How a hybrid hotel mixes students, guests and neighbours

A hybrid hotel promises a lot: one building that serves students, hotel guests and extended stay guests, and that also opens its doors to the neighbourhood. But how does that work from day to day, which problems does the mix create, and what does it ask from the team? Below are the lessons from an operator who runs one, useful for any hotel that wants to matter to its city.

Dennis Lageweg, General Manager of The Social Hub in The Hague, has led his property for two years. Many people still know the brand as The Student Hotel. It started in Rotterdam about twelve years ago and now has twenty one hotels in Europe. The name changed, but in his view the intention behind it did not.

“The student vibe that we still have, even though we changed the name, what we are really trying to do is have a social impact.”

Dennis Lageweg, 12:38

What a hybrid hotel is and how the rooms work

The core of the model is flexibility in the room itself. Every room is built so that it can serve more than one market, and demand decides who sleeps there. In the Netherlands, Lageweg explains, students live in the building during the semester, from September to June. In July and August the rooms turn into hotel rooms. Extended stay guests can book for two weeks or longer.

Because each room suits every one of these markets, the team can allocate rooms to whatever demand there is at that moment. The lesson for operators: build that flexibility in from the start.

How a hotel creates social impact in its neighbourhood

Social impact sounds abstract until you list what a hotel actually does with the people and companies around it. The aim, Lageweg says, is to see what the hotel can do with the neighbourhood and the companies nearby to help build a better society. Workforce readiness programs for young people are one way to do that. In practice that turns into a list of concrete activities:

• a dinner with the local neighbourhood, held the week before the recording;
• local food tours, where a guide takes people into the surrounding area;
• lunch and learns;
• a support offer for students who do not feel comfortable, which team members can use as well;
• an open lobby where anyone can sit, relax, work or have a chat, alongside a separate coworking space.

The open lobby may be the most important item on that list. Plenty of people come in for a coffee and stay to work because they like the atmosphere, Lageweg says. It is an open take on what a private members club offers.

“You can walk in every time of the day and feel welcome, and that's what we're always trying to do.”

Dennis Lageweg, 13:40

The takeaway for other hotels: an open door only works if it is open at every hour, and the team has to carry that welcome as much as the interior does.

Mixing students and travellers: the doubt and the result

The most common objection to this model is that different groups will get in each other's way. When the concept started, Lageweg says, people warned the founders against mixing students with hotel guests and extended stay guests. Twelve years later he sees the opposite of what was feared.

In his experience hotel guests enjoy the student atmosphere: students playing the piano or studying in the study areas, and guests mingling and talking with them. The founders, he says, found out that it works by simply doing it. The lesson: test such fears in practice.

The operational challenges of a mixed-use property

A mixed model brings its own puzzles. In Lageweg's experience, two points need attention:

• Room allocation: students and hotel guests together work well, but the team also has to decide which students can live together, because they share one kitchen.
• Recognition: everyone knows the large chains, but a young brand that changed its name is harder to explain, especially in a city where almost everything seems to be called a hub.

Getting across that the property is a hotel where anyone can walk in every day is now a main task for the brand and marketing team. A concept that breaks the usual categories needs explaining, and that work has to be planned.

Why a happy team comes before the guest

Community work depends on the people who carry it. Lageweg puts the team first. The guest matters, he says, but the team matters even more because they work with the guests every day. If you have a happy team, in his view, you have happy guests. His routine is concrete:

• every week the team fills in a short questionnaire about how they feel and how management is doing, and management acts on the feedback;
• each team member gets a weekly one to one of an hour with a manager, sometimes with Lageweg himself;
• he knows the birthdays and home situations of his team members, and the team tries to help where it can, even with something as practical as groceries.

When he arrived two years ago the team score was low. Now his property is among the highest of all locations, and the review scores have followed. Retention shows the same picture: of the 23 people in his team, 18 have been there for two years.

“We have a team which is now quite steady for over two years.”

Dennis Lageweg, 19:11

He describes his own style as direct about goals and guidelines, while also being the person the team can call on a Friday afternoon. That openness towards the team is the same openness guests and neighbours feel when they walk in.

How an open hybrid hotel pays off

Opening the doors is also a commercial choice. By inviting everyone into the hotel and showing what it offers, Lageweg says, the team almost tripled its meetings and events revenue in one year. For other hotels the lesson is that community work and commercial results can strengthen each other.

Where technology fits in a people-first hotel

Lageweg expects more kiosks, self check-in, online check-in with add-ons and some robots, for example in housekeeping, and his group is piloting robots in Delft, near the university. Every kiosk in the group still has a person behind it to guide guests. AI will change chatbots and reservations, he believes, but hotels should never lose the human side, because the connection with the guest is what hospitality is about.

To hear these lessons in his own words, watch the full conversation or explore more episodes in the Lead the Experience series.

Frequently asked questions

What is a hybrid hotel?

A hybrid hotel is a property where every room can serve several markets. In the model Dennis Lageweg describes, students live in the building during the semester, the rooms become hotel rooms in July and August, and extended stay guests can book for two weeks or longer. Shared facilities such as a gym, laundry machines and common areas serve all groups.

How can a hotel create social impact in its neighbourhood?

In Lageweg's experience it starts with an open building where neighbours, freelancers and students can walk in for a coffee or to work. Add concrete activities such as dinners with the neighbourhood, guided local food tours and lunch and learns. The goal he describes is to work with the neighbourhood and the companies nearby to help build a better society.

How do you keep a hotel team stable?

Lageweg measures team happiness every week with a short questionnaire and acts on the feedback. Every team member gets a weekly one to one of an hour with a manager. Of the 23 people in his team, 18 have been there for two years.

Will technology replace the human side of hotels?

Lageweg expects more kiosks, self check-in, online check-in and some robots, for example in housekeeping, and AI in chatbots and reservations. Every kiosk in his group still has a person behind it. His view is that hospitality is about being human, so technology should support the connection with the guest rather than replace it.