Past Media Coverage

Transcription

Past Media Coverage

Qbic Hotel
London PR
Roundtable Expert
Director
ROUNDTABLE
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TECHNOLOGY AND
BUSINESS GROWTH
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64 Director June 2015
WORDS, RICHARD DUNNETT; PHOTOGRAPHS, GARY MOYES
In the last 20 years technology has had a pervasive effect on businesses and consumers. But amid
the vast opportunities it offers, how can companies ensure they’re choosing the right solutions to
benefit their customers? Eight SME leaders joined IoD director general Simon Walker to discuss…
SIMON WALKER Welcome everybody. The Institute of
Directors was founded more than 100 years ago
with a royal charter that commits us to ‘promote the
conditions favourable to entrepreneurialism and
wealth creation’.
Since then entrepreneurialism has come in many
guises and entrepreneurs have had plenty of very
different ideas, but the pace of change and the types
of business that we see in here have taken on a whole
lease of life over the last few years. We know about
how quickly the digital revolution took hold, but what
we might not always appreciate is that Britain is really
leading the world in this area.
Next year the internet economy will account for
12 per cent of British GDP; £1 in every £4 that we
spend is spent online in retail – well ahead not just of
our European competitors, but also tech giants like
the United States, South Korea and Japan, and the
impact that’s having on entrepreneurial activities
is quite clear. In 2014 there were more than half a
million businesses started in Britain. Half of those had
start-up capital of less than £2,000. That would have
been unimaginable a generation ago. Now starting a
business, developing an idea, launching a product is
a viable option for millions of people.
But while Britain leads on start-ups, where we can
learn from other countries is on scale-ups. America,
Canada and Australia are all better at supporting
companies as they grow from small to medium to
large and create world-leading companies in the
process. I don’t particularly want to dwell on what
Britain’s doing wrong, but what challenges
have you encountered along the way and where
do the answers lie in terms of technology and
technological strengths?
I’ll now hand over to our co-host, the UK chief
executive of 8x8, Kevin Scott-Cowell…
Watch highlights of the
roundtable at youtube.com/
DirectorMagazine
The panel
1 Host Simon Walker
Director general, IoD
2 Kevin Scott-Cowell
Chief executive, 8x8
Solutions UK
3 Jenny Campbell
Chairman and chief
executive, YourCash
4 Wendy Bartlett
Owner director, Bartlett
Mitchell
5 Fran Brosan
Chairman and
co-founder, Omobono
6 Julie Fawcett
Managing director,
Qbic Hotels
7 Jason Stockwood
Chief executive, Simply
Business
8 Kate Regan
Client services director,
The Delta Group
9 Stephen Dunn
Technical and
compliance manager,
Commercial Maintenance
Services UK
KEVIN SCOTT-COWELL Thank you. 8x8 Solutions UK is a
cloud-based unified communications service business
operating globally. We see ourselves as the enabler
of collaboration across businesses. We’re based in
San Jose [California] but we’re very British in terms
of resourcing teams, both in London and Aylesbury,
having been acquired in 2013 by what was the
market leader. I’m very appreciative of the growing
pains of businesses in new technology, and growing
globally as well.
We have an enterprise-running suite of products
that allow mobility and global connectivity and we
see that as really important as the business world
develops. It means that anybody can do their work in
any place at any time with a common set of tools, and
through that build better working relationships, be
more effective, [build] better partner relationships,
better customer relationships. So we’re all about
enabling that way of working with business tools.
In terms of the specifics, we have voice over
IP tools, video conferencing, collaboration, and
document sharing – all as part of an integrated suite.
We’re building analytics tools to help businesses be
more effective. In terms of disaster scenarios, the sort
of communication suites that we have play very well
in providing a very resilient backbone infrastructure
for small and large business.
I’m interested in how this technology gets taken
up because there are still some barriers, including
cultural issues – and this is a major change in working
practices. Last but not least, as we develop our own
IP – we’ve got over 100 patents – I’m interested in
how technology is maybe holding back or enabling
businesses as they seek to grow.
I’m keen to hear your views, which I can take back
to the business and improve the way we do things and
support businesses as a whole.
June 2015 Director 65
Expert Roundtable
In the last 20 years we’ve lived through
exponential times in terms of the
acceleration and adoption of technology”
Jason Stockwood
WALKER Can I start by asking: How important
is technology to your business?
JENNY CAMPBELL I run a cash-machine business
servicing thousands of users a day. It
requires a huge infrastructure programme.
When I talk to my head of IT about
the cloud, he says that it has a place for
businesses but the big challenge for us is
we have legacy systems that go back
14 years. It would be a huge leapfrog [to
join the cloud].
WENDY BARTLETT I’m the chief executive of a
contract-catering boutique company in
the south-east and an events company
in the London area. We interact with a
lot of small, local suppliers who don’t
have the ability to do what we need
IT infrastructure-wise. A butcher isn’t
necessarily going to be interested in IT
systems and processes that I, as a provider
of a service, would want to buy into. If
you’re a business that wants to go into
the cloud, you can’t necessarily take
everyone along with you. For us, that
becomes an issue.
FRAN BROSAN As does infrastructure out of the
major conurbations. We’re a digital agency
for brands based in Cambridge, where
we’ve waited for super-fast broadband for
many years. It becomes a real issue because
file sizes get bigger and bigger. Sitting
around waiting for downloads holds
businesses back.
JULIE FAWCETT Taking Wendy’s example of the
butcher, is the cloud not a way that you can
actually provide them with the interface
you want them to use? Everyone’s got
a terminal – whereas if you’ve got a
big, server-based system where you need
to start doing data transfers and paying
goodness knows what to, that really is a
requirement for them.
BARTLETT Somebody who’s interested in their
product isn’t necessarily going to want
to sit at a PC and input that data. When
building strategies you have to accept that
not everyone will be on that journey and
you have to build an amount of flexibility
within that system to account for those.
JASON STOCKWOOD In the last 20 years we’ve lived
through exponential times in terms of the
acceleration and adoption of technology.
New technology comes and goes – mobile,
SEO, big data, cloud, all have their moment
in time and [then] they’re just part of the
whole ecosystem. Some cloud technologies
work better for businesses and some don’t.
I completely re-platformed the business
I bought into five years ago [business
insurance broker Simply Business] from a
legacy mainframe system. We’re running
the business on technology that didn’t
exist five years ago and won’t exist in five
years. It has to be what suits your customer
and end goal.
BROSAN At Omobono we talk about people
and platforms because it’s about the
people using the technology. I suspect
that your butcher will be held up as much
by the skills and time that he has within
his business. Even for companies that are
innovating all the time, keeping your skills
up to date is a real challenge.
STOCKWOOD I think we demystify. The
conversation today got straight into cloud
technology. None of us would think about
shop checkouts, automated phone systems,
apps… it’s pervasive. But cloud technology
is all around us [too]. Everyone who uses
email on a smartphone – including the
butcher – is using cloud technology, but we
try to make it more complex.
CAMPBELL But then I think that’s how it’s
promoted. You see the billboards that say,
‘Are you in the cloud?’ and you think,
‘No, I’m not’.
WALKER The government does seem to be
sponsoring and urging an awful lot of stuff,
otherwise you wouldn’t have SEIS [seed
enterprise investment schemes] that were
designed at really quite micro companies –
most of which are bound to fail aren’t they?
STOCKWOOD Yes.
WALKER Is it government that gets it wrong, in
thinking it should foster everything and it
should be left to the market – that’s an IoD
position, but is it right?
STOCKWOOD I think the position of government
is to set the conditions of success. There
are some positive things around SEIS
– the tax relief and encouragement of
Tech City. What’s not being addressed is:
that’s not the whole economy. It’s going
to be wealth creation for a small elite
that creates technology, fortunate to be
around businesses that have done very
well financially, but that’s not where job
creation comes from.
WALKER Skyscanner [on which until recently
Stockwood was on the board] must have
destroyed jobs in vast quantities.
STOCKWOOD Before that I was involved in
Lastminute.com, which displaced the
high-street travel agent, but the technology
has to serve the customer and they wanted
convenience and transparency to choose
products that suited them. The travel
agent has a place on the high street –
Trailfinders offers a quality service because
it differentiated itself through what the
customer wanted. The internet has just
put the power in the hands of customers…
[and] created hi-tech growth, but 43
per cent of GDP in the UK is [from] sole
traders and small and micro businesses.
FAWCETT We’ve got to stop the tail wagging the
consumer. Technology has to start with
what’s right for the consumer, not what’s
right for the technology. Airline and hotel
self check-ins are awful. You always have
somebody standing next to you to show
you how to do it. How ridiculous.
KATE REGAN As a visual communications
business, we work heavily with retailers.
A few years ago everyone thought there
would be virtual customer service people
in stores with digital screens all over the
place. That hasn’t happened. Some of the
big retailers cut back the people in store
and it’s had quite a disastrous impact.
They’re now reverting back again.
FAWCETT The other trend is personalisation
– offering choices such as: ‘Would you
like to check in with a piece of paper or a
smartphone? We can offer you both.’
STEPHEN DUNN It’s like filling up your car at
Tesco. You can stick your card in the
machine or you can go to the kiosk and
interact with somebody.
Cloud and proud: above, 8x8’s
Kevin Scott-Cowell – with
Jason Stockwood and Kate
Regan – makes the case for
global connectivity through the
cloud. Clockwise from below,
Fran Brosan, left with Jenny
Campbell, Julie Fawcett,
and Stephen Dunn, with
Wendy Bartlett
WALKER Is part of the community
marginalised because it can’t operate
technology at all? We’ve about 10 per
cent of IoD members who don’t have any
internet access.
Expert Roundtable
In association with 8x8 Solutions UK
There’s too much emphasis on getting new
customers versus retaining customers,
which is a much more efficient strategy”
Fran Brosan
CAMPBELL But don’t you think we should
always give consumers choice and we
should never just limit them to one
technology-driven route, like only paying
by card on buses?
STOCKWOOD I used to be an evangelist around
how technology will be pervasive and
change our lives for the good. I’m the
opposite now: it has a place in society but
it has to serve us and enrich our lives. In
the business I am trying to build, it’s how
do we get that balance between technology
being useful for us and at the same time
allowing us freedoms and better choices
in our daily lives?
REGAN You need to pick and choose the bits
that benefit you. It is the same theory
when you’re selling it to a business as well.
There’s no point in selling something that
isn’t going to benefit them. You can’t just
push it at people, you’ve got to sell it as
a solution.
DUNN That’s where we use the cloud. As a
commercial building maintenance and
supply business, we’ve grown over the last
18 months from being a local, Newcastlebased company to a national company.
We went from a legacy server in our office
to a cloud-based server, to SIP [session
initiation protocol] telephony. It has
allowed us to put a man in a van anywhere
in the country (as long as they’ve got 4G or
broadband) and for them to be inclusive
within our office – to actually have video,
have voice, to log in and see the same
desktop as if they were in the office. That
was huge. If we’d looked at that 10 years
ago, the amount of money that we would
have needed to spend on updating a legacy
system and putting hub offices around the
country would have meant it was far more
expensive. It also gives us a good disaster
recovery scenario because we can have two
tier-one data centres – one in Docklands,
one in Manchester – and if one falls over,
DUNN We had people sticking passwords
on bottom of keyboards. We’ve brought
in fobs with two-part encryption and
randomised password encryption. Bigger
data centres have bigger amounts of data,
BROSAN We just opened an office in Chicago.
