Strawberry is one of the biggest hotel operators in the Nordic countries, a position it has achieved through years of rapid growth driven by the values of its owners, the Stordalen family. Its portfolio includes 250 hotels – at the last count. “The number keeps growing!” says Erika Ehrnrooth, COO Finland of Strawberry. “Every time I check, the number gets bigger!”
That number, whatever it may be by the time this comes to print, is divided across four hotel chains, as well as 50 independent hotels. Those hotels are also home to more than 200 restaurants and bars, as well as spas and the many other experiences that Strawberry can provide to visitors.
Strawberry also has a loyalty program, with a brand new loyalty currency called “Spenn” launched in partnership with the airline Norwegian.
“It has raised the bar and opened the door for endless opportunities going forward in attracting and entertaining guests,” Ehrnrooth shares. “With Spenn we have established a loyalty community, inviting more and more partners to join us in making it better and easier for our members to earn and spend this currency. We believe it will be a game changer in the Nordic region.”
Throughout the company’s growth, the Nordic region has remained a strong focus.
“The hospitality industry here in the Nordic region is dominated by regional brands and we have made a strategic decision to keep our business in that region,” Ehrnrooth says. “We have decided to be a big fish in a small pond rather than the other way round, focusing on the Nordic and the Baltic markets. Norway is where we were born, Sweden is as large as that market and growing, as are Denmark and Finland.”
Even while remaining within a specified geographic footprint, Strawberry must still serve a diverse range of customers.
Ehrnrooth explains, “We believe one size fits none, and that is why our four different chains and 50 independents all operate under the same Strawberry umbrella, so we can offer different experiences to different guests for different occasions and needs.”
While Ehrnrooth professes astonishment at how rapidly Strawberry has grown, she has been instrumental to a significant part of that.
“We grew the business in Finland by 70% more rooms in the space of just five months,” Ehrnrooth tells us. “That was last summer.”
In the summer of 2024, Strawberry opened six hotels, among them the biggest hotel complex in Finland, the Clarion Hotel, as well as the Comfort Hotel at Helsinki Airport.
“The way my colleagues managed to onboard and absorb such growth operationally and commercially is really impressive, and I’m super proud of my teams,” Ehrnrooth says.
Growth and Change
Growth like that is tremendous news for any business, but it also comes with challenges. This is particularly true of the hospitality sector, where businesses are trading not just on the quality of products and services, but on the culture and atmosphere within those businesses. Preserving that culture as a business grows is an achievement in itself.
“You need to have the right culture and it needs to be a strong, growing culture that you can use as a springboard when doing stunts like these,” Ehrnrooth tells us. “When we were planning for the year, we knew we were going to be opening the biggest hotel complex in Finland, because it was a new building being specially built for us. However, we hadn’t known about the three hotels that we would then take over at quite short notice. It was challenging, but an opportunity that we could not resist.”
Taking on these hotels in such quick succession was a huge undertaking. Hobo Helsinki underwent a complete renovation in 13 months, relaunching under a new brand in April.
Only a few weeks later Home Hotel Katajanokka was acquired from a competitor.
“Then one month later we opened the impressive complex at the airport, and 12 days later took over a conference and spa hotel in the southern part of Finland an hour’s drive from Helsinki city centre,” recalls Ehrnrooth. “By August, we were involved in a third hotel takeover. That was when I began emphasising that we needed to preserve our culture. That culture needed to grow with the company, and be solid and thoroughly there in the daily minds of also our newly acquired staff.”
Strawberry has also been carrying out major renovations on the Hotel Kämp in Helsinki.
“It’s an iconic hotel that is historically and culturally important for Helsinki,” Ehrnrooth tells us. “It was open even in wartime, providing a venue for politicians and cultural figures such as artists and composers. The hotel is now a Grande Dame, and we are giving her the glory that she deserves.”
The Group has achieved fantastic results, which Ehrnrooth is first to credit to the strong organisation, brand and service that Strawberry was able to bring to bear with the support of the Group’s HQ.
“This was the result of great teamwork driven by very good project leaders who were able to plan what had to be done, by when, and by who,” she recalls.
A Culture of Pride
When it comes to building those teams, once again we are talking about the culture at the heart of Strawberry’s business.
“We have a saying that your background, your CV, whatever letters come after your name don’t matter,” Ehrnrooth says. “What matters is your motivation and personality. “That is not just words, we live by it.”
As an example, Ehrnrooth points to the enormous new hotel complex, the Comfort and Clarion Hotels, and the recruitment process they underwent. Rather than a traditional recruitment drive, Strawberry invited all interested parties to an open audition, giving everyone an equal opportunity to impress.
“We call it a talent hunt,” says Ehrnrooth. “The logic behind it was that if you work in the service industry, it is the first impression that matters. What we sell is the experience, not products on a shelf. So, the three minutes we give to each person is the same time they will have to impress each guest.”
What really sets Strawberry’s culture apart, Ehrnrooth believes, is not just how it hires people, but how it retains them. Every January, the company gather 3,500 employees from its hotels and HQ, alongside partners and suppliers, for a two-day conference. “The Winter Conference”, as it is called, is the biggest annual internal event in the Nordics, and has been recognised as one of the best.
“But what is more important is our daily life after that,” Ehrnrooth tells us. “By loudly accepting diversity, we believe we help our employees feel comfortable being who they are regardless of background, sexuality, religion, identity or anything else. We have room for all – that goes for our employees, as well as our guests.”
This is why Strawberry has been a proud sponsor of Pride events throughout the Nordic capitals for several years and intends to continue doing so. While that is one thing Ehrnrooth is clear about for Strawberry’s future, she laughs when asked for other predictions.
“The future is impossible to predict,” she tells us. “We have a tradition of evolving and changing rapidly. That is our recipe for the future. I don’t believe many would have thought ten years ago that we would have changed name, gone independent and launched the biggest loyalty corporation in the Nordic region. We are always evolving, and each year comes with a new surprise.”
