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# “Retaining staff is actually quite simple” – what a hotel entrepreneur on the Baltic coast does differently
- URL: https://www.eingecheckt.de/en/staff-retention-janet-schroeder-schwansee/
- Published: 2026-10-16T05:53:16.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-17T20:18:25.000Z
- Description: Janet Schroeder on servant leadership, genuine appreciation and a snowman that achieved more than any employment contract.
- Author: Michael Külbel
- Tags: Interviews & People, Hotel Management, People & Work, #en, #magazin_en, #pair_janet_schroeder

Key points 
- Janet Schroeder has managed Schlossgut Gross Schwansee on the Baltic coast of Mecklenburg since December 2019; the hotel received its fifth star at the end of 2024.
- Her approach is servant leadership: seeing people, listening and removing obstacles – with an open door instead of appointments.
- To offset the rural location, the hotel offers staff housing, help with finding a flat, a four-day week and part-time models.
- Trainees from India are given mentors from the team. Schroeder estimates staff turnover at around ten to 15 per cent.

An open office door, a cup of coffee and usually some chocolate: anyone with something on their mind doesn’t need an appointment to see Janet Schroeder. The Managing Director of Schlossgut Gross Schwansee on the Baltic coast of Mecklenburg once wrote a sentence on LinkedIn that sounds almost provocative in an industry full of complaints about staff shortages: retaining employees is actually quite simple. In a written interview with **eingecheckt**, she explains what she means, why a snowman can sometimes do more for integration than an employment contract, and why the application form for the fifth star lay unsent in her office for so long.

Janet Schroeder’s day begins with a walk through the hotel. Almost every morning she greets her colleagues personally, takes a moment for each of them and often notices straight away when something isn’t right. “Our open-door philosophy isn’t just a line for the website,” she says. “My door really is open.”

She has run the estate since December 2019: a manor house with a park and a pond, just one avenue away from the sea. At the end of 2024, the hotel was awarded its fifth star. In the same year, Janet Schroeder was named Entrepreneur of the Year in the category of skilled-worker retention and integration. As First Vice President of DEHOGA Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the regional hotel and restaurant association, she also looks far beyond her own hotel at the industry as a whole.

![Aerial view of the estate with the white manor house, red-brick coach house, modern hotel building and rectangular pond, with the Baltic Sea at sunset behind](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/schlossgut-gross-schwansee-luftbild.jpg)

Schlossgut Gross Schwansee from the air: manor house, coach house, new building and pond, with the Baltic Sea at sunset behind. Photo: © Schlossgut Gross Schwansee

## Being seen, especially when things get difficult

“I believe we often make staff retention far more complicated than it needs to be,” says Janet Schroeder. Hotels develop concepts, talk about benefits and keep looking for new measures. In the process, the most obvious thing gets overlooked: people want to be seen, taken seriously and treated with respect. “They want to know that they matter – not only when everything is working, but especially when things get difficult.”

The fact that she puts it so clearly has to do with her own story. Janet Schroeder has two children, now grown up. When they were small, it wasn’t always easy to combine family life with a career in hospitality. That time sharpened her view: behind every member of staff is a person with a life beyond the duty roster.

Of course, she can’t solve every problem. But she can listen, ask questions and look for a solution together. Her conclusion sounds simple, yet it is the core of her work.

![“Staff retention doesn’t begin with a concept. It begins with the attitude with which I meet a person every day.” – Janet Schroeder](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/janet-schroeder-quote-attitude.png)

## Servant leadership doesn’t mean pleasing everyone

She has also been shaped by experiences she would rather not have had. Janet Schroeder knows what leadership feels like when appreciation and trust are missing. “Experiences like that show you very clearly how you don’t want to lead yourself.”

She describes her own approach as servant leadership. It doesn’t mean standing above people, but enabling them to do their work well: listening, clearing obstacles out of the way, providing direction, making decisions and taking responsibility. She names humanity, reliability, solidarity, empathy and trust as the values on which her leadership culture rests.

That is not the same as being soft. As Managing Director, she is responsible for the quality of the hotel, for the guests, the team and the financial result. Decisions are not always comfortable, she says, but they should be comprehensible and fair. “Values don’t show themselves when everything is going well. They show themselves when mistakes happen, when interests collide or when a decision is difficult.”

## A dream location – and a bus that isn’t enough

Anyone who has experienced the estate will understand why Janet Schroeder calls its location “a great gift”. Set between old trees and the Baltic Sea, the hotel lies away from the larger towns. For guests, that is exactly the appeal. For recruitment, it brings challenges: without a car, getting to work is often difficult, and a bus doesn’t help much if timetables and shift times don’t match.

