Almost a million people have fled from Ukraine to Germany since Russian troops invaded. This is a challenge for society, but a worthwhile business for enterprising entrepreneurs. Like now in the “Merkel Hotel” in Bayreuth?
For many years, the Waldhotel Stein was “the place to be” in the Upper Franconian metropolis of Bayreuth. Especially during the Wagner Festival on the Green Hill, the German jet set gave each other their room keys in idyllic surroundings here on the outskirts of the city. Franz Beckenbauer, Thomas Gottschalk, and Angela Merkel. you name it Today the splendor of the house is only a former one, and the rooms also breathe the spirit of yesterday. But that doesn’t mean the beds are empty.
As the “Spiegel” reports, refugees from Ukraine have been staying in the former four-star hotel, which Merkel’s husband Joachim Sauer once described as her “second paradise” – apparently at overpriced rents. Like the report, the question involuntarily arises as to whether an acute emergency situation is being exploited and cash is being made on the backs of people in need who are looking for a safe place to stay.
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Merkel stayed at the Waldhotel for the first time in 1989. And then 28 more times, a former managing director reported to the “Bayreuther Tagblatt”. “The most important thing for Ms. Merkel was that she wanted to be treated like an ordinary guest and not like the German chancellor,” said the hotel manager. She understood how to navigate the conversation with small talk. “Arrival, weather, just the classics. That not only gave me confidence in the conversation, without putting my foot in it.”
In other respects, too, Merkel was very unpretentious. “She didn’t want to be called Chancellor,” the former hotel manager told the “Bayreuther Tagblatt”. “Simply Ms. Merkel.” She liked to go for a walk at the edge of the forest. As a farmer in the meadow or walking the dog, you could definitely meet them there. One room was reserved as an office.
After the death of the owner Christa Stein in December 2020, the hotel went to “Doctors Without Borders” and “Greenpeace” according to the will, according to “Spiegel”. The building complex, popularly known as the “Merkel Hotel”, has belonged to a Bayreuth real estate company for a few months. Photos on the hotel’s website give an idea that a renovation wouldn’t hurt if you wanted to be one of the top addresses in town again.
But that seems a long way off. Blue bathroom tiles, floral wallpaper and stuffed animals on the walls are usually no longer standard today. On the homepage there is a note to the dear guests that due to the situation surrounding the Covid-19 virus, the Waldhotel is closed for the time being and that bookings will therefore not be possible in 2022. The former hotel is still occupied.
According to the “Spiegel”, between 50 and 55 refugees from Ukraine lived in the buildings on the extensive site at the beginning of September. The Hamburg news magazine continues to write that room lists show that at times two adults with four children have shared a double room.
Apparently not at a bargain price. In the “Spiegel” it says: “According to statements from several people, the operator is said to have tried to rent earlier hotel rooms for well over 1000 euros per month – although most of them do not even have their own kitchen.” Cooking is done together in the former hotel kitchen
The Bayreuth job center should pay directly. But the city refused and was only willing to transfer 500 euros a month and another 100 euros for each additional person in the room. A former resident told the “Spiegel”: “The landlord is not interested in anything except money.” The landlord denies that.
The statement cannot be verified independently. However, it gives an impression of how a maximum of profit is being sought with run-down real estate – and how the situation of the refugees themselves is also being put under pressure by cities and municipalities. Bayreuth is not an isolated case here.
In many places in Germany, those responsible are finding it increasingly difficult to provide sufficient accommodation for refugees. In initial reception facilities, capacities are largely exhausted.
In addition to the search for suitable real estate, difficulties are also caused by delivery problems when furnishing the accommodation. Individual cities have already reported problems getting furniture such as beds and cupboards, but also electrical appliances such as refrigerators and household items such as cutlery.
The President of the German Association of Cities, Markus Lewe, predicted in mid-September: “In the coming winter, a number of cities will have to accommodate refugees in hotels, gyms or other facilities.”
The Waldhotel case seems to be an example of how things should not be done.
