this hotel has no roof or walls, just a summer night sky and a swiss valley as a backdrop

from 2016 to 2017, the hospitality industry in switzerland welcomed one of the most radical and attractive additions to the country’s extensive list of luxury services and hotels: the null stern hotel. designed in principal as an art installation by swiss concept artists frank and patrik riklin in conjunction with their partner and hospitality expert daniel charbonnier, the hotel without any walls or a roof, featured just a bed under the swiss summer sky with spectacular views of the safien valley in grisons and in appezellerland.

after two successful summer seasons with more than 4,500 reservation requests on the waiting list, the frank and patrik riklin concept is returning to the swiss alpine foreland of wildhaus, toggenburg under the name of ‘zero real estate.‘

there are three suites available located in the picturesque landscape, with a modern butler that is there to assist, welcome guests and bring breakfast. as a contingency for bad weather, there is an alternative accommodation on-site, a hotel room in an alpine hut or an old toggenburg farmhouse.

in march 2017, a report by the world travel & tourism council (wttc) identified that the global hospitality industry ‘generated US $7.6 trillion (10.2% of global GDP) and 292 million jobs in 2016, equivalent to 1 in 10 jobs in the global economy.‘ switzerland is also responsible for producing the next generation of pioneers in the industry with four of the current top 10 hospitality universities in world. thus, as zero real estate filled 75% of the total available nights in just the first ten days, the concept provides an interesting insight and a juxtaposition to the typical strategy of what sells a successful hotel experience and attracts tourists.