We looked at cloud when we were working but they’ve got more money to spend on
security because, if you do get in, there’s
out how to link the offices, but we’re
more data that can be stolen. My opinion
actually server-based with virtual private
is: spend as much as you can on security to
network connections. The main reason is
keep data safe in a tier-one data centre.
because we’re a creative business and file
sizes are huge, and the upload or download
time, to transfer files between offices of the BARTLETT Isn’t that the point: if you put
it in the cloud… you’re putting it with
types of files that we use, is just a bit slow.
everybody else [instead of having] it on
your own individual server. I suppose
WALKER Let me ask about confidentiality and
that’s the fear of some people who don’t
security…
really get it – that I’d rather be in control of
my own server than having it out there.
SCOTT-COWELL We take security very seriously.
We’re accredited to all sorts of American
REGAN There’s a job to do to prove the benefit
standards and government standards,
of having it elsewhere but it’s amazing how
firewalls and session border controllers
many large businesses run their data on
that protect data and we’re protecting
very simple – even Excel database-type –
mainly voice rather than huge amounts of
packages, with price-sensitive information
data. The calls are encrypted; the systems
are in place and are worked at very hard in that anyone can get hold of. You’ve got
the job to absolutely prove the benefit of
order to keep that level of data secure, so
moving over.
it’s not a major issue. There are things like
PCI compliance for credit cards, which are
SCOTT-COWELL I think if you ask a best-of-breed
built into the systems and are compliant.
supplier they will prove that to you.
It’s an area that people are concerned
about but the reality, certainly for us with
our unified communications, is it’s a secure WALKER Where do you think your business
will be in five years’ time and [with what]
setting and people shouldn’t be worried.
emphasis of technology?
WALKER Does it leave the economy vulnerable
CAMPBELL I constantly get asked: ‘Isn’t cash
to cyber terrorism?
going to be gone in a certain time?’ Yet
again it’s perception versus reality. There
SCOTT-COWELL There’s a huge amount of
is more cash in distribution in the UK
people trying to break into internet
than there ever was… It comes back to
servers around the world every day and
providing consumers with choice: such as
the security systems are man enough to
deposit taking and currency conversion
deal with that. They are constantly being
at the ATM screen.
reviewed and, while there is a threat, the
threat is balanced by the amount of effort
BARTLETT People will want to know more
that’s countering that threat.
about the provenance of what they’re
eating – the calories, the allergens – so
CAMPBELL But there have been some big
they’ll want more data.
customer data breach issues.
FAWCETT Hotels are behind the curve. Put
SCOTT-COWELL You’ve got to look at your
your hand over the logo of a businesssuppliers and who is putting the systems
class hotel and you can’t really tell which
in. If you go to a voice over IP supplier in
hotel you’re in. To innovate isn’t just about
the UK who is running his own software
changing the physical environment but to
out of his garage, it will not have the
change the whole way you experience the
development around the security systems
hotel. The smartphone has opened up the
and the right networking of structure and
travellers’ world – they can see where to go,
safety… Most attempts of fraud are when
what to do – so instead of hotels becoming
people share their passwords.
the other one’s there, rather than having to
worry that somebody’s going to come into
my office and steal my server.
STOCKWOOD Ten per cent of the UK
population isn’t online. But again this is
new technology; Google and Facebook
didn’t exist 15 years ago, AltaVista and
CompuServe are ancient history to our
kids. I talk to people at work about not
having a telephone growing up and I
sound like I am 200 years old. The pace of
change is accelerating.
Case for the cloud: clockwise
from top, the roundtable panel,
Kate Regan, Simon Walker
and Fran Brosan
this sheltered environment, which feels
comfortably familiar but terribly bland, we
now need to open our doors and say: ‘Here
is the world that you’re in, how can we
help you experience it?’
STOCKWOOD I’m really interested in the way
that the technology enables change for
consumers and transparency. Financial
services is vastly underserved in terms
of customer orientation, transparency,
[being] technology-led… so there’s a huge
opportunity and challenge. I’m fascinated
about how over the next 10 years we
can create a more interesting, useful and
enriching place for people to work.
REGAN We’re a naturally innovative business.
We’ll continue to use technology so we
can run as efficiently as we can but also to
benefit our customers… future-gazing and
making sure that we tailor technology and
physical solutions around meeting those
needs and never getting complacent. We
focus on what the next five and 10 years
look like for our customer base.
WALKER Fran, your clients must cover a wide
range of sectors. Are there any you’d pick
out as the real growth areas?
BROSAN I think there’s too much emphasis
on getting new customers versus retaining
customers, which is a much more efficient
strategy. Some big professional services
firms recognise they need talent all over
the world to succeed. They help people talk
to each other effectively using technologies
like social networks within the enterprise.
This will really take off over the next five
years. It’s a challenge for our industry
because agencies tend to be siloed but
we’re being challenged to bring all of the
elements of the organisation together.
BARTLETT We’ve rebuilt our intranet system
to allow our team to add pictures of what
they’re doing in a Facebook style. That’s
encouraged best practice, competition
and sharing because they’re all quite
competitive chefs from 80 restaurants,
showing what they’ve made today.
WALKER Kevin, a lot has been said about
people. Can I ask, is that where it’ll end up –
and for your thoughts on the discussion?
Turn the page for Kevin Scott-Cowell’s summing-up
Audience Survey 2015
Trend 1
Refocus
The limiting of financial options combined with the
infinite potential for connection has led our audience to
question their priorities, their attitudes and to refocus
their lives. They are on a quest to increase their social
currency; they are engaging with offline moments that
offer escape from their fast paced digital lives and
value-led experiences that cannot be re-created online.
From social issues to travel habits, how they live their
lives is changing dramatically.
Intrepid Entrepreneurs – They
are taking control of their lives
and defining their own futures
Clicktivism – Brands with out-dated
views or shady practices are being
named and shamed
Defining Values – The old
methods of identity building are
becoming increasingly irrelevant
Product Overload – Less is
more for an audience increasingly
looking for curation
Refocus Lifestyle
Our audience’s energy is being
refocused on positive careers,
community development and an
ethical lifestyle. Ninety-five per cent
of respondents define who they are
according to their values. Unable to
afford the traditional pillars of success,
such as a house or a car, they have a
disposable income and nothing to lose.
Not only are they risk-takers, willing to
indulge in experiences over material
possessions, they are also increasingly
socially conscious. A total of 90% are
concerned about environmental issues
and 83% care about unemployment
and gender inequality. However,
it’s worth noting that, perhaps
unsurprisingly, men tend to be less
concerned than women about gender
inequality.
This disruptive spirit isn’t confined
to our audience sample. It is rising in
everyone from teens to boomers who
value their own vision, creativity and
ideas over conformity, and look beyond
the traditional ways of measuring
success; money and power. There are
four components to this new way of
thinking; well-being, wisdom, wonder
and giving. All four illustrate methods
our audience uses to combat the
pressure of modern life, something
respondents are highly sensitive to:
75% find life’s increased pace a source
of stress and 76% are concerned about
the amount of time they spend working.
54 | AUDIENCE SURVEY 2015
DEFINING VALUES
Digital platforms and social networks
help our audience to stay up to date
with friends and also allow people
to connect with an international
community of strangers who share
their values and philosophies. The old
methods of identity building, such as
gender, sexuality or nationality, are
becoming increasingly irrelevant.
Values and interests now carry far
greater weight when it comes to
defining our audience’s identity.
As our audience moves further into the
digital realm, physical characteristics
become less important, as more
interactions are brought about as a
result of a shared interest, rather than
a shared location. Evidence of this
shift can be found in our audience’s
response to self-definition, with 95%
of people saying 'values' were a factor,
closely followed by 'interests' at 93%.
These outrank where you live (82%)
and gender (70%).
As a result, a host of platforms are
looking to inject spontaneity into
the internet and connect users to
strangers outside of their traditional
network. Beansprock is a platform
that finds you jobs based on values
rather than traditional skills, while
Tworlds connects users with strangers
based on their mood. “For whatever
reason you use Tworlds, there’s
an experience between you and a
complete random stranger somewhere
else in the world,” says the app's
creator, fashion designer Antoine
Peters. “This shared moment brings
you in contact with a huge variety
of people, countries, religions and
cultures that you never knew before.”
95% of people
say 'values' define
them, closely
followed by their
'interests' at 93%
Tworlds connects you
to a stranger who’s
sharing the same
emotion as you at that
exact same time
INTREPID ENTREPRENEURS
Realising that a well-paid, fulfilling
career is hard to come by, members of
our audience are seeking experiences
over material goals. They are starting
their own businesses, taking risks and
trying new things. Start-up culture
appeals to a generation that faces
a far harsher job climate than the
one their parents had to deal with.
“Traditional career paths have lost
some of their appeal, and so young
people are naturally more open to
considering alternatives,” explains
Sara Feast, communications officer
of the entrepreneurship division at
the London School of Economics.
Because of this less stable economy,
our audience is open to the prospect
of trying multiple professions and
taking a varied and unpredictable
career path. For example, 61% of
European respondents stated they
would rather try multiple jobs that offer
new experiences, than a single job
that provides stability. Risk is now an
accepted part of people’s working lives.
61% of European
respondents
stated they would
rather try multiple
jobs that offer
new experiences
than a single job
that provides
stability
Right: Bolder is
an online platform
celebrating bold
and inspirational
individuals over
70 year’s old
Below: New Inc.
is a collaborative
tech/art incubator for
freelance creatives
SHARED SPACES
Our audience is also starting to move
towards a ‘we not me’ mindset that
celebrates collaboration and cocreation. People value sharing ideas,
concepts and working together to
reach common goals. This is evidenced
in the rise of design communities,
makerspaces and collaborative
projects. Over a third of our audience
would rather fulfill a shared goal than
achieve a personal one.
This spirit of sharing is also evidenced
in people’s work habits. On graduating
from university, members of our
audience expect the same easy-going
atmosphere in the workplace as they
experienced on campus. Respondents
value their time and long-term goals
over anything else, and would rather
work at a start-up or multidisciplinary
makerspace, where they can network,
develop their skill sets and work on
projects, than in a corporate office,
with a traditional hierarchy. “Today’s
teenagers are going to graduate from
school and college into a significantly
different landscape than the one
in which their parents began their
careers,” explains Sara Feast. Incubator
projects are proving successful, such
55
Refocus Lifestyle
as Colab and Space (London) and
New Inc (New York), where creatives
can benefit from peer-to-peer learning
and attend workshops, lectures and
events before launching their own
project or product.
“When I was envisioning this space,
I wanted it to be an ecosystem with
a range of voices that were disparate
but complementary and coming
together,” explains New Inc’s director
Julia Kaganskiy. New platforms and
services are helping to facilitate this
collaborative mindset. Hoffice, allows
freelance workers to connect with
others in their area via a Facebook
group, where they can arrange to work
from someone’s home – a DIY version
of otherwise pricey members’ clubs.
Bernie Mitchell of 90 Mainyard, a
co-working space in Hackney, London,
with a holy trinity of community,
collaboration and creativity as its
guiding vision, sums up the benefits:
“If you share everything, everything
moves forward. Everything will connect
and that’s better for everyone.” Sharing
this belief of many hands making light
work is Lily + Skinner, a London-based
collective of women who work in the
catering industry. They share resources,
CVs and advice, widely expanding the
reach they’d each have individually. As
founder Emma Reynolds says, “We
have people to celebrate success with
and shoulders to cry on when things
don’t go so well.”
