening.”
Head of Häfele Hospitality Solutions / Strategy & Business Development, Dr. Thomas Leib, said the collaboration with TFE Hotels and Adina aimed to establish new benchmarks in designing and optimising spaces within the hospitality sector.
“Our goal is to personalise guests' experiences while enhancing operational efficiency for Häfele,” he said. “Implementing a comprehensive solution catering to guests and operators was key for us. We will now incorporate feedback from both parties directly into our development processes, ensuring the continued relevance of our services and products.”
Dr Leib said he eagerly anticipated the market's response to our efforts and remained committed to advancing the hospitality industry.
MM:NT Berlin Lab’s booking engine opened to guests who signed up through social channels in January 2024. One, two and three-night stays within the testing period – across all room types in late March through to May 2024 - booked out within hours.
Excitingly, Adina Hotel’s development team are currently sourcing further locations across Europe to help grow new hotels, inspired by tested research from MM:NT Berlin Lab.
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EDITOR’S NOTES: A New Way to Stay
Website: mmnt-intime.com
Instagram: @mmnt_intime
TikTok: @mmntintime
LinkedIn: Please tag Antony Ritch, Chris Sedgwick, Brian Delaney, Michelle Bevan, Katia Giurtalis, Amanda Hoolihan, Shahnaz Bakhshay, Jodi Clark, Asli Kutlucan, Matthias Niemeyer, Claudia Hofman, Lukas Willhöft, Jan-Louis Metzmeier, Georgios Ganitis, Julia Fernandez Pola TFE Hotels, Adina Apartment Hotels #Häfele #TFEHotels.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jodi Clark - TFE Hotels (Director of Communications) - +61 499 900 658 / [email protected]
Jose Arufe Barker – (Account Director, Margaret London, working with TFE Hotels on the launch of MM:NT) - +44 7592 941129 / [email protected]
Sarah Grünler - PR-Managerin Häfele - [email protected]
MORE ABOUT MM:NT BERLIN LAB
MM:NT Berlin Lab is TFE’s innovation test lab and is a standalone product that will always be in Beta mode, located in Mitte. For the first two months of its life, it will be a 100% test platform where guests will stay for free in return for carrying out a set of tasks to help them gather insights on the design, the brand, the room sizes, and overall experience. After the initial two months, it will be a commercial property, but always with the mindset of being in Beta and always learning.
MM:NT Berlin Lab is agile. It's digital, small, imperfect, and always evolving. It operates by its own rules, which might diverge from your Adina expectations. Yet, it's through taking risks that they innovate the future of hospitality. https://mmnt-intime.com/
ABOUT ADINA APARTMENT HOTELS
The Adina brand comprises 40 Adina Apartment Hotels and Adina Serviced Apartments in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and in Europe. The former offers stylish apartment living with the services and amenities you’d expect from a hotel property including 24-hour reception, pools, free WiFi, intimate meeting spaces or gym facilities. By contrast, Adina Serviced Apartments offer fully equipped serviced apartments and offer on-call service, homely comforts, and comfortable living. Serviced Apartments are the ideal choice for those wanting a home away from home that’s a perfect fit for one or more. www.adinahotels.com
ABOUT HÄFELE
Founded in 1923, the globally operating specialist for intelligent hardware and fitting systems, electronic access control systems, lighting and networking provides its customers from over 150 countries with unique expertise. With a comprehensive product range, numerous services and a considerable amount of innovative spirit, the family-run company is a reliable partner to joiners/cabinet makers, the furniture industry, dealers, and architects. More than 8,000 employees plus thirty-eight subsidiaries and numerous other agencies around the world make up the team of the global player, with its headquarters in Nagold in the Black Forest. In the 2023 financial year, the Häfele Group achieved sales of 1.71 billion Euros with an export share of 82%. www.haefele.de
ABOUT HÄFELE HOSPITALITY SOLUTIONS (HHS)
HHS operates as a development partner and planning service provider for projects in the commercial living sector. Focussing on limited spaces such as serviced apartments or micro living, the HHS unit develops, plans, and designs comfortable and interconnected room solutions as well as their customised implementation. In every project the aim is to maximise the value of space in collaboration with the customer. Thus, HHS creates tailored space concepts for investors, operators, planners, developers, and consultants, that flexibly adapt to their individual needs and desires. http://www.haefele.de/hhs
WHO ARE TFE HOTELS?
TFE Hotels (TOGA Far East Hotels) is Australia’s International Hotel Group - headquartered in Sydney and operating in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Denmark, Hungary, Austria, Singapore, and Switzerland. TFE has a portfolio of seven hotel brands - A by Adina, Adina Hotels, Vibe Hotels, Quincy Hotels, Travelodge Hotels, Rendezvous Hotels and Collection by TFE Hotels, with more in the development pipeline.