
In September 2014, Different Hotel Group had plans to add a different type of accommodation to their portfolio. A ‘luxury on a budget’ hotel, that would attract mainly young couples who want to spend a weekend in the city or business travellers looking for a different experience outside the regular business hotel chains. They wanted to call it ‘YUP’, and that was that. Everything else needed to be designed.
YUP, short for Young Urban Professional, represents a subculture of bold, successful, materialistic individuals that lead a decadent lifestyle in the eighties. Yups were not afraid to show off their success and wealth in a rather blatant way.
The ‘Yuppie Handbook’ was written (also in the eighties) as a sarcastic manual on how, as a ‘normal’ individual, you could become part of this elite. It gives a step-by-step walkthrough of how to dress, act, walk, talk, live and breathe like a Yup. The book paints a sarcastic picture of the Yuppie lifestyle, which is all about greed and superficiality.
The irony and sarcasm of the ‘Yuppie Handbook’ became the foundation for our brand concept. Under the name YUP we created a place that looks fancy and posh, but in reality it is not much more than a superficial layer of golden varnish... Where greed is good and more is more.