Sacher snatches rival

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Business

One of Vienna’s best known hotels has a new owner. Elisabeth Gürtler said today (Fri) she planned to turn the Hotel Bristol “into a new pearl of the city.” The millionaire businesswoman’s Sacher Hotels GmbH acquired the tradition-rich resort for an undisclosed sum. Business magazine Format recently claimed the five-star hotel’s takeover price ranges around […]

Cheapskate Lauda back in action

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Business

Niki Lauda is starring in another episode of an acclaimed advertisement series.The new advertising spot – set to be screened on Austrian television – shows the Formula One (F1) legend dragging a suitcase packed with shoes into the lobby of a hotel to clean and cream them on a shoe-polishing machine set up there for […]

Hotel Sacher head may snare rival

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Business

Some of Austria’s most prestigious hotels may get a new owner in the near future, according to reports by business media.Weekly magazine Format claims today (Fri) Hotel Sacher boss Elisabeth Gürtler has signalised interest in taking over Hotel Bristol. Both the Sacher and the Bristol are five-star establishments situated in the city centre of Vienna. […]

Farm servant jailed for fraud

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General News

A farm labourer has been sentenced to three years in jail for defrauding several businesspeople.A jury court in Graz, Styria, heard yesterday (Thurs) how the 40-year-old man tricked a car dealer, a horse farm manager and a hotel boss out of 80,000 Euros overall.The defendant from Tyrol, who was previously convicted for various felonies, pleaded […]

Styrian solar expert bags Arizona orders

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Business

A Styrian company specialised in solar energy generation has received assignments worth 17.4 million Euros overall from businesses and town halls overseas.Graz-based Solid GmbH said today (Fri) it will install solar-powered heating and cooling systems at a school, a hotel and seven prisons in the US state of Arizona.It is not the first time for […]

Boozy Danish-French encounter puts two in clinic

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General News

Two people had to be hospitalised after a fight in an après ski bar in Salzburg yesterday evening (Tues).Police in the ski resort of Wagrain said today a 26-year-old tourist from Denmark smashed a glass beer mug over a Frenchman’s head after the boozed-up Frenchman, 30, made advances to the Dane’s girlfriend.The French holidaymaker’s pals […]

Shangri-La makes shock U-turn over Vienna hotel project

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Business

The future of a planned five-star hotel in Vienna is uncertain after Asian hotel chain Shangri-La pulled out.Real estate developer Bauträger Austria Immobilien GmbH (BAI) said today (Weds) it was “totally surprised” about Shangri-La’s decision to cancel their contract, saying the cooperation has so far been “very good”. BAI made clear: “The contract cannot be […]

Hotel Sacher boss eyes rival’s €85mn stake

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Business

Hotel Sacher boss Elisabeth Gürtler has set her sights on a leading hotel management group, it has emerged.Austrian business newspapers report today (Tues) that the businesswoman is considering acquiring the 52.1 per cent stake that the B&C Holding is currently holding in the Imperial Hotels Austria AG.Such a move would put Gürtler in charge of […]

DVD player causes hotel blaze

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General News

An overheated DVD player caught fire in a hotel room last night (Sun).The manager of the resort in Kirchberg near Kitzbühel in Tyrol suffered minor injuries when he threw burning mattresses from the balcony. A neighbour had informed him about the smoke coming out of a window.Fire-fighters found out that an overheated DVD player started […]

Swinton feels alien in the US

Categories
Culture

Award-winning actress Tilda Swinton has revealed she still feels like a tourist in the United States of America.Swinton told Austrian magazine Live: “I’m a European at heart and feel honoured about invitations to make movies in the USA. But I go there with a tourist visa – and I feel as such.”The London-born Scottish actress […]