Nina Luig is the new Managing Director of Köln-Düsseldorfer Deutsche Rheinschiffahrt. The Cologne native comes from the hotel industry and was most recently Deputy Director at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Düsseldorf. The 40-year-old acts as spokesperson for the management team, which also includes Thomas Günther and Jelle van der Steeg. In an interview with the RheinZeit editorial team, Nina Luig talks about where she sees KD in a few years’ time, which areas she would like to strengthen, what needs to change and why the view from her office window makes her nostalgic.

KD is a traditional company that is almost 200 years old. It all started with steamships. Once it was enough to take people to Drachenfels. Now there are many more offers. How does KD intend to successfully assert itself on the market?

We want to modernize ourselves in many areas. This includes further strengthening the very well-functioning offers such as event and party trips. We have already started to increase our presence on social media. My goal is to develop KD into a love brand, a heart brand.

How do you want to win people’s hearts?

We want to create KD moments. These are moments that guests can only experience on board with us. On a panoramic, evening or dinner cruise, on a hotel ship or on a charter cruise. They should be moments that make you feel good and that resonate for a long time. We want to achieve this for guests and employees alike. KD wants to be a good host and employer. One that people like, recommend and are happy to visit again. It is clear that this is a process. It won’t happen overnight, but we can achieve this goal in two to three years.

KD has been offering short cruises for some time, e.g. from Düsseldorf to Amsterdam and back. In the 1960s, KD was a pioneer in river cruises. This sector was later abandoned. Is KD taking up this line of business again?

We do not want to enter the traditional river cruise ship business. However, we will expand our range of mini event cruises. In addition to the weekend trips to Amsterdam, we are currently offering an entertainment program with a murder mystery dinner in Cologne, for example, and an adventure package in Düsseldorf with a visit to the musical “Abenteuerland” featuring the hits of the cult band PUR, each with an overnight stay on the hotel ship.

Since KD does not have its own hotel ship, do you hire one?

Right. We use the chartered river cruise ship MS Swiss Crystal, a floating hotel ship with the amenities of a classic 4-star hotel, for our event cruises. However, we would like to add our own hotel ship to the KD fleet in the medium term. We would also like to deploy our own charter ship in Cologne in order to be able to respond even more flexibly to customer requests.

Does the KD have these ships rebuilt?

That’s the plan. We will also gradually modernize our fleet, which currently consists of 13 ships. Next year, the Loreley will be extensively renovated and brought up to date. It will be a modern showpiece ship.

You talked about KD as an employer. What’s the situation like for young talent?

We want to train even more than before in the future. We will be offering additional training courses from summer 2024. To date, KD has provided training in event technology, administration and inland shipping. Now the kitchen and service areas will be added.

In general, young women can also train to become inland navigation operators at KD, but this has not yet been possible. Are potential female applicants possibly put off by the prospect of working and living on the ship for a long period of time?

If this hurdle existed, it would be removed with our new concept. We want to offer the training in such a way that the trainees can go home in the evening. The workplace is on the water, they sleep at home.

The KD Ticket Shop has disappeared as part of the work on the banks of the Rhine. Will there be a replacement in the old location?

We are very sad that the Ticket Office has disappeared from this prominent location. We believe that the little house on the banks of the Rhine, where it stood for decades, was also an important meeting point for national and international tourists to Cologne. As an alternative, we can set up a ticket office at Frankenwerft 15, but this cannot be compared with the original location. But we haven’t given up yet, we would like to be back at the former location on the banks of the Rhine. I’m trying to tackle the issue again and have already held talks about it.

You are from Cologne, born and raised in Hohenlind. You graduated from the Schiller-Gymnasium and went on to train as a hotel manager. How does it feel to be back in Cologne after 12 years abroad, in Düsseldorf?

Great. However, I also really enjoyed working in Düsseldorf and in truth I never really left Cologne. And when I look out of my new office in the old town towards Deutz, it warms my heart a little. The Hyatt Regency Hotel is directly opposite. That’s where I did my hotel management apprenticeship.