06.08.2026
How it all began.
Four friends, one shared dream: to create a hotel where locals and travellers genuinely connect.
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Between photocopying and making coffee, interns Michael, Florian and Christian share the rhythms of working life – but more importantly, a friendship begins to take root between them that grows stronger each day.
While others focus on rigid career paths and polished CVs, these three dream of places that feel alive and tell stories. Early in their training, a shared ambition takes hold: One day, they’ll open a hotel of their own.
Each carve out their own path – in consulting, development and operations. The industry becomes their home. Amid numbers, processes and routines, the idea they once shared keeps resurfacing. Then comes 2017.
Michael, Florian and Christian’s paths cross with that of Kai Hollmann – a Hamburg-based hotelier, investor, co-founder of the 25hours Hotels, and the creative mind behind Superbude. He joins the project as partner and seasoned entrepreneur: Together, they bring the Superbude hotel to Vienna. The launch happens in the middle of the pandemic, and against all odds, it becomes a resounding success.
The beginning of something big.
But instead of resting on their laurels, the four decide to follow their intuition. They want to create more places bustling with life and connection. The time finally comes with the close of 2023: They sign a contract for a new property – 138 rooms at Westbahnhof, nestled between the vibrant neighbourhoods of Mariahilf, Neubau and Rudolfsheim. The name: The Companion.
This hotel aims to be more than just another place to stay in Vienna. The Companion is to become a space where life is celebrated with all senses. For travellers who don’t just want to see Vienna – but live it. For locals curious enough to rediscover their own city. For all who enjoy pulling up a chair at a big table and opening themselves up to the world.
Their deep enthusiasm for the building is reflected in their uncompromising engagement with the core of what a city hotel should be. They bring in interior designer Piotr Wiśniewski from WeStudio to craft a bold new concept: beautifully furnished rooms that deliver a rich hotel experience in a compact form. With natural stone in open bathrooms, oversized towels, and extra-soft bedlinen. Each room has a lovingly curated minibar and little indulgences you don’t really need – but want anyway. As young consultants, they might once have advised against such unconventional ideas – but not this time.
Michael, Florian, Christian and Kai are bringing their vision to life — step by step, without compromise. And that includes the hotel’s culinary heart. Boca restaurant and Calypso bar aren’t just side notes — they’re main attractions.
2026 is one of those years again.
The Companion opens its doors. More than 20 years have passed since those early internship days. But things on the Gürtel, Vienna’s outer ring road, are showing no signs of slowing down. Somewhere between heritage and new beginnings, urban energy and a sense of momentum, the four friends are surely already itching to take their next steps.