Colony, a cooperative design studio
in New York, has a similar outlook. It
aims to give emerging talent a platform
where they can showcase work.
“Creative camaraderie, talking things
through, sourcing materials together
and sharing vendors – these are all
benefits of belonging to a community,”
says founder Jean Lin.
56 | AUDIENCE SURVEY 2015
‟Creative
camaraderie,
talking things
through, sourcing
materials together
and sharing
vendors – these
are all benefits of
belonging to
a community”
Opposite: Print All Over Me allows both artists and
amateurs to upload digital designs and earn profits
when their apparel or homeware designs are bought
by others
COMMUNITY SPIRIT
The desire to interact, share knowledge
and work together lives on in local
communities. Our audience is striving
to connect with strangers living in close
proximity and is rebelling against the
anonymity of urbanisation. People
want to refocus on making their local
neighbourhoods a better place. In fact,
55% of our US respondents prioritise
improving their local community over
furthering their career, and over a third
(42%) of our global audience share
this sentiment.
Helping to do this are digital tools
such as civic crowdfunding platform
Spacehive, apartment block-based
social network MyCoop, and
Neighbrhds, a community app to
connect users with local businesses,
residents and event planners. “The
one thing that comes up time and time
again is this concern about feeling
isolated in a city, and this desire to
feel a sense of community,” explains
Clare Reddington, director of iShed
and the Pervasive Media Studio, part
of the Watershed cultural platform
in Bristol, UK.
However, members of our audience
are also looking beyond their
immediate communities and peer
groups. Changers is an app that
rewards those who cycle, walk or use
public transport with credits, which
can be used to support social projects
in developing countries. Pumpipumpe
is a Swiss-based innitiative that uses
stickers featuring various images and
symbols that are placed on letterboxes
to let neighbours know what facilities
the occupants can offer those in need.
For example, a bike pump sticker on
your door means that should someone
suffer a puncture near your house, you
have the equipment to help. Perhaps
slightly tongue-in-cheek, but no less
symbolic of this cooperative culture,
is bathroom sharing service, Airpnp.
If you're caught short in unfamiliar
territory, just check Airpnp for a list
Left: Qbic provide budget, design-led hotels in
London and Amsterdam for travellers searching for
authentic local experiences
81% of
respondents
see travel as an
opportunity to
experience new
cultures
of nearby restrooms that are being
offered by organisations or individuals.
EXPLORERS
This shift in values is also evidenced in
what our audience desires from travel.
Respondents place value in travelling
and meeting people rather than being
tied to their desks. So when it comes
to travel and holiday, our audience
would rather connect with locals or
have new experiences than see the
tourist sites.
A total of 81% of respondents see
travel as an opportunity to experience
new cultures with the biggest majority,
40%, going so far as to define
themselves as ‘explorers’. This means
they are keen to try things, which
are acutely different to their day-today experiences, from cultures to
activities to locations. When it comes
to getting away, they’re very openminded and hungry for the unknown.
This was the most popular choice
by a relatively wide margin, and was
the preferred option over identifying
as ‘cosmopolitans’ (international
social network, similar activities to
what they’d do at home but just in
another location), ‘escapists’ (complete
detachment from modern life and tech)
or ‘networkers’ (using travel as a way of
advancing their career/portfolio).
They use networks like Airbnb,
cultural hubs like Ace Hotel and
boutique hostels, to help them connect
with like-minded individuals who can
help them get richer experiences,
gain unique insights and show them
interesting places to visit; they may
even reconnect with them once they
get home. “For years, a hotel was seen
as a refuge from the alien city you’ve
landed in, but travellers are getting
braver – they’re more interested
in discovering the environment
they’re in than being shielded from
it,” says Julie Fawcett, managing
director of design-led hostel chain
Qbic. Essentially people are no longer
interested in a pre-packaged tourist
experience because they feel that this
would undermine their chances of
experiencing a new culture.
57
4 REIZEN
DE STANDAARD
ZATERDAG 18, ZONDAG 19 APRIL 2015
L O GIE STE S T
ONGEPOLIJST OOSTLONDEN VERKENNEN VANUIT QBIC CITY HOTEL
DE EDGY KANT VAN
Londen
Harderwijk
2
Regent's
Park
9
Hyde
Park
Utrecht
9
LONDEN
Tham
es Ermelo
Amersfoort
Saint Paul's
Cathedral
Buckingham
Palace
Zeist
Qbic
London
Harderwijk City Hotel
Apeldoorn
Putten
Nijkerk
Piccadilly
Circus
UTRECHT
Ermelo
St Pancras International
station
Nijkerk
Putten
Tower
Bridge
Apeldoorn
Veenendaal
Amersfoort
UTRECHT
Utrecht
Arnhem
1 km
Zeist
Veenendaal
Piccadilly Circus, Westminster, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace…
stuk voor stuk staan ze op het lijstje van de debuterende Londenganger. Maar na een paar bezoekjes wil je misschien ook eens een andere kant van de Britse hoofdstad leren kennen. De wijken in het oosten bijvoorbeeld, waar een creatieve wind waait door buurten met een rijk verleden. TEKST EN FOTO’S: JAN DE HAESE
LONDEN | Een verrassend snelle metro
rit brengt ons van het station St Pancras
naar Aldgate East. De receptie van het Qbic
City Hotel hint al naar het weinig traditio
nele concept van dit hotel. In de kleurrijke
ontvangstruimte staat alleen een laptop te
wachten op een hoog bureaumeubel. Jonge
medewerkers spreken je wel aan en helpen
bij het inchecken. Zonder poespas, een filo
sofie die Qbic op veel vlakken volgt.
Het hotel biedt drie kamertypes aan:
Smart, Cosy en Fun. De Smartkamers zijn
de kleinste, aan de binnenzijde van het ge
bouw, zonder raam. De duurdere Cosy en
Fun Rooms hebben wel een raam. Die laat
ste zijn de ruimste kamers (minimum 20
vierkante meter). Van op straat zou je het
niet zeggen, maar met zijn 170 kamers is dit
een uit de kluiten gewassen hotel. Het pand
was vroeger een kantoorgebouw. Bijna twee
jaar geleden onderging het een opmerkelij
ke transformatie tot hotel.
Qbic staat voluit voor Quality By Innovative
Concept. En het kamerconcept is inder
daad innovatief. Centraal in de kamer staat
‘The Cubi’: een groot, witgelakt meubel dat
verlichting, bed en badkamer combineert.
Paul Rinkens, de Nederlandse bedenker
van het concept – Qbic zag het levenslicht
in Amsterdam – noemt het een ‘bouwdoos
in de stijl van Ikea of Lego, die je razendsnel
in elkaar steekt’. Het ontwerp ziet er strak en trendy uit. Aan
de kant van het bed vallen enkele prettige
zaken op. Ten eerste dat het een kingsize
bed is. Ten tweede prijkt aan het hoofdein
de een urban fotowand. Op het voeteneinde
ten slotte staan een ledtv en een ietwat bi
zarre sfeerlamp gemonteerd. Verder in de
kamer staan nog een aantal losse meubels
en een paar onbestemde constructies waar
in/op we onze koffers en wat kleren kwijt
kunnen. De ontwerper, Sander Bokkinga,
gebruikte vooral gerecycleerd materiaal als
houten plankjes en tuinslangen. Speciaal is
het alvast wel.
Een schuifdeur leidt naar de badkamer. Die
is minimalistisch ingericht. Qbic focust
hier op ‘the basics’. Dat wil zeggen: brand
schoon en goede handdoeken, maar niet
meer bewegingsruimte dan strikt nodig en
geen prullaria als zeepjes, minitubetjes
tandpasta of een naaikitje. Wel een fles
handzeep en in de douche een flacon dou
chegel en shampoo. Die douche is dan weer
een paradepaardje van Qbic: elke kamer
heeft haar regendouche. Voor we de stad
intrekken, testen we die even uit. Oordeel:
voor zo’n regenbui komen we graag naar
Londen.
Jack the Ripper
Het Qbichotel ligt in het district Tower
Hamlets. Die naam zegt u misschien niet
meteen iets, maar toch heeft u er vast al van
gehoord. Of beter: u kent ongetwijfeld een
van zijn beroemdste bewoners. Hier hield
REIZEN 5
DE STANDAARD
ZATERDAG 18, ZONDAG 19 APRIL 2015 Het innovatieve concepthotel Qbic biedt een uitstekende uitvalsbasis om de creatieve hipsterbuurten van OostLonden te ontdekken.
Het ontbijtbuffet zal foodies zeker bekoren. Geen muesli maar het hippere granola, naar wens aan te vullen met zonnebloem
pitten, banaan, rozijnen, kwark of sojamelk
aan het eind van de negentiende eeuw na
melijk de bekendste seriemoordenaar aller
tijden lelijk huis: Jack the Ripper. Een fi
guur die nog steeds tot de verbeelding
spreekt. Zo kun je deelnemen aan een
nachtwandeling langs enkele plekken die
de geschiedenis van de seriemoordenaar te
kenden.
Snuisteren
Wij houden het vrolijk en gaan bij daglicht
op verkenning door de wijk Spitalfields.
Dat is een van Londens meest bruisende
buurten, met Brick Lane als centrale le
vensader. Hier verzamelen zich jonge crea
tievelingen van diverse (maar toch vooral
hippe) pluimage. Grafische bureaus, koffie
bars, bioeethuizen, edgy boetiekjes en vin
tagewinkels in ruige panden kleuren de
wijk. We snuisteren tot we er bijna bij neer
vallen. Verslik je wel niet in de prijzen. Zo mag je
vlotjes 30 pond ophoesten voor een afge
leefd AdidasTshirtje uit de jaren negentig,
dat een doorsnee Meetjeslander op zater
dag aanschiet om snoeiafval naar het con
tainerpark te brengen. Omdat we ’s avonds in de stad uit eten gin
gen, ontdekken we het hotelrestaurant pas
’s morgens na een goed nachtje slapen. An
ders dan het geelgroene kleuraccent in on
ze kamer overheersen hier rustiger tinten.
Hout, wandtegeltjes en Scandinavisch aan
doend design creëren een sfeer van authen
ticiteit. Beck en zowaar ook Sigur Rós leve
ren de soundtrack bij het ontbijt. Rond
ons zien we vooral jonge stellen en zakelij
ke enkelingen die druk op smart devices
tokkelen. Families trekt Qbic nauwelijks
aan.
Straatkunst
Het ontbijtbuffet zal foodies zeker beko
ren. Geen muesli maar het hippere grano
la, naar wens aan te vullen met zonne
bloempitten, banaan, rozijnen, kwark of
sojamelk. Om je energiepeil helemaal
naar het maximum te tillen is er appel/
bietensap, mét selderstengel. Geen nood
voor wie het traditioneler wil, want er zijn
ook sneden toast en kaas en ham, en alle
warme ingrediënten die bij een English
breakfast horen.
