Air Canada Dropping the Ball (and our luggage)

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Air Canada Dropping the Ball (and our luggage)

Last week Air Canada was thrown into crisis mode when a passenger caught AC baggage handlers on video dropping luggage from the top of an outdoor staircase to a luggage trailer 20 feet below.

http://bit.ly/1hcvAQd

Rather than walking the bags down the stairs, as one would hope, the team felt that recreating Galileo’s gravity experiment in Pisa a more fitting plan.  What’s worse, these were carry-on bags; the ones people pack with their most fragile and important travel items.

The incident after only 3 days has been viewed over 750,000 times.  Air Canada has since apologized and may very well fire the workers.  Although I truly believe that saying “I’m sorry” is sometimes the least expensive option in a PR crisis, AC will have to do more to make this go away.

Firing the workers is a strong move in the short run.  It serves as a warning to other employees that this behavior won’t be tolerated, and it distances the company from what they will say is an isolated case.  The fact is that consumers believe this video captures more of a norm than an exception and I’m left with questions that only management can answer.

When Air Canada joined many other carriers in charging passengers extra for checking a suitcase, it caused passengers to pack as much as possible into their carry-on bags, which fly for free if you put them in the overhead bin inside the cabin yourself.  As a result the boarding process has become a race for overhead bin space and, when those are full, many bags are forced to be removed from the cabin, left at the gate and hand delivered down below.  It doesn’t cost the passenger any more but those bags were never meant to be handled, not to mention mishandled.

This process of transferring the carry-on luggage below takes time and, in the airline business, time is money.  Why then, with all this extra revenue does AC not pay for a solution to a problem it created?  Yes you can fire these employees but the problem won’t go away.  Why doesn’t Air Canada concede that the solution lies in a faster, safer and more efficient system of getting bags that won’t fit inside the cabin down to baggage handlers below.

I’ve seen luggage slides that are attached to these outdoor staircases at other airports.  I’ve often seen elevators near the aircraft that lift these extra bags to the gangway for disembarking passengers.  To be safe, a worker should carrying only one bag at a time down a staircase while holding the handrail to the bottom.  At best they can carry two but that’s a waste of time and it puts the worker at risk of tripping.

I’d like to think that all baggage handlers care about the belongings in their care but the truth is some simply do not.  In my opinion however management is more responsible in this case. The employer needs to give employees the tools to do their job effectively and efficiently. Maybe these specific baggage handlers should be terminated but until management addresses the bigger issue, we can only hope the camera’s keep rolling and Air Canada is held accountable as a company.

 

Dave Carroll
Musician behind United Breaks Guitars,
Singer-Songwriter, Speaker, Author, Social Media Innovator

My John Of God Experience

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My John Of God Experience By Dave Carroll

A couple of months ago I met a friend at O’Hare Airport and the conversation turned to a mention of an internationally known healer from Brazil named John of God. I had heard of him initially through a personal healing experience author Wayne Dyer shared at a Hay House Publishing event in San Jose the year before. I had also heard that Oprah had visited John of God as well, although I’m not clear if she is impressed or not. My friend also mentioned she, herself, had had a great experience visiting John of God and added that the healer was coming for a rare visit to Toronto.

Because my mother suffers from constant pain and because I believe there are people in the world with a healing gift I decided to keep an open mind and experience this first hand and escorted my mother for a day at the John of God event last weekend. There was supposed to be a third person coming with us and when they couldn’t make it I decided to offer the ticket on Facebook to anyone who couldn’t otherwise afford it. That offer turned into a spirited debate on my Facebook page and surprised me how polarizing a figure John of God may be. I was arguing for the benefit of open mindedness and experiencing things first hand before judging. There were those who were firmly behind John of God and some were adamant that he is a fraudster and hustler with no healing ability whatsoever.

I’ve decided to share my experience in this blog and approach it from two sides: (1) from the perspective of hope that many people seemed to share there that day and (2) The impressions that both my mother and I left with following our visit. The two perspectives are different and deserve a fair mention.

A collection of Hopeful People.

In a nutshell, going to John of God is all about spending some time in the presence of a man who apparently channels the healing energies of specific spirits. He can lay hands on you or you can simply be in his presence to benefit from the energy that the entities he channels, and the positive energy the audience brings together into one place. The organizers of the event ask attendees to dress in all white, saying that it improves the experience and is perhaps a more welcoming atmosphere for the energy (or “Entities”). I wasn’t completely comfortable wearing this uniform of sorts, being a little skeptical, but I did like everyone did. I wore all white and the Toronto convention floor looked like a snowy prairie landscape with what looked to be maybe 3000 or more ground hogs popping up their heads to check the weather.

