Alexander Dolle-Koch
20 years of running hostels in Berlin, from 208 to 600 beds. I build properties up and get them into shape.
- 20+ years in hospitality
- 5 properties managed
- 600 beds in the largest one
- 24+ countries visited
Twenty years between front desk and P&L
I started at the front desk in 2006 and have worked in seven properties since: from front office to a 600-bed operation with 33 staff. Everything I know, I learned on the floor: reading occupancy, building teams, cutting cost without guests noticing. Today I run the Coffee INN Hostel in Berlin-Schöneberg and advise operators facing the same questions.
How I can help
You do not recognise a good hostel by its price or its fittings, but by how guests feel there, and by whether the team behind it likes coming to work. What 20 years of running hostels taught me about that, I pass on.
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Pre-opening
From shell or existing building to opening day: concept, systems, processes, team and sales, starting in the pre-sales phase.
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Turnaround
Repositioning properties that fall short of their potential: reviewing figures, processes and team and getting the house back on track.
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Application coaching
CVs and interviews for hospitality jobs, from the point of view of someone who hires and leads teams himself.
See application coaching -
Talks
Talks on topics from the hostel world, drawn from running a hostel in Berlin.
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Panel discussions
Guest on panels about hostels, tourism and hospitality in Berlin.
Planning a new property or in the middle of a refit?
Tell me what it is about. I reply within two working days, including when I am not the right person for it.
Send an enquiryThree properties I have run
From a 208-bed house with a public café to the largest operation with 600 beds and 33 staff.
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Coffee INN Hostel
208 beds plus a ground-floor café that is open to the neighbourhood as well.
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NEOHOSTEL
The largest operation I have run: 600 beds, 33 staff.
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Cityhostel Berlin
450 beds in 109 rooms, for ten years, in the middle of Berlin.
What it adds up to
- Ø 74 % average year-round occupancy
- 0 → 36 teams built and led, up to 36 people
- 2 properties built from scratch
- 3 properties developed into real hostels
- 1 reservation system co-developed: NEO PMS
- 3 reservation systems rolled out: ASSD, NEO PMS and Mews
Networks and projects
Alongside operations: two networks I lead, two platforms of my own for the industry and, to balance it all, long-distance hiking.
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Berliner Netzwerk
Monthly meetings for owners and managers of Berlin’s small and mid-sized businesses.
berliner-netzwerk.de -
Hostel Round Table
A forum for managers and owners of Berlin hostels.
hostel-round-table.berlin -
MadeForGroups
School trips and group travel to Berlin: one request, offers straight from suitable accommodation.
madeforgroups.com -
Hostel Talent
The international job board of the hostel scene: front desk, housekeeping, bar and management in hostels worldwide.
hosteltalent.com -
Long-distance hiking
Walks of 20 to 52 kilometres a day on foot. The best counterweight to a business that never closes.
wanderrausch.de
Career since 2006
From the front desk to the director’s office. The full version, including further education, is in the CV.
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Director
Coffee INN Hostel Berlin (Hostel Berlin Betriebsgesellschaft mbH)
208 beds, café on the ground floor. Building all structures and processes from the ground up, developing a hostel group.
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General Manager
NEOHOSTEL Berlin (MAXFLI Beteiligungs GmbH)
600 beds, 33 staff. Developed an in-house property management system together with external developers, plus brand building.
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General Manager
Cityhostel Berlin (EGI GmbH)
450 beds in 109 rooms, breakfast restaurant, bar and three conference rooms in Berlin-Mitte.
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Head of individual reservations
MEININGER Hotels
Individual reservations for a growing chain, and which parts of that transfer to independent properties.
Contact
Email is fastest. For anything longer than two paragraphs, a call works better.
Email alexander@dolle-koch.berlin
Phone +49 172 785 08 94
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