Na het ontbijt kuieren we nog even langs
Old Spitalfields Market, een grote over
dekte markthal vol kraampjes met kle
ding, accessoires en street food. Hier ver
trekt ook de ‘street art tour’ die we boek
ten bij Alternative London. OostLonden
bulkt van de straatkunst – zeg zeker niet
graffiti – waaronder fantastische werken
van de Belg ROA. Echt een aanrader, zo
lang de wijken Spitalfields, Bethnal Green
en Shoreditch nog weerstaan aan het pro
ces van de gentrificatie die vanuit The City
oprukt. Want daar hoort een zielloze
woestenij van glas en beton bij. En wie wil
daar nu in logeren?
Praktisch
Wij betaalden 107 pond (149 eu
ro) voor een Fun Room. Met ontbijt komt daar 7,95 pond (11 euro) per persoon bij. Reserveren via:
https://london.qbichotels.com
Ons oordeel
Innovatief en creatief hotel
concept op maat van dynami
sche stadsverkenners met oog voor design.
Alex Polizzi on London's new hotels
The Hotel Inspector checks out three new London hotels that cater for the
rich, the super-rich and the budget traveller
The Bulgari’s 80ft pool
By Alex Polizzi
12:31PM GMT 10 Dec 2013
1 Comment
The London hotel scene has never been so buoyant. Traditional grande-dame luxury
hotels are having to look to their laurels as new or revamped five-star properties open
almost every month. And there have been interesting openings at the budget end of the
market too. Over the past few months I’ve taken a look at two of the starriest additions to
the capital’s hotel portfolio: the Bulgari Hotel in Knightsbridge and the refurbished Café
Royal in Regent Street. And for those on a sub-celebrity budget, I’ve visited the city’s
newest budget opening, the Qbic Hotel near Brick Lane in east London.
The Café Royal recently reopened after a three-year refurbishment, with every detail
overseen by the studio of an architect I much admire, David Chipperfield. I have a historic
interest in the Café Royal as it is the first major property my grandfather, Charles Forte,
acquired when he began to build his hotel empire. My mother used to put on art
exhibitions in the bar and the wonderfully rococo Grill Room has been the site of many
family revels.
It now has 159 bedrooms, of which one third are suites. My junior suite overlooked
Regent Street. Every wall is in an off-white, offset plaster design that mimics the Portland
stone on the exterior of the building. I found it very stark – and the pale wooden floor,
pale mustard rug, pale pink armchair and pale mint-green sofa did nothing to soften the
effect.
All the room functions, the blackout blinds, sheers, “Do Not Disturb” signs and lights are
controlled by bedside buttons. Now, I loathe struggling with technology that is supposed
to make my stay easier, and I had to spend at least an hour peering myopically at the
well-labelled but – to me – deeply unsexy buttons to make anything work.
My bathroom was floor-to-ceiling Carrara marble with underfloor heating and had a really
impressive bath gently carved out of a solid block, but I was shocked to discover there
was no shower attachment. There is a separate shower, bien sûr, but this is one of my
cardinal sins of room design: why would anyone think you can’t enjoy a bath and wash
your hair in the same place?
When it came to the rest of the hotel, the Akasha spa and gym, with a watsu pool for
hydra massage treatments, is a soothing retreat. And I was wowed by the Pompadour
Suite, an event space for private parties, receptions and weddings. It has been decorated
in its original colours, marrons glacés and gold, and can seat 120 for dinner or cater for
200 for drinks and canapés. It is surely one of the prettiest and most dramatic private
dining rooms in London. The Grill Room, however striking the restored gilding and
cupids, is decked out with clunky velvet furniture, in the wrong shade of pink, which only
detracts from the glories of the room itself.
Although the hotel’s beautiful historic lobby still opens on to Regent Street, the new main
entrance on Air Street disappears into the street furniture. The practical advantage of taxi
access does not compensate for entering the hotel via Ten, the all-day dining room –
which, and I hesitate to be so blunt, I loathe. The boxy, graceless furniture and
unforgiving lighting made me think that David Chipperfield is a better architect than he is
a room designer.
The following week, I was at the Bulgari Hotel in Knightsbridge, where the 50 rooms and
more than 35 suites and studios benefit from a shopper’s dream location right next to
Harvey Nichols and Sloane Street.
The designer here is the Italian Antonio Citterio. I walked into acres of black marble,
relieved by wonderful white flowers in the lobby. I had seen photos of this hotel before
my visit and found the overall effect more subtle in the flesh. The palette is certainly
monochrome, but more nuanced than you would think. The whole ground floor is daringly
dimly lit, and the black leather seating and gorgeous silvered bar were peopled by an
unusually beautiful crowd.
All in all, it’s extremely glamorous and very New York in its unashamed sybaritic display
of precious materials and, I must admit, much more to my taste.
I stayed in the Knightsbridge Suite and I loved the whole experience. The bespoke
mahogany wall panels and the thoughtful lighting – floor lamps, strip above curtain line,
desk lamps, bedside table lights, all conventionally controlled – threw the enormous bed,
piled high with pillows, into an appealing pool of light.
The bathroom was similarly dramatic: white veined black marble on every surface, one
piece of gleaming white Corian for the basin and surround, the walls behind the bath
curved to follow its contours. But possibly my favourite detail was the room fridge made
to look like a Thirties packing case in leather, with highly polished mahogany fittings
inside. There is a high standard of finish, and I am glad I’m not the one who has to
maintain it.
The hotel also has an 80ft pool, an enormous gym and 12 treatment rooms. The builders
dug 130ft down to allow for the spa and gym, as well as a private cinema and a function
room with solid silver chandeliers, which seats 140, or accommodates up to 300 for
cocktails.
The restaurant is overseen by Alain Ducasse but serves the kind of Italian food you rarely
see outside Italy – food good enough to make me want to take my husband, Marcus,
there for a treat. They had a month-long soft opening to iron out any bugs before they
accepted paying guests, and it certainly feels very well-established now.
So far so conventional, but there is also a new budget hotel on the block, the Qbic, close
to Brick Lane in E1. The Dutch developers already have one Qbic to their name in
Amsterdam and, backed by some ethical venture capitalists, intend to open another eight
properties, all in areas of deprivation, within the next 10 years. The hotel has an
admirable hiring policy, recruiting 50 per cent of staff from the local area and 20 per cent
from the charities Food Cycle and Bikeworks, which train and assist people back into
work.
Here in London, they have 171 rooms costing from £59 a night up to £199, with the
promise that they won’t exceed that price. They use the same system as airlines,
“dynamic pricing”, so that the earlier you book the cheaper the room.
The concept is created around the Cubi, a prefabricated construction, flat-packed from
China, that can be assembled in a day. This has allowed them to open the hotel a mere
six months after buying the site, which was an empty, open-plan former office block.
The Cubi is a pod that comprises a large double bed with a white plastic canopy
containing all the room light controls and British and European plug sockets; an arm
holds a flat-screen television at the end of the bed, from which you can access Freeview
channels and the internet, with free Wi-Fi. A bathroom behind the headboard contains a
rain shower and glass half-screen, lavatory and basin. All the plumbing and electrics are
sandwiched between the headboard and the bathroom wall.
The remaining furniture is what I can only describe as conversation pieces or “media
currency”, objects that have only been put in the rooms to stimulate Facebook chatter
and Twitter feed, with no earthly use apart from street-cred points.
The light bulb at the end of the bed, wrapped in garden hose, does, I suppose, at least
help to illuminate the room, but the wooden, half-baked DIY stepladder – with yet more
garden hose wrapped around one step as a luggage rack, two unwieldy hangers at the
back and a mirror stuck to the top – provided the only place to put my stuff in my large
35  sq  m (377  sq  ft) room.
But if I sound less than impressed, I am giving you the wrong idea: overall, I am
completely wowed by the whole project.
The Qbic has only been open a month, so I found it easy to forgive the automatic checkin kiosks that weren’t working, creating a queue behind the only member of staff in the
lobby. Similarly, only one of the two lifts worked when I visited.
As there is no bar or restaurant, all guests’ needs are provided via vending machines,
which accept only credit cards. As part of Qbic’s local and ethical policy, these machines
offer locally sourced products, from vacuum-packed stews to beers from a brewery only
five miles down the road. The bottle of white wine I chose could only be accessed by the
manager, charming Josef; the vending machines had yet to be adapted for this particular
wine.
These are all glitches that become more significant when you discover that there are only
24 staff to run this behemoth. Obviously, budget hotels must minimise spending on staff,
and this depends upon technology doing its bit. I am distrustful of how reliably we can
depend upon it.
There is a lovely, open-plan seating area, designed so well that you would never believe
that it seats 100 people, where free coffee, tea, soup and bread are on offer during the
day.
As the coffee stations on each floor were not in place yet, I heroically threw on last night’s
clothes to get my husband a cup of tea, followed by the “grab bag” that was included in
the room price and left outside the door, comprising juice, an apple and a cereal bar. If
you want to spend another £7.50, you have a generous buffet from which to help
yourself. I did not see anyone policing it, so they may find their belief in guests’ honesty
severely tested.
Would I stay there again? Absolutely. It is very good value at £59 a night; rather less –
until they iron out the glitches – at the top price.
Alex Polizzi will return to Channel 5 in a new series of ‘The Hotel Inspector’ in early
2014.
Café Royal, 68 Regent Street, London W1 (020 7406 3333;hotelcaferoyal.com); double
rooms from £400 a night, without breakfast.
Bulgari Hotel and Residences, 171 Knightsbridge, London SW7 (020 7151
1010; bulgarihotels.com); double rooms from £600 a night, room only.
Qbic London City Hotel, 42 Adler Street, London E1 (qbichotels.com); double rooms
from £59 a night, including a breakfast bag.
29/05/2015
Dream
Plan
Escape/landen
Reisfotogra䃫麹e
Hoteltip: Qbic Hotel London City - Karlijn Travels
Hoteltip: Qbic Hotel London City
Ga je naar Londen en ben je op zoek naar een gaaf designhotel dat ook nog eens goed te betalen is (voor
Londense begrippen dan ;)? Dan is het Qbic Hotel London City aan de rand van de hippe wijk Shoreditch
een aanrader. Wij sliepen er vorige maand een weekend en we voelden ons er helemaal thuis.
Over Karlijn
Contact
http://karlijntravels.com/hoteltip-qbic-hotel-londen/
1/13
29/05/2015
OVER KARLIJN
TRAVELS
Nieuwsgierig.
Avontuurlijk. Gek van
fotogra��e en bezig om
haar tweede wereldreis
te plannen. Ik ben
Karlijn en met mijn
blog wil ik je inspireren
om ook de wereld te
ontdekken. Dream,
plan, escape!
Londen is een dure stad en de hotelprijzen rijzen de pan uit. Ik wilde graag slapen in een designhotel en die zijn er
genoeg. Maar ik had deze keer geen zin om de hoofdprijs te betalen voor een kamer. Uiteindelijk kwam ik terecht
bij Qbic Hotel, een betaalbaar designhotel dat er gaaf uitzag én werd aangeraden door collega-reisblogger Milou
van Explorista.nl. Boeken dus!
2/13
29/05/2015
Duurzaam design
Karlijn Travels
Vind ik leuk
Qbic Hotel biedt kamers van verschillende grootte. Ze hebben allemaal één ding gemeen: ze zijn opgebouwd uit
zogenoemde Cubi, één blok dat bestaat uit het bed, de verlichting en de badkamer. Dat is een relatief goedkope
514 personen vinden Karlijn Travels en
leuk.
duurzame manier van designen. De kamers zien er super uit: het hoofdeinde van het comfortabele bed
bestaat uit een enorme foto (er zijn verschillende varianten) en de kamers bevatten verschillende
designelementen. Ik vond de lampen gemaakt van tuinslangen bijvoorbeeld erg leuk, net als het ‘do not disturb’hondje (zie bovenste foto). De badkamer is ruim en heeft een grote regendouche. De wi�� is natuurlijk gratis en
supersnel en je kunt op elke verdieping gratis ko e en thee pakken.
