Out of the box.

I love it when companies decide to branch out into the unknown. Who knew a small German soda factory would get me through my teens via cassette tapes and then turn into the world's largest diversified chemical company called BASF. I look at the initiatives of the Petters Group Worldwide who decided to branch out and turn their company into a Ponzi scheme and lose the money of over 3,000 employees and investors. Some stay within their core product like Qantas who successfully launched low cost carrier Jetstar, so well they now over shadow the parent. The success ratio really depends on the skill set within management and how far from the mainstay mission of the company they decide to stray.

I mention the above because next time I travel to Europe, I intend to take some basic tools to build a more homely environment where ever I stay. Screw driver, hammer and drill will be my friends as I move from town to town sampling the best of the new economy hotels by Ikea. We have all juggled the flat packs of furniture bought home, attacking them with zest and only a small allen key to get us through the weekend of carpentry hell. Seems the simple designs and modular set up of Ikea furniture will be the centre piece of their new low cost design hotels to be built throughout Europe, with the first one slated for Germany. Visions of having to construct my bed before I can sleep in it or quickly putting the kitchen cabinetry in before I can eat breakfast bring forth more concerns than just your room is ready sir, here's you allen key.

Looking to open up 100 hotels, Ikea is angling for an established hotelier, no doubt one with handyman skills, to run the new conglomerate. Inter Ikea, the parent company will over see the construction and no doubt add insightful nuances to differentiate their product, Swedish meatballs on the menu might be one of those insights? No doubt this belief in their ability to branch out into accommodation started after they built a hostel next door to an Ikea warehouse, so that shoppers who needed to spend more than one day roaming the aisles could spend the night and get an early start on the next day's shopping. Ikea is so motivated on this project that they have gone one step further and branched into city planning, designing a self contained neighbourhood to be constructed in 2013 in London, called Strand East. Occupants will no doubt require carpentry skills along with a keen eye to finding all those little widgets that come with every purchase.

Either way, hotels are a long way from flat packs, balsa lamp shades and modular book shelves and the accommodation industry will be watching with interest, to see if the new apprentice has more than just interior design skills. Moving away from what you do best can certainly broaden your horizon but too far away and it's a long swim back to shore. I'm not expecting Apple Airlines to take off any time soon.