Sustainability – a long-standing tradition at Baseltor

Regionality – local roots and authenticity

This is probably our favourite item on this list. Since 1992, the people here have helped make the Baseltor a Solothurn institution. Firmly rooted in Solothurn’s old town, the Baseltor is also known beyond the city gates as a meeting place for connoisseurs. Even though our menu does not feature typical Solothurn dishes, the many stories from our suppliers show that we are nonetheless firmly rooted here and provide an authentic experience.

Through our work, we contribute to a vibrant city and are right at the heart of cultural events such as the Solothurn Film Festival or the Literature Days, playing a key role in these occasions. From our perspective, it is a matter of ‘give and take’. We provide support in the form of accommodation and catering for artists and guests, and in return benefit from a large audience. This is what we understand as a partnership.

We also practise this partnership with our regional suppliers. They supply us with their excellent, high-quality products, and we guarantee them a market at fair prices.

Furthermore, by providing attractive jobs, we ensure that Solothurn remains a diverse labour market and that value is created within the region

Quality of Management

We all live and breathe sustainability, and it is embedded in our strategy. Our shared values include: Quality, Commitment, Togetherness, Fairness, Mindfulness and Sustainability. We have set out what we mean by these in a document. To be honest, there are times when we find it difficult to live up to all these values at all times. Sometimes they slip our minds. Fortunately, we are a team and remind one another when these values aren’t quite at the forefront of our minds.

What exactly do we do in this area?

• Annual targets ensure that we are constantly working to improve
• We exchange views with one another during personal staff appraisals
• Our management team has clear job descriptions so that roles and responsibilities are clear
• We continuously review our SWOT analysis
• Guest feedback forms part of our quality management
• We work on our communication every day – internally, we use hotelkit as a communication tool
• We train staff and actively support initial and further training
• We take on board suggestions for improvement and implement them wherever possible
• We encourage discussion so that good solutions can be found

Finance and Partnerships

Only a financially sound business can survive in the long term. And that is rarely achieved on one’s own. The Baseltor is therefore part of the Baseltor Co-operative. We are also members of Swiss Historic Hotels and Slow Food. We are also certified by ibex fairstay and bio cuisine. All these partnerships help ensure that we are constantly exchanging ideas with other businesses, enabling us to improve and benchmark our performance. Solutions are found more easily and effectively as a team than on our own.

To give you a better idea of what the Baseltor is like, here are a few figures

• Number of staff: around 30 in full-time and part-time roles
• Number of seats in the restaurant: around 100 indoors and 80 outdoors
• Number of rooms: 17 in and around the Baseltor, plus a further 6 rooms in the Klosterherberge
• Hotel occupancy: 70–75 per cent annual occupancy
• Turnover: around CHF 3.2 million (of which 70 per cent is F&B and 30 per cent is accommodation)
• Average room rate: CHF 160
• Staff costs: 46.5 per cent