Sociale plug-in van Facebook
3/13
29/05/2015
GEEN UPDATE
MEER MISSEN?
Schrijf je dan nu in en
ontvang een e-mail als er
een nieuwe post online
staat!
E-mailadres
Inschrijven
NU IN…
Iran! Next:
Turkmenistan
OP INSTAGRAM
Gezellige ruimte
Qbic Hotel heeft beneden een grote ruimte met gezellige zitjes. Ook dit is natuurlijk helemaal design-verantwoord,
met tafels en stoelen in verschillende stijlen, die samen een gezellig geheel vormen. Er is een bar waar je lokaal
gebrouwen biertjes kunt bestellen en er staan ��jne stoelen waar je heerlijk in wegzakt. ’s Ochtends wordt hier het
ontbijt geserveerd. Het is niet enorm uitgebreid, maar wel erg lekker, met onder andere yoghurt, muesli en fruit
4/13
29/05/2015
en verse croissantjes.
5/13
29/05/2015
Toplocatie
Eén van de beste features van het hotel is de locatie. Je logeert hier aan de rand van de heerlijke wijk Shoreditch,
in de buurt van talloze restaurantjes en barretjes. De metro ligt aan de overkant en daarmee reis je supersnel heel
Londen door. De locatie is bovendien ideaal als je op London City vliegt: op een kwartier lopen ligt een station van
de Docklands Light Railway en daarmee ben je binnen een half uurtje op het vliegveld. Perfect dus!
LINKS MEEST
GELEZEN
BLOGS
A Japan itinerary for the
��rst-time visitor
De Filipijnen in 1 maand:
onze route
Ssstt…eilandparadijs in
Thailand gevonden (met
hoteltip)!
Plannen voor onze
wereldreis in 2015
OOK TE
VINDEN OP
Voor meer informatie
Voor meer informatie over Qbic kun je terecht op https://london.qbichotels.com. Kamers zijn er vanaf ongeveer
90 euro per nacht.
6/13
29/05/2015
Ook leuk om te lezen
Londen is klaar voor
Op ontdekking langs de
Borough Market in
kerst!
street art van Shoreditch Londen: paradijs voor
Een perfecte zondag in
Shoreditch, Londen
foodies
ZOEKEN
Hoteltip: NEW Hotel in
Athene
Categories: Citytrips, Engeland, Escape, Europa, Plan, Slapen
9 januari 2015
10
0
7/13
29/05/2015
← Persoonlijk: over angsten en risico’s en het waarmaken van
Het blauwe ijs van Los Glaciares National Park →
reisdromen
10 THOUGHTS ON “HOTELTIP: QBIC HOTEL LONDON CITY”
Stéphanie | Expeditie Aardbol says:
9 JANUARI 2015 AT 14:14
Deze heb ik al zo vaak voorbij zien komen, lijkt me een heel leuk hotel! Goed om te lezen dat jij het ook echt een
aanrader vindt. Die onthou ik
BEANTWOORDEN
Karlijn says:
9 JANUARI 2015 AT 15:41
Het is ook echt een leuk hotel! Fijne plek
BEANTWOORDEN
Milou says:
9 JANUARI 2015 AT 20:01
Ohhh ik ben blij dat je het leuk vond! Super. Ik zou zo terug willen
8/13
29/05/2015
BEANTWOORDEN
Karlijn says:
9 JANUARI 2015 AT 20:22
Ik vond het heel leuk (en voor herhaling vatbaar), thanks voor de tip
!
BEANTWOORDEN
Joost | TheWorldAround says:
9 JANUARI 2015 AT 20:36
In Londen zijn zoveel to��e hotels! Ik ben er alleen nog nooit geweest omdat ik altijd bij vrienden blijf slapen, haha.
Maar deze is ook wel tof om gewoon een nachtje te doen om te zien!
BEANTWOORDEN
Karlijn says:
10 JANUARI 2015 AT 12:05
Hoi Joost, bij vrienden slapen is wel een ideale oplossing als je in Londen bent! Want het blijft een dure
stad
Maar mocht je toch eens een hotel zoeken voor een nachtje, dan is dit een aanrader!
BEANTWOORDEN
9/13
29/05/2015
Marcella says:
9 JANUARI 2015 AT 23:14
Alleen al om dat hondje aan de deur zou ik naar dit hotel willen
Het ziet er sfeervol en erg leuk ingericht uit.
Deze ga zeker ik onthouden als onze plannen voor Londen concreter worden.
BEANTWOORDEN
Karlijn says:
10 JANUARI 2015 AT 12:01
Hoi Marcella, dat hondje is gaaf hè! Dit hotel is echt een aanrader voor een ��jn weekendje Londen
BEANTWOORDEN
Nathalie - Map of Joy - says:
25 JANUARI 2015 AT 12:03
Wat een geweldige tip. In de favorieten!
BEANTWOORDEN
Karlijn says:
25 JANUARI 2015 AT 12:09
10/13
10/06/2015
Qbic Hotel–Euro Charm in Aldgate East
It’s a funny old thing but I’d obviously walked past Qbic Hotel many, many times and not noticed it opposite the Altab Ali Park en route to my
friend’s flat quite literally around the corner. So, when the opportunity came to review the hotel and I established that it was literally minutes from my
friend’s place and an area I’ve finally embraced more than a smidgen. (East End friend will be LOL’ing at this West End girl who sees Holborn as a
stretch, finally saying that).
http://katiechutzpah.com/2015/05/qbic-hoteleuro-charm-in-aldgate-east.html
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The area isn’t quite surrounded by the type of bearded hipsters as downtown Hoxton and is a tad more real. And with Commercial Road’s rag-trade
wholesale stores, the Mosque, the Tesco-disco-Metro on the corner and the various high-street, one man band purveyors of PC technical equipment
you may think it’s more Acton/wrong end of Hammersmith than hyper hip East End. But this girl likes it like that. It reminds me of Notting Hill
before the Eurotrash bankers and ‘Made in Chelsea-via-Argentina’ types moved there. When Portobello Road was still a bit of a danger to walk alone.
Aldgate East not only is bang on dead central with shiny new skyscrapers everywhere and a kick-in-the-pants walk to ShoHo and it’s rooftop pool.
Also, the area boasts Brick Lane (currently on a par with Portobello Road in terms of vintage), the incredible Whitechapel Gallery and the renowned
CASS school of architecture and design which is a leader in its field.
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Qbic Hotel and it’s quirky European approach (the company is originally Dutch) makes perfect sense amongst this raw but very much ultra relevant
vibe. In fact, the Dutch element is perfectly in keeping with the 17th Century Huguenot influence of Brick Lane so even the heritage as well as the
concept seems to perfectly match the area’s European history. Neither too boutique’y to be intimidating or overpriced (for that matter), with a genuine
‘can do’ zestful approach to service and putting the client first, Qbic Hotel won me over when Ms West End is more accustomed to plush rather than
pleasing.
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The quirkiness hit me straight off. I arrived later in the evening just as it was turning dark as Qbic’s patrons and a number of external guests were
spilling out into late London drinking after work beers. The denizens of Altab Ali Park were joining their brand of late night drinking with Tesco
carriers flooding the green but that only added to the East End feel. The hotel entrance is has natural wood, street-sculptures by Sander Bokkinga as
well as flat screen TVs. The check-in is of a work-station type with busy and enthusiastic house greeters who were so helpful as to appear un-London.
This is the good thing re having a European influenced hotel.
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The hotel though appearing small, is deceptively large, with 171 rooms of various sizes (Smart, Cosy and Fun – no, that’s the names!) all with
distinctive personalities. The quirk here is that each room has a different picture as a head-board to match it’s persona. Mine’s showed an urban
graffiti artist. The room, while appearing as unconventional as the hotel was relaxed and contemporary fit for purpose with a large shower room and
bathroom and one of the most comfortable beds that I’ve slept in.
The long chartreuse and dark grey coloured corridors with occasional modern textile artworks on the wall, have free tea and coffee stations. A
welcome approach to this hotel’s ‘cheap doesn’t have to mean not-chic’ approach.
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The breakfast room (in the ‘Parts & Labour’ restaurant area was welcoming, discreetly buzzy and with a wide selection of either continental or cooked
choices. The room is furnished with 1950s and 1960s furniture alongside modern art and street-art sculptures, murals and bookcases. Close your eyes
and the traveller (I noted Irish, French, Canadian and Dutch) could be in Amster or Rotterdam. Again, service from the young, buzzy staff was neither
too ingratiating but met the balance of helpful yet informative. These were young people actually taking a pride in working for the brand and doing
their jobs which was refreshing to encounter.
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This hotel is a find for the long-weekend Euro traveller and city breaker. And, while I didn’t seem many business types lounging around the hotel, this
could be seen as a bonus. Indeed, more fool them for not knowing of its bright, cheerful whereabouts and its proximity to the City. They’re missing
out as this is fun. And everyone needs a bit more upbeat fun.
Qbic Hotel is on 42 Adler Street, E1 (Tel: 020 3021 3300). Room prices start from only £69 per night. Nearest tube: Aldgate East. All guests are
entitled to a grab-and-go breakfast of fruit, cereal bar and organic juice, or they can pay £7.50 for a continental breakfast with food sourced from
local suppliers.
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QBIC LONDON HOTEL REVIEW
AN URBAN HOTEL THAT IS UNIQUE, COOL, CHIC AND AFFORDABLE!
Written by Menswear Style in Travel on the 19th May 2015 / 1 Comment
LONDON
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ubbed as a hotel that is “nothing like home”, upon arrival you’ll instantly see why. Quirky is the
first word that comes to mind at Qbic hotel. You’ll get a sense of humour and creativity reflected
from the furniture and interiors. The hotel is bringing an affordable chic hotel experience to urban
London’s Brick Lane area. They’ve also partnered with local charity Bikeworks to offer guests free bikes
and helmets to discover London on two wheels.
They also generate part of their electricity via an army of solar panels situated on the roof of the hotel,
which is one of the many reasons they've achieved platinum level GreenLeaders on TripAdvisor. http://www.menswearstyle.co.uk/2015/05/19/qbic-london-hotel-review/2728
TRENDING
MEN’S HAIRSTYLE TRENDS
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1
2
A GUIDE TO THE WIDOW'S
PEAK HAIRSTYLE
3
THE FADE HAIRCUT
4
6 TYPES OF MUST-HAVE
WEEKEND BAGS
THE ROOM The giant pod (named a ‘cubi’) which has been assembled in each of the hotel's rooms are a mixture
between a space rocket and a garden shed. Yes this sounds odd but it works so well, it elegantly holds all
elements together in an ergonomically designed configuration. There’s hosepipe details on both a clothes
hanging wooden frame and an end of bed mood light feature. The bed and bathroom is supper modern
and fully encased in a giant pod, giving a glimpse into what the future might hold. We particularly liked the
end of bed fitted TV, Naturalmat organic superking size bed mattress and the free coffee and tea stations.
