Page 27 - #201 September 2025

Interview

1. Room Mate Collection Mia, Rome, Italy
2. Room Mate Macarena, Madrid, Spain
zerland, the Marmont Hotel in Geneva, which they are renovating and relaunching 3. Room Mate Oscar, Madrid, Spain
as a Room Mate in April next year. 4 - 5. Room Mate Collection Valeria, Málaga, Spain
Their expansion into Geneva marks a major milestone in their growth strategy, as 6. Room Mate Bruno, Rotterdam, Netherlands
they continue to add sites in prime locations. The Geneva property is in one of the
most exclusive areas of the city, just off the prestigious Rue du Rhône and only a few
Live the urban destinations and exceptional locations within those cities,” explains Kike Sara
hundred yards from Geneva’s lakefront.
“Our expansion strategy is very focused on what our guests value most, top-tier
-
Experience sola, Executive President and Founder of Room Mate Hotels. “Geographically, we are
concentrating on growing in major European capitals. Cities like Paris, Berlin, Zurich,
Prague, Lisbon and Copenhagen are now priority locations for us.”
Over the years, there has been an increasing importance placed on e-commerce
1 and the many social media channels, on top of this there is now the emerging main -

A unique boutique hotel brand founded twenty years ago, Room 2
Mate Hotels is the perfect hotel stay for the creatively curious who
are seeking more than just a place to sleep. Driven by the vision
of Executive President and Founder Kike Sarasola, the company
designs hotels with the ambition of bringing back the magic of
travel. Here, RLI got the chance to chat with Kike on all things Room
Mate related.

“WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS IN THE CITY,” highlights Sarasola as soon as we ask
him about Room Mate Hotels. It is this principle that stays with the business day
in and day out through every opening and every new challenge that awaits the
company.
This stems from the founder’s idea that the best way to experience a city is
by visiting friends who live there. It is because of this that each hotel within the
portfolio is named after that of a fictional friend, has its own distinct personality
and character and features unique design concepts brought to life by exceptional
interior designers from around the world.
Room Mate Hotels believe people should be able to stay in places that embrace
originality and celebrate individuality, places that are not just in the city, but very
much part of its soul.
The brand currently operates 33 existing hotels across 15 different cities in Europe
including such world-class locations as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Florence, Geneva,
London, Madrid, Milan, Rome, San Sebastian and Venice. Within the portfolio, 23
are under the Room Mate umbrella, whilst the remaining ten are part of the recently 4 5
acquired Staying Valencia Hotels Group. These ten hotels include the award-winning
Helen Berger, as well as Oliveira Rooms and the Cosmo Hotel Boutique, which are stream use of AI. However, Sarasola feels this evolution of AI is not a threat and
already part of the Room Mate Hotels portfolio. The remaining seven are situated in instead it must be viewed as an advantage. He sees it as a benefit and a way of
Valencia and are currently being rebranded into Room Mate Hotels. 3 allowing his staff more time to spend with clients and hotel guests as repetitive
Meanwhile in February this year, they also purchased their first hotel in Swit- work and mundane tasks can be performed by AI, freeing up staff members to be
more courteous and giving of their time to clients.
As our topic of conversation moves onto sustainability, it quickly becomes appar
-
ent that the business excels in this area, having already implemented such initiatives
6 as recycled uniforms to conservation of water.
“In the world today, sustainability is such an important topic and it is one we have
been playing our part in for a long time and will continue to do so moving forward,
as we look to find and utilise new ways of making the company more sustainable
and planet-friendly.”
Authenticity is a key word that the founder uses throughout our time with him,
none more so than when we speak about how to keep and maintain customers in
such a competitive sector. “My people and my brand, we are authentic to everyone
who steps through our doors. We never lie or hide anything and I think that is some-
thing you can feel and see inside all of our properties. I think our high occupancy
rates are a testament to this. Alongside this, we treat our staff the same way and
this has led to a happy workforce and when your staff is happy and enjoying their
work, the customer can see and sense this,” Sarasola highlights.
As the company continues to expand and look for more properties, the biggest
challenge this creates is finding the right spaces, for the right prices, in expensive
city centre locations. Whilst Europe is their immediate priority, the US is a market
they are beginning to look at and could be an exciting addition to their portfolio in
the future.
“Our industry is one that is constantly moving and evolving with customers who
know exactly what they want and will not settle for anything less. Over the coming
years, I feel we need to listen to our clients more than ever, making sure we deliver
exactly what they want and that is precisely what we will continue to do at Room
Mate Hotels,” concludes Sarasola.

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