Interview with Selina Döringer, Managing Director Moosalp Bergbahnen AG
The weather is already announcing it for the first time these days: the winter of 2020/21. Together with Selina Döringer, Managing Director of Moosalp Bergbahnen, we therefore take a look at the upcoming season and ask her for her assessment of the corona virus.
Before we talk about the upcoming season, let's take a quick look back. On March 13, 2020, all ski resorts in Switzerland had to close by order of the Federal Council. What impact did this forced closure have on Moosalp Bergbahnen?
We had to close last March nine days before our scheduled season close on March 22. The order of the Federal Council was very unexpected for us. We thought until the very end that we would be able to finish the season as planned. For us, it was of course a great pity that we could not close this successful season together with our guests. However, if you compare our situation with other ski resorts, we got off relatively lightly due to the few remaining operating days. Other destinations have been hit much harder by the decision.
After the experiences of the last season, many guests are unsettled and rather skeptical about the future. As Managing Director, how do you look ahead to the 2020/21 winter season?
Of course, we can understand this uncertainty among our guests and we also have to live with uncertainties. That is probably part of everyday life for all of us at the moment. Nevertheless, we as mountain railroads are very confident about the new season. Many areas are currently operating very well in the summer. Many stations have even had more guests than in a normal summer season. The protection concepts for mountain railroads seem to work and enable good operations. This makes us very confident. We clearly do not expect another lockdown. This would simply be unbearable for the industry throughout Switzerland and we are convinced that the Federal Council will do everything in its power to prevent another closure. After all, it is not only the mountain railroads themselves that would be affected by a closure, but also the entire service chain behind them, such as hotels, suppliers, etc. Last week, State Councillor Christophe Darbellay had assured in an interview with the Valais Messenger that there will be "...a winter season with at least eating, sleeping and skiing...". This makes one naturally very positive, if also the policy gives signals in this direction.
Nevertheless, certain restrictions are possible and protection concepts will certainly have to be implemented. However, we are still firmly convinced that we will have a great winter season this year as well. The first ski resorts such as Saas Fee or Zermatt have already started the new season with a well-functioning glacier operation.
As you could read in the media, other ski resorts have already decided not to open in the upcoming season. Are there or were there such considerations also at Moosalp Bergbahnen?
No, such considerations never existed with us and will not exist in the near future. Personally, I can't understand the decision of these ski resorts either, but I don't know the conditions there in detail. Not opening is absolutely out of the question for us, purely for financial reasons. We also feel obligated to our guests to enable them to ski in the Moosalpregion also this winter.
Where do you see the biggest problems in day-to-day operations?
One problem will certainly be to be able to ensure operation if we have internal quarantine cases. However, we are in the process of working out appropriate emergency concepts in order to be able to maintain operations 100% even in such a case. Otherwise, we see above all the many advantages of our ski area. A big plus is certainly that we don't have closed gondolas. We don't have long queues at our lifts and therefore few points of contact between guests. At the ski lifts, a maximum of two or three people come into contact with each other at the chairlift. At the request of a guest, the lift can also be used individually. In addition, we have only a small percentage of international guests compared to many large destinations. For all these reasons, we are convinced that we can offer our guests a high level of safety.
What is Moosalp Bergbahnen AG doing to protect its guests from the corona virus?
We are currently working on a protection concept for our guests. To this end, we are in close contact with our industry association and other mountain railroads that already have such concepts in place. A major concern for us will certainly be to be able to prevent crowds and to support our employees as best as possible in the implementation of the protection concept.
In the restaurants, the contact between the guests will probably be the greatest. Do you work with the restaurants in the area of protection concepts?
We are in regular contact with the restaurant operators. It is important for us to work closely together and support each other in such a situation. For example, some restaurants are planning to offer new take-away alternatives for their guests. In general, however, we can say that all restaurants have now been on the road for 4 months with the appropriate protection concepts. These are proving to be very easy to implement. The restaurants and the guests have also adapted to the new conditions to a certain extent. So I don't see any problem from today's perspective.
What do you want from your guests for the upcoming season?
This year we are more than ever dependent on the support of our guests. We hope to be able to count on our many regular guests, especially in advance sales. From our side, we will do everything possible to be able to offer them an excellent skiing experience in return. Furthermore, we naturally hope for understanding for any restrictions resulting from the protection concepts.
What is Moosalp Bergbahnen AG doing to protect its employees from the corona virus?
We will specifically sensitize our employees to the new situation, train them and equip them with the necessary protective material. We are also revising our work processes to reduce contact between employees to a minimum. As a result, we will also be doing away with employee events, for example. This is of course a great pity for the team spirit, but we clearly have to make such sacrifices to protect the company in the current situation.
Many guests will think twice at the moment about investing in a season pass. Would guests get the money back for their season pass if the ski area closed early?
If, contrary to all our expectations, a lockdown would occur again, we will make every effort to find a solution that is acceptable to both our guests and Moosalp Bergbahnen.
You are introducing insurance for ski passes this winter season. Does this have anything to do with the corona virus?
No, the decision to introduce the insurance was made independently from Corona. With the insurance we want to offer our guests the possibility to cover their costs for the ski pass, the ski school and the rental of equipment in sports stores. The insurance takes effect in case of illness, accident and closure of the facilities due to natural disasters. At this point we would like to communicate clearly that this insurance would not take effect in case of another forced closure. At the moment, there is no possibility to insure such a scenario due to a pandemic. There is simply no provider that insures such a risk.
However, insurance helps our guests at Corona in that day ski passes are refunded in the event of illness. If guests are ordered to quarantine due to contact with or suspicion of an infected person, they will receive their money back.
What would you like to share with your guests in closing?
We will give everything to enable our guests to ski in the Moosalpregion also this winter and to offer them the greatest possible safety. There will probably be new offers, which will additionally increase the attractiveness of the ski area. Since we believe in a great winter, we have also made appropriate investments and are looking forward to implementing them for the coming season. However, in addition to skiing, the Moosalpregion offers numerous other winter activities such as snowshoeing, winter hiking, etc., where the Moosalpregion can be experienced with a lot of freedom.
Preparations are in full swing and many of the planned revisions have already been successfully completed. We are motivated and full of anticipation for the next season and would like to thank already now all those who support us again this winter.
Selina Döringer, CEO Moosalp Bergbahnen AG
