The hotel industry is full of bright, robust, larger-than-life characters.
None, though, might eclipse that of Petter Stordalen, who, through Strawberry Hospitality Group, owns all 190 hotels operated by Nordic Choice Hotels.
I met Stordalen for the first time last week at the Nordic Hotel Consulting Conference in Copenhagen, where he was the recipient of the annual award for contributions to the Nordic hotel industry.
His entrance to the conference was as colorful as much of the rest of his career.
The day before, Stordalen was on a northern Norwegian island—perhaps scouting for future hotel locations—when snow (yes, in late May) delayed his private jet. Maybe there had been a few drinks to keep warm while the pilot gauged the weather—and of course there would probably have been nearly 24 hours of light at this time of year in that part of the world.
This is a man who derived his company’s name from the memory of being named, at age 12, the best strawberry seller in his native Norway. He reputedly damaged his hip during a stunt to open the Clarion Hotel & Congress Malmö, Sweden (the show still went on, of course). Stordalen once rappelled down the Clarion Hotel Arlanda Airport, also in Sweden, and debuted the Clarion Hotel Post Gothenburg by entering the stage in a gigantic disco ball while playing the drums.
This is clearly a man who loves life, but who probably would also like to be asked to join Guns n’ Roses.
Petter Stordalen, owner of 190 Nordic Choice Hotels’ assets, speaks during the May 2017 Nordic Hotel Consulting Conference. (Photo: Terence Baker)
Stordalen managed to arrive in time for the NHC ceremony and did not disappoint with his comments and opinions on the hotel industry.
Stordalen said he was very happy to see The Clarion Hotel Copenhagen Airport shed the Hilton flag as of 1 April.
“Dreams are okay, but when they turn into reality, that’s where the fun is,” he said. The Clarion Hotel Copenhagen Airport “will be a machine. Yes, it will need some (capital expenditure) as Hilton has been very boring with the space.”
The CEO next discussed his satisfaction with the Urban Escape Stockholm development, which opened in April and includes a shopping mall, restaurants and two independent hotels.
“We totally transformed that parcel of land into magic, and it cost a lot, a lot, a lot more than we ever thought, but we created something,” Stordalen said. “… Already it has the number-one rooftop in Scandinavia, 500 people even when it is 15 degrees (Celsius), and we’re adding a bridge to another roof, and then it will be the biggest in Europe. The competitors cannot even see the roof.”
Stordalen added: “Hotels need some love even when they are budget ones.”
He said he was very pleased with the latest moves by Scandic Hotels.
“Scandic (Hotels) buying Rica (Hotels) was the best development in the Nordics in the last three to four years, and the best decision was when (Scandic CEO) Frank Fiskers announced his retirement,” he said.
Next, Stordalen emphasized the importance of varying the types of hotels in a portfolio.
“It is much worse to build boring hotels at a good price, as customers will leave you,” he said. “… Our (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) requirements are not such high requirements, as we spend too much money in the hotel.”
It’s also unlikely Stordalen will ever take his company public.
“I am pretty confident I will never go public again,” he said. “I have no interest in quarterly reports, and no one can fire you for buying too much beautiful art.”
Inevitably, Stordalen was asked his thoughts on where the industry stands in the current cycle, a topic that seemed likely to darken the mood of the conference.
But Stordalen, with his arms fully outstretched—a pose that is familiar in the videos above—hair tousled, tuxedo-style jacket emblazoned with costume jewelry, probably would have rather announced his opinion on this subject while paying drums on Guns n’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle.”
“We have no debt. … We are ready for the next crisis,” he said. “We’re prepared, and it will hurt bad.”
And just a little while after that, he was off—no doubt via some fast machine and across several bodies of water.
My colleague Patrick Mayock wrote in the early days of AccorHotels’ CEO Sébastien Bazin that the Frenchman “exuded more charm, wit and humor than you’d be able to extract from your average executive team in aggregate.”
Stordalen’s confidence and glitz might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but his dreaming and success puts him, I would say, with Bazin in a small club of industry souls portraying the very brightest color.
Email Terence Baker or find him on Twitter.
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