Young boss Winkler somehow hovers above things and I'm not quite sure where to place him as we both talk eagerly about the business, heritage, location and the family clan. Because, although he thinks and directs the farming and accommodation business, it's more like a whole orchestra that plays the guest waltz here. Grandma, grandpa, mother and father still pull the strings without wanting to make life difficult for the young farmer. It was also his parents, mind you, who soon prepared him well for taking over the farm with a gentle breeze and numerous sponsored stays abroad, but who are of course still actively supporting him in the here and now. Thomas has two sisters. One lives in Graz, the other in Hamburg. Taking over the farm? Bingo. He is the chosen one and he soon realized that.
"I'm the stand-in in the company. I'm there wherever I'm needed."
He acts where he wants to and where he is needed. Whether in the stables, on the mountain pasture, at check-in, in the evening at the bar, early in the morning by the lake (more on this later) or working out with the web agency what information should be sent out in which online channels. That's his job. And he can do it. In addition to agricultural internships and seasonal cooking experience in Tyrol, he has also held the position of concierge in a luxury hotel in Scotland. So what else is there to come, apart from the hotel's tame regulars, who swear eternal loyalty anyway. Nevertheless, Thomas has the foresight to take care of social media and how his hotel presents itself there with its accommodation capacities. In the digital cosmos, from which more guest bookings are to be generated in the future. I can't say anything about agriculture (except that I know that the milk price currently paid to farmers is outrageous), but Thomas Winkler will lead this business well into what will probably also be a digital future, provided that regular guests who are still booking directly and in analog form don't come.
Future on the farm. A piece of self-sufficiency. Lake sauna and the old stable.
Thomas has a lot planned, but he's in no hurry. I can tell. As he rows calmly towards the middle of the lake and we talk about the things that are still to come, he outlines the future of the business very precisely and that sounds good. The photovoltaic system will soon be installed to make us a little more self-sufficient. But that's not all. The old barn is soon to be converted. In addition to four additional fresh vacation apartments that could be created there, space may also be found for a home of their own when family planning and living together with their current girlfriend are on the agenda. There is still time. Just like the construction of the hotel's own lakeside sauna, which will certainly happen if you believe Winkler's plans for the future, which I certainly do.
Being by the water
He seems to be doing really well on the water. I don't know whether he's even better than in the company on the Neusacher shore of "Lago Bianco". In any case, he likes being out there on the calm lake, even if it's only for an hour at a time because there's no more time available. He simply needs to be by the water, he says. Enjoys it, wants it, over and over again. And I can empathize with that. It's a glorious early summer's day and we're sitting in the rowing boat. Me, the city dweller, rather slightly excited. He, the local outdoorsman and young entrepreneur, radiates calm and contentment. He doesn't need to be in the water, he says. Maybe two or three times a summer season at the most, you might catch him swimming. But that doesn't have to be the case. He also catches few fish and has little ambition to do so. Just being on the water is more than okay, because "that's the place to be!" And I'm right there with the Carinthian. Or with Nietzsche, who said: "The greatest events are not our loudest, but our quietest hours."
Stefan Heinisch
contentkumpanei.com, 34 Article(s)
