The four-star Kaliebe Hotel, located on the island of Usedom, just 250 meters from the sandy beach on the Baltic Sea, announced bankruptcy. This decision is surprising, considering the convenient location of the facility and its recent modernization, reports kreiszeitung.de.
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Competition from Polish hotels
The effects of bankruptcy are felt by both the hotel's 11 employees and its guests. The salaries of the employees for the next three months were secured from the bankruptcy fund. The facility, owned by Breitenfelder Verwaltungs GmbH, remains open for now. The sister hotel Schloss Breitenfeld in Leipzig also continues its operations. According to “Bild”, planned events and events are to take place as planned.
The hotel's financial problems were largely the result of expensive renovations. Thanks to it, the former three-star facility was raised to a 4-star standard, which, however, significantly reduced the company's financial reserves. At the same time, the hotel recorded a decline in revenues, including: as a result of competition from cheaper accommodation facilities on the Polish side of the border. Growing energy and food costs and a chronic lack of employees turned out to be an additional burden.
Hotel crisis in Germany
Krister Hennige, head of the local Dehoga hotel industry association on the island of Usedom, expressed hope that an investor would be found. — I've known this hotel for years. Previously, it was run by the Kaliebe family, from whom it took its name. I hope that the activity will be maintained because guests feel very good there, he emphasized. At the same time, he warned that other hotels in the region may face similar problems in the near future.
The bankruptcy of the Kaliebe hotel is part of a broader crisis in the sector. More and more facilities on the Baltic Sea are struggling with cost pressure and a shortage of qualified personnel. Although reducing the VAT rate in the catering industry brought some relief to some entrepreneurs, for some of the industry this action turned out to be too late – admitted Hennige in an interview with “Bild”.
Recent months have already brought other difficult decisions in the region. In Stralsund, the traditional Scheelehof hotel closed its operations, and on the island of Usedom, the Usedom Palace hotel closed permanently after 125 years of operation.
