MEDIA & press
We are delighted that you would like to report on The Lab Hotel in Thun!
We are happy to support journalists with their research on our innovative hotel concept, our collaboration with the Hotelfachschule Thun and current developments in the hotel industry.
Media contact
marketing@hf-thun.ch
Here you will find our press releases and selected media reports about The Lab Hotel. We are always happy to help with further information or interview requests.
OUR PRESS RELEASES
The success story of the Hotelfachschule Thun continues:
The Lab Hotel opens
Thun, 3 March 2021 – On 4 and 5 March 2021, The Lab Hotel opened in Thun after a two-and-a-half-year planning and conversion phase. The Lab Hotel is an innovation platform and place of learning for students, making it unique in the entire D-A-CH region. Alongside new hotel rooms, serviced apartments, a work space and the trendy bar, the so-called Lab Rooms form the heart of The Lab Hotel and thus the interface between hospitality, industry and education. Read more (in German)
MEDIA REPORTS ABOUT THE LAB HOTEL
March 2026
Five years of The Lab Hotel
The Lab Hotel celebrates its fifth anniversary and looks back on a success story. To the PDF
htr, 26.2.2025
Jungle Serenity – the new Lab Room at The Lab Hotel
The new Lab Room “Jungle Serenity”, developed by hotel management student Adjovi Adobah, has opened at The Lab Hotel. A unique experience space that combines nature and tranquillity – a retreat to catch your breath. To the PDF
Jungfrau Zeitung, 8.9.2022
New manager at The Lab Hotel
Sandra Wehren is now in charge of the “experimental hotel” of the Hotelfachschule Thun. The previous manager is taking on important management functions in the company’s education division. To the PDF
Radio Beo, 7.9.2022
New management structures
Following the successful opening of The Lab Hotel on the campus of the Hotelfachschule Thun, the next step is to further expand the range of tasks by bringing together various HotellerieSuisse training programmes. To the PDF
Press release, 6.9.2022
The Lab Hotel adjusts its management structures
The concept of school, hospitality and gastronomy under one roof, unique in the entire D-A-CH region, has proven itself. For a year now, the Hotelfachschule Thun and The Lab Hotel have been operating under the umbrella brand of the Swiss Hospitality Hub. To the PDF
Blick, 26.7.2022
Beds made available for refugees
Janine Rüfenacht, director of The Lab Hotel, had accommodated 10 people in 4 apartments until mid-June. After that, Rüfenacht needed the apartments for the summer season. But she was determined that the refugees should not have to move into collective accommodation. To the PDF
htr, 16.6.2022
At home in a hotel
At the beginning of March, 41-year-old Burlutska fled from Kyiv to Switzerland with her son and other family members. At about the same time, Rüfenacht, director of The Lab Hotel, took heart. To the PDF
Watson, 12.6.2022
Ukrainian refugees at The Lab Hotel
At the beginning of March, 41-year-old Burlutska fled from Kyiv to Switzerland with her son and other family members. At about the same time, Rüfenacht, director of The Lab Hotel, took heart. To the PDF
Press release, 25.4.2022
The concept has worked
The concept of school, hospitality and gastronomy under one roof, unique in the entire D-A-CH region, has proven itself. For a year now, the Hotelfachschule Thun and The Lab Hotel have been operating under the umbrella brand of the Swiss Hospitality Hub. To the PDF
Modulør, 13.4.2022
Experimental hospitality
How do a 3-star hotel room and a living research laboratory go together? The Lab Hotel in Thun provides the answer. To the PDF
htr, 13.4.2022
The Swiss Hospitality Hub opens its doors
At the Swiss Hospitality Hub, school, hospitality, gastronomy and plenty of know-how come together under one roof. This is a first in the entire D-A-CH region. To mark the anniversary of 1 year of The Lab Hotel and 35 years of the Hotelfachschule Thun, the doors will be open to visitors for one day.
