Bilderberg - Spring cleaning
Of old parties and new tricks
Coolbrands: Inge in discussion with Marcel Hielkema
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CEO/Managing Director Dries van der Vossen | Number of em-
ployees 1350 | Company turnover €100m | Brand values comfort
& pleasure, distinction & achievement, class & lifestyle | Brand
promise ‘Why settle for less’ | Target group meeting and leisure
guests, both national and international | Primary advertising media
combination of ads, DM, sponsoring, radio and internet
to support the image of four-star luxury and quality. In a
Inns have existed since very ancient times to serve merchants and other travellers.
In the Roman Empire, hostelries called ‘mansionis’ were situated along the Roman
road system to accommodate travellers on government or commercial business. The
commercial revival of the European Middle Ages stimulated a widespread growth
of inns and hostels. Many were operated by monastic brotherhoods in order to
guarantee a safe haven for travellers in dangerous regions; a famous example is the
hostel in the Great St. Bernard Pass in the Swiss Alps, which was founded in the
10th century by St. Bernard of Montjoux and is still operated by the community of
Augustinian monks.
The modern hotel is to a large extent the result of the railroad age; faster travel
eliminated the need for the inns serving the old coach routes, and many of these
were forced out of business as a result. On the other hand, many new and larger
hotels were profitably built close to railroad stations. As travel for pleasure became
increasingly popular during the 19th century, a new class of resort hotels was built
in many countries. Along the French and Italian Riviera, resort hotels were con-
structed to serve wealthy vacationers who frequently came for the entire summer or
winter season. Luxury hotels soon made their appearance in the cities and, in 1889,
the Savoy Hotel in London set a new standard with its own electricity and its host
of special services for guests.
One of the challenges faced by the Bilderberg hotel chain was that, at the start of
this century, many of its guests would have remembered the opening of the Savoy
– or almost at least. “My Granddad celebrated his 70th birthday there!” was a
remark quite often heard in conversations about Bilderberg hotels. Mum and Dad’s
golden wedding anniversary was another reason for a visit. For a while, this stuffy
image stayed intact due to lack of investment and action. Yet while it is of course
all very well having a specific group of people loyal to the brand, Bilderberg’s client
group clearly needed expanding. Time to open the windows, get out the dusters
and bring in the new. Time to upgrade the image and create an environment that’s
welcoming to both business and leisure guests.
New and improved
Like many chains, Bilderberg was originally a privately-owned company with just
a single hotel. Towards the end of the eighties, it was sold to an English hotel com-
pany to increase growth. For a few years things went very well. But then the nineties
arrived, bringing a downturn to the (English) hotel industry. This trend lasted and,
by 2004, the company hadn’t made any investments for many years. Even so, the
brand was still strong in the Netherlands. It had a good image, if somewhat aged
due to lack of action.
Then private equity investors Goldman Sachs & Westmont Hospitality invested
and changes began. Questions arose about Bilderberg’s identity; who did they want
to be and how could they get there? Serious elbow grease and polishing was re-
quired. The result was new positioning with a new image of luxury and quality at
unique locations. The aim was to become number one for meetings and weekend
get-aways in the Netherlands. Why settle for less?
Hotels that didn’t fit the new image were sold and the remaining establishments re-
ceived a full makeover. Moreover, the group purchased new, unique locations. The
name “Bilderberg Hotels & Restaurants” was changed to simply “Bilderberg”, and
the logo was modernised, creating an elegant black with a minimalist orange crown
 “Hotel”. Encyclopaedia Britannica from Encyclopaedia Britannica 2007 Ultimate Reference Suite. (2007).
hotel, this is quite an undertaking and some 2 million typi-
cal hotel items were replaced with the new logo in one day.
Glossy photography and sexier texts spiced up brochures
and collateral and an improved booking engine revived the
website. The group also introduced a new tagline – ‘Why
settle for less?’
At a vibrant kick-off party, employees were informed about
the changes to come. The outside world learned about the
improvements through glossy billboards and booklets with
the story of the hotel chain and the transformation it was
going through. Magazine articles were published telling
the story to load the new brand. And Bilderberg started to
promote business meetings and weekend get-aways, thereby
focusing on a new target group; younger people and business­
men.
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The new and improved Bilderberg is driven by four key values.
• Location; a broad choice of unique places like castles and
country estates, away from the main roads but also city
locations in the heart of Amsterdam and Rotterdam
• Complete; offering full meeting and leisure facilities in-
cluding state of the art meeting rooms, wellness, golf and
award-winning restaurants
• Choice; Choice in venues, food & beverage and geo-
graphic location
• Personal; service targeted to exceed each individual’s
needs
To put some more shine to the brand, themes of Dutch
Young Talent were added. Advertising campaigns broadcast
Bilderberg’s sponsorship of a young Dutch Formula 1 driver.
Young high-potential managers can compete for the Young
Captain Award and meet each other at the Young Bilderberg
Conference. Together with the National Child Support Fund,
a wish tree was set up at all hotels at Christmas where chil-
dren could display their season’s greetings.
Why settle for less?
With its new quality, guts and Dutch level-headedness,
Bilderberg is doing very well. The aim is to offer the best
possible service to business and leisure guests alike. And
it works, as the target group is getting younger and grand-
mas and grandpas now have to compete for space for
their retirement parties. Recently, BDRC research points to
Bilderberg as the number one choice in the Netherlands to
spend a night.
Over the next 5 years, the group plans to expand further
with new hotels that fit the image. Guests needn’t settle for
less and nor will Bilderberg. The aim is to reach that goal of
being number one in business meetings and weekend geta-
ways. And then some.