The guestbook, or visitor log, is a staple of a traditional hotel experience. Within its pages, visitors can vent about missing bottles of complementary shampoo or come down hard on a snoring neighbour. And yet, it often feels as if this antiquated system for suggestions fails to make a real difference. In the central borough of Mitte, Berlin, a “beta hotel laboratory” is perhaps the first in the world to explicitly function on feedback. Born from a collaboration with Adina Hotels, owned by Australia’s International Hotel Group TFE Hotels, and Häfele, Germany’s leading supplier of architectural hardware systems, electronic access control, and more, the MM:NT Berlin Lab began with a simple but radical proposition: free stays in exchange for ongoing guest feedback. 

Looking to catch the eye of Gen Z and Millennials, the creators of MM:NT Berlin Lab began its life by offering up to three night stays during a two-month free trial period (targetting select individuals with social media stardom). It booked out within hours. Guests tested out six different rooms with functional, minimalistic style, using a mobile app to communicate with staff and provide constructive criticism on subjects, ranging from the quality and layout of the storage solutions to the design of guest rooms and public spaces. Designed to always be in development mode, MM:NT Berlin Lab is in constant evolution. Ultimately, this radical strategy aims to allow their hotels to reflect changing desires in the hospitality industry faster than ever, as well as bring these new systems to market sooner than traditional builds.

“MM:NT Berlin Lab exists to test market reactions to new ideas and innovations. Our theory is there’s a cohort of Gen Z and Millennial travelers in particular that are open to new ways of interacting with hotel services. We’re therefore using MM:NT Berlin Lab to explore various hotel interfaces to see how we can adapt to changing behaviours and demands. Berlin is the ideal location for our beta hotel as it attracts the culturally curious and is a mecca for change-makers and creative minds”, says Asli Kutlucan, Chief Executive Officer at Adina Europe.

In the spirit of experimentation, the MM:NT team collaborated with a handful of designers, architects and graphic designers to target different design niches. The group includes project partner Häfele, who built Room 00:03 to test out new electronics and appliances. Vienna based interior design & architecture practice BWM designed the 19-square-metre Room 00:02 with foldable wall panels, modular design and a compact kitchenette, blending natural wood with terrazzo tiling and the project’s signature sage green. London, Berlin and Madrid based practice ACME acted as lead interior designers, crafting four bedrooms and all shared spaces. From the multipurpose mint green of The Counter, a self-service area made of eco-friendly tiles, to The Snug, a secluded lounge area between bedrooms, ACME’s design is unified by colourful and calming interiors, minimalist touches and ultra-modern Häfele technology. 

Conceptualized by Philippa Wagner, Experience Design Strategist at PeoplePlacesSpaces, the available rooms are organized into three sizes: Little: a compact bed, shower and storage; Middle: with added kitchenette; Big: open plan living and dining room plus kitchen, with the feel of your own apartment away from home. Of ACME’s four bedrooms, the smallest room in the hotel is Room 00:04 at just under 11 square metres (which features a large vanity and smart lighting); Room 00:01 at 19 square metres spotlighted a sage green and bamboo palette; Room 00:05 at 14 square metres displayed warm terracotta tiling by Eco Friendly Tiles plus 100 per cent recycled polyester drapes; and Room 00:06, a Big room at 28 square metres featured a kitchenette made of recycled wood chips, luxurious furniture like birch veneer table, Snøhetta chair, recycled sage green tiles, and more. 

MM:NT’s design is all about making space for intimate moments — an aspiration reflected in the hotel’s name. Devised by London and Hong Kong based creative practice HATO, MM:NT refers to the word “Moment” divided by a colon to signify how the hotel carves out these pauses, as if separating hours from minutes. Will this new model take off in the world of hospitality? The jury is still out, but if moments are the currency, we’ll have plenty of time to find out.