A special characteristic of the Austrian tourism industry is that the majority of Austrian businesses are family businesses – there is then the senior boss and the senior boss and the junior generation with the junior boss and the junior boss. They all have their place and their function.

Each of them is an important cog that keeps the “Werkl” running, contributing to the company’s success with their own talents and strengths. And in this interplay of generations, the next generation grows up and learns from the beginning what it means to be a leader.

what it means to be part of a family business. In our 75-year

school history, we have had the privilege of educating several generations of host families

and provide them with the theoretical foundation, which they then successfully applied after one internship or another in the family business and still do.

In this issue, we bring the Gsöls family from the Gsölserhof in Kirchberg an der Raab before the curtain.

When a family business has more than a hundred years of tradition, it has shaped not only the family, but also the place and the environment in which it is located. It has grown with the demands and wishes of its guests and has constantly changed and developed its own identity.

And just as we humans change with each stage of life we enter, so it happens with traditional businesses.

Each generation shapes it, forms it and continues to shape it.

The Gsölserhof in Kirchberg an der Raab is a prime example of this. It has been a backdrop, stage, home, hostel and meeting place for people from imperial times to the digital age.

It all began in 1890, when Blasius and Theresia Gsöls bought the property and established a farm with its own butcher shop and inn. After the hardships of the First World War, the business was passed on to the next generation in the twenties.

In 1933 the first major reconstruction began and the first guest rooms of today’s Gsölserhof were built.

Bravely into the new times

But the first great flourishing of the family business came in the post-war period, thanks to the up-and-coming Clement Mill, which was located in the immediate vicinity. Due to the sawmill, the mill and the oil pressing plant there was always a lot of activity and the demand for a good inn was always high.

At the beginning of the 60’s the third generation of the family took over the helm. With the change of the times and the higher leisure consciousness, also the offer of the Gsölserhof changed. In this period the farm was adapted and it began to be oriented also as a sports facility. Tennis courts and a tennis hall were built and thanks to Irmgard Gsöls with her excellent cooking skills the physical well-being was not neglected.

This new offer was a turning point for the family business, because the strategic reorientation towards the sports infrastructure and the restaurant business meant that the slaughter and butcher business was finally discontinued.

Focus on sports and further conversions

In 1984 Wolfgang Gsöls took over the parental business together with his wife Irene in the fourth generation after his training years at the tourism schools Bad Gleichenberg. The two began to develop the Gsölserhof even more for sports-loving holidaymakers. During this time a spa area, a new restaurant, a seminar room as well as renovations in the tennis hall and the outdoor area were built.

Senior chef Irmgard Gsöls was still very busy in the kitchen at that time and is still available today with experience and energy when help is needed.

Wolfgang and Irene Gsöls have been devoted to their house for several decades now.

Irene’s realm is the kitchen. She leads the kitchen team and spoils the guests with regional delicacies. Wolfgang is an innkeeper as he is written in the book. With wit, charm and wine knowledge he takes care of the guests in the service.

The new generation is already in the race

Even during her school years at the Bad Gleichenberg Tourism Schools, Hannah Gsöls helped out at home on weekends.

In 2017, Hannah graduated from the Higher School of Tourism. After that, she was drawn out into the wide world to gain other professional experience. Until 2020, when she decided to take up her role at the Gsölserhof, ushering in the next and fifth generational phase of the storied house. Mainly in the kitchen, she can nevertheless be found wherever she is needed, whether service, event planning, back office or as hostess.

In any case, standing still is out of the question for the Gsöls family. In October 2022, they began the next major renovation. Within six months, five new guest rooms and a modern entrance foyer were created.

The house has evolved again and again over the past 130 years, has been continuously adapted to the respective times. Nevertheless, the Gsölserhof has been a flagship of Styrian hospitality and regional cuisine for five generations now and will remain so in the future…..

Wolfgang Gsöls (GFS, 1980):

My time at the Bad Gleichenberg tourism schools is already a bit behind me, but it remains unforgettable for me. Thanks to the boarding school, which at that time could still be attended on weekends, I was able to enjoy free weekends away from the business at home. 😉

Hannah Gsöls (HLT 2017):

It’s hard to believe that my school days were already six years ago. Not only was I professionally prepared for life as a caterer, but I was also allowed to acquire an independent way of life, which has helped me a lot on my later path through life in a wide variety of areas. I have been working in my parents’ restaurant and hotel business for two years now and I don’t regret this decision for a second.