Conference of the Month at Danhostel Ishøj Strand, Denmark

With a relaxed yet professional atmosphere and beautiful natural surroundings, Danhostel Ishøj Strand proves that low prices need not be synonymous with poor service. Located just 15 kilometres from the centre of Copenhagen, the conference centre welcomes almost 50,000 guests each year, including a string of public entities, as well as some major cost-conscious corporations.

With such a spacious setting, it is unlikely that guests will notice the fact that almost 50,000 people stay at Danhostel Ishøj Strand annually. Besides, with an array of sports facilities, the picturesque coastline, as well as ARKEN Museum of Modern Art which is just around the corner, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors as well as the indoors.

Built in 2000 in the naturally beautiful coastal area of Ishøj Strand, Danhostel Ishøj Strand was taken over by Inge Ulrich Ernst and Michael Ernst in 2006. Guided by their many years of experience at establishments such as Hotel D’angleterre and Søllerød Kro, the couple brought in decorators and professional chefs to revamp the building and business. “We turned the whole establishment upside down and chose to focus intensively on conference facilities, which is something that was really lacking in the area,” explains Ernst and adds: “We’ve had the specific requirements of seminar and conference guests in mind when tailoring both the interiors and the service level.  We made sure everything was done in a relaxed but top professional atmosphere.”

Today, all of the hostel’s 40 rooms, each with an en-suite bathroom, television and wireless internet, are designed to meet the needs of modern conference guests. The kitchen which uses 75 percent organic produce masters everything from Foie Gras to traditional open sandwiches and makes all dishes from scratch. But while the service level has been steeply elevated, prices have not seen a similar development. “Through our service approach and our focus on ’value for money’, we have created an incredibly economic product which gives guests a lot more than they expect. That’s our main goal: to always focus on the needs of the guests and give them value for their money,” stresses Ernst.  He adds, “Sometimes we experience that we are so low-cost that the guests are afraid to book us because they can’t believe that they will actually get proper service, but our very high turn-over has made it possible to keep prices down.”

All rooms at Danhostel Ishøj Strand have recently been refurbished to meet the requirements of modern conference guests.

For more information, visit: www.ishojhostel.dk

 Issue 62 | March 2014 | 93