htr, 3.3.2022
Designing a hotel room as a diploma project
The Lab Hotel in Thun has just presented its latest hotel room. The concept was developed and implemented with great commitment and passion by two hotel management students, Céline Mannhart and Map Schärer, as part of their diploma project. To the PDF
Berner Zeitung, 3.3.2022
Students design their own room
As part of their diploma project, Céline Mannhart and Map Schärer designed their own room at The Lab Hotel. Their Lab Room “Friends for Friends” lets guests enjoy wellness in their room. To the PDF
htr, 26.8.2021
Airing the room has long ceased to be enough
The pandemic has made air quality a more important topic. But it is not just about viruses, it is about the general well-being of guests. To the PDF
Jungfrau Zeitung, 5.8.2021
Researching the future of the hotel industry
The Lab Hotel at the Hotelfachschule Thun experiments with new ideas and offers and involves its students in the process. To the PDF
Jungfrau Zeitung, 10.6.2021
Tour de Suisse teams as guests
During the Tour de Suisse, The Lab Hotel hosted the two teams Lotto Soudal and Jumbo Visma. To the PDF
htr, 8.6.2021
Designing responsibly
Reusing high-quality materials is a step in the right direction. Janine Rüfenacht, project manager of The Lab Hotel, deputy director of the Hotelfachschule Thun. To the PDF
Gastrofacts, issue N°32
The experiment
This is where trends, new technologies and ideas from hospitality and gastronomy can be tried out and implemented with industry partners. To the PDF
Hotelier, issue 3/2021
How innovative is this “laboratory hotel”?
The hotel is said to be an innovation platform and a place of learning for students. And that is not all: “The Lab Hotel” is said to be unique in the DACH region. What is behind it? To the PDF
htr advertorial, 8.3.2021
The Lab Hotel has opened in Thun
The success story of the Hotelfachschule Thun continues: on 4 and 5 March 2021, The Lab Hotel opened in Thun after a two-and-a-half-year planning and conversion phase. To the PDF
Berner Zeitung, 6.3.2021
Hotelfachschule Thun – a new hotel as a playground for trends
From Monday, guests can check in at The Lab Hotel. The new offering is both a training ground for students of the Hotelfachschule Thun and accommodation for guests who enjoy experimenting. To the PDF
Thuner Tagblatt, 6.3.2021
The future of the hotel industry is taking shape in Thun
The latest offering of the Hotelfachschule Thun is, on the one hand, a “research laboratory” and practice-oriented training facility for students and, on the other, a place to stay for guests who want to test the latest trends in the hotel industry. To the PDF
SRF, 6.3.2021
The Lab Hotel opens
The Hotelfachschule Thun opens Switzerland’s first hotel in which innovations are tested – on real guests. To the PDF
Gastrojournal, 4.3.2021
Hotelfachschule Thun opens The Lab Hotel
After a two-and-a-half-year planning and conversion phase, The Lab Hotel in Thun is opening. Due to the current restrictions, the opening ceremony will take place online. To the PDF
Jungfrau Zeitung, 4.3.2021
The Lab Hotel opens
Alongside new hotel rooms, serviced apartments, a work space and the trendy bar, the so-called “Lab Rooms” form the heart of the new business and thus the interface between hospitality, industry and education, a first well beyond… To the PDF
Thun Magazin, 1.3.2021
Spending the night in a laboratory
In the new “The Lab Hotel”, students of the Hotelfachschule Thun play an active part under the guidance of their teachers. In addition to lessons and internships, this gives them an additional place of learning that combines theory and practice perfectly. To the PDF
htr, 25.2.2021
“There is often a lack of courage to experiment”
Janine Rüfenacht, project manager of The Lab Hotel and deputy director of the Hotelfachschule Thun, is convinced that students need freedom. They find it at The Lab Hotel. To the PDF
PODCAST
SRF Regionaljournal Bern Freiburg Wallis, 4.3.2021
How hotels could be made more attractive
The Hotelfachschule Thun is opening a hotel in its buildings. There, students can apply what they have learned and try out new things. In “Lab Rooms”, for example, they are trying out…
Radio Bern1, 4.3.2021
The doors are open
From today, the Hotelfachschule Thun has its own hotel, called The Lab Hotel.
Hospitality Booster, 4.3.2021
Janine Rüfenacht, The Lab Hotel-ière
At the beginning of March 2021, The Lab Hotel opens its doors in Thun in the Bernese Oberland.
THE LAB HOTEL – industry trends tested under real conditions