1 2 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 9 | Arctic TreeHouse Hotel | Rovaniemi, Finland
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C O N T E N T S
PR IV A TE & GR OUP CHA RT ERS
MESSAGE FROM THE WORLD LUXURY AWARDS FOUNDER AND CEO
Brandon Lourens
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e are very pleased to host the 13th annual gala celebration of the World Luxury Hotel Awards at The Arctic TreeHouse Hotel in Rovaniemi, Finland. This location promises to deliver a glimpse of a truly different lifestyle, with authentic entertainment sourced from the area, along with an introduction to some of the local delicacies on the diverse dinner menu for the evening. The World Luxury Hotel Awards exists to highlight the best features of each and every property that takes on the challenge to compete in these awards. The ArcticTreehouse Hotel is a fine example of a property that is paying attention to current trends in the hospitality industry.
We hope that you will take some time off and enjoy the opportunity to experience this unique area and all that it has to offer from husky tours to reindeer rides or hunting the northern lights – there is loads on offer at SantaPark Arctic World.
A strong commitment to rewarding excellence in the hospitality industry remains the core focus of the World Luxury Awards. We rely on the input of guests to indicate their choice by showing their preferences with their vote. The votes have been counted and we are able to share some of the results of top achievers at this gala event.
Congratulations to all the winners of the 2019 awards, thank you to those of you that have taken the time to travel to Rovaniemi to receive your recognition in person. Thank you especially to everyone that has been involved in putting this gala event together, we hope that everyone enjoys this one of a kind experience.
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MESSAGE FROM THE WORLD LUXURY AWARDS EXECUTIVE MANAGER
Tanique Echardt
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his year we have seen spectacular Hotels, Resorts, and Private serviced establishments from across the globe participating in the 2019 World Luxury Hotel Awards. I would like to thank each and every one for their commitment to service excellence and for raising the standards of luxury in the hospitality industry. The 2019 Award year saw nominees representing over 99 countries in 132 different categories. The World Luxury Hotel Awards is proud to represent luxurious properties from across the globe. In 2019 over 250 000 votes were cast by the public. This is an outstanding achievement for each property participating and represents their diligent efforts and dedication during not only the voting period, but on a daily basis. It is an honour for us to partner with these incredible properties and to support in building their brand growth.
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The World Luxury Hotel Awards team believe that true luxury is not just something you can see and touch, but it is in the service provided to guests by the dedicated staff members. A passion, drive and willingness to give their best daily all play a part in the successful running of an establishment. We are as always excited by the growth the industry continues to see and remain passionate, dedicated and inspired about awarding luxury establishments for their dedication, hard work and commitment to service excellence. A special thank you to the World Luxury Hotel Awards team who work tirelessly each day to ensure all details run smoothly for each participant throughout the year.
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he award- winning Arctic TreeHouse Hotel is located on the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi, Finnish Lapland. The concept of the hotel has its roots in the fragile arctic nature, the fairytale-like world of SantaPark, and the northern culture and heritage. Arctic TreeHouse Hotel has had the privilege in receiving the several recognitions since it’s opening; Luxury Forest Resort 2018, Luxury Design Hotel 2017, Luxury Small Hotel in 2017 and Luxury Hotel of the Year 2017 by World Luxury Hotel Awards. The Worldwide Hospitality Awards nominated the hotel as the Best Innovation in Hotel Concept in 2017. The individual accommodation units are covered by wooden shingles, designed to resemble the pinecone cow. Appearing to wander down the hill and curiously peeking at the landscape and sky, they blend into their environment effortlessly. The hotel’s total of 60 Suites come in three different types: Arctic TreeHouse Suites, Arctic GlassHouses and ArcticScene Executive Suites. For example, you can admire the magical scenery from our beautiful Executive Suites. Innovative architecture and meticulously considered details such as sauna’s, provide guests the experience of staying overnight in the heart of the forest in an unforgettable and extremely comfortable way.
