During times of the pandemic, guests in Salzburg’s city hotels often stayed away. Now, around Easter, many hoteliers are on the rise again – some properties have occupancy rates of up to 90 percent! “It is moving towards normalcy”, host and hotelier Ernst Pühringer rejoices. The war in Ukraine raises new concerns among hotel managers.
Germans enjoy an ice cream in the sun at Kapitelplatz. Italians, armed with guidebooks, march through Getreidegasse. Photos like this one are popping up every day now: around Easter, tourists are back in town – after the lean winter months with occupancy rates of up to 20 percent.
And that is exactly what makes hoteliers happy in the city of Mozart. Such as Ernst Pühringer, who runs the Hotel Gasthaus Hölle. “The hotel industry is picking up again. We have an occupancy rate of 90 percent. It’s even less in the restaurant, many regulars are on holiday,” says Pühringer.
to normality
It is now heading towards normalcy. Only: “The big question is how the summer will develop. Asia and America will still lag behind, I fear. Much will depend on the war in Ukraine,” said Pühringer, who is also the spokesman for the Salzburg hosts. The background: To Americans, Europe is an entity. Their idea: a war in Ukraine is a war in all of Europe. And that has an effect, little is being booked at the moment.
Andrea Hansal of the Verkehrsbüro Group sees the situation in a similar way: The Viennese operate three hotels in the city of Mozart with a total of 524 beds.
Salzburg takes over the old city hotel in the crisis
“The acts of war in Ukraine do not play into our hands either,” says Hansal. At the moment they are especially happy with guests from Europe – in the two Austria Trend Hotels the occupancy rate is 90 percent; at the Radisson Blu Hotel Altstadt at 45 percent.
good timing
In the future, Christopher Fleischhaker wants to count on guests from Austria, Germany and Switzerland: in mid-March he and his sister Stefanie rented Hotel Trumer Stube on Bergstrasse. “The goal is that we open on May 16, there are still small renovations to be done,” says Fleischhaker. The owners have previously renovated the house with its 20 rooms. Fleischaker sees the increasing tourism as a good time to start with the 3-star hotel. “We were looking for a company,” says the hotelier – the family also runs the Rosenvilla in Salzburg-Aigen and the Hotel Rathaus in Vienna.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
