Gmunden hotel plan faces debate over apartments and second homes

Plans for a hotel with around 100 rooms in Gmunden’s Seeviertel district have sparked a heated debate over housing, public access and parking, ORF reported. The EUR 180 million project would be partly financed by apartments built alongside the hotel.

Mayor Stefan Krapf said the Soravia Group bought the land from the municipality in 2021 for EUR 15.7 million. He said a hotel alone would not be economically viable and that residential construction was needed to cross-finance it.

Krapf rejected fears that the Seeviertel would become an exclusive area. He said the development would remain publicly accessible, with a public restaurant at the hotel and parts of the spa also available for public use. He also dismissed concerns that access to Lake Traunsee would be lost.

Several residents nevertheless criticised the plans. Monika Hufnagel, a retired Gmunden resident, said she supported a hotel in principle but opposed the current design, which includes large residential buildings. She called for a smaller project with more green space and a stronger public character.

Parking was another concern. A participant asked whether the municipality had considered the impact on parking in and around the Seeviertel. Rüdiger Fritz, the municipality’s planning councillor, said parking could be provided at different locations.

Tourism sector calls for more hotel rooms

Tourism representatives pointed to a shortage of hotel capacity in Gmunden. A tour guide said larger groups and congresses often could not be accommodated. Doctor Michaela Schmidt said the city had potential to benefit from congress tourism and urged people not to reject the project outright.

Andreas Murray, managing director of the Traunsee-Almtal tourism association, said tens of thousands of overnight stays were lost every year because of the lack of accommodation.

Stefan Brandlehner, managing director of Salzkammergut Tourism, described the arguments raised during the discussion as interesting. Karlheinz Eder of the Traunsee shipping company said Gmunden needed several larger hotels to realise its tourism potential. Without additional accommodation, he said, the city risked remaining primarily a destination for day trips.

Tourism expert and consultant Reinhard Lanner said a high-quality hotel could attract further investment and strengthen existing family-run businesses. He also said the project had to fit the city and be critically monitored.

Criticism of second homes

One of the most contentious issues was the possible use of the apartments as second homes. Critics warned that this could drive up housing costs and create a ghost town. Christian Zier, who lives close to the planned development, said many apartments in Gmunden were already empty and that infrequently used second homes affected the city’s overall services and commercial offer.

Philipp Wiatschka of the citizens’ group Wir für Gmunden said he was broadly open to the hotel but criticised the proposed financing model. He argued that the project was not purely a tourism development but a real estate project being presented to the public as a tourism scheme.

Wiatschka suggested designating Gmunden as a municipality with restrictions on second homes. Another participant summed up the position of some residents by saying: “We need the hotel, but not at any price.”

The event also prompted a question about the planned development’s facilities: “Why do hotel guests need a boat garage?”