The northern-facing wall is made of glass, a panoramic window offering spectacular views of the surrounding forest and Arctic skies. Lighting in the hotel area has been designed to ensure as little as possible artificial light pollution disturbs viewing the Northern Lights and other phenomena appearing in the northern skies, while still providing enough light to make it safe to move around the area. In June 2019, Arctic TreeHouse Hotel became the first privately owned hotel in Finnish Lapland to receive the Green Key certificate for its commitment to sustainable development. Ecological and sustainable values have been in the heart of Arctic TreeHouse Hotel since the very beginning of its designing and building process. All the buildings are made from Finnish wood, which is a traditional, sustainable and renewable material. In order to avoid unnecessary logging and wearing out of the forest floor, the accommodation units were ready-built elsewhere and lifted onto the poles they stand on. The wood on the interior surfaces ensures a comfortable environment, healthy indoor air and pleasant acoustics. The hotel has also invested in markable renewable energy sources, such as geothermal heating, solar power, and the newly installed OptiWatti system for smart energy management that sets the temperatures of the TreeHouse according to their capacity utilization. 11
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Spa
R e s ta u r a n t 11 of july 2020 hosted by
www.conradbali.com
Firstly, please tell us a little bit about yourself ? I am a seasoned travel industry professional, having my background in airline and travel agency businesses. I was born a reindeer farmer’s son in North-East Finland, I have Master’s Degree in Economics and Business Administration. My career has been very international, I have lived longer periods in several countries like Germany, UK and Sweden, and spent lots of time in East Asia on numerous business trips. Finland has been ranked the happiest country in the world second time on the row. What makes Finns so happy? I believe that the Finnish happiness stems from simple, but valuable things - like Finland’s unique, clean and pristine nature - where we can unwind and detox from the stress and pressure of a hectic life. Our social care and education are also top class compared to any nation in the world – things that we have learned to take as given, though during the 100 years of Finland’s independence the whole nations has worked really hard to achieve these valuable things. Our happiness is a complicated combination of these factors. How do you see the future trends in luxury travel developing in the upcoming years? Luxury travel is moving into direction of genuine, high-quality experiences, where the value of globally rare things like clear air, clean water - and sustainable and responsible use of these commodities - form the fundament of local services, activities and cuisine. Personalized service, design and organic raw materials, caring attitude and safe activities - even in extreme nature conditions - that leave permanent memories. These are the ingredients of the Finnish luxury that spreads happiness to our global guests. 16
“The World Luxury Hotel Awards hosted by Arctic TreeHouse Hotel is a true game changer for Lapland tourism – and for the tourism brand of Finland, too.” How do you see Lapland tourism developing in the upcoming years? Lapland tourism is one of the corner stones of Finnish tourism, an iconic and globally recognizable service product. The customer base for Lapland is broadening rapidly; growing demand from new source markets - like India and Gulf region - will complement the current European, East Asian and US customer base, and this development will definitely direct the touristic service in more quality oriented direction. This goes hand in hand with requirement of sustainable and responsible development – not only ecologically, but also seen from economical, ethical and socio-cultural perspectives. As individual travel is growing rapidly, general requirement for digital platforms for mobile user interfaces - to serve the customers providing mobility, service availability and information - is going to change the business models of travel industry. For Lapland tourism this is a great opportunity, as the service infrastructure in Lapland is already better than in any other arctic destination. How do you see Arctic TreeHouse Hotel hosting the World Luxury Hotel Awards to influence the area and Finnish travel industry in general? The World Luxury Hotel Awards hosted by Arctic Treehouse Hotel is a true game changer for Lapland tourism – and for the tourism brand of Finland, too. Years of hard work in designing and constructing highend quality service concepts - and successful entry to the highly competitive luxury travel segment with credible and original, Finnish and arctic mind-set – is now paying off, and determining the direction where the Finnish travel industry will be heading. I warmly welcome the delegates and participants of World Luxury Hotel Awards to Finland and Lapland, to experience the essence the of Finnish luxury travel concept – and to spread the word around, of new winds of high-end travel experiences created by devoted travel professionals. I heartedly thank Katja and Ilkka for their great work in making this event possible – awesome achievement!
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Firstly, please tell us a little bit about yourselves. We are the entrepreurs behind SantaPark Arctic World, a company that consist of Arctic TreeHouse Hotel, SantaPark – the Official Home Cavern of Santa Claus, Santa Claus Secret Forest – Joulukka, and Lapland Luxury, a destination management company that specializes in VIP experiences. Ilkka: “As we live in Rovaniemi, the official hometown of Santa Claus, naturally everything started with Santa Claus. I started my Christmas career as an official helper of Santa Claus at the end of the 90s, and my wife, Katja, joined me in the beginning of 2000. Soon, we were the biggest providers of official Santa Claus services in Finland, and we operated globally. In 2007, we opened our dream of a Christmas fairytale, Santa Claus Secret Forest – Joulukka, and in 2009, we bought SantaPark from the Finnish government and the city of Rovaniemi. From there on, we have grown our business together with our fantastic team, with the aim of providing extraordinary experiences and showcasing the best of Lapland to our guests.”
