The Kerlin is a family business, and a female one at that. It all began in 1989 on Wielandstraße, where my mother opened a guesthouse while she was pregnant with me. In 2005 she bought Hotel Alexander here on Pariser Straße and ran it for many years, with breakfast, a reception desk and a lot of heart. So I really was born into the hotel business, and I have always worked in hospitality and service. Being a host simply suits me.
Together with my mother, we renamed Hotel Alexander: guests kept confusing it with other hotels of a similar name, and another “Alexander” was about to open nearby. And so it became Boutique Hotel Kerlin, from Kristina and Berlin.
In 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, my mother died suddenly and I took over the hotel. It quickly became clear that the old concept did not suit me, and that Covid had fundamentally changed the hotel industry. If you want to survive, you have to think differently. So I did: the reception desk became a self check-in that takes under a minute. Today the Kerlin is a digital boutique hotel and a hybrid house, with coworking and a meeting room at Space37 as well as co-living and serviced apartments for everyone who stays longer.
With the new name, we also deliberately said goodbye to the classic star rating.
We believe that quality today shows in other things: in a house with character, in good beds, in fair prices and in being able to shape your stay the way you want.
What has stayed the same: the Kerlin has been run by women and owner-managed since 2005. I am proud to be part of WHERA, the platform that makes women-led businesses visible. And if you would like to hear more about our journey: a podcast with me will soon be released on WHERA.
I look forward to welcoming you.
Kristina Kuhn, owner