On the 4th of November 2021, the third-semester master class 2020 from the Department of Innovation & Management in Tourism at the FH Salzburg (Salzburg University of Applied Sciences) visited their client for the service design consulting project the students are participating in – Hotel Seevilla Wolfgangsee in Salzkammergut. It was a day full of inspiring insights and interaction at the beautiful location of Wolfgangsee.
Service Design in Practice
Together with FH-Prof. Dr. Barbara Neuhofer, the third semester master students headed to the beautiful lake Wolfgangsee to get to know their real-life client: Hotel Seevilla Wolfgangsee. The host’s tagline “einfach fein” in English “simply fine” combined with beautiful scenery and luxury facilities, described very well the impressions of the students on that day.
The owner and manager of the Hotel Seevilla Wolfgangsee, Ms. Franziska Gastberger, herself a 2014 IMT Master’s graduate, provided us with deep insights into the unique characteristics of the luxurious resort. It was the students’ task to work as consulting teams while using innovative service design methods to further develop experiences and unique moments for guests at different analogue and digital touchpoints.
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The Charm of the Wolfgangsee region
Not only in Summer is lake Wolfgangsee a beautiful place for hiking, visiting or swimming, in Winter it becomes a Winterwonderland with its traditional ‘Wolfgansseer Advent’ in the month of December. The town exchanges its trees with green leaves for a white blanket covering the area. Christmas markets, iceskating tracks, and thousands of lights turn the area into a true fairytale. On the lake, the 16 meter high “Friedenslicht Lanterne” (Lantern of peace) is placed, surrounded by lights in the shape of stars – which captures the eye. The thought behind is for people to pause and reflect on their lives. This gives the Wolfgangsee during winter time an extra magical touch.
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While visiting the Christmasmarkets, it is tradition to drink a “Glühwein” (mulled wine) or warm “Punsch” in a “Wolfgangseer Adventhäferl” (a mug). During the tour at Hotel Seevilla Wolfgangsee, Mr. Thomas Möslinger and Mr. Patrick De-Bettin both from Wolfgangsee.at Tourismus took the time to present the unique characteristics of the Wolfgangsee region. Not to forget, all students received a typical “Wolfgangseer Adventhäferl” – no doubt they are ready for the Christmas market experience in the next months!
