June the 5th, 2022 - The well known Croatian Valamar company has purchased yet another Austrian hotel in a popular ski resort, as it eyes further expansion and the offer of permanent work contracts for its employees.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, the Croatian Valamar company is continuing to expand its portfolio in Obertauern, Austria, by acquiring the luxury Hotel Kesselspitze, which will thus become the third Valamar-run hotel in Obertauern and the first Valamar Collection hotel in Austria. The Hotel Kesselspitze has so far been owned by the Lürzer family, which is recognised as a leader in development and innovation in the entire Obertauern destination.

The internationalisation of the Croatian Valamar company's overall portfolio with a focus being placed on winter destinations in the Alpine region is one of the company's strategic goals from back in 2018 with the opening of the first 4 * hotel, the Valamar Obertauern Hotel. The company's expansion in Austria continued throughout the year 2021 through the acquisition of the Marietta Hotel in Obertauern and the establishment of a new ownership structure within Valamar A GmbH, an SPV company in which Valamar has a minority investor but provides hotel management services to the entire portfolio.

The Hotel Kesselspitze 5 * is otherwise one of the most famous and recognisable hotels in Obertauern, it boasts 66 rooms, a restaurant, an indoor pool and wellness facilities, and enjoys an excellent location with direct access to the nearby ski slopes. The Valamar Collection brand represents the highest level of services and comfort for guests, as well as a range of services that Valamar will offer to guests. As the first Valamar Collection hotel in all of Austria, it will open its doors during the winter season of 2022/2023.

"The internationalisation of business by expanding our portfolio in winter destinations in the Alps is a strategic goal of Valamar. The acquisition of the third hotel in Obertauern represents another important step in the realisation of business synergies, especially the employment of our seasonal employees for the whole year,'' said Zeljko Kukurin, CEO of Valamar Riviera.

The Croatian Valamar company plans to continue investing in the quality of its portfolio in nearby Austria.

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December the 5th, 2021 - Valamar's purchase of an Austrian hotel could be fantastic not only for those who are investing in Croatian tourism but also for Croatian staff who want something much more permanent than seasonal work over summer.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, a Valamar Austrian hotel, a new one that is, could finally iron out the issues faced by temporary employment and the extremely seasonal nature of the Croatian economy, making things far more stable for Croatian staff who crave a regular income without worries.

Such an exchange, however, can hardly be expected at an institutional, interstate level, either because of legal barriers or the fear of hoteliers that they will lose workers who will simply drop everything without a second thought for a better salary in a ski-oriented, higher paying country.

In such circumstances, it is difficult to expect employers to seek formal education when hiring, which is advocated by professors from the Croatian education system, especially because students are educated according to outdated and inappropriate curricula. That could change once the Regional Centres for Competences in Vocational Education come to life, and the first effects on the labour market should be seen in around 2028. All of this could be heard at a panel discussion held at Zagreb's Faculty of Economics on Thursday.

The discussion on the connection between education and the labour market with as many as 10 panelists was organised by Zabok High School and the Faculty of Economics within the ESF project Zabok Regional Centre.

As many as three large tourist companies operating here in Croatia have facilities in their portfolio at Austrian ski resorts, and they're all fresh acquisitions. The Falkensteiner Group opened the Hotel Kronplatz in South Tyrol last year, this September it was announced that the Arena Hospitality Group is buying the Franz Ferdinand Mountain Resort hotel in Nassfeld. Valamar Riviera is currently buying its second hotel in Obertauern, and the plan is to employ more than 130 Valamar employees from Croatia during the winter at the ski resort.

"At Valamar, the focus is on permanent employment, we also have over 1,000 permanent seasonal workers, and the strategy of the internationalisation of our business in winter destinations has fitted in perfectly with these efforts. This gives Croatian staff the opportunity to continue working in this market, which has higher salaries, after the summer season, as their income in hotels in Obertauern is in line with Austrian law. In addition to the financial opportunity, they get a chance to expand their knowledge and experience, as well as improve their knowledge of the German language, which is important.

At the same time, they're sure that they will be accompanied there by the heads of departments they already know from Croatia, and they're also sure that they will have a job on the Adriatic by the time spring rolls around. This is also our attempt to address the problem of the emigration of Croatian staff abroad in this way,'' said Ines Damjanic Sturman, the director of the Human Resources Department at Valamar.

Although this is being considered, the institution of exchanging employees between countries with higher needs in the summer or winter season will be difficult to implement, said Sonja Holocher-Ertl, the director of Advantage Austria, a branch of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce's foreign trade department. On the Advantage Austria website, about 40 travel companies are currently looking for workers from Croatia.

“Hotel owners in Austria have similar problems when it comes to finding workers as Croats do. The most basic occupations are in demand, waiters, chefs, receptionists, housekeepers, janitors... and most employers are small or medium-sized family businesses, owners of 4 or 5 star facilities. This winter season, a desirable criterion is that workers be fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus. Exchanging workers is an attractive idea, but it can best be done if someone happens to be the owner of said facility, who then relocates his workers as he wishes.

Without that, the matter can easily become very complicated, either because of legal procedures or because of the fear of employers that workers will simply stay where the conditions are better, in Switzerland, for example, Croatian staff are paid significantly more than they'd ever be in Croatia,'' explained Holocher-Ertl.

When it comes to labor migration, Natasa Kacar, director of the employment agency Gate2Solutions, claims that there are a lot of Croatian citizens who do, despite all, want to return to Croatia eventually.

"A lot of workers who work abroad call us because they're looking for jobs in tourism back home in Croatia, but they want decent wages and off-season work as well, and they want to know what conditions their would-be employers offer, and it's very difficult for us to find employers who can offer them what they need,'' concluded Kacar.

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