Behind the Scenes.
- June Steensen
- for 3 døgn siden
- 4 min lesing
If you read my last post, you could be forgiven for thinking this whole trip was just...
"Let's get in the car, drive around Europe and see what happens."
I wish.
The reality was almost the complete opposite.
This has probably been the most complicated logistical challenge I have ever taken on.
That might sound dramatic.
It isn't.
The planning alone took at least two weeks before we even left.
This is roughly what that looked like:
1. Decide which cities were actually worth visiting
This wasn't about choosing the biggest cities. The goal was to find places with the most interesting hotels, the strongest hospitality scenes, and routes that could realistically be driven within our time frame.
2. Research every unique hotel we could find
For every city, I spent hours researching hotels that genuinely stood out. I searched through Google, Instagram, TikTok, travel blogs, architecture websites, design awards, hotel rankings, and pretty much every corner of the internet I could think of. I wasn't looking for the most expensive hotels I was looking for the ones doing something different. Boutique hotels, design hotels, family-run hotels, luxury hotels, wellness retreats, and hidden gems with unique concepts. By the end of it, we had a list of around 60 hotels spread across seven countries.
3. Reach out to every single hotel
Then came the emails. Hundreds of them. Explaining the project, asking if we could visit, hoping someone would reply, and following up when they didn't.
"Dear,
My name is June Steensen, and I’m a 20-year-old student currently traveling across Europe for an independent hospitality project focused on memorable hotel experiences and the small details guests never forget.
Over the last few months, I’ve spent hundreds of hours researching hotels, guest psychology, reviews, service concepts, and experience design across Europe. During that process, your hotel genuinely stood out to me.
I will be in Amsterdam next Tuesday (02/06), and I wanted to ask whether there might be any possibility of briefly visiting the hotel sometime that day. I completely understand that requests like this are unusual and that hotels are extremely busy, so I truly would not require much time at all. Even a short 15–20 minute introduction to the property, a quick look at some of the spaces, or any opportunity you might be able to arrange would honestly mean a great deal to me.
Thank you so much for your consideration! :)
Best regards,
June Steensen"
4. Build an itinerary around the replies
Once hotels started responding, the real challenge began. Every visit had to fit together like a giant puzzle. If one hotel could only meet at 2:30 p.m., suddenly three other visits had to move as well.
5. Plan the driving route
The hotels, not the cities, dictated the route. Every detour, driving time, toll road, and border crossing had to be considered to make sure we could actually get from one appointment to the next.
DAY 1 (2nd of June) Total driving: 7hours 30 min (CAR) | |
Time | Action |
Latest 9:30 | Drive from Cologne to Amsterdam (3 hours) |
12:50 | Arrive in Amsterdam (Hotel V Nesplein Amsterdam) |
13:00 | TOUR: Hotel V Nesplein Amsterdam (1) |
13:30 | Visit W amsterdam (2) Soho house (3) Hotel estherea (4) |
15:00 | TOUR: The Diamond (16 min drive) (5) |
16:00 | TOUR: The July (6) |
16:30 | Drive to antwerp from amsterdam (2 hours and 30 min) (If we have time, go to either: De Durgerdam or Sir Adam first) (7?) |
19:30 | TOUR: Hotel Julien (Antweb) (8) (This can be pushed) |
20:00 | Explore the other hotels in Antweb (I need one more of these)
|
21:30 | Drive to Brussels (1 hour) |
22:30 | Arrive in brussels |
END OF DAY 1 | |
DAY 2 (3rd of June) Total driving: 3hours 30 min (AIRBNB) | |
Time | What's happening |
10 - 12 | Chill morning |
12:00 | Visit: (I need one more of these)
|
16:30 | TOUR: The standard (17) |
17:15 | Drive towards Paris (3 hours) |
8pm | Go to AirBNB: 19 Rue Monsigny, Paris, Île-de-France 75002, France And have a cute girls day out in Paris |
END OF DAY 2 | |
Time | What's happening |
9:00 - 11am | June Explores hotels in the Area and Maj sleeps in (Go to hotels 18 - 25) Les Suites Cinabre, |
11am - 12:15pm | Breakfast june and maj super cute! |
1pm | Tour: Saint James (26) |
2:30 pm | Tour: Hotel Suzie Blue (27) |
3:00pm - 7:00pm | Explore hotels in this area and have some cute dinner ish (Go to (hotels 28 - 35) |
7pm | Drive to this hotel and sleep somewhere close to this |
10pm | Arrive and sleep in the car |
END OF DAY 3 | |
6. Figure out where we would sleep
Since staying at every hotel wasn't exactly within budget, we had to plan where we could safely park the van each night, where there were showers nearby, and where we could actually get a few hours of sleep before starting again.
7. Prepare for everything else
Fuel costs. Parking. Low-emission zones. Ferry crossings. Backup plans. What to do if meetings ran late. What to do if they got cancelled. What to do if we were running behind schedule.
By the time we left, the trip was colour-coded, mapped, scheduled and replanned more times than I can count.
And then...
About 30% of it immediately changed anyway.
Hotels rescheduled.
Traffic happened.
People cancelled.
New opportunities appeared.
The plan evolved almost every single day.
Ironically, all that planning wasn't what made the trip run perfectly.
It was what made it possible to adapt when it didn't.
Looking back, the driving was probably the easiest part.
Getting 80 hotel visits across seven countries to fit into ten days?
That was the real challenge.
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