Most of the people working the event seemed to be volunteers who had their own positive past John of God experiences and everyone I met was friendly and helpful. As for the participants there were some people, like my mother, in wheelchairs. Some people looked as though they were going through cancer treatments. I saw a few mothers with children that might have been sick. We met a woman with MS who explained she had found a very effective medication from Mexico to deal with her illness that Health Canada had banned and eventually so did Mexico for its harmful effects on the liver etc.. She was hoping for something to take the medication’s place at John of God. There were plenty of healthy looking people too and the vibe from the audience was positive and friendly with lots of smiles from strangers.

I was encouraged to meet a medical doctor from New Jersey who had been in a accident 15 years ago an been through every type of treatment and therapy imaginable and at 52, she was walking without a walker with mobility in her body she hadn’t experienced in over a decade following a visit with John of God. Believers like her seemed to be everywhere.

So, my comments that follow are in no way meant to dismiss the claims of anyone or to diminish the faith in what John of God may be able to do for others. If anyone feels they were legitimately healed by him, or believe he has that ability, who am I to argue with that but unfortunately I have to say that my mother and I left the event completely unmoved by what we saw or felt. More than that, I left troubled about what seemed to me to be a money-making operation for the John of God team. If they had offered a 100% satisfaction money back guarantee, I think I’d be looking for a full refund.

From Where We Were Sitting

What first appealed to me about the event is that I was under the impression that John of God wasn’t about selling consumables that keep you coming back for more. If you visit him in Brazil I was told it’s free so although the tickets in Toronto were pricey (at $180 each for one day, and more for the three day pass) renting the Toronto Convention Center is expensive too I’d bet. As a musician I looked into renting Massey Hall for one show recently and the price: around $55,000 to start, so the entire Convention center would have to cost a pile to rent for three days.

Despite that, it seems to me though that John of God is very much about money and about influencing people to buy consumables and here’s why. There’s a merchandise table at the back of the room with books, dvds, jewelry, CD’s, wooden “prayer triangles” (apparently energized replicas of the two larger triangles that people were lining up to pray to all day) and bottled water branded with John of God’s face on it. A merchandise table is not uncommon at any event but they were certainly doing a brisk business there.

They were also offering 20-minute slots on one of 25 crystal beds for $30/session. These relaxation beds, which incorporate the placement of crystals over the 7 Chakras, were supplied by local private bed owners who agreed to share in the revenue. I think the beds were mostly full between 8-5 pm. My mother and I took a session each and actually found that to be the best part of the day. It was very relaxing and I felt great when it was done. Still, if each bed is earning $90/hr and they run at capacity, for only 6 hours a day, that’s over $13,000 a day in potential revenue or $40,000 for the weekend.

So, if you’re charging $180 for admission to be seen, and you have a merchandise table, if you’re selling drinks and you’re renting time on relaxation beds you are very much running a business. That means you have customers and if you have customers you owe them a great customer service whether it’s spiritually related or not. Lets look at the value for the money then on the experience alone.

Everyone there was attending to see John of God but your total exposure to John of God on any one day was limited to a 5 minute appearance by him on the main stage in both the morning and afternoon. That was so he could address the people. People were there though to pass in front of him for a healing. If you chose to line up to pass by him in the morning though, in a designated separate room, you were told to immediately go home for the remainder of the day to rest (whether you felt the need to or not). When you lined up for this viewing and were ushered into this room to see him, you would be in that room for maybe 30 seconds and in front of him for maybe only 5 seconds (literally 5 seconds). John of God doesn’t speak English so aside from a few sentences translated from the main stage, before he took his seat in the next room to receive passers by, that was all the communication he offers. The longest amount of time you can expect to lay eyes on John of God in one day at an event such as this is for 10 minutes and 30 seconds spread over 8 hours, of which only 5 seconds are devoted to you. If you are selling a full day event or full three day events, and the main attraction lasts just over ten minutes the event needs to be augmented with something meaningful to fill the rest of the time. This was an event, not a trip to the emergency room and a three hour lunch break seemed excessive.

