How The “World’s Worst Hotel” Showed The Power Of Honest Marketing

Published on: 12th March 2018 at 4:07 PM

David Hovenden

2 Min Read

A run-down dirty backpacker hostel in Amsterdam has given a masterclass in how a little honesty can sometimes be the most effective form of marketing in a world grown weary of being lied to.

The Hans Brinker Budget Hotel Amsterdam prides itself on being the world’s worst hotel. By celebrating its bad points over more than a decade and a half, advertising agency KesselsKramer helped reach a target group of backpackers distrustful of advertising.

By daring to be the worst, the Brinker reached maximum occupancy on a weekly basis. Those who summoned the courage to step through its creaking doors were surprised to find the hotel not (quite) as bad as advertised. A reaction that helped reduce the Brinker’s complaints.

The phenomena the hostel has tapped into was raised at this year’s SXSW Conference in Austin Texas as being the ‘Non-Obvious Trend’ of Loveable Unperfection. By focusing on imperfections and personality, products and services can be seen as more desireable.

So successful has Hans Brinker been, it’s opened a second hostel in Lisbon, equally bad service, but slightly less awful weather, and even has a book full of its advertising triumphs. Check out some of it here.

TAGGED: SXSW, The Hans Brinker Budget Hotel

By David Hovenden

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David Hovenden is one of the co-founders of The Misfits Media Company and is B&T's editor-in-chief. He has been writing about advertising, marketing and media for more than 15 years. At the same time, he has also written for B&T's sister publication Travel Weekly on all matters travel related. Through this publication he can claim to have stepped foot on every continent in the world (now claimed to be eight, if you accept NZ is its own continent). He has also covered the business of law when he was editor-in-chief and publisher of Lawyer Weekly. Human Resources when he worked for that eponymously named title and a plethora of business and technology publications including, but not limited to PC Week, Australian Personal Computer, Web Week, Internet World, Factory Equipment News, Architecture Today and Building Product News. In his spare time David enjoys fishing, kayaking, fine dining and spending time with his family.