The company
How a bed department store became a temporary home
Anyone driving through Wilhelmshaven might expect a lot of wind and ships – but not necessarily the story of a hotel that has to do with coal-fired power plants, cruise ships and oil reserves. But that is exactly the case with “Hotel Home”.
The building on the corner of Börsenstrasse and Mitscherlichstrasse had an eventful past before its current use: it was once a bed and mattress department store, later an office building and social department store for a short time and in 2005 Sascha Scheller and his “Scheller Projektlogistik GmbH & Co. KG” took over the property – originally not with the idea of a hotel, but with a completely different aim: to create sleeping accommodation. For fitters, workers and entire crews working on the large construction sites in and around Wilhelmshaven at the time. Scheller was not a hotelier, not a visionary in the conventional sense, but rather a pragmatist with a keen sense of intuition.
Because between 2006 and 2010 there was a lot going on in the north:
The construction of a new coal-fired power plant, the development of the Jade-Weser Port, work on the cavern site in Etzel (Germany’s largest storage facility for gas and oil reserves) and even the extensive total renovation and refurbishment of the “SS Rotterdam”, a former cruise flagship that is now a hotel and event ship in Rotterdam. Skilled workers were needed for all these projects – and they simply needed a decent bed, a warm shower and accommodation with Wi-Fi and functioning logistics. This is where Scheller and the project logistics company of the same name came into play. The company not only took care of the beds, but also everything else that was needed around them: from room allocation and catering to the coordination and transportation of legions of entire teams. In short: whoever was building slept at Scheller. When the building sites were completed, the question arose: what to do with the property? The answer was pragmatic – and was also the start of a new development. Between 2010 and 2012, the building was completely renovated and converted into a modern 3-star hotel from the first floor up to and including the second floor. With one simple aim: those on the move should still feel a bit at home. This is how the “Hotel Home” was created.
Loud for the quiet ones!
The Hasentour is an annual charity motorcycle tour in which dedicated riders ride through our region in several stages during Easter to collect donations – primarily for smaller associations and organizations – that are often too “quiet” and therefore often ignored in other fundraising campaigns. The tour combines personal commitment with social engagement and brings people together who want to help together.
As Hotel Home, we are not only a proud sponsor of the Hasentour and provide active support to the participants, but also offer a permanent contact point for the association with the “Hasenbau”. A point of honor – because our CEO is also the founder and 1st Chairman of the Hare Tour. Together with him and the bunny team, we are setting an example of cohesion, solidarity – and a genuine matter of the heart.
In 2015, “Lars Lindenberg”, an experienced hotelier and director, came on board and took over the management of the hotel, having learned his trade from scratch at the renowned Steigenberger Academy and in various hotels in Germany. Under his leadership, the third floor was extended, a fitness and sauna area was integrated, event highlights such as the popular barbecue seminars and whisky nights were created and the hotel was further professionalized. Today, the Hotel Home welcomes a diverse mix of guests: from business travelers, engineers, officers and soldiers from the German Armed Forces/NATO to new and former fitters who like to come back – with or without a construction site, but with a rich breakfast buffet, above-average flexibility and a portion of North German cordiality. Not a luxury palace, but a place where you can arrive, relax – and perhaps feel a little bit at home after all.
The motto of the house? “Being at home on the road”. Not a marketing template, but a lived attitude. Anyone who has ever checked in knows that there are no plastic smiles here, just genuine warmth. And sometimes the best coffee in town – from people who are awake at five in the morning because a regular guest needs their tea just the way they like it. The guests? As colorful as the sunset over the Jade Bay. Business travelers, solo travelers, families, fitters. All united by the desire to find a little piece of home along the way.
At the same time, “Scheller Projektlogistik” continued to develop and, together with the hotel, formed the nucleus of the “Scheller Group”. What began with construction site logistics and accommodation for fitters became the A-team of facilitators. From shipyard logistics to full-service catering, from property management to personnel coordination – the Scheller Group stands for what you would prefer not to organize at all, but urgently need. If you are a customer and need accommodation for 80 people on a Sunday night, catering for three weeks or a refrigerated container bound for the Arctic – there is a telephone number you can dial. And someone answers.
And the Hotel Home? It’s still there. No longer as a department store, no longer as accommodation for fitters, but as a small monument to northern German adaptability. A place with history, but without airs and graces. A temporary home – in a city that is often underestimated. And that is perhaps the most charming point of this story.
