Scandinavian hotel and property investment group Strawberry has revealed its new hotel brand for the smart Nordic traveller is to be called Stopover.
The brand will launch in 2025 in Falkenberg, southern Sweden with a 151 room hotel, the first of up to 20 promised. Strawberry has said the brand will be a “climate-smart” product, designed for travellers with electric vehicles, and inclusive for those travelling with children and pets.
A concept reinvented
Strawberry owner Petter Stordalen said Stopover is a reinvention of the roadside hotel: “The last time anyone had an original thought about roadside hotels, Henry Ford was alive. In other words, it’s been 77 years since he and innovation in roadside hotels fell asleep. Since then, society has fundamentally changed, but one of the things that remains the same then as now, and has been reinforced, is the need to be able to move.”
Prefabrication will be used to help create hotels that have high environmental credentials, exploiting solar panels and geothermal heating. The latest digital solutions will ensure guest comfort while minimising resource wastage.
The new brand rollout will be in partnership with investment group Slatto, which will use its institutional capital funding to support the development of new properties. Erik Moller, head of hotels at Slatto, explained the thinking: “Hotels need continuous development to attract their target group. They must also be able to quickly adapt to new market demands, contributing to both excellent guest experiences and stable, secure profitability. The new hotel chain is being developed as a versatile service destination to meet market trends.”
For the Strawberry group, the Stopover chain initiative joins a broader portfolio of more than 240 hotels across the Nordics. As well as managing the local presence of the Comfort, Quality, Clarion and Clarion Collection brands, as a partner with Choice Hotels, Strawberry also manages more than 40 independent hotels.
Joining a growing portfolio
With a group of such scale, there are always new additions to the portfolio being planned. Among these is the upcoming Clarion Hotel Karlatornet, due to launch in late 2024 in a district of Gothenburg. The 300 room hotel is set within a new tower in the city, designed by renowned architects SOM.
Work is also under way on a refurbishment of the Hotel Mayfair in Copenhagen. Once completed, the property will relaunch as Hobo Copenhagen. Strawberry has leased the 203 room hotel from Swedish property group Pandox, and will expand the Hobo brand’s presence from its successful start in Stockholm.
In late 2028, a 249 room hotel project in Turku, Finland is expected to open. Built by a local developer alongside the destination’s arena, it will feature a sky bar on the twelfth floor of the building, promising guests a great view of the city.