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What was the inspiration behind Arctic TreeHouse Hotel? Katja: “Our inspiration comes from our arctic nature and local traditions. The sustainable development of the area and the guest experience has been important to us since the very beginning of the project. During every step of the hotel project, we have aimed to find the optimal solutions for experiencing the arctic nature while minimizing the impact of building on the fragile nature.” What have been the biggest challenges in the opening of the hotel? Ilkka: “We live in the Arctic region, and the temperature can drop below -40 Celsius. This posed some challenges in the building stage and required careful planning when it came to material choices, insulation and energy efficiency. We had a very tight schedule on the building process, and it started with clearing out the snow. As with every building project, there were many challenges, but we had a very professional team and were able to open the hotel in time. The construction took 214 days from point zero to the opening of the hotel in November 2016.”
What has been your biggest success so far? Ilkka: “We are very proud of our wonderful team that provides our guests with genuine and heartfelt service with a Lappish flavour. We have also been very lucky with our hotel capturing the attention of our guests and international media. We have almost doubled our capacity since the opening of the hotel. After two years, the visibility of Arctic TreeHouse Hotel in the digital news media and on the social media has been over 2,6 billion.” You have talked about sustainable development. How does this showcase in your company? Katja: “In the tourism sector, we have to embrace, nurture and protect our given surroundings, culture and heritage for the future generations. As a company, we have adopted sustainable practices to our daily life in order to reduce resources and waste, and to encourage our partners and guests to responsible tourism. The energy consumption in the hotel industry leaves a big carbon footprint. Therefore, we are utilizing geothermal heating. In the land of 52 sunless days, we are one of the first hotels in Finland to invest in solar power. This year, we have invested in a Finnish innovation, Optiwatti, which is an intelligent system that optimizes heating according to the outside temperature and utilization rate, hence reducing energy consumption. We have also implemented an internal team of green ambassadors that monitors, develops, performs audits and helps implement practices throughout the organization as well to our partners. As a company, we are committed to compensating for our guests’ travel. Every year, we plant over 10 000 seedlings personally in the surrounding forests together with our hotel team. In your opinion, does winning an award for service excellence change a guest’s perception? Katja: “Winning the award affirms the quality and standards of service excellence, which is very important to our distinguished guests. So I can say that yes, it definitely affects our guests’ perception.” How do you feel about hosting the World Luxury Hotel Awards Gala Ceremony? “We are honoured to have been asked to host the awards. This is a wonderful opportunity, not only to us, but also to the Finnish hospitality to raise its global visibility in the luxury sector. We warmly welcome all the delegates to enjoy the arctic experience in the heart of Lapland, and to celebrate their success in winning the awards. 21
Your expertise as an engineer and experience as the former General Manager of the Sunborn group includes strategical planning, property development as well as total operational responsibility. What drew you to the Arctic TreeHouse Hotel concept? What drew me to the Arctic Treehouse Hotel was the beauty and the exceptional nature, as it truly is a vibrant and unbelievable travelling destination. I am able to utilize all of my expertise in one exceptional destination and company, who`s values and targets are aligned with my personal goals. The novelty of the property, the development plans of the new hotel and spa combination influenced my decision to take on the project. I am a winter and an outdoor person, so nature is an important factor in my lifestyle choices. Arctic TreeHouse Hotel is currently in process of developing a new hotel as well as wellness retreat. Can you provide us with more insight into the project? The idea is to create a luxury comfort zone where our guests can come and enjoy the elements of Lappish nature, peace and hospitality. We are creating something totally different. We believe that the design and atmosphere as well as the service provided will be amazing. It will take our guests on a journey not only to Lapland`s beautiful nature, but to their inner (s)elves. What is your leadership style? My leadership strategy is to always lead by example. I have the ability to listen to people and I believe in having valuable and constructive discussion with my members of staff. I strongly believe in and support the valuable knowledge and experience that each staff member brings to the table. It is my duty to identity this knowledge, extract it and make this information work to our benefit. As an engineer, I also like to have targets, processes documented and well-presented. It is important that everyone knows exactly what is expected from them.
