Hotel history(ies) – A look behind the scenes of travel
Podcast by Cultura Laudinella
In our podcast, we tell you about special places where life is concentrated: hotels are much more than just places to sleep – they are small worlds full of arrivals, encounters, departures and memories.
We report on stories of people and moments that show how the hotel industry makes history – and how it continues to be told today.
And we talk about houses with unique character, about their beginnings, breaks and realignments, about culture, architecture, visions for the future and exciting anecdotes.
Episode 1
The cultural hotel – experience history, shape the future
Presenter and historian Basil Vollenweider and hotelier Christoph Maximilian Schlatter provide insights into the past, present and future of this unique place and show how to preserve history while simultaneously daring to try new things.
Episode 2
The Hotel Queen – Family History and the Beginnings of Tourism in St. Moritz
St. Moritz, 1875: The Hotel Reine Victoria opens its doors. What many don't know to this day – the driving force behind it was a woman: Margaritta Klainguti. Where did this woman from the Engadine region get the financial resources and know-how to build and run one of the first luxury hotels in St. Moritz? What role did migration play in the development of tourism in the region?
Moderator and historian Basil Vollenweider speaks with Dr. Prisca Roth, whose research examines the Klainguti family history. Together they take a look at a time when travel became a social event and the hotel industry a distinct cultural form.
Photo 2: Her husband Thomas Fanconi | Source: Oberengadin Cultural Archive, Zuoz
Photo 1: Margaritta Klainguti, builder of the Reine Victoria | Source: Upper Engadine Cultural Archive, Zuoz
Photo 3: The Hotel Reine Victoria around 1875 | Source: Documentation Library St. Moritz, Author: Adolphe Braun, Copyright: expired
Episode 3
The Baron tells his story – a winter evening at the Hotel Reine Victoria around 1900
In Episode 3, we travel back to the winter of 1905 – to the venerable Hotel Victoria in St. Moritz-Bad. The focus is on Baron Maximilian von und zu Hornstein, a fictional character who serves as the narrator, guiding us through this era. As a literary witness to his time, he condenses historical observations of a society caught between stagnation and new beginnings, spa treatments and masquerade balls, health resorts and glamour.
*Note: This dialogue is fictional, based on contemporary sources, and reflects the worldview of the time. The text was written by historian Basil Vollenweider.
Speakers include: Christian Jott Jenny, mayor of St. Moritz and entertainer as Baron Maximilian von und zu Hornstein, and historian Basil Vollenweider as interviewer.
Episode 4
The Hotel Laudinella – or: Music has built itself a house
How is a hotel created? Through investors, market analyses, and location decisions?
Laudinella's story was different. It didn't start with a business idea, but with music.
What began as a youth singing camp in the Engadine Valley gradually evolved into a hotel that continues to be driven by a cultural vision. The Laudinella is not a hotel with a cultural program, but a hotel that grew out of culture itself.
In this episode, we speak with hotelier Christoph Schlatter and historian Basil Vollenweider about the beginnings of the Laudinella in St. Moritz. We discuss pioneering spirit, idealism, and how a community idea became a place with such a powerful appeal.
Myriam Schlatter, CEO of the Laudinella Group
Episode 5
Attitude that shapes hotels. Myriam Schlatter on leadership, responsibility, and change in the hotel industry.
Our guest in this episode of Hotel Stories is Myriam Schlatter, CEO of the Laudinella Group. She has found her own path in the industry, gained international experience, and taken on responsibility early on, particularly for the Hotel Reine Victoria in St. Moritz, which she has been involved with and strategically developed from the very beginning.
We also talk to her about leadership in practice and how to maintain authenticity as a leader, enable employees to develop while providing clear guidance – in an industry that is constantly changing.
Episode 6
Laudinella from A to Z – a house full of stories
In this episode we talk to Vera Kaiser, former cultural director of the Hotel Laudinella, and Adrian Stokar, author and editor, about a special book project: „L is for Laudinella – a hotel ABC to complete yourself“.
Together they have created a book that deliberately avoids being a traditional hotel chronicle. Instead, it's an open alphabet: a collection of keywords, memories, and perspectives surrounding the Laudinella. Many entries tell little stories from the hotel, while others leave room for new thoughts and additions.
The conversation focuses on the Laudinella's extensive cultural work, the encounters and experiences that have accumulated over the years, and the question of why a hotel in particular is such a special space for stories to resonate. After all, hardly any other place brings together so many people, ideas, and life stories.
The book is therefore also intended as an invitation: The story of Laudinella is never finished – it grows with the people who come and go here.