5
6
MEN’S HAIRSTYLE TRENDS
FOR 2015
5 TYPES OF SHORTS YOU
SHOULD OWN THIS
SUMMER
SEE THE SECOND
BECKHAM FOR BELSTAFF
COLLECTION
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7
HOW TO WEAR HIGH TOP
SNEAKERS
PARTS & LABOUR
This venue is a bar, restaurant and lobby space all in one. Parts and Labour serve food throughout the day,
accompanied by a fabulous selection of wine. If cocktails are more your kind of thing, they have you
covered there too. It’s a really cool space which has a good eye for design and a relaxing atmosphere
whereby you could easily spend a few hours working from a laptop whilst sipping on coffee (or a beer).
Breakfast was superb with a solid buffet selection and interesting menu options available. We opted for
avocado and eggs on bagel – super delicious!
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ARCHIVE
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QBIC HOTEL LONDON - #byLily#byLily
QBIC HOTEL LONDON
Posted on May 15, 2015
In my journey reviewing hotels, I am lucky enough to only have stayed at great hotels so far for the reviews. Qbic hotel in London is no
exception. I was pretty excited to see the rooms, but it was the whole concept of Qbic that has made the impression.
It’s so 2015 to live as organic and ecological as possible. I absolutely support these movements in my own way. Meaning that I realize
that I know too little about these movements, so I am learning along the way. Eating organic, fair trade etc is my start.
Staying at a hotel that has been taken much of these things into account is always a big plus to me. The urban Qbic hotel proves that
“eco friendly” and living conscious doesn’t have to boring.
The room we stayed in was really spacious and super clean. Every part of the room tells a story. You have the cubical design of the
bathroom that is connected to the bed, which feels like you are sleeping in a space shuttle. The bed quality was A M A Z I N G, so soft
and comfy!
READ PREVIOUS POST:
Furthermore, there was an interesting designer chair from a ladder. A desk and clothing rack that is linked together.
Then you have the breakfast the next morning in the Parts & Labour restaurant on the first floor. Everything is freshly prepared in their
open kitchen. You can also have your lunch and dinner here with a very good menu!
There are actually many more positive things that I can tell you about the hotel, but these are the main things that I want to share. But
you have to experience this hotel yourself to really know what I mean. It is a hotel that you will still talk about after your stay. I will let
the images and video speak now. Would you stay at this hotel after seeing this? :)
http://www.hashtagbylily.com/qbic-hotel-london/
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Location: Qbic Hotel
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——
shirt: H&M
jeans: Seven Sisters
heels: Steve Madden
watch: Cluse
O THE R P O S TS Y O U MI G HT L I K E :
FROM LONDON
HOTEL YASMIN
PRAGUE
ON THE
STREETS OF
PRAGUE
CALVIN’S
UNA HOTEL
PALACE
CATANIA
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This entry was posted in HOTELS, LONDON and tagged hotel, London, Qbic by by Lily. Bookmark the permalink
[http://www.hashtagbylily.com/qbic-hotel-london/] .
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Lauren Baxter • 7 days ago
That looks like the coolest hotel I've seen, I'd for sure stay there! The décor is so modern and chic and that
restaurant looks awesome :)
On a side note I absolutely adore your beige pumps! Gorgeous
Lauren xx
△ ▽
• Reply • Share › #byLily Mod > Lauren Baxter • a day ago
Hey Lauren,
This hotel is freakin awesome. I can't wait to go back next time :) There isn't one negative thing that I can
say about the hotel!
And thank you, love my Steve Maddens :D
X Lily
△ ▽
• Reply • Share › Meet Marloes • 12 days ago
Helemaal mijn smaak! Veel design en lekker praktisch. Ziet er mega ruim uit. Welk type kamer was dit?
- X Marloes
△ ▽
• Reply • Share › #byLily Mod > Meet Marloes • a day ago
Jaaa echt iets voor jullie! Goeie vraag welke kamer, ik denk de grootste gezien de ruimte die we hadden.
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Als je ooit daar naar toe gaat, kan je het beste op hun website boeken, dat is het goedkoopst. Vaak krijg
je nog een extra kortingscode ;)
X Lily
△ ▽
• Reply • Share › Karen - Dressing in Labels • 14 days ago
Het bed is echt stoer!
△ ▽
• Reply • Share › #byLily Mod > Karen - Dressing in Labels • a day ago
TOf he! Alsof je in een spaceship slaapt hihi.. En het is super super fijn ook nog!!
X Lily
△ ▽
• Reply • Share › ALSO ON HASHTAG BY LILY
WHAT'S THIS?
MY CINDERELLA STORY
AWAY FROM KEYBOARD #22
6 comments • 2 days ago
2 comments • a month ago
AvatarMeet Marloes — Green looks so good on you! En je
schoentjes met glazen hakje, wauwie! - X Marloes
Avatar#byLily — Hi Eline, Dankjewel lieverd! Altijd lieve
berichtjes! Apprecieer het ENORM!!! X Lily
MODERN & VINTAGE
THE START OF FRINGE
10 comments • 2 months ago
4 comments • 2 months ago
Avatar#byLily — Hihi.. It was kind of a hectic period indeed.
Luckily I am 100% recovered by now. Oh ik kan
gewoon Nederlands praten met jou haha.. Anyhow,
dankjewel …
AvatarLauren Baxter — Love the outfit so simple and classic
:) and I am glad your better! Sounds like fun trips are
coming :) Lauren | LB Designs xx
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Qbic Hotel London Fun Room Review | Red Velvet London
L ONDON L IF EST Y L E BL OG
HOME
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B ir thday Tr eat at Qbic Hotel London Fu n Room
June 7, 2015 ♦ Hotels, Hotels In London ♦ 4 Comments on Birthday Treat at Qbic Hotel London Fun Room
http://redvelvetlondon.com/hotels-in-london/birthday-treat-at-qbic-hotel-london-fun-room/
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I was extremely excited to come back to Qbic Hotel in London; their rooms are quirky, young at heart, fun and makes you feel very welcome the moment
you step in. This time round; I decided to spend my Birthday in the Fun Room and much to my delight (and slightly embarrassed) they surprised me with a
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bottle of red and Birthday brownies to welcome my stay with them! They are waaay too sweet to welcome me with such surprise. It was so unexpected and I
was really touched by their gesture. Qbic London hotel is under 5 minutes walking distance from Aldgate East underground station and about 10 minutes
walking distance to Liverpool Street! I have had my evening planned out around Liverpool Street so my location for the night stay was bang on perfect.
The Fun room by far is the best room to stay in; equipped with a 32″ LED TV, ensuite bathroom with rain shower, couch, cosy double bed, free wifi, quirky
bits of furniture in a spacious room. I would recommend Qbic Hotel for those wanting a bit more fun and personality to a hotel who loves to take pictures
wherever you go then this is a sweet gem in London. Situated on the rim of Zone 1 central London; the hotel offers a Smart, Cosy and Fun rooms at an
affordable chic price (basically less than £99 per night). I have reviewed a different room earlier this year; for more photos for a double single room it is in
this post: Qbic Hotel double single room.
As a tourist; I would want to experience a hotel stay a destination too. Also as a Londoner and heading out for the night; I rather pay for an affordable,
local hotel than pay £60 cab fare home. Logistically; a double room can mean you can split the cost with a friend/partner and make your evening more
pleasurable on a Friday/Saturday night out.
Service Rating: 9/10 – I cannot fault them. Very friendly, approachable and fantastic attention to detail for returning customers. They have a 24/7 front
desk so you can always pop down and ask them a question or two…about anything; even a hi.
Room Rating: 10/10 – from their website; what you see their is exactly what you get. It is undoubtedly an experience for a night stay. Check in check out
times are 3pm and 11am (they can be flexible with the 11am check out time; just let them know if you have a bit of a hangover!!).
Facility Rating: 9/10 – Free wifi and who doesn’t love a rain shower! I have stayed with Qbic twice now and have always had a comfortable night sleep.
There is a cool, relaxing, home feel cafe for your morning breakfast, lunch and dinner (breakfast served until 11am).
Location Rating: 10/10 – Safe environment, in central London near Liverpool Street. There is a park on its doorstep so perfect chill out zone in the
Summer.
I hope you have enjoyed my post today and would love to say thank you to Qbic Hotel London for a memorable stay with you. An experience I will
remember. May x
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Ther e ar e 4 com m ents for this ar ticle
Am y
June 8, 2015 at 9:44 pm
Wooww that is such a cool hotel!! Can’t believe I’ve not heard of this place before. Happy Birthday May, your pics are beautiful as always
Amy x
Reply to this message
hanh
June 9, 2015 at 1:57 pm
Happy Birthday May! Looks like you had a great stay….i’m defo going to book the fun room one day! xx
May Lee Author
June 9, 2015 at 10:06 pm
Thank you Hanh; it’s very affordable; especially if you plan to go out on a Fri/Sat night.
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K ather ine S
June 9, 2015 at 10:03 pm
Happy Birthday May; hope you had a fab Birthday and how lovely is this rooommmm. x
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(http://theblankmap.com)
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Home (http://theblankmap.com)
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Qbic Hotels
QBIC HOTEL: DUTCH DESIGN IN
LONDON
Qbic London City Hotel
(https://london.qbichotels.com/) is one of those
hotels you will remember for all the right
reasons. The design is weird but fabulous, the
staff are friendly and the NaturalMat beds are
divine (seriously, I want a bed like that at
home). This affordable design hotel is located a
stone’s throw from Aldgate East underground
station, where the tube will take you to
Westminster for example in around 15 minutes.
(http://theblankmap.com/wpcontent/uploads/2015/01/Monique-at-Qbic.jpg)
There are 3 types of rooms to choose from:
smart, cozy and fun. The only difference
between a smart room and a cozy room is that
a smart room does not have a window. If you
want to make the most of your stay at Qbic
though, go for a fun room. The name says it all,
it’s a great place to stay. All rooms benefit from
the following amenities: a 32 inch smart TV is
integrated in the bed’s design and the spotless
bathroom has a powerful rain shower. Free WiFi with a strong signal is available throughout
the hotel and all rooms are sound proof.
(http://theblankmap.com/wpcontent/uploads/2015/01/Bathroom-Qbic.jpg)
A continental buffet breakfast is served every
morning and cooked items are available to
order. There are plenty of options in the buffet,
which includes croissants, yogurt with fresh
fruit and fresh juices.
Another bonus is that this hotel has parking (!)
and is located just outside the congestion
charge zone. So if you’re travelling to London by
car this is a great option for you.
If you’re feeling brave you can also rent bikes
from Qbic so that you can explore the city at
your leisure. I’ve tried cycling in London and
although I’m a seasoned cyclist in Amsterdam I
would not recommend it for the faint hearted.