We arrived at 8 am. The event started at 9 and was scheduled until 5 pm. Very little was going on in the large convention hall for most of the day though. There was some soft singing for a short while (from a talented Brazilian singer with beautiful voice) and some general instructions from the stage but for the most part, most of the hours spent there were spent sitting in a massive room with thousands of others waiting for something to happen. We were asked to meditate on our intentions and many people were doing that. Again, if they are running a business then that makes me a customer and there were several hours that could have been filled with something more than personal quiet time to enhance the experience of the people keeping you in business.

Of course the theory is that while you are quietly contemplating, the Entities are not only working with you and for you all of that day, but before you even get there, and they will visit you after you leave. More on that in a second.

My spidey senses lit up a few times that day regarding profiteering. The first had to do with the water. If you go and see John of God at his Casa in Brazil and you receive an intervention (that’s when you invite the Entities to perform a spiritual healing on you through John of God) you are given herbs that are supposedly energized to match your vibrational need and you are to take them following the intervention for I think 40 days.

Health Canada did not allow them to import these specific herbs for the Toronto audience so we were told that the work-around to that was that John of God and the Entities would energize bottled water that would replace the herbs and act as “the medicine” anyone receiving an intervention would need. If you had a single intervention last weekend you would require twelve, one litre bottles of this water and would need to take 2 ounces three times daily for 40 days. This was not a suggestion but a requirement. You could buy the water at the back of the room for $36 for 12 bottles and once you wrote your name, your birthday, and the word “surgery” on the package, it would be energized supernaturally by the entities and become “your medicine”. We were cautioned not to share this water with anyone because, like medicine, it could hurt someone who was not meant to take it! If you had a second intervention for weekend pass holders you would need a second case of water. One $36 case per intervention!

They mentioned many times over the PA, as we sat there in wait, that the most rewarding experience anyone could have would be an intervention. Simple blessings were great but an intervention was where the real work is done. I was told that not everyone gets invited for an intervention though so you can imagine my surprise when John of God came up on stage in the morning and declared that anyone wanting an intervention was welcome. Apparently the energy in the room was so plentiful he was able to make that offer. I took note that not just some people but every person would then be needing a $36 case of water when they left and wondered, who would settle for a blessing when you could get the intervention we were told repeatedly was the greatest gift you could give yourself? Lots of people lined up but I chose to wait until the afternoon since all of these people in line would be going home for the day immediately afterward and I wanted the whole day experience. We’d wait until the afternoon intervention.

While one of the attendees told me the water was shipped from Brazil it says clearly on the bottle that it was sourced and bottled in Ontario, has a Canadian flag on it and a Culligan logo. The label also had John of God’s face on it as well as his own logo so it seems that they had wisely bought the water wholesale, close to Toronto. While it might have been nice to see John of God bless the water we were told that he had blessed these large pallets of water before anyone had arrived on Thursday so simply buying it to stay hydrated during the conference was beneficial.

Just before lunch we were told by a staff member that the morning intervention call was the only call for interventions that day and that we had missed my mom’s opportunity to experience the intervention. The gentleman had checked with the conference organizer though and came back to tell me that the good news was that “you don’t need an intervention because if you did the Entities would have made sure you were in that line”! I told him politely that the reason we weren’t in that line had more to do with miscommunication than divine intervention but didn’t argue. My mother and I actually started laughing at that point.

Another major red flag came in the afternoon when again, while we sat waiting for John of God to take the stage one of his team leaders took the stage to say “John of God wants me to make you aware that there are healing crystals at the back of the room. You may have seen people carrying little blue bags around? Well, the bags contain these crystals that are personally energized by John of God for you. You don’t need them, but people who have bought them say they are very powerful and helpful in their life. They are not to be shared or even shown to anyone else because of the energy they hold for you alone. If you want them please go to the back and pay for them. We’ll give you a receipt and when you pass before John of God show your receipt and he will pass you the bag of crystals and energize them for you. They cost ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS”! My mother and I looked at each other in disbelief. How many people bought this small bag of crystals? Maybe 100? Maybe 500? Or maybe more?