That is why the estate thinks beyond simply filling vacancies. There is a staff house that is open not only to apprentices and international colleagues. The team helps with finding accommodation, and in certain situations a hotel room can be made available for a while. Then there is Janet Schroeder’s network in the region. “Sometimes a contact helps, sometimes a pragmatic idea, and sometimes you simply have to think together about what’s possible.”

A single hotel cannot solve the structural problems of rural areas, she admits. “But we can decide whether we use them as an excuse or actively look for solutions.”

## Listen first, explain later

Breakfast from early in the morning, weddings late into the night, guests at the weekend: hospitality doesn’t follow office hours. Even so, the estate offers a four-day week and various part-time models. What is possible in each case depends on the position and the area of responsibility.

For Janet Schroeder, the order of things is what matters. In job interviews, she asks not only what someone brings to the job, but also what they would like. What does this person need? What is important to them? And what compromises can be found together? Sometimes that means questioning established routines and rethinking how the team is organised. “Not every solution is possible in every position. But I want to talk about it first, before I explain why something supposedly can’t be done.”

Operational requirements have to be met, she stresses. At the same time, nobody can expect people to subordinate their lives unconditionally to the duty roster. Flexibility therefore doesn’t begin with a new working-time model, “but with the willingness to listen to the person”.

![The illuminated white manor house reflected in the pond at dusk](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/schlossgut-gross-schwansee-abend.jpg)

The illuminated manor house reflected in the pond in the evening. Photo: © Schlossgut Gross Schwansee

## €3,000 as a signal

How seriously she means this became clear at a time when living costs and energy prices were rising sharply and wages in the industry were still considerably lower than they are today. Janet Schroeder quickly felt that the hotel had to do something if it was at all possible. The result: an inflation compensation bonus totalling €3,000 for the employees.

She didn’t have to fight for the bonus. She and the company’s shareholder, David Dornier, share a long and trusting working relationship, and he had no problem with the payment. For Janet Schroeder, the bonus was more than an extra payment anyway. “It was a sign that we see and take seriously the burden our colleagues are carrying.” Decisions like this should not be judged only by what they cost, she believes, but also by what they mean: that people experience their employer noticing their situation and taking responsibility.

## Winter jackets, fashion shows and the first snowman

Janet Schroeder becomes particularly animated when she talks about the apprentices from India. At first she was rather hesitant, she openly admits. Through the agency WBS, which the estate has worked with for years, the hotel eventually found an approach that works. The agency puts forward candidates, and the estate holds several interviews to find out whether they are a good fit, both personally and professionally.

But the real work only begins once they have signed on, she says. The young people didn’t know the seasons in this form. When the first winter came with snow, they had no warm clothing or weatherproof shoes. German food also took some getting used to at first. So the team went shopping together, held little fashion shows in the store and built their first snowman together. “Those are lovely memories, because you can see uncertainty turning into curiosity and joy.”

Each apprentice was also given a mentor from the team – someone to answer questions, explain things and help with problems that seem small. After all, what is self-evident to locals can be completely unfamiliar in a new country. Her advice to other hotels is correspondingly clear: “Anyone who wants to attract international apprentices has to be willing to offer them not just a job, but also a sense of arriving.”

## The form in the drawer

One of the loveliest stories from the interview is about the fifth star. Janet Schroeder carried the idea around with her for a long time. Several times she filled in the DEHOGA assessment form by hand, yet never sent it off. The question on her mind was not about room sizes or furnishings. “Do we have the attitude that makes a five-star hotel? Are our colleagues proud of the hotel?”

When she finally raised the subject with her heads of department, she was “pretty nervous”. The response was positive. Together they prepared the next steps, spoke to their contacts at DEHOGA, addressed concerns and finally informed the whole team. The joy and pride were great, she recalls. “We didn’t simply dictate this path from above. We developed it together.”

The fifth star arrived at the end of 2024\. For Janet Schroeder, it is both a shared success and a daily obligation.

![“You can apply for five stars. But you can’t order the attitude that makes a five-star hotel.” – Janet Schroeder](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/janet-schroeder-quote-five-stars.png)

## How you can tell it’s working

Over the years, close and trusting working relationships have grown at the estate. Some of her closest colleagues have worked with Janet Schroeder for around five years or longer, and the heads of department have also been in place for a long time. She is especially pleased when apprentices stay on after qualifying. Some are now already in their fourth year at the hotel. In 2027, three colleagues will also celebrate five years with the company.

