Once again the inventiveness and dedication to eco-friendliness of a protel customer was honoured: The boutique hotel Stadthalle in Vienna received the Austrian Climate Protection Prize 2010 in the category Agriculture & Businesses. Hotel owner and protel customer Michaela Reitterer, who was recently nominated "Hôtelière of the year 2010" in Austria, accepted the prize for the world first city hotel with a zero-energy balance.
Michaela Reitterer's charming boutique hotel is an oasis of peace and quiet, located directly in Vienna's city centre. The zero-energy balance hotel is a prime example of Ecotourism hotels. At the Stadthalle Hotel eco-friendliness is practiced down to the last detail: The hotel sign generates its own electricity and the hotel garden and lavender roof are watered exclusively with rain water. The zero-energy balance, however, is what differentiates the Stadthalle Hotel from all others in Vienna: Renewable energy sources like solar and photovoltaic panels and ground water heat pumps provide the same amount of energy that is used to run the hotel in the course of a year.
"Throughout the last couple of years we've seen that the installation of our solar system has really paid off. A hotel uses a lot of energy each day and this is a perfect way of generating the amount of energy we need," states Michaela Reitterer. The Stadthalle Hotel demonstrates how the use of green technology directly contributes to the well-being of the guests: The foundation for this zero-energy balance hotel is a sophisticated concrete structure where integrated water pipes facilitate water circulation to cool and heat the whole building. Photovoltaic panels heat up enough hot water to supply the entire hotel and the lavender and rose garden on the hotel roof ensures a pleasant room climate.
Moreover, the innovatively agile hotel owner has big plans for the future: The installation of three wind turbines will soon provide electricity for two power stations for guests to plug in and recharge their electric cars. Meeting rooms for so-called "Green Meetings" are also planned. These will take the idea of Ecotourism far beyond handing out wooden pens and recycled writing pads: Latest technologies will take into account and counterbalance the CO2 emissions generated by guests travelling by car. All this inventiveness, enthusiasm and dedication convinced the jury of the Austrian national public service broadcaster ORF and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management: This year's Austrian Climate Protection Prize in the category Agriculture & Businesses went to Michaela Reitterer's Stadthalle.
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Michaela Reitterer graduated from the Tourism College MODUL of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce and then worked for the catering service of the United Nations in Vienna. In 2001 she acquired her parent's business, the hotel "Zur Stadthalle", which she reconstructed, redesigned, repositioned and manages to this day. Today, the hotel is leading in regard to solar energy and the use of alternative energy sources for city hotels in Austria. Reitterer is a member of the Hotel Industry Committee of the Chamber of Commercial Economy for Vienna and chairwoman of the Austrian Hotel Association (ÖHV) Vienna.
Michaela Reitterer's charming boutique hotel is an oasis of peace and quiet, located directly in Vienna's city centre. The zero-energy balance hotel is a prime example of Ecotourism hotels. At the Stadthalle Hotel eco-friendliness is practiced down to the last detail: The hotel sign generates its own electricity and the hotel garden and lavender roof are watered exclusively with rain water. The zero-energy balance, however, is what differentiates the Stadthalle Hotel from all others in Vienna: Renewable energy sources like solar and photovoltaic panels and ground water heat pumps provide the same amount of energy that is used to run the hotel in the course of a year.
"Throughout the last couple of years we've seen that the installation of our solar system has really paid off. A hotel uses a lot of energy each day and this is a perfect way of generating the amount of energy we need," states Michaela Reitterer. The Stadthalle Hotel demonstrates how the use of green technology directly contributes to the well-being of the guests: The foundation for this zero-energy balance hotel is a sophisticated concrete structure where integrated water pipes facilitate water circulation to cool and heat the whole building. Photovoltaic panels heat up enough hot water to supply the entire hotel and the lavender and rose garden on the hotel roof ensures a pleasant room climate.
Moreover, the innovatively agile hotel owner has big plans for the future: The installation of three wind turbines will soon provide electricity for two power stations for guests to plug in and recharge their electric cars. Meeting rooms for so-called "Green Meetings" are also planned. These will take the idea of Ecotourism far beyond handing out wooden pens and recycled writing pads: Latest technologies will take into account and counterbalance the CO2 emissions generated by guests travelling by car. All this inventiveness, enthusiasm and dedication convinced the jury of the Austrian national public service broadcaster ORF and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management: This year's Austrian Climate Protection Prize in the category Agriculture & Businesses went to Michaela Reitterer's Stadthalle.
More Information
Michaela Reitterer graduated from the Tourism College MODUL of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce and then worked for the catering service of the United Nations in Vienna. In 2001 she acquired her parent's business, the hotel "Zur Stadthalle", which she reconstructed, redesigned, repositioned and manages to this day. Today, the hotel is leading in regard to solar energy and the use of alternative energy sources for city hotels in Austria. Reitterer is a member of the Hotel Industry Committee of the Chamber of Commercial Economy for Vienna and chairwoman of the Austrian Hotel Association (ÖHV) Vienna.
