We trainees had the opportunity to look over the shoulder of Mr. Höltmann, a representative of DEHOKLA NRW GmbH (a department of DEHOGA and responsible for hotel classification), at work.

How does a hotel get its stars?

Of course, a hotel business has to make some upfront investments before it can present something. This is what happened at the Kaiserhof, once a two-star bed-and-breakfast hotel, which, until it was taken over by Peter Cremer, was gradually polished like a diamond and is now a top player in the hotel world. However, around 16 million euros have been invested in the building. In the basement there is now an attractive spa area and a fitness room. The 100 rooms and suites were designed with great attention to detail and are continually maintained. The last major renovation was the addition of a section to the hotel, which now serves as a restaurant and event hall.

Every three years a hotel can decide whether or not it wants to be officially classified by DEHOGA.

At the Kaiserhof, there was also considerable discussion about whether such a classification is still appropriate. What it means to implement such a star classification, and what advantages and disadvantages it entails, can be found in the blog article on star classification.

Completely digitalized

One might imagine such a hotel critic like this:
an experienced man or woman, wearing glasses and holding a clipboard with a very long checklist. Our guest had plenty of experience by the afternoon; as he himself reported, he even enjoys visiting hotels in his free time, just to check them out.

The glasses are a must, of course, to emphasize his critical gaze, even into the darkest corners of a room. But also, of course, to go through all the criteria one by one on his tablet and check them off, simultaneously sending them to a central computer, which is then handed out in a fixed form in the form of a plaque for the building wall just 30 minutes after the review is completed. Of course, we didn’t notice any of this at first, as the critic bombarded the hotel management with all his questions.

In fact, the stars that hang on the exterior walls of approximately 8,000 German hotels do not come directly from DEHOGA, but from the Hotel Stars Union, an international association of hospitality associations from seventeen countries. They aim to improve comparability through uniform evaluation criteria, thus presenting hotels transparently for the guest.

There is always something to complain about

Ultimately, we met approximately 251 criteria, earning us 608 points, allowing us to continue to use the 4-Star Superior rating for the next three years. For the First Class rating, i.e. **** (4 stars), you need at least 400 points, and ***** (5 stars) is awarded starting at 600 points. So, we’re top!

Not only were the room furnishings assessed, with seemingly banal things like a rug in front of the bed on which one could place one’s shoes, a hairdryer, or a sewing kit, but the friendliness and competence of the staff were also extensively tested by an inspector disguised as a guest who had not announced his arrival in advance.

Mr. Höltmann clearly demonstrated to us the important role we play as hotel staff and what it takes to make guests feel comfortable. After all, it’s the people in a hotel who bring it to life.

To ensure our guests leave the hotel alive, we naturally want to keep the risk of injury as low as possible. Our inspector’s alarm bells immediately rang when he noticed a broken, sharp-edged corner on a hairdryer holder. The hairdryer was, of course, replaced promptly by the building’s maintenance department. But the problem didn’t stop with the hairdryer; a quick swipe of his index finger along the edge of the mirror revealed another point of criticism: tiny residues from hairspray, deodorant, and other substances had left a rough surface. “That’s complaining at a high level,” he said, “…but that too deserves attention.” Nothing escapes his critical eye. Our in-house cleaning staff were informed of the issue and were able to resolve it. This is also how we handle complaints from guests: Everything is immediately checked and promptly improved.

Once all the questions had been asked, the rooms inspected, and the overall impression of the hotel and restaurant area recorded, the exciting trip ended for us trainees in our own hotel. Ms. Fenneberg and Mr. Höltmann discussed the final details, and then the result was finally finalized.

In conclusion, we can say that our efforts at the Kaiserhof were rewarded with another award. We were all able to go home satisfied with the experience of having witnessed a hotel star rating; with the knowledge that we, the trainees, had done a good job, and with the certainty that more excursions will be planned for us later in the year.

With kind regards from the Kaiserhof
Jasper Quarré
Trainee hotel management in the 1st year of training

Der Beitrag The Hotel Kaiserhof remains first class erschien zuerst auf Hotel Münster | 4 Sterne Sup. am Bahnhof, Nähe Innenstadt.

