Advertisers as hosts

WW: What led to Andy Hostettler now running a hotel?
Andy Hostettler: First of all and very importantly, I don't run a hotel, it's my wife Marie-Anne who runs the hotel as Directrice. I simply help her with the things she doesn't have time or energy for. The 110-liter garbage bag in the breakfast kitchen can get pretty heavy. Seriously, of course, we talk about the everyday madness of her new job. People generally think that managing such a small hotel is an easy job. But even with 16 rooms, she has a lot on her plate. Especially because she has high standards when it comes to hospitality and quality.

What led the CEO of TBWA to this "side job"?
It may sound a bit cheesy, but my wife and I were already talking on our second date about the fact that we want to have a pension at some point when we're old. I think the basic motivation is that we both really like having people around us. Preferably our friends, of course, but also new acquaintances. We started the project a good two years ago, accompanied by the song "Das Haus am See" by Peter Fox. In one passage it says: "People come by, I don't need to go out." Anyone who listens to this song in full knows why we do it. It's a feeling.

And how does a feeling become concrete?
A good two years ago, after we realized that our apartment was getting a little too small. We had a little daughter - something we wanted, but hadn't calculated in square meters. This gave us the idea to start the dream a little earlier. But in such a way that I could continue to work in Zurich.

What is the concept of the Ermatingerhof and which target group is addressed?
Coming home, warmth and joy. We have given the Ermatingerhof an additional designation. La Belle Epoque on Lake Constance. Both the interior design with floors and wallpaper and the interior furnishings hark back to the period between 1895 and 1914 - albeit in a mixture borrowed from the east coast of America. A journalist used the term Atlantic Style, which we wouldn't have guessed, but "it's just right"! The previous owner had run the hotel purely as a business hotel. It is close to the Wolfsberg and Lilienberg training centers and receives some guests from these institutions. Local industry - from Kreuzlingen to Frauenfeld and Winterthur - also regularly have their visitors stay with us. Our aim, and it seems to be working, is to turn these business people into spa vacation guests and to build up a new clientele who also come to us at weekends and on vacation.

There are various supporting programs on your website. What new paths are you planning to take here?
These are not fundamentally new paths, but Marie-Anne runs the hotel like a travel agency. It's amazing how many people know very little about what there is to do on Lake Constance. Marie-Anne helps them with this and everyone is usually happy. She organizes group programmes, especially for seminar guests, and knows the best places and restaurants, as well as nice pubs and shopping experiences.

Who does the advertising for the hotel?
The client is my wife. My daughter Reana is the creative director. She did a great job, from the corporate design to the website, all the brochures, event brochures, advertisements, but she also designed the wallpaper herself. She is a graphic designer and works in the creative department at Megura in Baden/Wettingen.

And Andy Hostettler? Will he still have some time left as CEO of TBWA?
A little, a lot actually. It's very exciting at the agency at the moment, we're involved in a lot of pitches and we're constantly expanding our strengths in the digital and media sectors. Interview: Andreas Panzeri Use the observer's expertise for your company -