Early proof of Swiss Engineering Prowess

It was the year 1880, and the neighbourhood of Enge along the lakeshore of Zurich had rapidly grown with industrialisation and the success of the city. So had the number of Protestant parishioners attending the local prayer house which outnumbered the seats ten to one. The solution was simple - build a new church and the church president, Conrad Escher, gave the parish a meadow east of the existing prayer house to realise the new church. However, as so often happens in Switzerland, not everyone was happy with the decision of the location of the church and years of litigation followed. Finally, in 1890 with a victory in their belt, the building of the church on the Bürgliterrassen was made official. Things then went quickly. In under a year, Alfred Friedrich Bluntschli, a student of Gottfried Semper, won the project. The entire neo-Renaissance style church, modelled after Sacré-Coeur in Paris was build in just two years. For its day and age, it was an architectural feat. Perhaps one that could only be carried out in Switzerland.

Record Time Renovation

Jump to 2017, in a seeming Swiss tradition of getting work done on time, Zurich's oldest hotel, the 660-year-old Storchen situated along the Limmat river closed its doors for a full renovation. Hotel director, Mr Jörg Arnold, allotted just six weeks for the work. Were it a mere paint job, the exchange of some old furniture and some new carpeting, the idea of the project would not seem so astonishing. However, the then four-star superior hotel was aiming at something more. The construction project was intended to launch the centrally located hotel into the constellation of five-star hotels. With the lodging market in Zurich recently facing downward pressure from chains like the 25Hours Hotel and MotelOne, Mr Arnold and the owning families Anda and Bührle knew that they needed to offer their guests more. Together with architect Patric Meier and a team of over 400 workers, they set about to achieve something that would be impossible almost anywhere else: gut and renovate the 35 of the hotel's 66 rooms and all of the common areas. 

Treating Workers Right

On January 3, 2017, the hotel wished it's last guest farewell. The hotel would be closed to the public for six weeks, chef award-winning chef Cyrille Anizan and his team would prepare three square meals a day plus the traditional Swiss z'nüni (9 o'clock snack) and z'vieri (4 o'clock snack). The hundreds of carpenters, electricians, plumbers and other workers were able to eat at the hotel daily and for free. This is how tradespeople ought to be treated. Within days the hotel was wrapped in plastic, like a giant gift. Daily, passersby would be left to wonder what would be revealed after the incredible construction project. And just as fast as the hotel had been enveloped it plastic, it was quickly removed and by February 20, 2017, the hotel was back in businesses. 

Technology and Planning - Secrets to Success

How did this hotel in the middle of a historic European city undergo such a transformational change? Like the Enge church, it was is the planning and thanks to modern digital technologies, this was made easier. Each room was scanned, and a digital model was created, which was then used to create templates for the new rooms to scale. Unlike the traditional manoeuver of ripping out everything and then renovating room-by-room, using models of the rooms allowed for each component - wall units, toilets, sinks, mirrors to be built off premise.  In a large warehouse outside the city, the new lodgings were prepared, and all that needed to be done was have them delivered, installed and trimmed. The Zurich-based architecture firm Cavigelli & Rinderknecht was employed to move the rooms away from their old Biedermeier style. They designed the rooms' wall coverings and selected new, lighter and more modern furniture. The hand-painted wallpaper depicting storks pay homage to the hotel's name while also giving the rooms a Zen-like Japanese feel. The whites, light greys and black accents throughout the building open it up and provide a fresh, clean and friendly ambience.

More than an Extra Star

To many, the story of the Storchen's renovation ends with it receiving its fifth star. To me, the upgrades and tweaking of services at the Storchen were just the start of a journey as a five-star hotel. The business lesson to take from the project though is the acknowledgement that market conditions are changing and that while one could complain about an increase in competition and others putting downward pressure on pricing, Mr Arnold together with the Anda and Bührle families saw an opportunity to move their hotel into a new classification.  

A Strategic Move in a Growing and Complex Market

After the dust had settled, I had the opportunity to sit down with Mr Arnold for a candid chat about the hospitality industry in Zurich and what this project has meant. Throughout our conversation, what struck me was the optimism that Mr Arnold exudes despite the many downturns that the industry has faced in the past ten years. After the 2008 financial crisis and the American Justice Department's proceedings against Swiss banks, hotels in Zurich saw a drastic drop in lodgings from once regular guests from the US. The Brexit vote in 2016 led to a three week period during which the Storchen did not receive any bookings from UK guests and even suffered some cancellations. And yet, despite all that, the historical Storchen continues to attract guests from Switzerland and other parts of Europe as well as from new markets such as the Middle East and Asia. For Mr Arnold, the Storchen's new 5-star classification along with its new challenges also brings new possibilities for the hotel to own a more significant share of a market that is growing by some 2% each year in Zurich. 

In 2017, Zurich saw a Motel One and a second 25 Hours Hotel open up in the city. Despite the high Swiss franc, between 2017 and 2020, Zurich will have at least 1000 more hotel rooms on offer for travellers. What's new is that we're not talking about bare necessities hotels with no charm - even the budget hotels know that today's travellers want style and experiences. It needs to be nice for all the Instagram shots. They also need to compete with AirBnB, which is often better than any old 2-star hotel. As the budget hotels raise the bar, they're forcing high-end hotels to up their game and make investments. The Storchen has not only acknowledged this but taken the challenge and delivered on every point.

There is hardly a better view in the city than from the rooms of the Storchen. Its central and historic setting coupled with spectacular service make the Storchen the ideal hotel for guests staying in Zurich as well as anyone looking for a nice place for dinner, Apéros or even coffee.

Thank you to Mr Arnold for taking time to sit with me and sharing his insights.