Book here
(http://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/qbiclondon-city.html?aid=815692) (https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.512159,-0.078243&z=14&t=m&hl=enGB&gl=US&mapclient=apiv3)
Map data ©2015 Google
(https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5121593,-0.0782428,14z/data=!10m1!1e1!12b1?source=apiv3&rapsrc=apiv3)
We would like to thank Qbic Hotels for inviting us, our
opinions however remain our own. QBIC HOTEL: DUTCH DESIGN IN
LONDON
LOCATION
8
ROOM
9
SERVICE
9
CLEANLINESS
9
VALUE FOR MONEY
8
THE GOOD
Fab design
Super beds
All charging
amenities built
into the bed +
EU socket
THE BAD
Floor in
bathroom
becomes very
slippery
No central
heating so
heating via
airconditioning
which takes ages
Reception too
small which
increases
waiting time
8.6
OVERALL SCORE
READER RATING: (0 VOTES)
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Qbic London Hotel With an Urban Twist | Red Velvet London
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Qbic London Hotel With an Urban Twist
January 20, 2015
♦
Hotels, Places To Go In London, RVLtraveldiary
♦
5 Comments on Qbic London Hotel With an Urban Twist
What a great start to the year with the ultimate girl’s night out. I had organised a complimentary stay at Qbic London Hotel in Aldgate East; a
Dutch based hotel soon to expand around the world. For one night only, I soaked in as much of the Urban vibe, the cool decor and the
futuristic cube like interior and enjoy what East London has to offer.
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The hotel certainly lived up to my expectations and if not more. The decor is right up my street; it’s vibrant, modern, quirky, fun…very yellow!
The ambience feels less like a hotel and more like a studio room which is great; a very warm and inviting room on the second floor. I love the
feature wall and did wonder why I am not on there haha maybe one day. The one feature that baffled me was the door leading to nowhere
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but a blank yellow wall until I realised the concept. Assuming my neighbour was interested in mingling; you just keep the door open assuming
that any hour your neighbour will do so too and open the door…I wasn’t disappointed that they didn’t even open the door but it could have
been funny. Then I checked out the bathroom which I also call a wet room; I am so glad to find a waterfall shower with a large vanity mirror
with reflective lights.
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I invited some of my close and new friends over as meeting point before we all decided to hit the town for dinner and night out round 2.
Honestly, I spend a lot of my nights out in central or west London just purely on the fact that it’s easier to get around to and from home in
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North London. There’s nothing worse than have a good night out and suffer a long journey home alone. The location was spot on; close to the
coolest bars, restaurants and clubs in the heart of Shoreditch and Liverpool Street. As usual; Saturday night is a busy night as we were all after
the same restaurants at the same time; however; a pit stop to Dishoom Indian restaurant was not all a disaster; an hour and a half wait for a
table wasn’t all too bad. Despite a friend of mine getting stabbed in the hand by a chair; I have to admit that Dishoom was one of the best
Indian restaurants I have been to in London. http://redvelvetlondon.com/places-to-go-in-london/qbic-london-hotel-with-an-urban-twist/
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It’s not normal to say this but I do love spending time in a hotel. I was so glad to have a lie in on a Saturday as it has been one epic girly
weekend. Checked out at 11am and enjoyed our yummy breakfast at their lobby chill out zone. I off course ordered the full English breakfast
with a glass of freshly pressed orange juice. I have to say; the customer service here was brilliant; they are very approachable for a chat and
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suggest where to go around the area. I think I met the manager there; he was so friendly and cool and offered to show me the other room
available that was of a different design than the room I stayed in. I knew exactly which room he was going to show me; I saw it on their
website and initially wanted to stay there. He gave us some insight about the design; the inspiration; the influences; and people thinking it’s a
Scandic hotel when in fact it’s Dutch (I thought it was British!). I definitely would recommend tourists to stay in this unique hotel and even
more so for Londoner’s who wants a place to stay after a good night out or just for the weekend. The room I stayed in was the fun room twin
single from £94 a night which included free wifi, 32” LED TV, unlimited coffee/tea out the corridor, rain shower as well as a spacious sized
room with an extra door to nowhere-possibly-somewhere. The cheapest room available is from £69 a night for a double; so that’s £35 per
person which is not bad at all for zone 1. Thank you so much Qbic London hotel for the ultimate experience. Apart from such a fabulous room,
the customer service made all the difference. For more details; you can find out more about the hotel here at Qbic London Hotel.
I hope you have enjoyed my post and do follow me on Instagram, Facebook and/or Twitter. May xx
Tags: Hotel, Hotels In London, London, Qbic Hotel, Travel
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There are 5 comments for this article
CyberMiette
January 20, 2015 at 11:44 am
Wow! This hotel seems great!
Next time I go to London, I shall stay in this hotel, I think! Thank you so much!
x
RedVelvetLondon
January 20, 2015 at 12:05 pm
it is really cool, i think it will be right up your street
40/43
29/05/2015
CyberMiette
January 20, 2015 at 12:09 pm
It surely will!
FORM 42
January 25, 2015 at 12:36 pm
The interior is so minimal, I love how clean the lines are, and dhow you’ve styled these shots
May Lee
Author
February 22, 2015 at 3:35 pm
Thanks Alice, I love the hotel, so quirky with lots of character and so close to the best restaurants, bars and clubs in the
heart of London.
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41/43
MANAGEMENT.
inspiration
SCHLAFEN AUF DEM
EIFFELTURM?
Pizza & Schnaps
CRAZY PEDRO’S PART-TIME-PIZZA-PARLOR, MANCHESTER
HOTEL SECRETS DE PARIS, PARIS
Jedem Citytrip haftet eine gewisse Notwendigkeit an, die wichtigsten Sehenswürdigkeiten auch ordnungsgemäß auf der To-do-Liste abzuhaken.
Was damit einhergeht: Beweis-Selfies vor Moulin Rouge und Eiffelturm
zu schießen, um den Daheimgebliebenen den hieb- und stichfesten
Beweis für das Gesehene zu bringen. Wer beim nächsten Paris-Trip im
Hotel Secrets de Paris nächtigt, kann sich das sparen oder das Sightseeing-Erlebnis des Tages praktisch im Schlaf verdichten: Jedes der 29
Zimmer erstrahlt als eine interieurgewordene Hommage an die Stadt.
Sechs Sehenswürdigkeiten wurden dazu als Vorbild herangezogen,
genauer das Musée d’Orsay, Moulin Rouge, Eiffelturm, die Pariser Oper,
Trocadero und die Künstlerateliers des vergangenen Jahrhunderts. Da
baumeln dann schon mal die seidenen Schühchen der Tänzerinnen aus
der Oper am Betthaupt, einer Ballett-Übungsstange nachempfunden.
Oder man blickt durch eine der markanten Bahnhofsuhren des Musée
d’Orsay, die Eisenstreben im ersten Geschoß des Eiffelturms oder einem
leichten Mädchen aus dem Moulin Rouge unter den Rock, während sich
vor dem Fenster die Flügel der roten Windmühle abzeichnen. Charmante
Idee, die in Wien, München oder Luzern ebenso fruchten könnte ...
+ + + WIE ANDERE KONZEPTE FUNKTIONIEREN UND WARUM: EIN BLICK AUF DIE SPANNENDSTEN HOTELS,
BARS UND RESTAURANTS UND DARAUF, WIE SIE SICH UMSETZEN LASSEN + + +
GESTALTUNG Sandrine Alouf, selbst ernannte „Atmosphäristin“
PREIS ab 123 Euro pro Nacht und Zimmer
EXTRA Fitnessraum, Sauna, verschiedene Massagen, Konferenzraum, Massagebadewanne mit Chromotherapiefunktion
oder Hydromassagedusche auf jedem Zimmer, Gastro inklusive
Frühstück erfolgt ausschließlich via Roomservice.
BALLASTSTOFF
PALAST
www.hotel-design-secret-de-paris.com/en
Cerealien zum Frühstück sind großartig. Besser sind sie nur zu
Mittag, am Nachmittag oder am Abend. Das Prinzip Frühstücksflocken macht allerdings nur Freude, wenn die Auswahl stimmt –
und wir sprechen hier weder von den zucker- und fettreduzierten,
geschmacksbefreiten Diätflocken noch von den wenig aufregenden Kellogg’s-Multipacks, die wir schon mit sieben doof fanden.
Regenbogenbunt, so exotisch wie möglich und zuckrig bis zum
Anschlag lautet das Cerealien-Credo! Die dadurch induzierten
Glücksgefühle kennen keine Altersbeschränkung, wie die eineiigen Zwillinge Alan und Gary Keery mit ihrem Cereal Killer
Cafe in der Londoner Brick Lane beweisen. Dort flanierten die
Brüder einst mit knurrendem Magen und dem Verlangen nach
einer gepflegten Schüssel Frühstücksflocken. Der einzige Ort, der
ihnen dazu einfiel, war ihre eigene Wohnung. Die daraus folgende
Erkenntnis, dass diese Leckerei noch nicht den Weg aus unseren
Heimen in die weite Welt der Gastronomie gefunden hat, inspirierte die beiden zum eigenen Lokal. Im Cereal Killer Cafe wird
das Prinzip Frühstücksflocken zelebriert, wie es besser kaum geht:
Über 120 Sorten aus der ganzen Welt stehen zur Auswahl, dazu
gibt es 20 verschiedene Toppings und 30 verschiedene Milchsorten, damit auch wirklich für jeden Geschmack etwas dabei ist. Für
alle, die trotz der offensichtlichen Großartigkeit noch ein Extra
brauchen: Die Deko ist der 80er- und 90er-Popkultur-Himmel,
die passenden Cartoons im TV inklusive.
090
KONZEPT Über 120 Cerealien aus der ganzen Welt treffen auf 20
verschiedene Toppings und 30 Milchsorten.
MOTTO If we can source it, we can sell it (wenn wir es auftreiben
können, können wir es auch verkaufen).
MITARBEITER 12
SITZPLÄTZE über 50
PREIS 4 Euro pro Schale
www.cerealkillercafe.co.uk
Fotos: Cereal Killer Cafe, Christophe Bielsa, beigestellt
CEREAL KILLER CAFE, LONDON
Vom Pop-up-Lokal zum Dauerbrenner: Crazy Pedro’s Part-Time
Pizza Parlour ist das Paradebeispiel für ein temporäres Konzept,
das mit durchschlagendem Erfolg zur permanenten Instanz wird.
Und gleichzeitig auch dafür, dass die beste Mezcaleria einer Stadt
auch in Gestalt eines Pizzaladens Furore machen kann. Eröffnet
im Oktober 2014, stand das auf Pizza und Mezcal eingegroovte
Cross-over-Konzept schon auf der Liste der Top-6-UK-Bars, die
man 2015 besuchen sollte. Nicht zuletzt, weil sich die hippe YorkStyle-Pizzeria als lockerer Bar-und-Buden-Hybrid präsentiert.
Das Prinzip: keine Buchung, keine Bedienung am Tisch, keine
Sorgen, weil alles ganz gechillt. Die Pizza gibt’s entweder im
Ganzen oder als Schnittchen, aber immer als ideale Unterlage
für das, was im Untergeschoß der neuen Hipster-Institution
lockt: das größte Mezcal- und Tequila-Angebot von ganz Manchester. Dieses macht sich auch als Margarita oder Daiquiri ganz
hervorragend. Wer weniger hochprozentig in den Nachmittag
oder Abend starten möchte, setzt aufs Bier- und Shake-Angebot.
Extra: Pedro’s Crazy Sharers zum gemeinsamen Snacken oder
Schlürfen. Dazu verlocken Pimped up Popcorn für drei, der Big
Fuck Off Strawberry Daiquiri ebenfalls für drei Personen sowie
Pedro’s Piñata für sechs Gäste. Hasta La Pizza, Baby!
