Reopening after lockdown: "There have been many days of tears"

Ms. Winkler, your hotel is well attended.

Can you even remember last year when you first heard about Corona?

For sure.

We had heard of the couple from Lombardy who had Corona in Innsbruck.

That was the first Covid-19 case in Austria.

But we also thought: something like that doesn't happen here with us, it goes away again.

On March 16, 2020, the government issued the ban on accommodation.

Existing bookings have been phoned and catch-up options have been postponed into the unknown.

We were lucky that the previous winter was sensational and the season was drawing to a close.

Only the Easter business was canceled.

And we quickly sent our seasonal employees to their home country.

They opened again in mid-June.

After that there were a lot of guests.

Even more than in the years before, which is also due to the fact that air traffic was still completely restricted.

We call this "borrowed guests".

So those who usually fly south have suddenly gone on vacation in the mountains.

How did it go in autumn?

The travel warning for Tyrol came at the end of September.

Our hotels were empty within 24 hours.

The October bookings have been canceled.

In November we were closed anyway.

For a long time in December it was uncertain whether and when we could open.

At some point it became clear that we would also be closed for Christmas and New Year's Eve.

The same thing in January: We kept pushing the reopening back.

Then we were in February, March, and at some point Easter was just around the corner.

The whole winter season was over.

How much communication with the guests does that mean?

Much.

We kept talking to our guests, on the one hand postponing bookings and on the other hand repaying down payments.

At some point we stopped communicating any opening dates.

How was the contact with the employees during the lockdown?

The communication with our team was very personal and touching.

In the winter lockdown, all permanent employees were on short-time work.

The seasonal employees unfortunately didn't get this opportunity, which is a shame because many of them have been working here for 20 years.

Overall, however, I believe that we in the team have grown closer together again as a result of the pandemic.

Did you get state aid?

Yes, the support from the Ministry of Finance went well.

We got the requested money in less than seven days.

Other grants have taken longer.

I am so glad that there was this support.

After all, we had a 100 percent failure because there was not a single overnight stay in the entire winter.

How do you endure such a failure financially?

Our hotels, backed by a GmbH with Bergbahn Scheffau, had a good turnover in the years before.

A healthy company can survive a year like this.

And as a relatively new house in our Kaiserlodge, we have not yet had any major renovations.

How was it emotional?

There were many days with tears.

You can have the nicest hardware, but if you don't have the people around who enjoy it, it's not the same.

Something is simply missing.

Especially when you enjoy doing something so much.

How is the booking situation for this summer?

Since the quarantine requirement fell a few weeks ago, we have had a lot of bookings.

And there are also small conferences taking place again.

In July and August we are theoretically fully booked.

The winter is already well booked.

It's 31 degrees.

Your employees wear mouth and nose protection.

The guests also have to when they move through the hotel.

Are both sides involved in the hygiene measures without any problems?

There are no problems at all. Everyone adheres to the hygiene requirements. The last thing anyone wants is for a hotspot to develop in their own hotel and for us to have to close again. The guests have no problem with it either. On the contrary, everyone is happy to be here again.