“Hello everyone, I am Felizitas Denz, Hotel Manager at the , which is right next to the Reeperbahn in the Red Light District and this is my SMACK story!

We are a lifestyle design hotel that feels almost like a little oasis where one can have a break from the big city. We used to be part of Design Hotels, but now we are a part of Preferred Hotels. The hotel contains of 172 rooms, a small sauna, a fitness area and a restaurant that is a must for locals in Hamburg. We always wanted to be a restaurant that also has a hotel, which has worked really well and is perceived as such by the guests. Among other things, events such as our ball, which we were finally able to hold again on the 30.04.22, are very popular with the guests. First we have a nice dinner and then, from 10 p.m. onwards, the courtyard is cleared out and becomes a dance floor with a light show and projections, which is always a real eye-catcher.

“Hello, I’m Anna Fedl, general manager at the Boutiquehotel Stadthalle, which is the greenest hotel in Vienna and the first SDG hotel worldwide and this is my SMACK story. We’ve made it our mission to communicate the importance of sustainability to our guests transparently but also with humour and charm. In order to achieve this, we renovated 17 rooms in 2020 and dedicated each of them to one of the UN’s sustainability goals. This offers a creative way of getting familiar with the topic.

We want to show that sustainability is lived in our company. This starts with the rooms and extends to our organic breakfast, where quality and plant-based food play an important role. We want to create diversity here, pick up everyone and offer various options to all guests. We also have a beautiful garden in the inner courtyard, which is of course very popular, especially in summer, for having a coffee outside in the afternoon or a glass of wine in the evening. For many guests, this is a highlight, because they say, the peace and quiet that they have with us is quite unique for a big city. It makes the guests happy and that, in turn, makes us as hosts happy.

“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!