Shortly after, John of God arrived, and he called for the afternoon line up and, once again, anyone who wanted a healing was welcome (more $36 water anyone?). I pushed my mom’s wheelchair past him, and she and I shared 5 seconds in front of John of God, but not before seeing an elderly couple in front of us collect their little blue bag of crystals. We were then moved to a third partitioned room where we sat through a guided meditation for 5 minutes, told that we had just had our intervention and to go for debriefing in a 4th area. We were given a handout that that walked us through the rules of post intervention healing:

• You must go home to sleep or pretend to sleep for 24 hours unless you are traveling, in which case the Entities will protect you until you can get home to sleep.
• No heavy lifting of any kind for 7 days, except when you carry your water that you MUST get on your way out of the building…again the Entities have made allowances for that.
• No sexual activity of any kind for 40 days.
• No spicy foods for a week or was it 40 days (can’t remember…they lost me at the sex part)
• and no fertilized eggs (eggs with embryo’s)…. I could handle that one.

Needless to say, I wasn’t impressed and have to say that not only did I not feel the love from the stage, or in his presence, I felt a little played! The vibe from other attendees was amazing. There was love in the room for sure but in my opinion, and mine only, it wasn’t coming from John of God. We left right away. We bought two bottles of water because the hotels charge $7 for the same amount, but that was all we bought and returned to the Royal York for dinner.

That was my experience. Other people there may have had a completely different take on the day but I can’t say for sure. While my faith in alternative medicines and healing is as strong as ever I didn’t get anything close to what I was hoping to experience from the John of God show. For that reason I can’t recommend him to anyone. I didn’t experience anything energy-related or healing-related and from a customer service perspective, or value-for the buck, I was completely disappointed.

That being said I respect the opinion of anyone else who feels differently or who may have had a completely different take. Advocates for John of God will say that my mother and I lacked faith and that our experience was directly proportional to that lack. I call that a convenient excuse and will leave it at that. In the meantime I will continue to embrace new modalities for wellness and to reserve judgment on things until I can experience them myself. I am grateful that I went and, if nothing else, my mom and I enjoyed a terrific Teppanyaki dinner at that Royal York which I highly recommend.

Gripe of the Week: Party Expert, No Expert on Customer Service

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This installment of our Gripe of the Week is an excellent example of how to effectively share your complaint in a way likely to get the attention of both consumers and the company in question. By being creative, your chances of resolving your gripe increase greatly.

This week’s complaint is from a man in Quebec, Canada who bought a Halloween costume from a chain store called Party Expert. It was an off the rack, one-size-fits-all costume of The Swedish Chef from the Muppet Show. Having paid $70 this man wasn’t happy with the fit, claims the costume was defective, impaired his vision and actually looked nothing like the Swedish Chef. He wanted his money back or another costume but was told there are no refunds and they will only replace the exact costume.

Read more at: Walletpop.ca

5 tips for delivering a killer presentation

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I’m still fairly new to the speaking profession, having never delivered a speech or presentation until a few months after my YouTube video “United Breaks Guitars” went viral. I recall being asked to present my first ever keynote at a Right Now Technologies event in Colorado Springs to 700 North American brands — with just a few short weeks to prepare. I had little time in my hectic schedule to develop the talk or learn how to do it. The extent of my public speaking was as a musician introducing a song or a five-minute story as part of a concert, but I’ve always been one to say yes to interesting opportunities before considering my qualifications, so I accepted the invitation.

Read More at: iMedia Connection

Responding in Real-Time

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(Originally published in “Managing Issues – CFM Public Affairs blog”)

It took four minutes for daredevil Felix Baumgartner to hurtle 129,000 miles from the edge of space to earth. It can take far less time for a video to go viral over the worldwide web.

United Airlines learned that speed lesson the hard way.

On a one-stop flight from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Omaha, Nebraska, Canadian musician and songwriter Dave Carroll watched his $3,500 Taylor guitar get tossed ungently by baggage-handlers at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

Read More at: http://www.cfm-online.com/public-affairs-blog/2012/10/19/responding-in-real-time.html

Dave Carroll to receive the 2012 A.D. Dunton Alumni Award of Distinction at CD Release Concert in Ottawa

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(Halifax, NS) Dave Carroll is thrilled to announce that his Alma mater Carleton University has awarded him the 2012 A. D. Dunton Alumni Award of Distinction. Dave Carroll is the only musician to have received the A. D. Dunton Alumni Award.

The university will be honouring Dave with their highest alumni honour at Dave’s CD Release event in Ottawa for his new album “Raincoat In Vegas,” a free admission event made possible by Carleton University.

