MAKE ME CARE! Why should I listen to you? What story does your person, your hotel, your offer tell me? “A so-called ‘Plättenfahrt’ on lake Aussee essentially means selling a dream to our clients”, Mrs Stocker, managing director of the hotel Erzherzog Johann in Bad Aussee, explains: “If we then manage to surprise their culinary imagination with our local lake brass specialities and allow them to ‘swim right into the landscape’ from our modern Johann Sky Spa, our guests will dive into and finally live the very stories we own.”
Honesty, simplicity, authenticity & the “courage to be who you are“: This is what travellers and visitors expect of a place or a person they visit. A hotel, a business philosophy, has to be palpable, honest and credible, focusing on many small details that are rooted in one’s own, unique and personal story. The seats used in the spa of Hotel Erzherzog Johann are made from traditional local “Loden” fabric. The ‘Plätten’ dinner on lake Toplitz is inspired by the historical tradition of the Erzherzog Duke Johann himself, who used to go out on the lake. “Beerige (Glücks)Pilze” or “G’wuzelt, g’rollt & geknetet“? What sounds like typical Austrian “storytelling” is the purpose of maintaining our interactive workshop with tourism & hotel members of Creative Tourism Austria in Bad Aussee & Bad Hofgastein: “The spa package ‘G’wuzelt, g’rollt & geknetet’ is actually inspired by words used in bakery and in the kitchen”, Mrs Stocker laughs and explains while leading us through her hotel full of stories. “Thanks to the use of creative wording & imagery, I manage to address the very target groups I would like to have at the hotel. Those who care to appreciate all the small details we provide. And who love to come back and share our stories with their friends.”
Mrs Stocker (on the far right) is eager to share her experience and professional use of storytelling with us during the workshop.
Telling stories through words & images: A typical local ‘Plätten’ boat trip on lake Aussee is a feast for the senses.
After the seminar, Mrs Stocker is happy to show us her Hotel Erzherzog Johann, introducing us to the new & modern spa area decorated with local fabric and elements.
The Johann Sky Spa truly deserves to be visited …
… high above the chimney tops, you will find a magnificent view over the surrounding mountain landscape from the spa.
After the workshop, I like to relax and unwind here, looking at the spa chairs made from typical local fabric like we learned earlier on.
Hotel Erzherzog Johann offers each guest a herbal balcony garden and spoils us to the smell of wild apple roses like in previous times. It is all very romantic really …
During our “Storytelling” workshop at the hotel, we are introduced to the first edition of the hotel’s summer magazine: Hard work well invested!
Thank you everybody for making our workshop in Bad Aussee, Styria, so interesting and entertaining!
“If you are who you are, you cannot be copied.”
A little further on, in the Salzburg district of Bad Hofgastein, Christoph Weiermayer, product designer & life philosopher, smiles at us. “I am not a typical hotelier and did not even want to be close to my guests in the beginning. Thanks to my wife, I am now able to express myself creatively using painting & art courses at our workshop studio. In addition to our ample lifestyle and health offer, we have therefore created a very special USP that draws on our strengths and makes me enjoy and celebrate life together with our guests and visitors!”
If you are who you are, there is no need to chase after everybody else. At the Impuls Hotel Tirol in the Salzburg mountains of the Gasteinertal, we can feel the happiness, peace & charm of the couple Barbara & Christoph Weiermayer , their mirror being just as equally happy guests. It is here where you immediately feel like having a holiday: At the “Schreibstube” creative library , I feel very much at home as a travel blogger and if I feel inspired to paint or become creative, the nearby workshop is open day and night. Add to that a view of the surrounding mountain landscape, and you get close to utter creativity and happiness. I like!
The magazine of the Impuls Hotel Tirol is naturally soothing and relaxing. During our “storytelling” workshop, we analyze the hotel’s communication strategy vis-à-vis their target groups.
Herr Weiermayer likes to entertain: All around the house, we find his beautiful images dotted on the walls and inside the rooms.
Relax. …
At the creative workshop of the hotel, each guest chooses to express himself differently: “Once a week, we host art exhibitions run by our guests. It is quite incredible the amount of (positive) feedback we get from this!”
Here, we find one charming creative traveller painting at the hotel!
Beautiful to listen to all the stories being told …
… while enjoying a view of the surrounding Salzburg landscape: This is how I like to work! Thank you so much everyone for your professional and enthusiastic contributions!
Travel Bloggers & Storytelling in Tourism
Last but not least, I am happy to share with you one of my favourite subjects: Professional partnerships with travel bloggers. “Those who love writing should rather start a blog today than tomorrow“, I encourage our colleagues listening eagerly during the workshop, talking about examples of success in digital media strategies. “A blogtrip is not an endless succession of activities: As bloggers, we like to get the feel for a place, a region or a person first, focusing on unique details that are relevant to us while talking clearly and honestly about our impressions. Every individual blogger therefore creates his or her unique creative imagery & wording about the experiences provided. Check this one out, for instance!“, I laugh and hit “play”:
Thank you, Christian Kermer, for a great travel video about the Surfworldcup in Burgenland at lake Neusiedl !!