Qbic Hotel London City is currently under a soft-launch phase ahead of its official opening on 12 November. The 171-bedroom hotel, situated on Adler Street, follows on from the success of Qbic Amsterdam, which launched in 2008.
With rates starting from £59, the brand aims to be a ‘cool, affordable, urban experience’ for business and leisure travellers. It is underpinned by five core offerings - immaculate cleanliness, a comfortable bed, a great shower, soundless bedrooms and free WiFi.
With big expansion plans here in the UK and in major cities across Europe, the Bridges Ventures-backed firm is only looking to move into existing, unused real estate, with sustainability and community values at the heart of the brand’s philosophy.
“Our dream is to create a new community within the hotel industry,” Qbic’s founder and chief executive, Paul Rinkens, told BigHospitality. “We don’t just want to make money. Of course, we want to generate brand value but we also want to promote other values; human values.”
Going local
Giving us an exclusive tour of the hotel earlier this week, Rinkens explained that the brand is all about ‘misusing the existing’. And this begins with the property itself. “We ‘misuse’ real estate because it’s already there. We don’t want more - we want to make the most of what’s already here.
Qbic also ‘misuses’ the talent of people. The hotel is recruiting at least 50 per cent of its staff locally and, after one year of operation, Rinkens pledged that an additional 20 per cent of staff members will have come from a ‘difficult background’ such as drug addiction or prison, having partnered with the charities Food Cycle and Bike Works - both of which help to train and assist people back into work.
“We want to engage with people that want a second chance and give them enough self-esteem and confidence to progress with their lives. Probably, you need 10 applications to find one standout employee - but I’d rather invest in that than just going down the regular staffing route.”
Start-up support
The hotel group will ‘misuse’ materials as well. “If we buy something, we hope it has been used already or that it can be used again,” added Rinkens. Qbic Hotel London City also features solar panels on the roof and a vegetable garden for people living nearby who don’t have outside space. “Hopefully we’ll create a club, allowing neighbours to grow vegetables here.”
The ‘giving back to the community’ ethos doesn’t stop there. The staircases of the hotel are being used as an exhibition space for young, local artists, while the basement area is being given to start-ups, for free. “If you want to start your company and don’t want to pay rent, come to us,” explained Rinkens. “You don’t need to pay for the lighting, electricity or rent. We just hope you will share with us your ideas and maybe your product, which we can then use at the hotel.”
But perhaps the most innovative of all of Qbic’s ideas can be found in the bedrooms. Each is designed around the ‘Cubi’ – an all-in-one, compact, cube-shaped living box that makes up the integrated furniture and room layout, including the bathroom. The below video shows how the Cubi is put together.
Video: The Cubi
In the City, the Cubi has enabled an old office building to be converted into a hotel quickly, efficiently and with little impact on the environment. The cost benefits are clear too. “We’ve spent about £36,000 per room, compared with around £80,000 for a regular Holiday Inn Express hotel,” added Rinkens.
The plan is now to roll out the Qbic concept in London and other main cities. “We have the budget for 10 hotels over the next seven years. “It’s important that the city has a university. If you have students, you have start-ups. If you have start-ups, you have creativity. If you have creativity, you have interest in business – which is good for us.”
QBic Hotel London City is now open on Adler Street.