A local on Rügen has decided this week: From 17 clock are children under 14 years undesirable. "Restaurant bars children" and "children have to stay outside," headlined media nationwide. Roland Ballner can not understand this excitement. The 51-year-old is the owner of a four-star hotel on Lake Wolfgang in Austria - and in 2005 he decided to admit children in his house only from the age of twelve.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Was that a good decision?

Ballner: Yes, definitely. The announcement sparked a media tsunami back then. The coverage was mostly negative, but of course a great PR. I could never have afforded so much money for advertising. From a marketing perspective, it was a self-run. And customer reactions were more than 80 percent positive.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Was there a specific reason for your decision?

Ballner: I like to be portrayed as a pioneer in German-speaking countries. But actually it was just coincidence. I knew the principle of the "No Children Policy" from abroad. We had renovated and rebuilt for a lot of money back then - and there were some incidents. Once, for example, a bright leather couch was completely smeared with a ballpoint pen. The reaction of the parents: "are just children" and "blame yourself, if you put so expensive furniture in there".

Hotel Cortisen on the lake

Interior of the hotel

SPIGEL ONLINE: Have you changed your concept since then?

Ballner: No. I do not make any exceptions. At the beginning, I expected the audience in the hotel to get older. But the main clientele are now young parents in their early thirties. They want to treat themselves to some quiet days when the children are old enough to spend the night with grandma and grandpa.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Are the reactions to the child-free hotel different than it was then?

Ballner: Today that's not a big topic anymore. There are now so many hotels and restaurants that have positioned themselves similarly. The last negative reaction has been a few years ago. After all, I am not a child molester, but offer only a product for which there is a demand. And for families with children, there are also great hotels in the Salzkammergut.