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After years at the top of the international hotel industry and a successful period as Associate Director Hotel Investments at Savills, Ruben Schuuring is bridging the gap between hotel real estate and operations.
With the launch of RBS Hotels, he positions himself in the market as a party that creates synergy between bricks and mortar and service. A conversation about entrepreneurship, the transformation of Hotel Franq, and the construction of a unique hotel collection in the Benelux.
In hotel industry practice, there is often a chasm. On one side, operators and hoteliers, responsible for hospitality and service. On the other, owners and property investors, who focus on returns, EBITDA, and the physical property. Ruben Schuuring is one of the few who understands and fluently speaks both languages.
With RBS Hotels, he is introducing a well-considered, integrated vision, in which property value and guest experience structurally reinforce each other. The new organisation focuses on the operation and strategic management of high-quality boutique hotels (four-star plus) in the Benelux.
“My career started on the inside, at the heart of the operation,” says Schuuring. That foundation was laid in Zwolle. “For a school project, I approached Jonnie Boer from De Librije. He taught me that you get the best information from practice, not from fancy stories. The following weekend, I was there as a dishwasher.”
It was the start of an impressive CV that boasted prestigious names: from the pre-opening team of the Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam to the operational management of F&B at the Hilton Amsterdam. During his time as quality manager at Pillows Hotels and his international sojourns in Ghent and Curaçao, he honed his craft in a niche where success lies in the smallest of details. “That kitchen in Zwolle ignited my passion for the craft, as well as my ambition,” says Schuuring. “Even then, I knew: one day I will build my own collection.”
The move to Savills was a surprise to many, but for Schuuring it was pure strategy. “As a hotelier, I saw how potentially good concepts failed because they lacked the connection with the property side,” he explains. “RBS Hotels was an ambition I only wanted to start if I could also view the sector professionally through the eyes of owners and investors. As a hotel broker, I therefore mastered the principles of yield improvement at the transaction table.” It is precisely this combination – the ability to guarantee a high-quality service and to have an eye for the underlying property – that makes his profile unique.
Anyone who thinks RBS Hotels is a consultancy firm is mistaken; Schuuring is building his own, carefully curated hotel collection. The first achievement is Hotel Franq in Antwerp, where he is realising an integral repositioning on behalf of the owners.
“Franq is for us proof of the standard we are setting with the RBS collection,” Schuuring continues. “The hotel has the right ingredients: a historic building with a soul, located in a prime spot. The Dutch owners gave us the mandate for a transformation. We are restructuring the operation and implementing an international quality standard that protects and enhances the asset value of the property. The project serves as the blueprint for RBS Hotels” modus operandi: modernising operations with the aim of merging a superior guest experience with optimal returns."
Schuuring is selective in its expansion; it focuses on the four-star-plus segment with a size of up to approximately ninety rooms. In cities with a rich history that offer scope for an authentic story. This directly translates to the target audience: culture enthusiasts and business travellers who shun the anonymity of large chains and have a love for high-quality hospitality and gastronomy.
Schuuring sees opportunities precisely in ‘secondary cities’ such as The Hague, Maastricht and Antwerp. “There you often find characteristic, undervalued properties whose potential is not being fully exploited. That's where we step in: to unlock the synergy between the real estate and high-quality operation. We are looking for promising projects that can be elevated to a higher level with a focused strategy.”
In an industry that is often driven by perception and fleeting trends, Schuuring stands out for his pragmatic, process-oriented approach. “I don’t believe in empty slogans; I focus on processes,” he says. “My experience as a quality manager at Pillows Hotels has taught me that quality must be reproducible. Whether you’re guiding a start-up or repositioning an existing hotel, operational discipline forms the foundation.”
His time at Savills has reinforced that no-nonsense attitude. For owners and investors, he is a conversationalist who understands that hospitality has an essential business component. He speaks the language of the boardroom as easily as that of top-tier gastronomy. That is the strength he now brings with RBS Hotels.
RBS Hotels' expansion operates at the intersection of operational takeovers and strategic property investors. The coming years will be characterised by the targeted building of the collection, with RBS Hotels acting as operator and as
strategic partner for owners and investors. The organisation is open to dialogue with potential partners who wish to link the value development of their real estate to the operational strength of the management. With Hotel Franq as living proof of this vision, the course has been set.
“We're building something lasting”, concludes Schuuring. “A collection of beautiful hotels where hospitality is deeply rooted in the history of the property, but where the operation is future-proof and razor-sharp. That is the synergy between bricks and service. That is RBS Hotels.”
