Hotel F6, Nordic Hotels & Resorts: bed bug-safe standard to stay on top and increase direct bookings
Hotel F6 is a family-owned independent hotel in Helsinki, Finland that belongs to the Nordic Hotels & Resorts network. Launched in the summer of 2016, the hotel quickly became a gem of the Finnish hotel scene and soon earned the number one ranking on Tripadvisor in Finland.
“Our philosophy at the F6 is based on having the right staff at the hotel, and pairing them with high-quality hotel amenities, products and services. Together, they delight our guests and ensure the experience is always exceptional. We never compromise. Quite the contrary, we believe in the power of ‘WOW’, striving to create it among our guests, and every time we see that in our reviews it makes us happy.”
The challenge of staying at the top
How can a hotel that’s number one guest-ranked still face challenges? Those who have reached the top know that getting there is hard, but staying there is even harder. Expectations rise, and tolerance for even the smallest failure drops.
That’s why staying at the top year after year requires not just overcoming challenges, but anticipating them. This is exactly why Roni Saari values the concept of thinking ahead:
“We keep questioning established practices and try to run the hotel as smartly as possible. Thinking ahead ensures we keep creating the best guest experience over time.”
Increasing the number of direct bookings
“We know that travelers today are more and more anxious about bed bugs,” says Roni Saari. A significant share of travelers have experienced bed bugs at least once and brought the problem home, often at considerable personal cost.
It’s therefore no surprise that for many guests, the emerging category of bed bug-safe hotels feels reassuring and increasingly influences accommodation choice. To address this need, Hotel F6 chose to clearly communicate its standard by becoming Valpas-certified bed bug-safe.
“With the Valpas online label, we increase our guest experience by communicating that at the F6 you can stay carefree, before the guests have even booked a room,” says Saari.
What impact has this had on guest purchase behavior?
Since launching the Valpas online label on Hotel F6’s website in 2019, booking behavior has been tracked and compared between users who click the label and those who do not. Over more than one and a half years of data, users who interacted with the Valpas label — and were therefore aware the hotel is certified bed bug-safe — showed a thirty-five percent higher direct booking conversion rate.
Depending on the month, this has translated into one to three additional direct bookings per month, representing an estimated annual revenue increase of approximately €7,500 to €20,000.
Improving guest experience with a higher hygiene and safety standard
As part of its decision to guarantee bed bug safety, Hotel F6 adopted Valpas certification, ensuring that every room meets a clearly defined standard designed to protect guests throughout their stay.
Over time, this standard has helped prevent bed bug introductions at the property and supported a consistently high level of guest confidence, without disrupting daily operations.
To better understand guest perception, a survey of just over one hundred guests was conducted. The results showed a ninety-eight percent preference for safe hotels, with seventy-one percent expressing a very high preference for bed bug-safe hotels when choosing their next stay.
- Today, hotel staff inform every guest at check-in about the hotel’s bed bug-safe standard. This ensures that safety and hygiene are not only in place, but also clearly felt and appreciated by guests.
It’s reflected in the hotel’s consistently high ratings:
- 9.4 overall and 9.6 for cleanliness on Booking.com
- 9.6 on Hotels.com
- 5.0 on Tripadvisor
Guest reviews frequently highlight comfort, cleanliness, and peace of mind as key elements of the stay.
Still number one
In 2017, Roni Saari set a clear vision for Hotel F6:
“We want to remain the leading hotel in Finland and be #1 in the future, too. For that, we need to keep delighting our guests with the best experience.”
The decision to become a bed bug-safe hotel with Valpas certification was part of that long-term vision — not as a reaction to a problem, but as a way to anticipate guest expectations and protect the hotel’s reputation.
Based on Hotel F6’s continued position as Finland’s number one hotel on Tripadvisor and the many awards received, it’s clear that this approach has helped keep the hotel firmly on its path of success.
Awards and recognition
Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice (current)
Ranked #1 in Helsinki on Tripadvisor (current)
Selected by the MICHELIN Guide (hotel selection)