Six Hilton staff, six bamboo bikes: a team build at Hilton London Bankside
In 2017, six members of staff at Hilton London Bankside swapped their day jobs for a workshop bench. Over a hands-on team build, each of them made a bamboo bicycle from scratch under the guidance of Bamboo Bicycle Club — and each bike was named after the person who built it.
What we did
The six builders came from across the hotel — front of house, leisure, security, the GM's office and the marketing team — not a workshop between them. Together, with BBC tutors, they cut, wrapped and assembled six complete bamboo frames over the course of the build. It was equal parts skills workshop and team-building day: people who rarely worked side by side ended up building bikes together.
The outcome
The six finished bikes became Hilton London Bankside's guest fleet. Guests can borrow them free of charge to explore Bankside, Borough Market, the Tate Modern and the South Bank — an eco-friendly way to see the city, made by the hotel's own people.
Three years later, when Hilton became the official hotel sponsor of the Netflix series Down to Earth with Zac Efron (2020), Hilton itself highlighted the Bankside bamboo bikes — "each handmade by a Hilton team member using sustainable bamboo" — as part of the city's sustainable-travel story.
In their words
"We are delighted to partner with Bamboo Bicycle Club to create these brilliant bespoke bicycles for our guests to enjoy."
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— James Clarke, General Manager, Hilton London Bankside
Why it matters
A corporate team build doesn't have to end with a certificate in a drawer. At Bankside, a single day's workshop produced six lasting bikes that the hotel still puts in front of its guests — a small, real example of what a hands-on build can leave behind.
Links
- Trade coverage: Travindy — "Bankside Hilton bonds with Bamboo Bicycles" (2017)
- DesignCurial / Incentive Travel — Hilton London Bankside launches guest bamboo bicycles (2017)
- Hilton press release — Down to Earth with Zac Efron, official hotel sponsor (2020)