How do you develop a sustainable hotel, Marion Muller? (Pioneeres of Sustainability – interview series)

How does one actually become a sustainable hotelier? What inspires people to dedicate their lives to the sustainable holidays of others? Green Pearls® hoteliers, whose professional journeys could hardly be more different, answer this question in a series of interviews entitled "Pioneers of Sustainability".

Today: Marion Muller from Lifestylehotel SAND in Timmendorfer Strand

A Rocky Road to SAND

Marion Muller laughs a lot during the interview. Especially when it came to what her first thoughts were when she bought the old Hotel Zum Timmendorfer Hof. At that time, she and her husband were still far away from today's sustainable SAND concept. First of all, they had to survive. Nevertheless, one little idea like this about a sustainable concept was always part of the equation.

Green Pearls®: Dear Marion, thank you for taking the time to take us on your journey to becoming a sustainable hotelier.

Marion Muller (Lifestylehotel SAND): It would be my pleasure. We have to talk about these topics and we also really want to.

GP: What are the three words you would use to describe the SAND?

Marion: I have four for you. Because I can' t do it with less than four. *laughs* SAND, the word stands for “sand aspires natural design”. And we don't just have the design now. We also do it: “sand aspires natural doing”. And these are four simple letters that we use to define everything we do, and that is for us sustainable lifestyle. 

GP: How long have you and your husband been hoteliers?

Marion: We bought the hotel in 1995. It's a hotel from the 1920s. So, you can just imagine what comes next. *laughs* It was in dire need of modernization and renovation, of course. But we wanted to be independent and said, "Okay, we can pay for that; we'll buy it." From then on, we were hoteliers.

GP: And how long have you been interested in sustainability?

Marion: My background is in tourism. I studied tourism and was employed at a time when mass tourism was normal. Suddenly, you could organize group trips of 30 people to China, travel affordably to America. We still see that today: the flight to Mallorca doesn't cost much. 

And that time gave me food for thought. I was always of the opinion that nature wants to be appreciated the way it is. If we all travel everywhere and carelessly "trample around", then impressions and people on site are no longer authentic. Then what we see there is no longer as it was. But, when you depend on this branch and engage in tourism, it is always a dichotomy between economic necessity and the impact on the natural environment and surroundings. I've always been moved by that.

Sustainable. Almost from the Beginning. 

GP: What was the very first thought when you saw your hotel for the first time?

Marion: Oh my god, a lot needs to be done here. *laughs*

GP: When you bought the hotel, did you already have the idea that it would be a sustainable hotel? Or did that come later?

Marion: When we bought the hotel, it wasn't clear to me that we wanted to go down this path. We also first had to fight for economical survival. You can't say: Hey, I'm going to invest a lot all at once because I have this idea. It has to happen slowly, it has to develop. But inside we were already ready to go in this direction. You just have to think about what's feasible first. 

GP: Was there a decisive moment when you finally decided to create a sustainable hotel?

Marion: There was. We had about 25 rooms when we bought the hotel and this was not profitable. Something had to happen. So we invested and added 12 rooms to our house. At the same time, we said to ourselves, okay, if we're going to invest now, we want to do it sustainably or efficiently. At that time, it was mainly about energy efficiency, less about the other aspects of sustainability.

The second key experience came from the fact that we were already very well booked, but there was never enough left over to invest. That was the point where we decided we had to act. We had to say goodbye to the traditional hotel in order to align our concept with a specific target group that supported our philosophy. So we completely modernized the hotel with the support of external consultants. The SAND was born. That was in 2012. It took a while from '95 to 2012. But then it really took off.

Challenges and Wishes for the Future

GP: Where do you see the next big challenge now?

Marion: The implementation of sustainability is always a challenge. We are not a hotel that sets itself up completely as an organic hotel or eco-hotel. We are called SAND Lifestyle Hotel. That is also important to us because our guests should also have a certain level of comfort and want to feel relaxed on holiday. I would never walk through the hotel while pointing an accusing finger. It works differently. We want to convince the guest and take him with us, and the guest also takes us with him by giving us hints and ideas.

I would just call it thinking and questioning. Think about what you're doing – without pointing fingers. And that's a huge challenge.

GP: What makes a sustainable hotelier for you? Would you describe yourself as a sustainable hotelier?

Marion: Yes, with heart and soul! We have seen a development from energy efficiency to other sustainability issues. For example, it's about social sustainability in terms of employees. That is and remains an important topic. We have a company pension plan, give employee benefits and provide employees with cars. We want everyone in the SANDteam to be well positioned in their private lives and at home as well, and we want to give them the so-called work-life balance.

I would also like to actually encourage our partners to be sustainable. In recent years, this topic has always been on the table and suddenly everyone is sustainable. For us, the challenge now is to find those who are pioneers of sustainability at Green Pearls®. I always question: which partners live our thoughts authentically, can support our efforts and expand the network? I see this as a challenge in the business environment.

It is important to me to also show colleagues ways of acting sustainably in a business sense. It is very important to me to encourage small and medium-sized companies in general to consistently implement sustainable ideas, even if this means an extra effort in addition to the "core business". There are concrete examples of how you can develop your niche in the hotel sector, in which you can then be a pioneer. That, too, is part of sustainability for me.

GP: And that's when you would say that this thinking, this taking people by the hand and taking them with you, that's what makes a sustainable hotelier for you?

Marion: Yes, and to live that as well. 

GP: What do you wish for the future?

Marion: In the hotel industry, future-oriented thinking also means thinking differently, not remaining rigidly in one's tradition, but looking to the right and to the left.

Not imposing, but listening carefully. This can also bring surprises.

Adapting to how someone actually wants to travel. Sustainability is simply a must. There's no getting around it.

Authenticity and standing behind it are very important. You should not play a role. In the past, we used to say that the hotel industry was the next best thing to the circus. It shouldn't be. We are service providers and wish fulfillers at eye level with our guests. This includes communicating with guests and asking them what they actually want, what we can give them, and how we can improve and position our product. And that's what everyone in the industry should do.

GP: Thank you very much for your honesty and openness!

About the Lifestylehotel SAND

The Lifestylehotel SAND is located on the German Baltic Sea coast in the popular holiday destination of the Timmendorfer Strand. With its clean design and fresh, SANDy ideas, the Adults-only hotel delights its guests. Whether wellness, weekend break or active holiday: everyone will find what they are looking for at the SAND.

Pioneers of sustainability at Green Pearls®

Under this theme, a variety of hoteliers and hosts will have their say in the near future, sharing their thoughts on sustainability and sharing their stories. This series of interviews is ongoing and will be published every two to three weeks. In the second part of the series, you can look forward to Marc Traubel from HUBERTUS Mountain Refugio in Allgäu.