Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski Munich has launched a new hospitality concept called the E.R.A.s (Experience Real Access), the company announced today. The concept connects guests with local insiders who provide access to the city and share stories tied to its history.
“For decades, luxury has meant the same room service in different postcodes,” said Kempinski Group CEO Barbara Muckermann. “We are expanding the role of the hotel by turning it inside out: the hotel is no longer a refuge from the city but the gateway into it. We don’t book our guests a tour. We hand them the keys to the city. The desk that once gave you a map now offers you the city itself.”
Each E.R.A. is developed by a resident curator, a role the company traces to 1926, when Kempinski appointed Leo Kronau as its first experience designer at Haus Vaterland. Kempinski said it has operated since 1872, when Berthold and Helene Kempinski opened a wine bar in Berlin.
“Kempinski’s Resident Curators are inherently local, spending their careers orchestrating the city’s cultural life, they compose E.R.A.s around one thing: personal connections that open doors to the city itself,” said Aurelia van Lyden, vice president of Experiences at Kempinski Group. “Each Resident Curator is able to provide deep, meaningful access to the destination, its culture and most importantly Local Insiders, selecting stories and experiences that the guest deems worth tasting, discovering, and learning.”
In Munich, the Resident Curator has designed three E.R.A.s: the Royalty Era, featuring visits with Wittelsbach dynasty historians and Nymphenburg Palace events; the Craftsmanship Era, including a painting session at Nymphenburg porcelain, a beer tasting led by Dr. Sauer and a visit hosted by BMW Classic CEO Helmut Käs; and the Regenerative Era, featuring a cold-water session at the Eisbach canal and morning runs with 1990 World Cup winner Lothar Matthäus.