Why Hotel Laurin near Merano doesn’t have to offer everything itself

Guests at Hotel Laurin in Tirolo who ask for tips on what to do are pointed towards what the region has to offer: festivals, hiking trails, events and food tours such as those run by Sissi Tours in Merano. There is no fixed partner behind these recommendations. In an interview with eingecheckt®, hotel owner Eva Illmer and Gerd Locher of Sissi Tours explain why this loose connection works for the hotel, the tour operator and the guests.

The four-star Hotel Laurin sits above Merano in the middle of an extensive network of cycling and hiking routes. Guests can reach the starting points of the Sissi Tours in the spa town by bike or by public bus, which they can use free of charge with the Südtirol Guest Pass.¹ The hotel has a spacious spa with saunas and heated indoor and outdoor pools. The restaurant serves a different style of dinner every evening except Tuesdays, when the kitchen is closed.¹

Why the region is part of the overall package

Many guests come to Tirolo for the nature, the Mediterranean flair and the good food, for the mountain scenery and the wide range of sports. For Eva Illmer, that is only part of the answer: “But that isn’t enough. For us and for the guest, the overall package only becomes complete through one decisive added value: the regional experiences on site and special external offers.”

Alongside the Sissi Tours, she counts festivals and events around local customs, food and culture among them. Without these offers, the destination “and therefore a holiday at the Laurin would only be half as attractive,” she says. The hotel itself keeps developing its own offer and provides additional services in-house.

“As a single hotel, I can offer a certain range of services, depending on the resources available to me. But an additional, attractive external offer is something no one could ever manage alone.”

Eva Illmer explicitly sees an economic benefit in this, both for attracting new guests and for retaining existing ones. The range and quality of what the region offers, she says, is a key factor when guests plan their trip and decide on a destination.

Recommending instead of fixed partnerships

There is no fixed partnership with Sissi Tours, nor does the Laurin work exclusively with any other provider. The offers are so varied and guests’ wishes so individual, Eva Illmer says, that the hotel does “much better” by making targeted recommendations and pointing guests to events and experiences.

Her most important partners in this are the local tourist associations. They put together annual programmes, organise events and provide information about everything going on in the area. Alongside the hotel reception, the tourist information offices are the first port of call for guests planning excursions.

This matches Gerd Locher’s experience. Over the years, a few hotels have become permanent partners of Sissi Tours, but very few in relation to the total. Many four- and five-star hotels now run their own food tours, by bike or with shuttle buses. For Sissi Tours, it is therefore important to appear in the region’s events calendar. Beyond that, he says, they are pleased about “any other referral”.

How Sissi Tours came about

Gerd Locher studied nutritional science in Vienna. For a company based near Munich, he accompanied week-long cycling holidays, mostly in Italy because he is bilingual, for example a week in Tuscany. “It was always about the land and its people, the culture and the specialities, what makes a place special,” he says. It was e-bikes that made such tours possible in South Tyrol, with its constant ups and downs, without great effort. “My own conviction that a holiday should be a journey of discovery then led to the first Sissi Tours product.”

Sissi Tours has now been in business for ten years. The Genuss Rad Meran tour is in its tenth season, and according to the company more than 2,000 guests have taken part.²

On the three-hour Gourmet Walk through Merano, a maximum of 14 participants visit up to five stops depending on the season, from a trattoria and a South Tyrolean delicatessen to a wine bar. They learn what distinguishes one speck from another, taste Parmigiano and aceto balsamico, look behind the scenes at the Taste Academy cookery school and talk to Michelin-starred chef Andrea Fenoglio at Restaurant Sissi. The walk of around two kilometres takes place on Fridays from 9.30 am and costs 54 euros per person.¹

New since spring 2026 is the e-bike tour “Der schlafende Riese” (The Sleeping Giant). The day tour of around 35 kilometres leads through the orchards of Algund to the Blumenthalerhof, a family-run farm, on to the Plonerhof winery in Marling and to lunch at Restaurant Stadele in Lana. After a stop at the Gothic chapel of St Agatha, it ends with an aperitif at Merano’s racecourse, the “sleeping giant”. The tour costs 104 euros per person, including guide, e-bike, helmet, lunch and tastings.¹

What locals enjoy, guests enjoy too

Gerd Locher sums up what sets the tours apart from ordinary excursions in one word: authenticity. The partner businesses do not make their products for tourists, and guests should get to talk to the landlord, the owner or a key member of staff. “It’s about quality, not just about showing where to find good speck, but about the story and what makes it special.”

“The principle is very simple: what locals like or enjoy eating, guests will like too.”

Each tour follows its own script, without repetition. An Italian trattoria is followed by a German-style inn, a shop by a restaurant or a craft workshop. The group stays on the well-known cycle path only as long as necessary. Instead, Locher wants to show guests “that no back road is unknown to us”.

To be included, a business must have at least one special feature: a beautiful hidden spot, a remarkable location, a special product or one-of-a-kind hosts. The choice is subjective, Locher says, but his many years of experience give him the confidence “not to pick anything hackneyed”. Personal relationships usually develop through working together. After ten years, businesses now also approach Sissi Tours on their own initiative.

Not wanting to sell anything

What do the partner businesses gain from it? Gerd Locher first answers with an attitude: “At first, the economic benefit has to be of no interest.” He and his partners, he says, have to give guests the feeling that they are not trying to sell anything. “We show what we stand for. If people like it and enjoy the taste, the customer will decide in our favour anyway.”

One example comes from winemaking around Merano. One producer wanted to present at least five wines and was never satisfied with the financial contribution from Sissi Tours; the partnership ended after one year. Other businesses offer their tasting free of charge and have been part of the tours for years. Many guests in Merano come back, Locher says. Those who do not eat at a restaurant straight after the tour may do so the following year. “It always makes me happy to see tables being booked in ‘our’ restaurants or to meet guests in the shops.”

At Hotel Laurin, too, guests who specifically look for such experiences are welcome. Many regulars know the hotel, the village and the area well and deliberately come at certain times of year, for hiking in autumn or for autumn festivals, Törggelen and music festivals. New guests are above all delighted by the wide range of activities, says Eva Illmer, and often find “truly genuine, authentic experiences”.

What other hoteliers can take away

Asked what a hotelier needs who also wants to offer guests authentic regional experiences, Gerd Locher answers briefly: “A ‘good’ product attracts ‘good’ customers (guests). That’s why a hotel has to start at the grassroots.”

Eva Illmer also experiences what the region offers as a local. She attends many events herself and helps to organise some of them. The offers are not intended only for guests, she says, but also for the people who live there. “What always strikes me as particularly positive is that a great many people in South Tyrol, especially young people, are involved in clubs and committees. They get a lot done, have ideas and, through their commitment, contribute significantly to the quality and success of what is on offer.”