accidentally just right
Project type:
Client:
global campaign, advert
Skills shown:
citizenM hotels
core messaging, omnichannel copy (incl. UX and SEO), scriptwriting, app copy, internal communications
When Covid-19 hit, citizenM had a problem every hotel had: how do you make guests feel safe and still have a great stay? Ironically, they’d already solved it. Since opening in 2008, citizenM had been doing things differently — with small, efficient teams, big open lobbies and tech instead of unnecessary touchpoints.
Without knowing it, they’d built a “pandemic-proof hotel” — getting it “accidentally just right.”
After coining the phrase, I developed the strategic narrative around it — identifying the product and service principles that suddenly mattered most, and reframing them as compelling reasons to choose citizenM. I turned a collection of practical features into one simple, ownable story that could flex as the brand introduced new measures like contactless stays and opt-in housekeeping worldwide.
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In a nutshell
We'd like to say we planned it. But truthfully, we didn't know we were building a pandemic-proof hotel.
NARRATIVE
We could be Captain Obvious. Be smug, say we planned it. Boast about having a wise, future-seeing business acumen. But the truth is, we didn’t know we were building a pandemic-proof hotel.
Here’s the story of how we got it accidentally just right.
Since hotel one (Schiphol, 2008), we’ve had ultra-efficient small teams, unlike traditional hotels with 100 people per shift. Our guests saw the same friendly faces frequently. Instead of poky lifeless lobbies, we built oversized open living rooms complete with designer furniture, museum-quality art and more books than a small library. Today, all that space makes setting social distancing easy.
Our bedrooms? Step in and fill your lungs with that independently ventilated 100% fresh air – so clean, your nose will probably squeak. Look down towards your feet. You’ll notice no carpets, just easy-to-clean vinyl, Corian and glass. Our rooms have always been this way. There's no need to touch wall switches or the TV remote control – one MoodPad disinfected after every stay does it all.
Boom. Pandemic hits. So here’s how we karate-chopped corona and paved the future of travel: contactless stays powered by our new app; opt-in cleaning services (no one will enter your room unless you ask), sanitation points in all the right places; electrostatic sprayers to disinfect rooms, luggage, public spaces (and dirty minds); and the guarantee of a virus-free clean linen delivery.
All these things mean you enjoy a very safe stay. And this is how block-by-block, fluffy pillow by fluffy pillow, citizenM’s pandemic-proof hotels have joined the illustrious list of amazing things invented by accident: like the microwave, Kellogg Corn Flakes and chocolate chip cookies.
