Arabella Hospitality’s management team in Austria is to be expanded further. Karl Berghammer, who has deep roots in Austria, will in the future manage Schloss Fuschl Betriebe GmbH, and Fred Smits will bring his experience to bear on Arabella Jagdhof Resort on Lake Fuschl.

Karl Berghammer has many years of experience managing and further developing hotels. The 54-year-old native Austrian not only brings with him experience but also a great appreciation of the region. From 1 August 2023, he will be responsible for Schloss Fuschl Betriebe GmbH’s properties in Austria. This includes the two hotels Arabella Jagdhof Resort on Lake Fuschl and the future Rosewood Schloss Fuschl, which will open in spring 2024, as well as a fishery, over 80 hectares of woodlands and a 9-hole golf course. In his role as new managing director and owner representative, Karl Berghammer will primarily be responsible for the further development of the properties. Karl Berghammer launched his career in tourism, which spans more than 30 years, at the Spa Resort Therme Geinberg, where he took over the role of hotel manager in 2000 and in 2005 assumed responsibility for managing the commercial affairs of the entire resort. From 2009, following a period at the Willi Dungl Gesundheitsresort, he was responsible for the pre-opening of the Tauern Spa Zell in See-Kaprun, where he was later appointed general manager. In 2022, after a twelve-year absence, he returned to the Spa Resort Therme Geinberg as general manager of the entire resort.

Fred Smits will also be enhancing Arabella Hospitality team in his role as the new general manager of the Arabella Jagdhof Resort on Lake Fuschl. Over the past 16 years, the 54-year-old has held management positions at several hotels belonging to the Marriott Group. This includes periods at the Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel & Conference Center, The Westin Dublin, The Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa and the Sheraton Tbilisi Metechi Palace. Fred Smits will assume responsibility for managing the Jagdhof Resort on Lake Fuschl, which was renovated last year and reopened in November 2022 as a sustainable vacation resort under our own Arabella brand, on 1 September 2023.

The previous general manager of the Jagdhof, Martina Lebensorger, moved to Rosewood Schloss Fuschl in the middle of June. There she is providing support during the pre-opening phase to Sascha Hemmann, who was appointed managing director of the hotel in March 2023. Rosewood Schloss Fuschl is the second ultra-luxury hotel partner project with Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, alongside Rosewood Munich.

«The hotels in Austria have a special place in Arabella Hospitality’s portfolio and are close to the heart of Munich’s Schörghuber family of entrepreneurs. I’m extremely pleased that two highly-skilled managers, Karl Berghammer and Fred Smits, have joined our hotel team in Austria. They will raise our profile locally and work together to ensure that both our guests and our employees are content and have a wonderful time at Lake Fuschl,» says Karl-Heinz Pawlizki, CEO of Arabella Hospitality.

«I look forward to contributing my experience and expertise to the hotels on Lake Fuschl. The upcoming investments and the location in the spectacular Salzkammergut region offer great prospects for the future – a future that I would like to actively help shape,» adds Karl Berghammer.

«My great wish is to successfully position the Jagdhof as a sustainable family resort and to manage it as such together with my team. The hotel’s concept offers great potential for a wonderful holiday experience and, at the same time, the hotel is an important economic factor for the region,» explains Fred Smits.