Host · Entrepreneur · Speaker

KristinaKuhn

Born into hospitality. Today I run a hotel with 18 rooms and no front desk, and I show how AI makes hosting easier, not colder.

Book me as a speaker Book an advisory session
18rooms, run digitally
0front desks, self check-in in under a minute
1 of 36hotels in Germany with the EU Ecolabel (as of 2025)
2awards in 2025
Kristina Kuhn in a blue dress on stage at the 2025 award ceremony, holding her award
On stage at the 2025 award ceremony

Talks

What I talk about

I speak from day-to-day operations, not from theory. About decisions that worked, and the ones that didn't.

Hospitality, rethought

The hotel without a front desk

How an owner-run hotel went fully digital after the pandemic, and what guests actually get out of it.

AI in practice

AI first, people at the center

Real use cases from running a hotel: guest communication, operations, revenue. Start small, learn fast.

Women in business

Woman-owned since 1989

From my mother's guesthouse to a digital boutique hotel. On legacy, courage and the right to do everything differently.

What drives me

Hospitality isn't a front desk. It's a feeling.

Back at the Hilton in Manchester, people kept telling me: "You are so hospitable!" Being a host is part of my personality, not my job description. It started early: my mother's guesthouse, travelling, getting to know other cultures at a young age, and growing up bilingual. Ever since, I've known that every guest wants to feel welcome, no matter where they come from.

In 2021 I took over my mother's hotel. The classic concept with a front desk no longer fit me, or the times.

So I rethought it: self check-in, a digital guest directory, automated workflows. Today the hotel runs even when I'm not there.

Work with me

How we can work together

Keynotes & panels

For industry events, conferences and networks. In German, English, Spanish or French.

Advisory session

For hoteliers and startups using AI in hospitality or building products for it. Honest input from a hotel that's actually running.

€250 plus VAT · 60 minutes

Network

Podcast, interview, guest article or simply a coffee. I enjoy a good conversation.

My story

From guesthouse to digital hotel

  1. My mother opens a guesthouse in Berlin's Wielandstraße while pregnant with me.

  2. Raised bilingual, Spanish from first grade, a high school year in Wisconsin, language trips from Cambridge to Andalusia.My mother's guesthouse, travelling and all those cultures made me a host early on.

  3. The guesthouse becomes a hotel: the building on Pariser Straße is added. I grow up between guests and room keys.

  4. International Business with a year abroad in Rennes, then a Master's in Hospitality Management in Manchester, working in events at the Hilton alongside.Long nights at events, lectures the next morning. That's where I learned resilience.

  5. I take over the hotel and rebuild it: digital, no front desk.

  6. EU Ecolabel, as one of 36 hotels in Germany.Awards "Entrepreneur of the Future" and "AI Innovator", presented by DIIND and DUP Unternehmer-Magazin, handed over by Brigitte Zypries, former German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs.

  7. Member of WHERA. IHK qualification "Manager for Applied AI Transformation".

Kristina Kuhn in a blue dress on a roof terrace holding her awards
"Entrepreneur of the Future" and "AI Innovator", 2025
Kristina Kuhn holding the EU Ecolabel certificate next to Dr. Kristin Stechemesser of the German Environment Agency, with an Ecolabel banner between them
EU Ecolabel 2025, presented by Dr. Kristin Stechemesser of the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt)

Featured in

DUP Unternehmer-Magazin · Award 2025 BIG BANG Weekly · Nov 2026 WHERA Podcast · coming soon

Hello!

Planning an event, building something for hospitality, or just want to talk? Write to me.

Or directly: hallo@kristinalydia.com LinkedIn

Kristina