Customer talk
Bastian Lang

A short taxi drive from the relatively small airport takes us to the beautiful historical city center of Dresden, Germany. On a triple A location, surrounded by a few stunning buildings, there is the NH Collection Dresden Altmarkt, which we are visiting today. We are meeting Bastian Lang, Regional Director of Operations.

In it together

Bastian Lang started his career at NH Hotel Group fifteen years ago. He is a seasoned hotel professional. From being a waiter, he worked his way up within the group, holding several positions.

What he loves most about his job, is working together with his team and to turn stressful situations into a success. ‘It became a ritual to have breakfast with the whole team after having served breakfast to our guests in the weekends’, Lang explains. His experience as a waiter is often coming handy. ‘When it’s crowded and they need help, I am there to clean tables and serve coffee. The staff really appreciates it.’

The unmanned shop takes the pressure off staff

Due to the historical city center of Dresden and the absence of big corporates, the hotel is mainly occupied by leisure guests. Bastian stipulates that because of that, it can be very busy, especially in the mornings during breakfast. ‘Leisure guests officiously take their time in the morning and a lot of them appreciate a little chat. We love to give our guests that special bit of attention.’

Meanwhile, the hotel needs all hands on deck to fulfill the daily tasks. For instance, checking and filling the mini bar, is a very time-consuming operation. With the addition of a 24/7 unmanned hotel shop, this is no longer needed. This way, Lang can put his staff to work where he needs them the most.

Child’s play

During the time of the interview, the shop at NH Collection Dresden Altmarkt is only running for 4 weeks. Lang is already very satisfied with the results. Also, the revenues of the bar are not going down, now the Wundermart shop has been installed. ‘We can really say the store is adding value.’

Lang’s colleague, the restaurant manager, is checking the shop every day. On average it takes her 20 to 30 minutes. ‘The great thing is, you can do it whenever it suits you. With the specially designed app, it becomes child’s play to run your own shop. She really enjoys looking at its performance and most importantly, we are fulfilling our guests personal needs’.

Exceeding guests’ expectations

Lang is very satisfied with the variety of products the shop has to offer to his guests. ‘It offers so much more than our former minibar. From plain water to energy bars and everything in between. There is something for every guest.’

Also, Lang explains that the performance of the shop is giving the hotel insights on the demands of its guests. ‘I never thought we would be selling so many phone chargers, but apparently this is something a lot of guests forget to bring from home. The fact that they can just buy one in the lobby downstairs, instead of hunting for it in the city really exceeds the expectations of our guests’. Based on valuable insights, the hotel can adapt the assortment at any time.