The Independent Hotel Show team recently enjoyed a visit to ‘super boutique’ hotel, The Londoner, which opened in 2021 right in the heart of London. Away from the hustle and bustle of Leicester Square, guests can grab a delicious meal, enjoy a cocktail overlooking the city, or relax in the hotel’s luxurious spa, all with the very best of London on their doorstep.

We sat down with General Manager- Guest Experience Patrick Katzenberg to hear about his journey in hospitality, what defines luxury in 2025, and how The Londoner creates unforgettable experiences for its guests.

What inspired your career in hospitality, and what has been a defining moment of it?

I would say I was almost born in the industry. My dad is a pastry chef, and my mum was front of house, and we used to run our own restaurant and pastry kitchen. For me, it was a natural progression. I've grown up seeing the best examples of what works in hospitality.

I always felt prepared for the industry and quite excited that for me it was very clear. When I was with my friends at school and we had conversations about what we wanted to do, I always knew exactly what I wanted. I was fascinated by hotels, and it was a very easy progression into the industry.

What is a great piece of business advice you've received, and how has it influenced how you manage your teams?

Being humble and listening is one of the best pieces of advice. Listening to our staff is one of the greatest things we can do as leaders of hotels, and as employers. It’s important to understand what their needs are and how we can support them.

Do you have any funny or memorable moments from working at the Londoner?

There's always something happening and it's always very different. We just had a premiere in Leicester Square outside, and someone abseiled down the building, which was quite exciting! [Bear Grylls for the new TV series Celebrity Bear Hunt].

Every day it's very different. Today we've got a huge conference going on and we’ve also got a wedding, and I think that always feels quite special; everyone has their own space in the hotel and all sorts of things can take place.

If someone had never been to The Londoner before, how would you describe it to them?

We use the term ‘super boutique’ to describe The Londoner. The hotel is quite grand in terms of its size, but it's very ‘boutique-y’ throughout all of its different areas. There's never a corridor that feels boring to walk in. There's always something; whether it's the art, the lighting, or the way different aspects are designed.

There are also so many different outlets in the hotel: the six restaurants and bars, you've got one of the largest pools in central London, you've got a huge gym, and we've got a barber. We also have the ballroom which can accommodate up to 850 guests (standing).

The location is fantastic too, especially for our international guests, in the heart of London and the heart of theatre land. You’re right next to Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, St James's, Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden, Chinatown etc. etc. Everything is walkable, which is a great asset.

How do you approach creating memorable guest experiences?

I think this really comes down to the personalised service. It's so important, even just the smallest details of what that customer may have liked from previous stays. We find out as much as we can in order to personalise the experience.

The theme for the Independent Hotel Show this year is ‘Redefining Luxury’. How do you feel definitions of luxury are changing, what does it mean for hotels in 2025?

Again, it goes back to the personalised service. Everyone has a different experience and what luxury means for every person is different. It could be something that is more opulent, something that's more understated, or something that's a little bit more exciting.

I think having a hotel with all the different food and beverage outlets was a huge part of creating The Londoner: you've got your rooftop bar, 8 at The Londoner you've got our spa, The Retreat, you've got the Whisky Room.  

Another aspect of luxury is what we can offer through our partnerships. We have lots of theatre partners and partnerships with different galleries so we can offer tickets that are hard to get or for sold out shows and exhibitions, for example. Our Head Concierge Tom Wardley is a member of Clef D’Ors and very well connected! He is key to our guest experience.

We also offer perfume profiling with our amenities partner Miller Harris, where a dedicated scene expert can lead guests through a selection of fragrances, help them uncover scents that resonate with them and create their own signature fragrance. Guests can also stay refreshed during their stay with an IV hydration treatment. We’ve partnered with Drip Hydration to offer wellness experiences for jetlag, hangovers, low immunity etc., which is administered by a licensed medical professional.

There’s something for everyone in the hotel.

What is The Londoner’s approach to sustainability?

As a new build, a lot of innovation went into the building itself. The Londoner is BREEAM rated Excellent and sustainable materials have been used throughout.

We have a bespoke environmental management system, food waste is managed through incineration for energy generation, and an advanced system separates grease from water for recycling. We have the Monika temperature monitoring system which helps optimise energy use across our F&B outlets by tracking fridge performance, ensuring food remains fresh for guests and reducing our food waste.

What do you think some of the big opportunities and challenges are in the hotel industry?

