“Servus everyone! My name is Christian Huschka, I’m the General Manager and Coach at Karma Bavaria and this is my SMACK story. The Karma Bavaria at the beautiful Schliersee is a multifaceted hotel resort with 65 rooms, suites, and apartments, with the largest indoor wellness area in town, fine local cuisine with a Scandinavian twist, and personal warmth, in other words, our version of “international hotel meets Bavarian hospitality”.

Born in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, where the Reinheitsgebot for beer was decreed in 1516, I’ve spent my hotel career with luxury brands Kempinski and Sofitel for 18 years, and in the private hotel industry for 4 years. Most of the time in Munich, briefly in Frankfurt and Hamburg, and for 9 years in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

“I am Dominic Neill. I’m the Community & Brand Partnerships Manager at The Social Hub Berlin and this is my SMACK story.

My first taste of “real” hospitality was being thrust into the role of reception manager at a Hostel in Berlin. No educated idea of what I was doing, I channeled the same zest for life and blind willingness to succeed that I displayed at my first job at “The Greek Sizzler” in Johannesburg, South Africa. Back then, Kosta the owner, insisted I memorized the entire menu in Greek… a bizarre request since I very clearly did not speak Greek but apparently this made us quote unquote “authentic”. I didn’t know it at the time but my newly found authenticity and lesson in going the extra mile would be invaluable.

“My name is Verena Jaeschke and this is my SMACK story.

With all the challenges that Corona has brought to our industry, I have come to love my job all over again. As a quick introduction: we’re not just the Boutiquehotel Oderberger, but belong to the GLS Language Centre with the GLS Campus. This means, in addition to the pure hotel business, we also have a gastronomy, event and long-stay concept for adult education. With that in mind, it really was a crushing experience to be closed, to no longer see your colleagues and also to no longer see the guests. But in this context, many good things also happened during the months of pandemic that showed me what really is worth fighting for. On the one hand, I am proud that we were able to keep all our amazing regular guests, that we gained new ones and that, as soon as we were allowed to open again, we had a great occupancy rate and a loyal customer base again very quickly. That means so much!