MASTERMINDS Lyndon Higginson, Ross Mackenzie und
Jobe Ferguson, allesamt Altbekannte der Restaurant- und
Barszene Manchesters, die unter anderem auch für den
Liars Club verantwortlich sind
PREIS Pizzastück – 3,30 Euro; ganze Pizza – 19 Euro; Cocktail – 9,40 Euro; Shake mit Schnaps – 8,70 Euro
ÖFFNUNGSZEITEN täglich von Mittag bis vier Uhr morgens
www.crazypedros.co.uk
www.rollingpin.eu » Ausgabe 169
091
MANAGEMENT.
PIERRE NIERHAUS
STREET FOOD
2
DIE GLÜCKLICHSTEN KNÖDEL DER WELT
HÄPPIES, BERLIN
Knödelagnostiker oder versorgt die bereits
gewonnenen häppies-Jünger mit sechs immer
wieder mal wechselnden Sorten. Zum Beispiel
dem häppie namens Bärbel mit ZiegenkäseHonig-Walnuss-Füllung, Rucola-Pesto und
Rosmarin-Cranberry-Topping. Besonders
schön: das allumfassende Corporate Design
und die großartige selbstgemachte Rhabarber-Vanille-Limonade. Mittlerweile platzt der
häppies-Laden schon aus allen Nähten. Darum ist Uli Marschner aktuell auf der Suche
nach dem richtigen Partner, der ihr dabei hilft,
den oder die nächsten Läden zu eröffnen ...
HOTEL NACH
BAUKASTENPRINZIP
QBIC HOTELS, LONDON UND AMSTERDAM
Neue Raumlösungen für den Hotelsektor –
das ist der Anspruch von Qbis Hotels. Der
Fokus liegt auf den ultimativen Basics wie
einem absolut sauberen und geräuschfreien
Zimmer, einem gemütlichen Bett, einer großzügigen Dusche und kostenfreiem WLAN.
Diese Grundlage wird um die Idee erweitert,
dass ein Hotel nicht nur ein schnöder Platz
zum Schlafen sein kann, sondern auch ein
Treffpunkt gleichgesinnter Geister, eine Bühne für spontane Auftritte, ein Raum, der sich
seiner Umgebung öffnet und das Leben von
092
STARTKAPITAL 13.000 Euro via
Crowdfunding gesammelt
KONZEPT herzhafte Germknödel mit
verschiedenen Füllungen, Saucen
und Toppings
PREIS Kleine Portion – 1 Knödel – 3,90
Euro; große Portion – 2 Knödel, auch
verschiedene möglich – 7,90 Euro
SITZPLÄTZE 12 drinnen, 12 draußen
www.facebook.com/haeppies
KONZEPT Hotelzimmer nach dem Plugand-play-Baukastenprinzip in leerstehenden Räumlichkeiten installieren
PREIS ab 39 Euro pro Zimmer
AUSSTATTUNG Hästens Bett, PhilippeStarck-Badezimmer, Regendusche, Wifi
www.qbichotels.com
draußen hineinholt. Die Qbic-Facts auf einen
Blick: Das Hotel besteht aus Modulen, den
sogenannten Cubis, individuell gestaltete,
würfelförmige Wohnräume, die eine höchst
funktionale, aber gemütliche Ausstattung
nach dem Plug-and-play-Prinzip haben. Angefangen beim Philipp-Starck-Badezimmer
über das riesige Hästens-Bett bis zum Arbeitsoder Essplatz. Der Fokus liegt auf hochwertigen Materialien. Und darauf, dass sich die
cleveren Cubis in jedes leer stehende Gebäude
holen lassen und es somit zum Hotel machen.
Fotos: Lauro Cress, beigestellt
Man kennt’s: Winterurlaub, Einkehrschwung
und Germknödel in rauen Mengen. Auch Uli
Marschner verliebte sich einst in ähnlichem
Szenario in die fluffigen Klopse. Und da ihr
Herz für gutes Essen schlägt, unterzog sie das
Gericht einer kreativen Generalüberholung.
Erst brachte Marschner ihre innovativen
herzhaften Knödel-Kombos in Supperclubs
unter die Leute. Dabei ernteten die häppies
genannten Germknödeln ganz viel Begeisterung. Der eigene Laden musste her und mit
Crowdfunding wurde er zur Wirklichkeit.
Von Dienstag bis Sonntag bekehrt sie heute
015 wird das Jahr des Street Food!
Überall, wo gegessen wird, ist dieses Thema präsent: in der Gastronomie, in Hotelrestaurants und auch
in der Gemeinschaftsverpflegung.
Street Food steht für einfache,
aber sehr vielseitige Küche, meist
in einer Ansammlung von mehreren Food-Ständen, von denen jeder
nur ein einziges Gericht anbietet. Asien ist die Geburtsstätte des
Street Food. Legendär sind die Garküchen der Thais genauso wie die
Hawker Center und Nachtmärkte in
Singapur. Das Besondere an dieser
Urform der Gastronomie ist die hohe
Authentizität und Kompetenz. Jede
Familie hat sich auf eine Produktgruppe oder ein Gericht spezialisiert und bereitet dies nach ihrer
eigenen, streng gehüteten Rezeptur
zu. Gegessen wird im Stehen oder an
einfachen Tischen direkt am Stand,
wo sich Einheimische und Touristen
zwanglos mischen. Häufig teilen sich
mehrere Stände gemeinsam den Sitzbereich, genauso wie Spülen und Toiletten. Das Preisniveau ist niedrig und
das Essen garantiert frisch.
Die innovative, in Singapur ansässige Bread-Talk-Gruppe hat das
Grundprinzip des Street Food und
der Hawker Center mit modernem
Restaurant-Komfort verbunden und
daraus das Erfolgskonzept Food Republic gemacht. Das Konzept ist in nahezu ganz Asien anzutreffen, vielfach
in den großen Einkaufszentren. Es
ist die multikulturelle, auf Multiplikation angelegte Version des Street
Food. Ein offenes Atrium-Konzept
mit modernem Design, freundlichem
Service und einem ansprechenden,
vielseitigen Angebot bekannter
Gastronomie-Marken. Ebenfalls in
das Konzept integriert wurden die
hohe Effizienz und das gute PreisLeistungs-Verhältnis. Was mit Food
Republic angefangen hat, findet in
Asien nun in immer neuen, sehr gut
gemachten Variationen seine Fortführung. Brandneu und absolut state
of the art ist das eathai in der Central
Embassy Mall in Bangkok.
In Deutschland wurde Street
Food schlagartig populär durch die
Markthalle IX in Berlin-Kreuzberg.
Seit 2013 gibt es dort jeden Donnerstag Street Food. Neben den
ständig in der historischen Markthalle vertretenen Anbietern kommen an den Street-Food-Abenden
immer wieder neue, mitunter sehr
ungewöhnliche und exotische
Food-Spezialisten dazu. Gemeinsam
laden sie zur kulinarischen
Weltreise ein. Die Idee schlug
ein wie eine Bombe und machte die Markthalle IX schlagartig
berühmt. Heute pilgern neben einer
bunt gemischten Gästeschar auch
Branchen-Profis in die Markthalle
und lassen sich inspirieren. Die Idee
des Spezialitäten- und Frische-Marktes findet sich in vielen Variationen
in der gesamten Gastronomielandschaft wieder. Genau genommen ist
dieser Ansatz jedoch nicht neu: Jeder
Kebab-Stand, jede Currywurst-Bude,
jeder Crêpe-Bäcker macht im Grunde
Street Food.
Auch Vapiano greift die Idee auf
und setzt sie in einem sehr zeitgeistigen Restaurantkonzept um, bei dem
sich der Gast an verschiedenen Countern im Street-Food-Stil sein Essen individuell zusammenstellt.
Die weltweite Erfolgsgeschichte
von Street Food ist ein Spiegel der
Veränderungen in der Gesellschaft
und neuen Anforderungen und Wünsche der Menschen. Alles Steife und
Formale, was lange die Gastronomie
geprägt hat, wird abgelöst von einem
natürlichen, lockeren Miteinander,
bei dem die Menschen und ihr persönliches Dining-Erlebnis im Mittelpunkt
stehen. Vielleicht ist die Gastronomie
noch einer der wenigen friedvollen
Orte des Miteinanders.
ERFOLGSFAKTOREN
- hohe Spezialisierung führt zu hoher Produktkompetenz und Wirtschaftlichkeit
- faires Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis
- hohe Authentizität
- effektiv durch gemeinsame Nutzung von Ressourcen (Sitzmöglichkeiten, Spülen, Toiletten etc.)
PIERRE NIERHAUS ist der Innovations- und Veränderungsspezialist für die Hospitality-Industrie und Dienstleistungsbranche mit langjähriger
Erfahrung als Gastronomieunternehmer, Trendexperte und Konzeptberater. Regelmäßig veranstaltet er Trendtouren für Hospitality-Profis.
Die nächste Gastroexpedition: Tokio | 23. – 26. April 2015 www.nierhaus.com
www.rollingpin.eu » Ausgabe 169
093
10/06/2015
Qbic Hotel, London. Expert reviews and highlights | The Hotel Guru
The Hotel Guru United Kingdom London Qbic Hotel
Add to shortlist
Qbic Hotel London
“Simple, clean and moder n hotel which pr ior itises minimalist fur nishings and amenities done
well. Located in Br ick Lane, one of London's most fashionable ar eas, it suits those looking for
an affor dable, moder n hotel exper ience in London. Widescr een TV, super -comfy beds and
fr ee WiFi come as standar d.”
Lounge
←
→
Overview
Map & Location
Facilities
http://www.thehotelguru.com/hotel/qbic-hotel-london
3/6
10/06/2015
“This hotel has not yet been inspected and reviewed by the Hotel Guru but has been recommended by other guides that we respect.”
They say
“Why do people love staying in your hotel? It's a quirky modern designer hotel with a budget price tag. What is there to do in the area or on site? Brick lane, Shoreditch, tower-bridge and so on. Plus we offer Acoustic session nights in the hotel once per month. What kind of breakfast do you offer?
Continental breakfast and hot breakfast options.
Do you offer other meals? And can you recommend good places to eat out locally?
Our restaurant, Parts and Labour offers a menu which is available throughout the day until 10pm in the evening. Our front desk can offer many
suggestions, for those who wish to venture out.
Which are your most popular room types, and why?
We have three different room types: Smart Room no Window, Cosy Room Standard Double with a Window, and Fun Room Large Double with a
Window. Our most popular room is the Cosy Room as it’s mid range.
What facilities do you have for children and can you fit extra beds in your rooms ?
We have rooms available for extra beds and can accommodate children. What message would you like to give Hotel Guru readers?
Qbic is a modern quirky hotel which offers the best at great prices. We want to make our guests happy and have them leaving with a smile and
planning to return.”
Book this hotel
171 r ooms fr om £69 per night
Check price
Call us Why book with us?
4/6
10/06/2015
Recommended for
City
Well located in London
City Style
Set to surprise.
Activities
Cycling
Cycling tours of London
Sights nearby
All of London's highlights are easilly accessible. Close to the trendy Brick Lane
Close to nightlife
Local markets
Other highlights
Eco
Electricity by solar panels, 100% chemical free cleaning fluids, recycling, electric car charing points and much more!
Lively
Less £
Free wifi
Restaurant
Parts and Labour restaurant is open all day until 10pm
Chic
Quirky
Hotel size
171 rooms
See all facilities
About us
Contact us
5/6

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