Many Tyrolean hut keepers are desperately looking for suitable employees before each season and cannot find anything. Some think of giving up and closing because of this misery. The “Krone” has found a hut keeper and a hut keeper who do not have this problem. They show how it can work.
The situation is actually not as bad as it is often portrayed, says Thomas Fankhauser, head of the Franz-Senn-Hütte about Neustift. “In any case, we are in a good position and are fortunate to be able to count on permanent staff, especially in the kitchen,” says the happy long-standing innkeeper of the large Alpine Club shelter in the Stubai Alps have “pre-filters”. He has also prepared an information sheet for potential job seekers. They then already know what to expect in the workplace and what they can expect from the job. Quickly confronting overblown ideas There are definitely interested parties, but the question is of course how well suited they are and what ideas they have. “When the weather is nice, go on tours for five days and then work a bit – of course that doesn’t matter,” he clarifies. As is generally the case in the hospitality industry, interpersonal relationships are often lacking in the huts, he criticizes. The consequence: Employees stay away or leave earlier than agreed. “If it doesn’t fit, we try to use people in another place that suits their strengths better,” says Fankhauser. Here, the Jeitner family who leased the property found a key to finding and keeping good employees. In concrete terms: Pay the employees a good salary, value them and be generous. “If someone wants to eat a goulash instead of simple food, then that’s what they get,” says the landlady, giving an example of generosity. When it comes down to it, the colleague then has to tackle the matter. There is a need to catch up when it comes to retreat options. Accommodation also plays a key role in the personnel issue. “Accommodate four waitresses in a double room – that’s not possible,” she emphasizes. According to her colleague Thomas Fankhauser, the Alpine Club faces a major challenge in this regard. The staff need space to retreat, but many huts don’t have that yet. “We don’t get anyone from the AMS. Interested parties contact us themselves,” emphasizes Jeitner. They do this because word has gotten around that the Schweinfurter Hütte is a good place to work. And the local powers have known that for a long time.
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