During your recent travels can you recommend any innovative concepts or tools that you found pleasant or useful as a hotel guest. I have had the privilege to visit many interesting and pleasant properties. I can point out two memorable experiences. One was a boutique hotel in Berlin where the traditional check-in procedure was completely changed and transformed into a welcoming ritual. The concept and hotel made a lasting impression. What is your favourite destination to travel to for a holiday? My travel destination is usually determined by my family. When I am traveling with my wife, we tend to choose destinations that feature beautiful nature, rich history and variety of activity options. When we are travelling with the kids, we usually prefer beach resorts and great shopping options. Of course, as a Finn my favourite place in the world is our self-built summer cottage in the southern archipelago. What makes Rovaniemi a unique destination for foreign travellers to visit? Rovaniemi is one of those few places on earth where you can find everything you can wish for; the hometown of Santa Claus, snow, history, clean and pristine nature, good shopping and Finnish/Lappish design, architecture, sun, warmth, beaches, friendly people, peace, top of the range service, unbelievable cuisine, easy accessibility and a lot of activities. What is the most peculiar or unique guest request you had to deal with in the past? One of the most memorable things was when a lady asked us to have an electricity free room because of her electricity allergy. We managed to provide that, and this lady became a frequent visitor at that property.
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Rakas Restaurant and Bar, located in the main building of Arctic TreeHouse Hotel, serves local food in an ambient setting, with love. The cuisine offers flavors according to season, and consists of traditional Lappish delicacies such as reindeer, fish, wild mushrooms and berries. The restaurant has also been a popular venue for private firelit dinners under the northern sky. We are privileged to be able to cater for a diverse clientele and introduce the delicacies of Lapland. Rakas Restaurant & Bar has been awarded by the World Luxury Restaurant Awards, for most the Romantic Atmosphere in Europe and for Best Luxury Interior Design in 2018.
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Could you tell me a bit about where you’re from and how you started your career in the kitchen?
Do you have a favorite establishment that you like to dine at?
I was born in a small town in Pirkanmaa, Lapland and i moved to Rovaniemi for my studies and work in 1999. My professional career began working as a dishwasher and kitchen help. Little by little, through various jobs, I wanted to develop my skills in the profession to the best of my abilities. As a testament to this, I reached one of my first dreams in 2007 and received the Chef Rôtisseur recognition, which I appreciated. I also wanted to pursue professional challenges in various chef competitions.
I enjoy food that is made with love and respect for the local ingredients and origins.
I have won several national competitions and I had the honor to be a member of the Finnish Culinary team in the Culinary Olympics in 2008. We were very successful as a team. From this experience, I can still draw lessons when I am working with my great team as Executive Chef at Santapark Arctic World. My life as a chef is a lifelong learning experience and I think I’m never ready.
How does the cuisine at your restaurant differ to other restaurants?
What influenced you to become a chef ? My biggest inspiration was my grandmother. We were always cooking together and making use of ingredients that my family got from their hunting and fishing trips. I have been trying out new recipes and familiarizing myself with a diverse range of ingredients from a very young age.
What do you like to eat at home? I enjoy eating fish, especially fish that comes from Finnish lakes. Seasonal vegetables and root vegetables are a central part of our family dishes.
I think it is important that we use ingredients to their full capacity from root to top. We partner with local providers for meat, herbs, vegetables, berries and crop. We want to cater traditional and pure Finnish food that showcases the authentic flavors of the ingredients. That’s the true Finnish way! What does the future hold regarding restaurant trends in Finland? I believe that the Scandinavian style of showcasing nature and purity will continue to grow. People are increasingly aware of the impact food production has on the environment across the globe. I believe that chefs must make wise choices when it comes to considering the size of our carbon footprint. The biggest trends I see coming are the self-sufficiency of growing your own herbs, potatoes, root vegetables, and the use of wild-growing raw materials. Do you travel? If so, where is your favorite destination? Yes! I have always been fascinated by the cities of Europe. As a country, Spain is especially close to my heart, with its diverse culture and cuisine.
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Tuuletar
We have the privilege to enjoy truly Lappish entertainment throughout the evening, where mystic surroundings of the location and culture come to life. Tuuletar – a truly mystic acapella band performs by singing stories about Lapland, taking us to experience the diverse elements of the Lappish nature, together with Lapland’s drum’s playing in the background.
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