Carinthian inn closures mount as insolvencies rise 56%

Insolvencies in Carinthia’s hospitality sector rose 56 percent this year, while more traditional inns are closing, ORF reports. One of them is the Ogris family inn in Ludmannsdorf, which will shut next September after four generations in the business.

The family says the closure is voluntary, not the result of bankruptcy. Marko Ogris said the decision had been discussed for a long time and that the family had reached agreement on its future. The inn, which opened in 1932, will close a few years before its 100th anniversary.

The Alpine Creditors Association recorded 56 insolvencies in Carinthia’s hospitality sector during the first three quarters of this year, more than 50 percent above the same period last year.

Stefan Sternad, hospitality spokesperson for the Carinthian Chamber of Commerce, said fewer businesses were finding successors within their families. Taking over an inn was a major decision, he said, and prospective successors had to consider whether the job and its demands suited them and their families.

Sternad said rising operating costs were outpacing the prices businesses could charge, making the difference impossible for some to manage. The Ogris family says the building could be leased or sold, and Johann Ogris hopes the inn will continue in some form.