“Sons of Maxwell began their career at a talent contest in the small campus pub at Carleton, so I’m especially honoured to receive such a meaningful award from the place where it all began. I’m grateful that the university has acknowledged that the ripples created by United Breaks Guitars came from a song and a songwriter. Allowing me to share my new music from Raincoat in Vegas by sponsoring a free public concert is truly supportive.”

Known as a master storyteller and singer-songwriter, Dave Carroll’s (BAHons/93) talent was introduced to millions when his 2009 YouTube music video “United Breaks Guitars” became a worldwide sensation. His creative use of social media to share that message has reached over 150 million people. “United Breaks Guitars” was one of TIME magazine’s top ten YouTube videos of 2009.

Since this remarkable event, Dave has become a voice for the power of social media in a world where the customer is often left behind. As a graduate, Dave represents the best of Carleton. He is a positive, clever, talented and good-natured ambassador—who has just happened to change the world.

Celebrate Dave Carroll’s success as the Carleton University Alumni Association recognizes his accomplishments with the 2012 A.D. Dunton Alumni Award of Distinction, Carleton’s highest alumni honour, and be our guest at a special musical performance by Dave Carroll and his band.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2012
7:30 p.m. Check-in
8:00 — 10:00 p.m. Award Presentation and Musical Performance
Kailash Mital Theatre, Southam Hall
Carleton University

To register, visit carleton.ca/alumni/events.
For more information, email cu_proud@carleton.ca or call 613-520-4047.
Pay and display parking is available in Lot P1 or in the Library Parking Garage.
For a campus map, please click here.
Know other examples of influential use of social media like Dave’s? Join the conversation online! @CarletonAlumni

How social media made us all statistically significant

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I wasn’t the first person abused by an airline’s customer service. But I was one of the first to show how one person, armed with creativity, some friends, $150, and the Internet, could turn an entire industry upside down (if you don’t remember my story, check out United Breaks Guitars).

The reaction to my airline experience proves that today, thanks to social media, any individual has incredible reach and unlimited potential to be heard. The implications of this are massive in the areas of customer service, social media and branding and I’m grateful for the many opportunities I continue to enjoy presenting this message around the world.

Read more at http://venturebeat.com/2012/09/29/social-media-customer-service-statistics/#He3KmS4P29XKDADH.99

Transformation in Digital Social Media

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We live in transformational times and nowhere is this more apparent than in the worlds of digital and social media. The last few years have seen a revolution in the way we communicate and any one person in the world can now have an amplified voice. The question I was asked is “what is the future of digital and social media”. I think the answer can be summed up like this: The future IS digital and social media!

The ability to share music, the written word and video online, coupled with our ability to access that material anywhere and all the time, has changed not only how we communicate but the value we place on that material. With regards to traditional media, the old standard involved media companies or PR departments controlling a single message and broadcasting it to the masses. To be heard you needed advertising dollars and the people with the biggest budgets could have the most influence over the people who received the messages. That influence gave an advantage to a relative few through TV, magazine and billboard ads for example.

Read more: MediaPost website

New CD: Raincoat In Vegas

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Hi Everyone,

I’ve just arrived in Toronto, Ontario for a series of events to support my new album“Raincoat In Vegas.” I’ve brought with me Mike Hiltz on bass, Chris Iannetti on guitar and Scott Ferguson on drums. We’re so excited about the new album, that we’ve decided to include all Canadians and anyone with a satellite TV in on the celebration, so we’re debuting Raincoat In Vegas on CTV’s Canada AM tomorrow morning (Thursday September 6th)… it’s kind of like my own personal home shopping channel, but better!

On Friday September 7th, we’ll be performing a CD release concert at Hugh’s Room. This will also be my first performance in Toronto since the launch of my book “United Breaks Guitars: The Power of One Voice in the Age of Social Media.” In addition to being a great concert venue, Hugh’s Room offer a full dinner menu, so be sure to book reservations for dinner & the show… and for dessert, leave with a signed copy of the book and new Raincoat in Vegas CD. Reservations can be made by clicking here.

Raincoat In Vegas has been 3 years in the making and it was recorded at a variety of studios with carefully chosen producers. Unlike some recordings that contain songs written over a short period of time, the album represents the culmination of 3 years of experiences and perspectives from my life since United Breaks Guitars.