She estimates staff turnover at around ten to 15 percent, noting that with figures like these you always have to look closely at how they are calculated. More important to her than any number is everyday life: people who take on responsibility, develop, support one another and identify with the hotel.

She doesn’t want to hold on to anyone, though. “Retaining staff mustn’t mean holding on to someone. It should mean creating a workplace where people want to stay.”

## The uncomfortable question

Through her role at DEHOGA Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Janet Schroeder also knows the concerns of other businesses. She keeps coming across three patterns. First, spending too long looking at spreadsheets: rosters, staff costs and affordable hours are economically necessary, but if you only look at the numbers, you lose sight of the people behind them. Second, rigidity, when employees are expected to adapt to the business unconditionally. “Meeting people as equals isn’t a feel-good term, it’s a prerequisite for working together.” And third, a lack of self-reflection. It is easier to complain about the shortage of skilled workers than to question your own leadership culture.

She therefore recommends that every manager regularly ask themselves an uncomfortable question.

![“Why would anyone still want to work for me today?” – Janet Schroeder](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/janet-schroeder-quote-question.png)

This is not a personal attack, she says, but an invitation to take responsibility. Am I reliable? Do I listen? Do I create clarity? Can people come to me with problems without having to be afraid?

For her, good political conditions and an economically viable hotel industry naturally belong in the picture too. “The two go together,” she says. “But we also have to be willing to change things in our own hotels.” The shortage of skilled workers, she says, is not fate but a mandate for our own leadership culture.

## Three things that cost nothing, starting tomorrow

And what does she advise a small hotelier who is short of staff and has little financial leeway? Janet Schroeder answers with a letter to her fellow hoteliers. She knows the pressure, she says. That is exactly why one message matters to her: “Genuine appreciation, psychological safety and servant leadership don’t initially cost a single extra euro. They cost a decision, consistency and personal attention.”

![“The guest experience can never be better than the employee experience.” – Janet Schroeder](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/janet-schroeder-quote-guest-experience.png)

Her three recommendations for tomorrow:

**1\. Make your team number one.** Not in speeches, but in your decisions. Talk about colleagues rather than staff, and ask yourself how you can keep their backs free. Leadership doesn’t just mean checking; it means making sure people can do their work well.

**2\. Pay attention.** Don’t just walk through your business looking for mistakes. Tell people what is going well. Look for conversations that aren’t about rosters, and ask: “How are you? What do you need from me so you can do your job well?” Sometimes a listening ear helps, sometimes a contact for finding accommodation.

**3\. Create a culture in which problems can be raised.** Where people stay silent for fear of blame, mistakes are spotted too late. Standards still matter, but the point is to solve problems rather than expose people. A short-staffed team in particular needs clarity, support and trust.

This won’t end the staff shortage overnight, she says. But it changes how people experience their workplace and whether they feel part of the whole. “Leadership is a service to the people we are responsible for. And this service doesn’t begin with a budget decision, but with ourselves.”

Perhaps that, in the end, is the real point behind her sentence about simple staff retention. Simple doesn’t mean effortless. It just means that the beginning costs nothing except the decision to walk through the hotel every morning and take a proper look.

![Janet Schroeder, Managing Director of Schlossgut Gross Schwansee](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/janet-schroeder-portrait-hochformat.jpg) 

IN CONVERSATION

Janet Schroeder

Janet Schroeder has been Managing Director of Schlossgut Gross Schwansee on the Baltic coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern since December 2019\. Under her leadership, the hotel received the DEHOGA five-star classification at the end of 2024\. In 2024, she was named Entrepreneur of the Year in the category of skilled-worker retention and integration. She is First Vice President of DEHOGA Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. 

Her answers from a written interview with eingecheckt form the basis of this article. 

More about Schlossgut Gross Schwansee: [schwansee.de ](https://schwansee.de/?ref=eingecheckt.de) 

*Images: © Schlossgut Gross Schwansee. The photos were provided to the editorial team by Schlossgut Gross Schwansee. Quote graphics: eingecheckt.*

Sources

This article is based on an original editorial interview with Janet Schroeder.

**Original editorial source:** Written interview with Janet Schroeder, Managing Director of Schlossgut Gross Schwansee and First Vice President of DEHOGA Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, October 2026\. Interview responses and quotations translated from German into English by the eingecheckt editorial team.