• Hotel Luise is pioneering the vision of a circular economy in hospitality, using the Cradle-to-Cradle® principle to ensure materials are recyclable or biodegradable.
• The unique Circular Hotel Rooms feature materials like compressed straw walls and cork beds, along with an astronaut shower that saves up to 80% of water.
• The hotel showcases its practices through the interactive Wall of Change and incorporates nature using biophilic design and a dedicated microforest.
• Hotel Luise is an active ADFC partner hotel (Bett&Bike program), offering extensive facilities and services for bicycle travelers, such as e-charging stations and secure storage.

Hotel Luise in Erlangen, Germany, is positioned as a highly innovative and sustainable city hotel, championing the vision of a circular economy within the hospitality industry. Erlangen itself is actively committed to climate protection, providing a supportive backdrop for the hotel’s mission.

Third-generation owner Ben Förtsch and his team aim to operate the hotel as a closed-loop system, minimizing waste, maximizing resource efficiency, and supporting natural material cycles. This philosophy is grounded in the Cradle-to-Cradle® principle, ensuring materials are either entirely biodegradable or continuously recyclable. This is demonstrated by the use of carpets made from old fishing nets, tables made from recycled plastic, and certain circular hotel rooms built entirely from biodegradable materials like compressed straw and cork. These unique rooms also feature an astronaut shower that saves up to 80% of water and 90% of energy through recycling technology.

The hotel’s commitment extends beyond the rooms. The Wall of Change serves as an interactive display showcasing over 270 sustainable practices, making the commitment tangible for guests. Furthermore, the hotel actively incorporates nature through biophilic design and a specially planted microforest in the garden, designed to enhance biodiversity, reduce air pollution, and improve the microclimate. Hotel Luise also caters extensively to cyclists as an ADFC partner hotel, offering secure storage and repair facilities, and features the Gud ruh’n Spa, which offers unique regional treatments like a beer massage.