From 2 Cabins to 80: Scaling a Hospitality Brand Without Sacrificing Quality

In this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, host Roman Kirsch interviews Julian Trautwein, CEO and Co-Founder of Raus, a venture-backed outdoor hospitality brand that's raised over €11 million. Raus is redefining the hospitality experience by bringing stressed city dwellers into nature through their tech-enabled, off-grid cabins. As a former early Airbnb employee in Europe, Julian brings unique insights on building a category-defining hospitality brand that owns its supply, maintains brand authenticity, and creates experiences that guests are eager to share. Through a sophisticated blend of tech-enabled operations and an offline-first guest experience, Raus has grown from two cabins around Berlin to over 80 locations across Germany and Austria while maintaining a waitlist of 6,500+ potential customers.

Topics Discussed:

• Creating a new hospitality category that combines boutique hotel amenities with immersive nature experiences
• Building a distributed network of tech-enabled, off-grid cabins in partnership with local landowners
• Leveraging scarcity and exclusivity to drive organic growth in early stages
• Transitioning from viral demand to sustainable marketing across multiple geographic regions
• Developing a vertically integrated business model that includes merchandise and local experiences
• Balancing technology and operations to deliver high-quality, consistent guest experiences at scale
• Designing hospitality stays as vehicles for promoting health, mindfulness, and digital disconnection