The gay couple writing the next chapter of their family’s historic hotel in the Austrian Alps

Hospitality is in Benjamin Schneider’s history. Long before he and husband Patrick Krummenacher took the reins of Hotel Arlberg, his family’s luxury alpine hotel in Lech, Austria, Schneider recalls constantly hosting childhood friends and organizing summer barbecues.

“My parents never forced me to go into this industry,” he says. “They always got a sense that I liked customer service, and I like being with people, and that I like to host. I like to be social, and I think that’s crucial in this industry.”

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“You have to be an extrovert, yeah,” Krummenacher agrees.

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Schneider likes to think that long-time, recurring guests experience a sense of homecoming when they return to Hotel Arlberg, and that is undoubtedly due to the welcoming, familial atmosphere. The hotel, after all, has been the Schneider family’s home for three generations. Schneider’s grandparents opened their modest bed-and-breakfast in 1956. While it has grown into a luxury resort that has attracted the likes of Princess Diana, Tina Turner, and Claudia Schiffer, it remains at heart a family business, comprising just 50 luxury rooms and suites, along with a spa and fine dining.

Schneider and Krummenacher have been overseeing the family business since 2017, and make their home there with their young daughter and their Jack Russell Terrier, Lotti. Next winter, the hotel will celebrate its 70th anniversary, a milestone Schneider describes as a “privilege” to oversee.

The couple views their stewardship of Hotel Arlberg as a new chapter, building on the past while steering steadily into the future. As Schneider puts it, “You want to carry on the fire, not the ashes. So, you have to continue what was built and always honor the history, but also look forward and drive innovation.”

Where once Lech was primarily a destination for winter skiing holidays, Schneider and Krummenacher aim to make Hotel Arlberg a year-round destination. And it’s paying off. The couple touts the region’s incomparable hiking opportunities in the summer and autumn, and Hotel Arlberg is also the starting point for the Arlberg Classic Car Rally in June.

“Summer temperatures in cities are just getting higher and higher,” Krummenacher explains. “You might not want to spend your summer holiday on a crowded Mediterranean beach. And the mountains are still somewhat of a little secret for relaxed, good quality value for your money.”

Attracting and retaining the next generation is also key, according to Schneider. Among the hotel’s loyal, recurring guests are families whose children, and in some cases grandchildren, are now reaching adulthood. “Even now,” Schnieder says, “the younger generation, they always want to come back.” 

Krummenacher cites the example of a friend of the couple whose family has been coming to Lech for decades. “His grandmother started coming to Lech, then his mother has been staying with us for over 45 years. And now he’s started his own family and would like to make Lech his family tradition every winter.”

To keep those younger generations of loyal guests returning, the couple has overseen developments at the hotel’s spa and renovations of its indoor and outdoor pools. “The new generation does not book two weeks straight of skiing holidays, but they might just pick the nicest days, go skiing three to four times a week, and the rest of the week they go walking or shopping, or go to the spa,” Krummenacher says. “This wasn’t the case during Benjamin’s father’s generation when it was just about sport and skiing.”

They’ve also beefed up amenities for families traveling with young children — things they know from experience are essential. “We also didn’t know before we had children and traveled with kids that you need a changing table, certain kids’ club hours.”

Schneider also notes that it’s been essential to understand where to update and where to leave things as they have been for decades. For example, he says, guests certainly welcome more modern décor in their rooms after 70 years, but if the hotel’s bar were to change, guests might “have a heart attack.”

“They have so many memories with the public spaces, so that’s when we make changes or do renovations, we always have to keep in mind that people have a lot of connections with certain places here in the hotel. For them, it’s their coming home,” he explains.

The fact that Schneder and Krummenacher count long-time guests as close friends speaks to that home-like atmosphere. “It’s not just small talk with them. We have good conversations. When we travel, we meet them,” Schneider says. “It’s kind of a community kind of feeling.”

“It’s a very personal dynamic we have with our guests,” Krummenacher agrees.

And while Schneider is adamant that, like his own parents, he and Krummenacher will not pressure their daughter into continuing the family business, they’re also instilling in her a love of hospitality. “At some point, she has to make her own decision,” he says. “However, I still want to show her that this job can be fun, and if she wants to do it, one day she can do it.”

Travel tips

Recently returned from their holiday, Schneider and Krummenacher have a few travel tips to share. “We get that a lot,” Krummenacher says. “‘Benjamin, Patrick, where are you traveling when you’re off?’”

1. Rent a house

“We like to rent houses, because staying in a hotel…we’re a bit critical,” Schneider jokes. But, he explains, when traveling with their daughter and dog, it’s so much easier to relax in a house as opposed to a hotel.

2. Split Time Between city and country

“We’ve just come back from a trip to London, and we loved it,” Krummenacher says. “It just had a really good energy.”

3. Think about the off-season

Working in the hospitality business themselves, Schneider and Krummenacher generally have to travel during the off-season, and they prefer that. One of their favorite destinations is Provence. “When you go there right now, it’s packed. You always get stressed to get a restaurant reservation,” Schneider says. “But when we go, end of May, it’s still not packed yet. It has a good vibe. It’s not empty, but it’s nice.”

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