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Marc Almert is the Sommelier World Champion 2019. The Cologne-born head sommelier of the Zurich two-star restaurant Pavillon in the Baur au Lac Hotel as well as the wine trade Baur au Lac Vins talks about the surge in demand for organic wine and large formats, the fully booked terrace and the increasing lack of understanding about Corona protection rules.

Has your visitor frequency changed compared to the months before the pandemic?

Almert: This varies greatly. With increasing freedom of travel without quarantine regulations, room occupancy is rising rapidly at the moment. However, important core markets such as China and the USA are still missing. There has also been a shift from business travellers to tourists, so occupancy peaks tend to be at weekends at the moment. We used to have them during the week. In gastronomy, the terrace has been booked up almost continuously since opening - regardless of the weather. That is new for us. The indoor restaurant is currently still open to a slightly limited extent, as many business guests are absent, especially at midday, due to their work in the home office. On opening days, however, the occupancy rate is very satisfactory. In the banquet area, the larger corporate events are still missing. However, the first private events, such as weddings, are already taking place again.

Per capita sales of wine and spirits have risen noticeably.

Has the drinking behaviour of guests changed during the crisis?

Almert: Definitely. Per capita sales of wine and spirits have risen noticeably. One senses that the guests have missed the gastronomic experience as well as being together with acquaintances and are now celebrating this exuberantly. They are not necessarily drinking more, but at a higher price.

Which wines are particularly in demand?

Almert: The demand for organic and biodynamic wines, which has been increasing for a long time anyway, has experienced another strong boost due to the pandemic, which makes me personally very happy! This explicitly does not include Natural and Orange Wines! Our guests mainly order wines from Switzerland, Bordeaux, Burgundy, northern Italy and Spain. And of course champagne. Since the lifting of the restrictions on the number of guests per table, large formats are also being ordered more often than before.

What problems do you have to deal with? Lack of staff?

Almert: We are still missing important travel markets from overseas as well as the frequency of corporate bookings for events. We feel a certain uncertainty with regard to autumn and winter. And it's true, some colleagues have changed sectors in the course of the past months. However, thanks to good trainee work and a high profile in the industry, we have already been able to fill most vacant positions at the Baur au Lac and are currently conducting many job interviews.

Among the guests, especially among those who have been vaccinated, there is an increasing lack of understanding about the protection rules, especially with regard to the obligation to wear masks indoors. There is a lot of need for explanation here. On the other hand, the acceptance and understanding of double seating (assigned time slot for visiting the restaurant, ed.) has increased slightly. This is especially important as long as we are only allowed to offer limited capacity.

Have you adjusted prices due to the Corona pandemic?

Almert: During the lockdowns, we offered more packages in the lodging area, especially in combination with hotel gastronomy. However, there were no price adjustments in the actual sense - especially for food and beverages. However, we have developed various new offers, including an open-air cinema, public viewing for the European Championship, take-away and delivery offers or culinary old-timer boat trips.

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