INTERVIEW WITH LANSERHOF LANS HOTEL MANAGER ANDREA CSICS

ANDREA CSICS HAS BEEN WORKING AT LANSERHOF LANS FOR 30 YEARS ...

What special moments or highlights from the last 30 years that you have worked at Lanserhof Lans do you particularly remember?

I started at Lanserhof in 1991 as assistant to the visionary managing director and was able to organize our first symposium of the Institute for Regeneration Research. It was a complete success – we were the first to bring together conventional doctors and our experienced complementary medicine doctors for discussion at this symposium. Within the framework of this institute, we have been working intensively on the further development of our concept since the 1990s, without knowing how future-oriented, holistic and interactive it would become. Another highlight was winning the first award as Europe’s leading health resort in 2004 following the renovation of the medical department. We were pioneers and trailblazers in the health industry. It’s wonderful to be part of a successful team and resort. We duly celebrated this first award with the entire team at a summer party. All employees were more than proud.

How has the Lanserhof changed and developed over the last three decades?

We started out as a simple spa hotel with the classic F.X. Mayr medicine, a very effective therapy for intestinal health. Our team of doctors and therapists have always been the absolute specialists in modern preventive and regenerative medicine, especially today when the topic of the microbiome is relevant worldwide. Back in the 1990s, an article appeared in Medizin GEO that described the gut as the second brain. What F. X. Mayr researched as a naturopath and recognized the gut as the root system of the human being can now be scientifically proven in medicine. The further medical development into a holistic concept, our own Lanserhof Concept, was supported in 1998/1999, when our hotel also became a design hotel through extensive renovation. Around the year 2000, further development picked up full speed. The purification and regeneration of the intestinal/digestive tract remained the basis. Our in-house doctors and renowned experts not only further developed the detox treatments, but also supplemented our concept with a modern sleep laboratory, vital aging programs, physiotherapy, osteopathy, genetic analyses and exercise programs by our sports scientists. The holistic Lanserhof Concept combines top university medicine with naturopathic treatments under one roof, and our guests can use their valuable time with us to undergo the regularly recommended medical check-ups. Today, we are supported by over 35 medical consultants from university medicine. I should not forget to mention the development of our own nutrition program, Energy Cuisine.

What innovations and concepts were introduced during your time at Lanserhof that you found particularly influential?

In 2000, we introduced the first sleep laboratory in Europe, where guests had the opportunity to have a stress-free examination in the comfort of their hotel room instead of in a hospital bed. Our sleep expert is a lung specialist. The Atomium of the Lanserhof Concept shows all the areas that we offer in a network in order to be able to offer each guest an individually tailored diagnostic and therapy program. With our head physician, Dr. Katharina Sandtner, we have added innovative high-end laboratory diagnostics with the best European laboratories – another milestone, as this form of root cause analysis is not offered by general practitioners. I also found the integration of energetic diagnostics, energetic therapy and spiritual healing by one of our doctors, who has studied Western medicine as well as TCM and shamanism, very influential. He trained other of our doctors and therapists, which is why we have great success with our guests in energy therapy.

What special medical services or diagnostic devices from the Lanserhof are hardly available anywhere else, e.g. Vectra Scan as an example from Sylt – are there also unique devices in Lans?

Water plasma, Cellgym and the cold chamber – these forms of therapy support cell regeneration to a high degree and are used for many illnesses.

Are there any particular guests or events that you particularly remember?

I’ve always found it fascinating how profoundly our Lanserhof Concept works on a physical and mental level. Over the decades, guests have repeatedly told me how life-changing their stay was. The reduction frees the mind, you think more clearly and become more creative. I have always been delighted when guests have told me a year later that their stay at Lanserhof enabled them to hand over their company to the next generation in good time or bring about changes in their company. I remember one guest who came to us so often over 40 years that he spent a total of one year (52 weeks) at Lanserhof. He said that he had reached such an advanced age because he regularly scheduled our in-depth regeneration therapy as a fixed date in his annual calendar. Another favorite guest is currently 93 years old and has been a guest at Lanserhof for 37 years. There were also many guests who are known from film and television or politics. We are known for the fact that no information leaks out and guests feel protected in their privacy here. A retreat – an oasis for health and mental balance.

What have been the biggest challenges that Lanserhof Lans has faced over the last 30 years and how have they been overcome?

As our small hotel was built in 1974 before it was converted into a health hotel in 1984, the biggest challenge was to change the architecture, design and ambience in the same way as the medical concept required. We sometimes lagged behind the future-oriented and innovative medical changes. Our regular guests (at that time still mainly from the German-speaking countries of Germany, Austria and Switzerland) remained loyal to us thanks to the effect of the therapy, even if the accommodation initially resembled a boarding house. The major renovations (hotel 1998/99), medicine (2005) and the addition of the bathhouse (2016) were challenging, not only because of the short construction time, but also to keep the valuable employees during the closure of the business. As we know, our employees are the software of our daily operations and our long-standing employees are worth their weight in gold. It was important to retain them during the eight-month renovation period in 2016. Our forward-thinking CEO Dr. Christian Harisch gave the entire hotel and medical team the opportunity to work at the Hotel Schwarzer Adler in Kitzbühel during these eight months. We offered our concept in a simpler form in Kitzbühel and then returned to our newly renovated and extended Lanserhof. A challenge, but also a sense of achievement. We employees are ALL team players and are delighted with our joint successes. Be it the award for the most creative price list, for the European Health Award or because we have overcome major hurdles together.

How has the guest structure of the Lanserhof changed over the years? For example, in terms of nationalities and age?

Around the year 2000, we were incredibly proud that we were recognized as a leading health resort throughout Europe and could never have dreamed that we would receive worldwide attention and recognition. Word of mouth brought more and more guests from different countries, even continents. Our guest structure has changed to the same extent that society has changed since 2000. The post-war generation worked very hard, built up a lot and rewarded themselves with a hedonistic lifestyle. In the 70s, 80s and 90s, gala dinners, seven-course tasting menus with extensive wine accompaniment, digestifs and finishing off in the cigar lounge were the reward. From around 2000, we noticed that people became more health-conscious and began to pay attention to their health in good time, which is why guests from the age of 40 came to us with the first health problems in order to stay fit and attractive and to ensure professional success with their appearance. Our clientele became younger and younger.

Have you noticed any changes in guests’ needs and expectations?

Due to the changes in society, you could clearly feel the change in the needs of our guests. While the post-war generation still clearly had physical complaints about the good life: poor diet, alcohol and smoking – i.e. the focus was on losing weight – the new lifestyle became much more stressful due to the advance of new media. Stress, exhaustion and burnout became more prevalent, which is why we strengthened the energetic and stress-reducing part of the concept.

Which projects or initiatives that you have implemented during your time at Lanserhof make you particularly proud?

I was part of the team that won the award for our creative prize list in 2002 and was awarded the Tyrolean Environmental Seal of Quality in 1993 (we were already very sustainable back then). In Vienna, I received the European Health Award several times at a major gala. I have managed several internal projects that have improved our service and quality for guests.

How do you see the future of Lanserhof Lans? What developments or changes do you expect in the next few years?

In Western affluent countries, the mental, energetic and psychological aspects of therapy will definitely be at the forefront due to an oversupply of poor nutrition, hectic working lives, an increased incidence of allergies and food intolerances, a lack of balance between career, family and time for oneself, and in some cases a loss of meaning. After all, it is well known how strongly the psyche affects the body. Here, too, we are often one step ahead with the specialist field of psychoneuroimmunology.