Easy Rider: Hotel explores local turf by bike

London – Famed for its localist approach to hospitality, the Ace Hotel is adding a deeply localist string to its bow, a collaboration with cult bike brand Tokyobike to offer guided tours around its Shoreditch, East London, neighbourhood.

The tours, launching on Saturday 19 April, will be led by local writer and brand consultant Duncan Riches, who is curating a community of cyclist guides for guests drawn from local journalists, bloggers, designers and creatives. The tours will begin with coffee from the hotel café, Bulldog Edition, and finish with refreshing Lovage juice upon return.

The hotel is offering cycle maps and cycle loans to guests. The collaboration is localist on a number of levels. Not only is cycling so East London, but by wrapping in local insiders to lead the tours, they will be authentic, while also connecting the hotel to the wider Shoreditch community.

These kind of real, hyper-local experiences are increasingly a focus for consumers when travelling. The Ace Hotel is part of a rising number of brands offering them this. Before Ace, Plus One Berlin, the one-bedroom hotel in Berlin, offered guests access to a network of local ambassadors and guides.