A challenge at the moment is very much the changing markets and the uncertainty that is out in the market. Different travel patterns are emerging from the traditional model over the years.

In terms of opportunities, I think it's the new markets and a different generation that's coming up, and which the hotel very much appeals to. It appeals to different markets such as China and India in addition to the traditional North American market. There is a wide range of demographics that enjoy the hotel.

How are you leveraging technology to enhance the guest experience?

Technology is incredibly important. For example, we generate 20% of the energy that is being consumed here. We generate electricity onsite and use CHP (Combined Heat and Power).

We use technology throughout the hotel, for example for our linen delivery we have the Arc scanning system. We can see how much linen is being delivered and it’s being scanned so no one needs to count it. We know what the exact stock count is at any given time, so that reduces the amount of transport that is used and again that reduces the CO2. All those sorts of things are being enhanced by technology.

You can use your phone RFID to check in and we have Houdini in the television system allowing guests to control the air conditioning, the lighting and order room service.

We’re also launching a new The Londoner app, which will be an environment where guests can control everything from check in to check out, spa treatments to room service etc.

It's using that technology that’s right there in your pocket and giving guests full control over their experience, it’s a lot of our systems and different components coming together.

Tell us about The Londoner’s Ballroom

It’s one of London’s largest pillarless ballrooms, with five metre ceiling height and capacity for 850 people standing. It’s quite exciting for London to have another ballroom of that scale and with the technology we have in place. I think there are 62,000 different lighting options already built in. You've got all the gobo lights; you've got eight lighting trusses in there with a lot of the technology.

We can host anything from conferences, weddings and bat/bar mitzvahs to premieres and product launches. We host events with our own AV and dining experience but it’s also available for dry hire and has its own private entrance.

The hotel is built on the site of an Odeon, and we have an Odeon Luxe within the hotel, with two screens, which is quite unique too. It was one of the things that we wanted to continue. It's part of London and links directly to us. We can do premieres where talent can go straight from the suites to the cinema and then to the after party.

How does The Londoner approach recruitment and retention?

Like everyone else in the industry, recruitment has become difficult, and retention is key. We need to make sure that we provide the training and that there's career progression. We've got our own academy within the hotel where we train staff, where we've got the special trainers for different subjects. I think developing within is the key so that we don't need to constantly hire new staff. I haven't seen many companies like Edwardian where you've got so many people that have stayed with it, or returned to the company, which is great.

One of my favourite examples is that we found out our linen porter was training to be an accountant and now he’s one of three accountants in another Edwardian Hotel. Opportunities are there, whether you want to work in accounts or marketing or PR, you can really grow within the industry and within hotels and learn. It's not just check-in and F&B there's a lot more to it.

Whatever you're good at, you can do it in a hotel.

Tell us more about The Londoner’s F&B offering

There are six restaurants and bars here. We've got The Residence, accessible by guests and residents within the hotel. It's all about creating a calm environment. Within that we have The Drawing Room, where guests can work or read or play games, we have the Y Bar for cocktails or coffees, and we have The Whisky Room, our speakeasy bar and home to one of London’s most exclusive whisky collections.

Then you have 8, our rooftop bar, which has a more Japanese-led menu. It’s very special, not just because of the food and beverage offering but because of the amazing view of central London.

We have The Stage Champagne Bar where you've got breakfast (your first act), lunch (your second act), afternoon tea (the third act) and the encore in the evening, each menu in each act is served with Champagne and the bar also has afternoon tea every day. We have live music onstage from Tuesday to Saturday and it’s not just background music, we have really talented musicians down there.

We also have our own pub, Joshua’s Tavern, which is really cool and where you can find some great gin & tonics, and take part in our monthly quiz nights, and we have our Mediterranean restaurant, Whitcomb’s. Our Veuve Clicquot Terrace will also be launching in May.

It’s nice for me to see that sometimes we can check people in on Friday and see them having a drink in the bar, see them at breakfast, see them in the spa or the gym, there are so many touchpoints throughout their stay.

Finally, what do you enjoy about visiting the Independent Hotel Show?

You can talk to potential new suppliers and connect with current suppliers, for instance we work with Vanity Group and it’s great to see what new products they’re bringing to the market and what the industry’s talking about. It’s a great place to meet people and to listen to the talks.

Find out more about The Londoner’s diverse offering at thelondoner.com.