Hotel Adlon – A Living Legend in the Heart of Berlin

T

he history of the

Hotel Adlon begins

with its founder and

Michael Sorgenfrey, Managing Director of the Adlon, looks back on this time with pleasure, because he was there for the re-opening back then and dedicated a lot of heart and soul in the hotel. Afterwards, he fulfilled a big dream by working at the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok. After three years, he was approached again by the Adlon Kempinski to return in 2002 as Hotel Manager and Deputy Director. After that, he continued as Director in London, where he was responsible for two hotels at once, and finally he joined the Kempinski Group for a third time as Vice President for Middle East and Africa. When the Adlon called him – also for the third time – he did not hesitate for long, because it is the greatest thing for every hotelier to be allowed to manage one of the most legendary hotels in Germany. And so Michael Sorgenfrey has come full circle at the Adlon, where he has been hotel director since the beginning of 2020.

The luxury hotel on the world-famous boulevard Unter den Linden is a meeting place for heads of state, politicians, stars, intellectuals, artists, designers and entrepreneurs – and not least for Berliners. The Adlon has 385 rooms, including 78 suites, and three restaurants – including the Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer, which has been awarded two Michelin stars – as well as two bars for the discerning guests from all over the world. The unique location, the legendary history, the exclusive furnishings and the consummate service also make the Hotel Adlon the focal point for congresses, conferences and events of a social and economic nature. Two magnificent ballrooms as well as 15 individually designed conference rooms and salons meet the very highest standards. In 2019, 1130 national and international events, conferences and functions took place here. The biggest event in recent years was certainly the Federal Press Ball with 2300 guests.

For a man like Michael Sorgenfrey, who has worked in the best hotels worldwide, what is the attraction of being a hotel manager? He doesn’t think long and explains that for him, it is a profession in the literal sense of the word: a vocation and not just any job. And that, he adds with a smile, considering that he grew up in a family where no one worked in the hotel industry. His mother, however, gave him the impetus because he helped out in the household and garden when he was young. So he was taught to do these things at home and did his apprenticeship as a chef in 1985 at the famous Atlantic Hotel in Hamburg; then he moved to the other side of the Alster to the no less distinguished Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten to do a second apprenticeship in hotel management.
These two five-star hotels helped to open the big international door of the hotel industry for him a bit, and then it grabbed him. What he particularly appreciates about his job is the diversity that this profession entails: working with people, whether with guests or staff, the internationality and the different cultures he was allowed to get to know.

When dealing with guests, Michael Sorgenfrey is inspired by being able to inspire them and offer them wonderful experiences. Of course, the whole thing only works in teamwork, because he can’t do much on his own – only together they are strong, adds the hotel director. Creativity is also required to offer guests a second home with a currently reduced team. They will find amenities in the room, for example a bathrobe with personal initials, a delicious Adlon cake and a cappuccino. The guest should want for nothing, also in terms of variety.

Discretion is the be-all and end-all in all dealings; it also characterises the everyday life of a luxury hotel, especially at the Adlon, which is omnipresent in the capital and in the media. Michael Sorgenfrey particularly remembers Michael Jackson’s stay many years ago. Meeting the King of Pop and having a personal exchange with him was definitely a highlight in his work. He also particularly remembers a well-known international pop group (here it is again, the discretion, a name cannot be elicited from the hotel director), which had freshly milked cow’s milk delivered from a farm every morning. And for Arab guests, the bathroom was converted to accommodate a bath chair they had brought with them. Another guest had the bathtub filled with 1,000 roses to give his wife a special gift. It is clear that with such a variety of guests’ wishes, there is never a routine. Every day is different, only one thing usually does not change:
Michael Sorgenfrey always starts with a tour of the hotel, greets the staff, goes to the kitchen and even likes to have a chat with the dishwasher. It is important to him that he is a hands-on boss who does not run his hotel from a desk, because the staff are the pillars of the hotel and he exemplifies an open and transparent culture towards them. Each of the 60 trainees also knows that his word carries weight. As a result, each employee learns that he or she is an important piece of the mosaic that contributes to the overall picture and the success of the hotel. In this way, a lasting image is created, which the guest forms when he stays at the Adlon and, above all, when he leaves the hotel again and remembers his stay. He carries these impressions out into the wide world, tells friends and colleagues about it and comes back again one day.

And what is Michael Sorgenfrey’s corporate philosophy? The vision for a company to be a leading global luxury brand, realised by its employees, that’s what drives him, he explains.
Loyalty, honesty and respect are the basis of our cooperation. The guest feels this authenticity immediately, because the friendliness of the staff is not put on.

Currently, of course, Coronavirus is a big challenge for Michael Sorgenfrey. Looking to the future, he hopes that sufficient vaccine will be available by the end of 2021. That is the big goal, because only then can we assume that the German market will start travelling again, that city trips to Berlin will be on the agenda again, and that international business guests will also visit trade fairs and congresses in the capital again.

Fortunately, the Adlon, like the entire Kempinski Group, has adjusted well to the Corona issue. Right at the beginning of the pandemic, a national and international concept was introduced. It is called White Glove Services and is designed to make hotels safer, to ensure that distances are kept, to disinfect mobile phones, to set up partition walls and to distribute masks in the rooms. For what is taken for granted today, the Kempinski Group was a pioneer with the Adlon and caused a positive stir worldwide.

And since Easter 2021, there has been the “Adlon Kempinski Test Station Behrenstraße” in the Adlon Spa by Resense. Here, employees are compulsorily tested for COVID-19 up to three times a week. The hotel’s guests can also register for testing there via their own booking link. For events with 30 or more people, rapid tests or PCR tests can be carried out for the participating guests in a separate pop-up test station in the hotel, which is another important step towards more safety.
Especially in times of crisis, it is important to be creative, because a crisis is also always an opportunity to push things in a positive way, Michael Sorgenfrey is convinced.

And what does he wish for the future? The answer comes quickly: that luxury and lifestyle continue to be lived in the hotel and that the cities are visited again. That the gastronomy can open up again and lifestyle magazines like the WORLD ECONOMIST are on the tables of the hotels and restaurants and it is said: Here we go again!

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