Despite the fact that the songs on this recording have nothing to do with customer service, I’m grateful for the reality that all of my speaking and touring around the world, talking about United Breaks Guitars has allowed me to build an international fanbase for my music.  I’m really looking forward to reconnecting with those music fans and to seeing if certain songs are more appealing in different parts of the world.

If you’d like a sneak peak at the songs on Raincoat In Vegas you can listen to them here.

Hope to see many of your friendly faces in the crowd!

Cheers,
Dave

Fri. Sept. 7th, 2012 @ 8:30 PM
Toronto, ON Canada
Dave Carroll Raincoat In Vegas CD release concert

Hugh’s Room
2261 Dundas St. W.
(416) 531-6604
info@hughsroom.com

Tickets $20 in advance, $22.50 at the door
Reservations required for Dinner.
Click for Reservations/Tickets

__

Click below to Purchase a copy of Raincoat in Vegas:

iTunes
Dave Carroll’s store for a Digital Copy of the CD
Dave Carroll’s store for a Physical Copy of the CD

My experience at Austria’s Hotel Jagdhof

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As a keynote speaker one of the things I enjoy most about sharing my thoughts about customer service, social media and branding is the variety of the locations I’m invited to speak. I’ve now given my presentation in Mexico, across North America, London, Glasgow, Prague, Siberia, Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as in Australia and Dubai. With many of the events, I’ve been blown away by the quality of the hotels and conference spaces and last week I enjoyed an amazing experience in Austria that I think is worth sharing.

After presenting in Innsbruck at the SDT conference (for people who design great customer service experiences), I had the opportunity to spend two days at the Hotel Jagdhof (pronounced “Yagtoff”) which is a 2nd generation family owned Spa hotel in the Stubai Valley, 20 minutes outside Innsbruck. The hotel can accommodate roughly 175 guests and is owned by Armin and Christina Pfurtscheller. Armin’s father had the vision to build the facility at the same time as the nearby glacier was being developed for skiing and the Jagdhof has been a jewel in the valley ever since. Today the Stubai Glacier opens in late October making it the earliest opportunity to ski in the Northern hemisphere, and the hotel is an all-season resort.

From the outside the Jagdhof is a five story traditional chalet style construction hotel of stucco and dark wood beams and flower boxes surrounding each balcony. My room was well appointed, including a private sauna, bathtub and separate shower and a spacious balcony overlooking the mountains and Stubai Glacier. If you want to relax in your room then it’s more than possible to do that in your private space.

The Jagdhof is all about service and experience. The ladies working the front desk are dressed in traditional dresses. Their incredible spa offers 15 different types of steam bath and sauna rooms for men, women and couples, as well as a variety of massage and treatment spaces. There’s an indoor pool that connects with the outside pool and hot tub. There are lounges placed around the grounds for people interested in relaxing to the backdrop of the surrounding mountains and quiet of the valley.

They offer a fine dining experience on a menu that changes daily using local ingredients whenever possible. Armin joined us for dinner on both nights and with my first dinner I was treated to venison that was cultivated by the hotel’s own hunter from their 3000 hectare private game reserve. On the second evening we ate lamb that came from Armin’s fathers nearby sheep farm. Their chef is one of the best in Austria and the hotel’s cuisine and facility has been deemed best in class by critics.

Armin takes great pride in the wine cellar he has developed over the years and his sommelier’s pairing’s of world class wines with both meals was perfect, in my opinion, as he took the time to explain his choices. After dinner we retired to the piano bar to a warm, comfortable atmosphere before Armin invited me downstairs for a wine tasting in his cellar. There, I enjoyed the finest glass of red wine to ever pass my lips and received an education at the same time. That was an incredible experience and Armin explained that he does this once a week for guests at the Jagdhof.

Despite the fact that the amenities of the hotel are world class what struck me about the Jagdhof was the attention to detail and work ethic of its owners. Armin and Christina work seven days a week, aside from short holidays away at their lowest season, and they are absolutely committed to delivering quality experiences to all of their guests. They are friendly, present and engaged with everyone and as a result their excellent staff follows their lead.

Many hotels offer material luxuries but Armin and Christina are the Jagdhof’s secret ingredient that make this hotel tower above any chain competitor in its class. When you leave the Jagdhof you feel as though you are saying goodbye to old friends and that experience cannot be bought; it can only be shared. Armin and Christina understand the difference and that is why the hotel Jagdhof will continue to be the jewel of the Stubai Valley when they pass ownership of the hotel to their son in just a few years.