Fred Hotels Zürich
About Fred Hotels Zürich
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It has been ten years since Domenic Zembrod joined Fred Tschanz. During this time, he has completely transformed the long-established, catering-focused family business and shaped it into a modern, clearly focused hotel group in the city of Zurich. A look back at a decade of setting the course for greater stability and innovation.
The situation in autumn 2016 called for a new direction. Following the death of the company’s founder, Fred Tschanz, in December 2012, his granddaughter Stéphanie Portmann had run the business single-handedly for four years. To strategically prepare the family business for the future, she and her husband, Domenic Zembrod, decided to join forces.
His arrival was not without its critics; in particular, his lack of experience in the hospitality industry was seen by some as a shortcoming. Domenic, who had previously successfully run his own events agency, saw things differently: “I am neither a restaurateur nor a hotelier – I am an entrepreneur. I’ve never made a secret of that. Right from the start, I was convinced that I could take the company forward with my skills. I’ve never seen myself as a career changer.”
Stéphanie is an indispensable source of constructive criticism and has my back.
Following a transitional period as co-CEOs, Stéphanie Portmann handed over full operational management to him in March 2020, whilst she focused on her role as owner and Chair of the Board of Directors. It’s a division of roles that continues to work perfectly to this day: with her clear thinking, Stéphanie is a valuable sparring partner for Domenic. “Stéphanie is an indispensable source of constructive criticism and has my back. In our strategic discussions, ideas take shape and, in this way, the future of Fred Tschanz is regularly shaped.”
When Domenic took over, the group’s standing was good, but its structures had evolved over time. Many aspects had become somewhat stagnant and needed revitalising to make the group fit for the future. Each location was a separate company; each business did its own thing. Together with Stéphanie, Domenic set himself the goal of putting the new generation’s stamp on the company without losing Fred’s legacy. Rather, the aim was to strengthen and further develop what already existed and had been built up.
First of all, Domenic embarked on a thorough restructuring: ‘Tschanz Management AG’, which was perceived as a catering company and lacked a clear identity, was soon transformed into an accessible umbrella brand. Since then, all the businesses have been united under the new brand identity ‘Fred Tschanz Gastgewerbe’. This was later followed by the consolidation of the individual hotels into what is now the largest local hotel group: ‘Fred Hotels Zürich’.
The first, crucial piece of the jigsaw was the appointment of Stefano Gagliardi as CFO in February 2018. A milestone in the company’s professionalisation, though not everyone recognised it as such: “I was asked why I wanted a Ferrari when we had a 30s zone right on our doorstep. That’s when I realised: whilst others thought of Fred Tschanz as a neighbourhood road, I saw a race track.” A change in mindset was needed.
I was asked why I wanted a Ferrari when we had a 30s zone right on our doorstep. That’s when I realised: whilst others thought of Fred Tschanz as a neighbourhood road, I saw a race track.
For Domenic, it was clear: to succeed on this race track, he needed an environment that shared the same drive, possessed the same unwavering determination and could keep up with this pace. He began to deliberately build a culture that demanded high performance, but also fostered it to the full. Anyone who wanted to be part of this ambitious journey suddenly found the necessary freedom and genuine prospects at Fred Tschanz.
A look at the workforce shows just how effective this cultural shift has been: annual staff turnover, which initially stood at over 70 per cent, has fallen steadily to a healthy 25 per cent – and is virtually zero amongst senior management. At the same time, employee satisfaction scores have soared well above the industry average, and the ‘time to hire’ for high-calibre staff is now just over 30 days.
Stéphanie and I had a vision of having a queue of skilled people at our place. We are now very close to achieving that goal.
The fact that Domenic is not a restaurateur in the traditional sense proved to be a strategic advantage in the years that followed. The focus was always on the success of the entire company, rather than on individual outlets. When the City of Zurich, after decades, decided not to renew the group’s contract for the historic Bauschänzli, it was certainly a turning point, but for Domenic it was no cause for regret: ‘I didn’t mourn the loss of the Bauschänzli for a single second. It was a game-changer because it showed us that we can let go of things.’
