Meininger Hotel arrives to Helsinki in 2022

In 2017 Meininger Hotels set up a goal to establish a hotel in Helsinki, and in two years the dream will come true. The new hotel will serve various groups from backpackers to business travelers with its unique hybrid concept. Business Finland and Helsinki Business Hub have been happy to help.

After Meininger Hotels had conquered major German cities and key tourist destinations in Europe the founders thought it was time to go North.

Andras Holczer, Senior Development and Feasibility Manager from Meininger Hotels, highlights that Helsinki was on top of their list for many reasons.

“Helsinki is a very attractive destination for us. Being an economical and cultural hub ensures a healthy balance between business and leisure travelers. In addition, the Helsinki Airport has excellent connections to international destinations due to quicker routes,” says Holczer.

The hotel chain started to map the market and reached out to Business Finland and Helsinki Business Hub to get help. As a result of meetings in international conferences and tens of emails and calls, Holczer and his companions learned more about the potential projects in Helsinki.

“The openness of Finnish real estate actors really surprised me, and pretty quickly we had narrowed our options down to the Wood City project developed by SRV Group in Jätkäsaari in Helsinki,” says Holczer.

At the moment Meininger operates 30 hotels in 18 cities, and Helsinki is a new addition to this hotel chain.

Helsinki is a very attractive destination for us. Being an economical and cultural hub ensures a healthy balance between business and leisure travelers. In addition, the Helsinki Airport has excellent connections to international destinations due to quicker routes.

Andras Holczer, Senior Development and Feasibility Manager, Meininger Hotels

Share a room or get an own

The new tailormade Meininger Hotel will be established in Jätkäsaari in Helsinki. The large container port with warehouses has turned into a vivid and contemporary neighbourhood, which hosts already 12,000 inhabitants, and in ten years the amount will be 21,000. Seven million passengers travel annually through the West Harbour, the key gateway between Helsinki and Tallinn in Estonia.

To continue the list, Jätkäsaari is known for its innovative construction projects such as the Wood City, where the Meininger Hotel will be situated. The Wood City combines Finnish timber construction, sustainable development and urban community. The concept includes two multi-storey apartment buildings, the headquarters of Supercell, the world-famous gaming company, and the Meininger Hotel.

Holczer tells that this Meininger Hotel like others offers a hybrid concept, which combines the advantages of a hotel and a hostel. The hotel will have 194 double, triple and quadruple rooms for 648 guests as well as spacious public areas. The lobby, game zone, bar and lounge areas will be designed to attract the local community, too.

“Our customers can either book a bed and share the room with other travelers or get an own room. That is why we attract many guest segments such as families, backpackers, school groups and individual as well as business travelers from all around the world ,” says Holczer.

Need for economy accommodation

Both Hanna Lankinen from Business Finland and Kati Soini from Helsinki Business Hub are proud of the cooperation with Holczer and Meininger Hotels. They highlight that there is a true need for the hybrid concept.

”Helsinki’s tourism has been growing rapidly for several years, and there has been a clear demand of budget and economy accommodation services in the market. We appreciate highly that the hotel will represent the latest in environmentally friendly construction technology,” says Hanna Lankinen, Head of Industry from Business Finland.

Hanna [Business Finland] and Kati [Helsinki Business Hub] have been my right hand from explaining the DNA of cities in Finland and dynamics of different neighborhoods to choosing the right kind of PR agency to spread out our news.

Andras Holczer, Senior Development and Feasibility Manager, Meininger Hotels

Lankinen and Soini refer to the fact that although the number of overnight stays in Helsinki has increased by almost five percent annually over the past eight years, the number of rooms on offer has not grown at the same rate.

“We have been happy to help Meininger Hotels land their first hotel in Helsinki. Among other things, Meininger will bring new interesting possibilities also to the families as the hotel will have family rooms and a guest kitchen, where it is easy to prepare even baby food,“ says Kati Soini, Senior Business Advisor from Helsinki Business Hub.

Help from the start to the end

Also Holczer has positive thoughts and feelings about the cooperation, which has lasted for a couple of years.

“Hanna and Kati have been my right hand from explaining the DNA of cities in Finland and dynamics of different neighborhoods to choosing the right kind of PR agency to spread out our news,” says Holczer.

He adds that the Helsinki Hotel Investment Guide published by Business Finland and Helsinki Business Hub has been a great source of information especially concerning Finland specific hotel contract terms.

In summer 2022, the new Meininger Hotel will start its operations.

“If all goes well, we may see more Meininger flags in Finland.”