Hof Weissbad

Best Practice

Topics

• Regional value added

Short description

Innovative hotel project in the canton of Appenzell providing health/rehabilitation-, wellness- seminar- and individual tourism services. Showing an yearly turnover of ca. € 12 Mio. the project attracts mainly customers from Switzerland (97 %, out of then 70 % from the greater Zurich area).

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Project executive

Kurhotel Weissbad AG. Private Enterprise

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Participants

7 private investors of Appenzell (project initiators), CEO Christian Lienhard (project consultant in the start up phases of the project), private shareholders and employees (some of them are also shareholders).

Objectives

The former “Kurshause” concept is nowadays not any longer economically viable for the hotel business. The project Hof Weissbad aims to fill a market gap combining medical/reha-, health/wellness-, seminar- and individual tourism services resulting in a yearly occupancy rate of 97 %.

Activities

All kinds of hotel, medical/reha-, health/wellness-, seminar- and individual tourism services. The hotel is open the entire year.

Process

The former owner of the Kurhotel Weissbad is willing to sell the real estate but obligates the buyers to realize a “social project” (e.g. a hotel). In 1996 7 entrepreneurs from the Appenzell region buy the old hotel property and establish the Kurhotel Weissbad AG. The Kurhotel Weissbad AG plans and realizes the project and operates it up to today.

Results

The project has successfully be operated since 1996. Today it is the workplace for 165 employees (100 out of them are local people - "Appenzeller"). The project has a yearly turnover of € 12 Mio. and spends € 4-5 Mio. per year on the local market.

Evaluation

The project does not run specific evaluations. But an extensive quality management (as well as the marketing) is done in close co-operation with network partners from the hotel sector such as: - Alpine Classic (45 hotel in alpine countries of Europe) - Wellness Plus (12 Hotels in Switzerland) - Swiss Golf Hotels - Private selection Hotels - Swiss Nordic Fitness Organisation

Difficulties

The main challenge is to keep the actual yearly turnover of ca. € 12 Mio. The hotel business is very dynamic: “Competitors are nor sleeping”. New market niches (e.g. golf in the Appenzell region) have to be developed continuously.

Budget

Turnover: € 12 Mio. per year (Euro)

Financial backer

€ 12 € Mio. share capital €12.5 Mio. bank loan

Source of information

Competition

Participant at the 2005 Future in the Alps competition

Homepage

http://www.hofweissbad.ch

Publication

see webpage

Project executive as above

Contact person as above

Comments

Impact on nature and environment

The sustainable gastronomy- and hotel concept has a positive indirect influence on the surrounding environment, since there is a strong interest in conserving nature as tourism resource.

Economic value added

The Kurhotel Weissbad hotel is the workplace for 165 employees (100 out of them are local people - "Appenzeller"). The project has a yearly turnover of € 12 Mio. and spends € 4-5 Mio per year on the local market.

Socio-cultural value added

165 high-ranking workplaces (100 out of them are local people) have been generated (top level gastronomy and –hotel business, sophisticated employments in the field of wellness and health). The project directly contributes to the conservation of the local culture.

Innovative content

The project Hof Weissbad aims to fill a market gap combining medical/reha-, health/wellness-, seminar- and individual tourism services resulting in a yearly occupancy rate of 97 %. A diverse composition of guests guarantees a stable business development.

Good governance

The hotel has a traditional management, but continuing education is of high significance, too (internal and external, at operation level and industry-wide). Furthermore, the employees have a say in the management and are financially involved.

PR impact

The project deploys the „label Appenzell” for its own marketing, profiting from a strong regional marketing. In addition, own publications are released.

Multiplier effect / networking

Up to know no comparable project exists.

Transferability

No transfer activities. However, the concept of the project might be transferable to other regions.

Remarks

No remarks