It appealed to me to launch the Andaz brand for Hyatt in Germany; we are still relatively unknown in Europe. Munich is the third Andaz in Europe, after London and Amsterdam; together with the recently opened property in Vienna, we are four. An Andaz is emotionally closely linked to the respective location, as here in the urban quarter at Schwabinger Tor - that fascinates me and was the decisive factor in answering the call to Munich.

We are moving into the luxury lifestyle segment, which has not yet existed in this form in Munich. There are many lifestyle hotels and there are a handful of luxury hotels, but not in combination. We allow for an upscale hotel experience, but in a casual way. Just leaving the tie off is not enough these days: personal and individual interaction with guests is important. We are interested in who they are, what they like and what they do - without being indiscreet, of course. Guests should have the feeling that they are talking to authentic people: in other words, to very polite but also very cordial employees here at the hotel. It's important to me to build a personal connection - that means being attentive, listening to people, noticing who likes which drink. These may be small things, but on this emotional level they contribute significantly to making you feel comfortable and perceived as an individual.