Shortly afterwards, when Covid struck, this principle became a crisis strategy. Two-thirds of turnover evaporated, and the workforce had to be halved. With external control at its peak, the management navigated their way from Federal Council meeting to Federal Council meeting.
“The crisis made us grow up,” Domenic sums up matter-of-factly. “From a young entrepreneur brimming with idealism to a sense of self-assurance: Who, if not us!” Instead of somehow propping up loss-making businesses out of emotional attachment, he acted purely as an entrepreneur in line with his clear credo: “A business must function and be profitable. If not, we’ll make it work – or we’ll divest it.”
Rather than succumbing to panic-driven action and chasing short-term trends, he kept his cool and used the pandemic and the period that followed to focus the portfolio in a targeted manner. Restaurants such as the Haldenegg were closed. At the Leoneck, the older part of the building was let out, whilst the 13-room annexe opened as one of the first self-check-in hotels, with no on-site staff at all. In addition, the Hotel Zürcherhof, situated in the heart of Niederdorf, was purchased in 2023. Domenic Zembrod regards the acquisition of the Zürcherhof as a major coup. “The Zürcherhof fits perfectly with Fred Hotels’ strategy. It allows us to grow exactly as we wish.” It gave the entire company a noticeable boost to be able to purchase a hotel in Niederdorf as a ‘small’ family business. Furthermore, Fred Tschanz was able to prove himself in a new discipline: the seamless integration of a new business and, in particular, a new team.
For Domenic, avoiding action for action’s sake by no means implies standstill; rather, it is the path to stability. Stability is the prerequisite for being able to innovate in the first place. For him, innovation does not mean reinventing the wheel, but simplifying things. He is inspired by the “elegance of simplicity.” In his view, the German word for development—Entwicklung—literally means to un-wrap (ent-wickeln): to unpack something, shed unnecessary weight, and make it simpler.
“Stability and innovation are not opposing forces. They build on one another. High up in the treetop, the leaves are completely free, agile, and dancing in the wind. But for them to be able to do that, they need a thick trunk underneath that barely moves a millimeter. Stability is the base, the firm foundation of the company, and innovation sits on top. To be dynamic, you need solid footing.”
From this solid footing, Domenic transformed the family business—long perceived as a hospitality company—into a modern, clearly focused hotel chain in the city of Zurich. The Walhalla underwent a rebranding to become the Fred Hotel Hauptbahnhof; following a complete renovation, the Leoneck will open as the groups’s first four-star property under the name Fred Hotel Central; and ground has also been broken on the renovation of the Zürcherhof, which will reopen as a Fred Hotel Niederdorf. These major redevelopment projects bring the strategic evolution to life: moving away from conventional hotel operations toward innovative solutions like mobile check-in and the proprietary operating concept SmartStay®, designed to ensure the best possible stay.
Today, Domenic Zembrod has matured. And grown calmer. He never felt that failure was an option. The fact that many doubted his ability to take on this role and succeed—precisely because he was not a trained hotelier, restaurateur, or business graduate—felt frustrating, yet served as motivation at the same time.
“Back then, you had to learn to deal with the reservations people had around you. Today, I face that with confidence and ease.” He smiles. “Let the numbers speak.”
And the numbers speak loud and clear: record revenues across all operations, solid financial and workforce stability, and a low loan-to-value ratio with minimal debt. Today, Fred is healthier and stronger than ever. The achievements of recent years have validated his approach, laying the foundation for his grounded composure today. He knows his job: keeping an eye on the big picture and safeguarding the company’s long-term growth.
Domenic Zembrod did not simply manage the legacy of Fred Tschanz. With the very same pioneering spirit once demonstrated by the founder himself, he restructured the company and set it up for the future. And when he reflects on what has been accomplished, what remains is a deep, genuine sense of satisfaction.