Amsterdam Teleport Hotel: 1 year anniversary

Amsterdam Teleport Hotel is celebrating its first anniversary on the 26th of June! A year full of hard work, thousands of guests from all over the world and changes passed by in no time. In a year we managed to build up a hotel experience to be proud of. Sometimes it is hard to believe it all started less than a year ago.  After a series of weekly blogs about Amsterdam’s most unique places, hidden gems, culture, food and must sees, we decided to dedicate this week’s edition to the hotel itself. Gain insight in how it all started, get to know the team and read all about last year’s highlights!

How it all started

Believe it or not Amsterdam Teleport Hotel  building went through multiple transformations over the past few years. From an office building to a long stay studio appartement  and eventually into a hotel. Amsterdam is one of the most remarkable cities  in the world. The historical city center, world class museums, the tolerant and easy going life attitude of its citizens, the coffeeshops and red light district attract millions of tourists. The existing hotels couldn’t keep up with the ever growing demand and more rooms were needed Amsterdam Teleport Hotel saw a huge opportunity to jump into a new adventure with a constantly changing market full of innovations . To be honest with you, almost none of us had any experience in this business and we had to build it up from scratch. The idea was simple: offer good value for money and make guests feel at home. Bring those two  together at a great location and the Teleport hotel concept was born.

The first guest

The last months before the grand opening were beyond crazy. Permits had to be arranged with the municipality, hotel staff had to be hired and of course the building was undergoing major changes. It had to be rebuilt and fully furnished. Maikel, Evgenia ( our hotel managers) and the construction team worked around the clock to make it all happen, get it done and  make sure we could open our doors by the end of June last year. The first day was a very exciting one, everything was new, the brand new team was ready to start and waiting for our first guests to arrive. The first weeks are crucial especially for a new hotel business. Do guests like the hotel, the experience and are they willing to recommend it to other people? It is all about reputation and good reviews in our business, and we still had to earn them. Luckily everyone was very happy with their stay, the team’s  personal approach, room and location.

Highlights

Last year, undoubtedly was a great year for us full of exciting highlights. None of us could predict the fast growth and constant flow of incoming good reviews. The first highlight was a fully booked hotel for the first time in September . You can only imagine how proud we felt. Then many others followed, such as finishing the second building in Amsterdam in November, our first big team dinner with lots of delicious food during Christmas, the opening of our sister hotel in The Hague (don’t miss it), the first Teleport golden egg hunt during Easter and last but not least decorating all the doors in different Amsterdam themes as a final finishing touch to the hotel.

 From Panda suit to young and fresh

Throughout the year many new ideas were born and implemented. Some were more successful than others. While the Teleport concept and identity were slowly developing and  shaping we started to realize that the way we were presenting ourselves didn’t really fit the way we felt anymore. The hotel team is young and full of positive energy. A decision had to be made! Our panda suits (once you see them you will understand why we called them that way) had to go. We have replaced them by the nice slim fit t-shirts we are wearing today! We couldn’t be happier!

Teleport Power

From the very beginning the Teleport team has been a very close one. It has a unique mix of different characters with various  cultural backgrounds and talents. Our manager has done a great job putting all of us together. We are very different but all share a passion for people, the city of Amsterdam and are willing to work hard. One of Teleport’s greatest strengths is the freedom we get from the management to help building the concept and hotel experience. Everyone is encouraged to step up and contribute more than just the functions of the position they were hired for. This support and responsibility  for our hotel is what makes us happy, feel appreciated, important and what gives us the extra motivation to go the extra mile for our guests. That is what we call Teleport Power! :)

This post is also available in: Dutch