The beginnings of tea

Tea has been drunk for more than 5000 years, and much more than coffee. Tea has its origins in China, when Emperor Shen Nung dropped a tea leaf into boiling water and it began to smell wonderful.
Other tea-growing regions now include India, Japan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Indonesia and parts of South and East Africa.
Each tea has its own character and develops its own aroma – and just like wine growing, the tea plant needs certain conditions such as climate, soil, a growing area and an individual harvest time.

The House of Ronnefeldt

Ronnefeldt was founded in 1823 by Johann Tobias Ronnefeldt.
The catering trade is the main customer for the products, accounting for 95% of sales. Many four- and five-star restaurants – such as the Kaiserhof – also purchase tea from Ronnefeldt. The Ronnefeldt range offers over 365 types and varieties of tea, so you can theoretically drink a different tea every day for a whole year.

Different methods are used to produce tea. Ronnefeldt differs from many other tea manufacturers in that each tea is produced or purchased using only the Orthodoxe method, more on this later. This method guarantees a finer aroma and the best quality. The results are convincing, as Ronnefeldt was named Best Brand in 2017, 2018 and 2019. And the Forbes Travel Guide has also named Ronnefeldt the best tea brand of 2018.

Ronnefeldt even offers interested parties from the catering industry the opportunity to attend the in-house Tea Academy. It is possible to achieve the Teamaster Silver or even Gold.

Ronnefeldt’s cultivation areas include China, India, Sri Lanka and South Africa.

All Ronnefeldt teas are also certified for halal and kosher production.

The path to the finished black tea

The orthodox tea goes through several stages before it arrives at our hotel.

During the harvesting of the tea leaves, only the top two leaves and the bud are harvested, this process is called two leaves and one bud. These leaves are all harvested by hand. The pickers receive a fixed wage and each kilo is entered in a pay book and paid extra. After harvesting, the leaves are left to wither for 12-18 hours, during which time the leaves lose 60% of their moisture. Next, the tea leaves are rolled, i.e. ground on two rotating disks. During fermentation, the cell sap released from the leaves oxidizes with the oxygen in the air. After two to three hours of fermentation, the leaves turn copper-red and form the typical tea aroma. In order to achieve a residual moisture content of 3%, which is optimal for transportation, the leaves are dried in a tray dryer at 90 degrees for approx. 20 minutes.
Finally, the tea is sorted into four different leaf grades. Ronnefeldt only processes the first three grades: leaf tea, broken tea and fannings. The smallest grade – Dust – is not used as it does not meet the high quality standards.

The path to green tea

Green tea is also obtained from the tea plant, but differs from black tea in its coloring during the fermentation process. The green tea remains green because it does not ferment. As green tea is very popular in China and Japan, each country has developed a way of producing the tea without fermenting it. In the Chinese method, the tea leaves are heated in a large wok for about 30 seconds. The enzymes contained in the leaves are thus inactivated and no fermentation takes place. In Japan, the leaves are exposed to steam of around 100 degrees in large drums. Here too, the enzymes become more inactive and no fermentation takes place.

The effect of tea

Tea has a number of positive properties. As manufacturers and sellers, we are not allowed to make any healing promises, but it is generally accepted that tea promotes well-being, stimulates concentration, stimulates blood flow to the brain, accelerates the breakdown of alcohol, drugs and fats, strengthens teeth and improves metabolism. In order to achieve certain properties in a targeted manner, there are certain times that should be adhered to. For black tea to have a stimulating effect, it should steep for one to three minutes. Three to five minutes brewing time, on the other hand, has a relaxing effect. With green tea, one to two minutes has a stimulating effect and two to three minutes has a relaxing effect.

Fruit and herbal teas

Last but not least, fruit and herbal teas.
In the food definition, this type of hot drink is considered a tea-like product, as it is not made from the tea plant but from other natural ingredients. Herbal teas should be steeped for at least five to eight minutes and fruit teas for eight to ten minutes. Regardless of which tea is prepared, it should never be forgotten that tea is an infusion drink and it is important to infuse the tea with water to achieve the optimum aroma and effect.
A special treat for tea lovers is to pay close attention to the infusion time and mention this when serving.

Finally, on behalf of all the trainees, I would like to thank Mr. Volkery, who introduced us to the colorful world of tea and made us more confident in handling tea with guests.

Best wishes from the Kaiserhof
Esther Mönninghoff
2nd year hotel management trainee

Der Beitrag Tea party at the Kaiserhof erschien zuerst auf Hotel Münster | 4 Sterne Sup. am Bahnhof, Nähe Innenstadt.