ウィーンの老舗ホテル、ドライブイン形式で「ザッハトルテ」販売

【ウィーンＡＦＰ＝時事】新型コロナウイルスの流行で、オーストリア・ウィーンの多くの高級ホテルが、いつまでとも知れない閉鎖に追い込まれたかもしれない。ウィーンには毎年多くの観光客が訪れているが、世界的に渡航制限が敷かれたことで、客足が遠のいたためだ。（写真はコンシェルジュの男性。オーストリア・ウィーンの「ホテル・ザッハー」の入り口で）
　だが、ウィーンを象徴するホテル「ホテル・ザッハー」は、世界的に有名な同ホテルのチョコレートケーキ「ザッハトルテ」をファンに届けることを決してあきらめない。ドライブイン形式のスタンドで販売しているのだ。ザッハトルテは、その濃厚で優美な味わいで知られる。
　ホテル・ザッハーの従業員の大半は現在、政府の助成を受け、一時帰休扱いとなっている。ホテルの客室とダイニング・ホールはがらがらだが、出張で滞在している５人の宿泊客に敬意を表し、生花を飾ることは欠かさない。
　空室について経営陣は、絶好のメンテナンスの機会と捉えている。コンシェルジュが、人けのない館内を作業員に案内することも。
　ホテルの年間宿泊数２万３０００泊のうち、９割以上を海外からの客が占める。オフシーズンの宿泊料金は１泊あたり４００～２３００ユーロ（約５万～２９万円）だ。
　だが、コロナ禍のロックダウン（都市封鎖）で、宿泊による収入源が絶たれてしまった。そんな中、世界中で販売されている同ホテルのザッハトルテは、ブランドの存続に一役買っている。
　上流階級の人々は例年、有名なオペラ座舞踏会の前にホテル・ザッハーで夕食をとる。だが、今シーズンはコロナ禍の影響で、同舞踏会の中止が決定された。
　ホテル・ザッハーの副支配人、ドーリス・シュバルツ氏は「オーストリアの歴史の一部は私たちの手に委ねられています」と語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/12/01-08:08）

The coronavirus pandemic may have forced many of Vienna's luxury hotels to close indefinitely as global travel restrictions keep away the many millions of tourists who usually visit the Austrian capital every year.
But the city's iconic Hotel Sacher is determined not to let fans of its world-famous chocolate cake go hungry.
The hotel's concierge, Uwe Kotzendorfer, is selling Sacher Torte, as the rich delicacy is known, on a drive-in stand just across the road from Vienna's prestigious State Opera house.
I do a bit of everything now, says Kotzendorfer, standing next to a small two-wheel cart stacked high with cakes, as he hands an imperial red bag containing one of them to a customer driving past in his BMW.
I thought it was a fantastic idea, says another customer, Claudia Bednar.
Because we can no longer travel, I am going to send one to my aunt in Germany for her 65th wedding anniversary, she explains, then pays for the cake, which typically costs between 50 and 60 euros ($60 to $71), with her credit card.
The vast majority of the Sacher's staff are now on government-subsidised furlough.
And the rooms and dining halls in the six neoclassical buildings -- decorated with autographed images of previous guests such as Britain's Prince Charles, Franco-German film star Romy Schneider and US opera singer Jessye Norman -- are deserted.
Nevertheless, the hotel insists on displaying fresh flower arrangements in honour of the five business travellers currently staying there.
For those parts of the hotel not currently occupied, the management is taking the opportunity to carry out some much-needed maintenance, and Kotzendorfer often guides workmen around the deserted swathes of the building.
- Past crises -
According to owner and managing director Matthias Winkler, the Sacher is the last five-star hotel in Vienna that is still in family hands.
But it has survived a number of existential crises in the past and during the global economic crisis in 1934 event went bankrupt.
We've gone through many trials since the creation of the brand and our family is still planning for the long term, said Winkler, who took over the hotel from his mother-in-law in 2015.
The current virus-induced economic downturn is also taking a heavy toll.
International travellers typically account for more than 90 percent of the hotel's annual 23,000 overnight stays, with rooms costing anything between 400 and 2,300 euros ($480-$2,700) per night in the low season.
However, with the virus lockdowns, that source of income has now been all but wiped out.
Sacher's cakes, which are shipped and sold across the world, are helping keep the brand alive.
Although competition in the upscale hotel industry can be ruthless and international brands have larger financial resources, Winkler believes that being family-run is turning out to be an advantage during the pandemic.
Here, decisions are made at a family meeting, without taking orders from abroad, Winkler says.
- Imperial cake -
The Hotel Sacher and the Sacher Torte have a long history.
In 1832, a young pastry chef called Franz Sacher was working on a new recipe he hoped would become all the rage at the Habsburg's imperial court.
The ingredients were whipped cream, a lot of cocoa, jam to add moisture, and a rich layer of chocolate frosting.
Forty-four years later, Sacher's son, Eduard, opened the hotel in Vienna's first district. But it was really only after Eduard's death in 1892 that the hotel enjoyed its glamorous heyday under the management of Eduard's widow, Anna Sacher.
As one of the first women to be allowed to own and run a business, the visionary matriarch become well-known for her wit.
The city's high society normally gathers for a dinner in the Sacher before the famous Opera Ball -- but this year's event has fallen victim to the pandemic.
A part of the history of Austria rests in our hands, says the hotel's deputy director, Doris Schwarz.
More than ever, it is a question of being up to the task, she says, standing underneath an imposing portrait of Anna Sacher, a big cigar in her hand and two bulldogs at her feet.