Vacation trips have been canceled for weeks. This is particularly bitter for regions like the Tölzer Land, where many people live from tourism.
Bad Tölz / Lenggries– The hoteliers and vacation rental companies from the district are still relatively calm about the crisis. Common to all is the hope that normalcy will return soon. A mood report.
At the beginning of 2019, Hedwig and Jürgen Ostermann extensively renovated their Hotel Alpenhof in Bad Tölz. It has been empty for four weeks now. The last holiday guests left on March 17, and a few days later, due to lack of demand, business travelers were no longer served breakfast. "Last year we completely changed the house, made 27 rooms and 27 bathrooms new, invested around 1.4 million euros," says Ostermann. "You can get cold feet there."
"Have invested around 1.4 million"
Despite a 100 percent failure in April, the hotelier is still calm. The situation is "not yet quite brutal", probably also because at the end of March anyway "for revision" was closed for a few days. "I'm still in a good mood," emphasizes Ostermann. "But I need a perspective. We need to know when we can start again, ”he hopes for positive signals from politics. From May 4 at the latest, he wants to reopen for business travelers who make up a third of his total business.
Karlheinz Leimer from the Tölzer Posthotel Kolberbräu also hopes "very strongly that we can be active again in May". At the moment the reception is mainly accepting cancellations. Occasionally a voucher is sold, valid for three years, but ultimately "just a drop in the bucket", just like the "to-go sale", for which a "Kolber burger" (bread roll with fried salmon and Avocado) has been created.
Hotel room as home office in Kolberbräu
The Kolberbräu also offers hotel rooms as home offices, but so far without success. Otherwise, says the restaurateur, he is particularly interested in the fact that "our four apprentices also have a meaningful job during this time". That is why the junior catering staff independently prepare a menu twice a week for all employees, including those who are on short-time work. "This way the team has a bit of contact, despite keeping a distance while eating," says Leimer.
When it starts again at some point, you want to “convey a high degree of security” to the guest. For this, a "sensational solution" was found, says Leimer: Instead of a face mask, his waiters and waiters should wear a kind of "face shield". "This is very well received and is intended to signal to the guests that we are concerned."
The Arabella Brauneck Hotel in Lenggries bridges the forced quiet time with “painting work and the usual embellishment work”. Thanks to the off-season, “March and April are less dramatic for us, but things will look different from May,” says hotel manager Christoph Seitz, “then we need guests.” However, the situation is much more complicated for some small landlords in town. “This is sometimes precarious. Some have to snap hard, ”reports Seitz from various discussions in his function as the second chairman of the tourism association.
Guests should be given a signal of security when they reopen
Veronika Schalch-Seybold, whose five holiday apartments and two rooms in the “Guest house Zum Jäger” in Lenggries have also been empty for weeks, can take a break. "But we will really get going from May onwards." Until then, she hopes for loosening, "otherwise it will be dangerous". Meanwhile, the "landlord with body and soul" does not run out of work. Repairs that would otherwise have to be pushed under pressure can now be carried out in peace. An outdoor seating area and a barefoot path are to be created around the house. "These are all plans that can now be implemented."
The hostess also gives pleasure to some regular guests. "Some of them reacted very graciously and, when canceling, refrained from paying back the down payment," reports Schalch-Seybold. "Many want to come later."
The waiters should work in the “Kolberbräu” with a faceplate like the one worn by Karlheinz Leimer - as soon as they are allowed to do so again.
© Private
There is not much to do at Lenggrieser Bergcamping. "We have only been around since September 2018. Everything is new, there is nothing to fix, like in some older houses," says Hans Probst, who, like everyone else, "is waiting for things to move forward". Now would be the right time for this in spring. After a mixed winter season, Easter was actually well booked. But instead of guests there were cancellations, some could be rebooked, a few would have taken the vouchers offered, said Probst. “Now the problem is that nobody knows how long it will take. Till May? Until june? Everyone is insecure. "
So there is only hope that the crisis will end soon. As things stand, this is not to be expected. "This is a disaster," Kolberbräu managing director Leimer criticized the Federal Government's easing efforts. “The worst part is this hanging section. We have no planning security. That is a huge burden. "
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