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The way to the library of the Hotel Elysée leads via the foyer to the ballroom and reception, continues along the staircase and along the painting exhibition.
On this afternoon, the visitor only meets two hotel employees in this corridor, no more people can be seen in the grand hotel with 510 rooms.
Arriving in the library room, Stephan von Bülow explains why his house was open, but almost died out during the lockdown.
The 63-year-old manager is chairman of the management board of the Block Group, which includes 54 steak houses as well as the Elysée in Hamburg, and is also a board member of the Dehoga industry association.
Von Bülow says that his industry can no longer survive such times.
He is calling for state aid to be paid out and explaining why he has taken the state to court.
WORLD:
Mr. von Bülow, the Grand Elysée Hotel can also accommodate business travelers in Lockdown.
But nobody can be seen.
Are there no bookings at all?
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Stephan von Bülow:
Unfortunately there are very few.
The situation on December 31st was particularly sad.
I was here that day and remembered that the year before we had occupied all 510 rooms on New Year's Eve and had set up the ballroom for the New Year's party.
Now at the turn of the year we had an occupancy rate of one percent.
The situation is dire for us.
We currently have room occupancy in the low single-digit percentage range.
The hotel is open so that we can remain visible and our approximately 60 trainees can do their work and learn.
The operating loss from hotel operations is a tad less than if we were to close the hotel temporarily.
But we do not take other room prices because we do not want to sell below price.
The lockdown brings restaurateurs to the verge of despair
Gastronomy life in Germany stands still.
The extended lockdown brings restaurant and bar operators to the verge of desperation.
Many wait in vain for the promised financial aid from the state.
Source: WORLD
WORLD: At
what level of occupancy is the hotel business economical?
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von Bülow:
About 45 percent utilization would be helpful.
In the years before Corona, we were between 60 percent and 70 percent.
WORLD:
And what about the events?
The Elysée has a ballroom for more than 1000 guests.
von Bülow:
Events with a maximum of 50 participants and subject to special hygiene rules and a ban on alcohol may take place.
In fact, we currently have ten to 20 smaller bookings a week.
We need every event order because we need liquidity.
But these few appointments are not a compensation.
In normal years, almost all large companies from the Dax 30 index are guests with us with an event booking.
Block group leader Stephan von Bülow
Source: Block Group
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WORLD:
How long can the company hold out?
von Bülow:
We have secured a loan in the mid double-digit million euro range through our house banks with the KfW banking group, which creates a certain amount of compensation.
However, our resources are finite too, and that cannot be sustained in the long term.
The worst thing is that we have no planning security whatsoever.
We hope to be able to reopen in March or April.
But even after Easter reopens, business will be slow to come back.
I think that we can be happy when we reach around 80 percent of 2019 sales in 2022.
WORLD:
To make it clear in numbers: How much sales has the company lost and made in losses in the past year?
von Bülow:
In the 2019 financial year, the group turnover was 410 million euros, in 2020 it was 105 million euros less.
The hotel has lost the most.
Of 38 million euros in sales from 2019, a third remained at the end of last year.
The loss of the group for 2020 is in the lower double-digit million euro range and comes disproportionately from the hotel business.
At Block House we get ten percent of the usual turnover.
WORLD:
Will you get state aid?
von Bülow:
That is not yet foreseeable.
In order to receive the November aid, we have to make 80 percent of sales with hotels and restaurants and not with other areas.
Actually, that's not critical for us because our food retail business only accounts for a small proportion.
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But now it depends on the type of calculation.
The frustration is great with the subject.
We also hold talks with politicians.
For us the criteria are clear.
We made losses and we need the help.
But first they are promised and then high hurdles are set afterwards.
WORLD: In
the positive case, what amount of aid do you expect?
von Bülow:
In our case, it's a double-digit million euro amount.
But what particularly annoys me at the moment is the public impression that hotels and restaurants are falling soft because of government aid.
That is a completely wrong picture.
Hardly any money has yet reached those affected.
Of the promised 15 billion euros, just one billion euros has so far flowed into aid.
WORLD:
After the first lockdown in the spring, your company filed a lawsuit with the administrative court in Hamburg for compensation.
What has become of it?
von Bülow:
The lawsuit for compensation for losses incurred is dragging on.
It is about the proportionality of the regulation for the closings.
We see it as an interference with the fundamental rights of property.
We have to be patient.
I would like to say that in principle: The lockdown with the closure of hotels and restaurants may make sense for our population in the pandemic.
But then society must also provide compensation for those affected via the state.
The burden must be borne by everyone and not just by the companies.
For many, it's about bare survival.
If we get enough help now, we will withdraw the lawsuit.
WORLD:
Didn't your industry benefit from the VAT cut last year?
von Bülow:
Yes, last year the reduction in VAT on food from 19 percent to seven percent helped us a lot.
But that doesn't help us during the lockdown.
The tax cut only works when the restaurants are open.
In addition, it is currently limited to June 30, 2021.
We are fighting for it to be extended beyond that.
After all, at some point we have to repay our loans and that would help us with that.
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WORLD:
As a board member of the Dehoga industry association, asked how many bankruptcies do you expect?
von Bülow:
There will be a very quiet death for businesses in the catering and hotel industries.
Our industry is extremely fragmented.
I hear that many operators do not want to get further into debt and give up.
According to a recent survey by the Dehoga Association, 80 percent of companies are threatened in their existence.
Every fourth entrepreneur is considering closing.
If the promised aid is not paid out quickly, the variety of hotels and restaurants in Germany as we know and love them will no longer exist.
WORLD:
What other specific help would you get in this situation outside of political decisions?
von Bülow:
For example, we need a statement from the Robert Koch Institute about which rapid tests are reliable.
The offer is far too confusing.
With these rapid tests recommended by the RKI, we could also offer larger events again.
Organizers ask us about it and would even pay for these tests.
We also urgently need certification of ventilation systems.
The Federal Institute for Materials Research could award ventilation systems according to their quality.
This would give people the certainty that there is enough air exchange in a room.
Our systems completely replace the air seven times an hour, thereby preventing the risk of viruses in the air we breathe.
We need to find ways to keep our guests safe.
WORLD:
Are you
going to lay off
staff?
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von Bülow:
We want to get through this crisis with all employees.
Around 200 of the originally 2,500 employees in the group left us on their own initiative and switched to the grocery trade, for example.
Almost all of the staff are on short-time work, with exceptions in administration.
We strive for work every day.
For example, we have set up our own delivery service for Block House.
Now some of our colleagues are out and about with steak dishes on cargo bikes or in rented cars.
The 63-year-old business economist Stephan von Bülow began his professional career in the personnel department of the former grocer Spar. This was followed by positions at Lufthansa Service Gesellschaft and the former train dining car operator Mitropa. For two decades now, von Bülow has been responsible for the Block Group's business, from the steakhouse chain and hotels to food production and large slaughterhouses. This includes a total of 17 companies with 2,300 employees. These include the Grand Elysée with 330 employees, which makes 60 percent of sales with business travelers and events and the rest with private guests. The family owner Eugen Block's plans for a hotel in Berlin have been postponed. Von Bülow is married to a teacher and has three children.