At the beginning is always an idea and a vision. That's why we already built in 1993 our first biomass heating system, at the time this was the heating system on our farm. This system was from the company Hargassner and had the series number 5. And we are very proud to report that we have always been very innovative and ahead of our time in this field. 

Encouraged by this experience, in 1997 we established biomass in the first building section of the Hotel Glöcknerin. With the extension of the hotel, the system became too small and so it was renewed in 2002. Together with our neighbouring hotel, we built a new facility with 680 kW thermal output which could also be used for the environmentally friendly heating of 50 family homes.

Yet this wasn't the end of our biomass developments. Because after a few more hotel extensions and renovations, this facility also became insufficient. And so in 2021 we decided to build a large facility. Our current heating plant has an impressive 1,200 kW and now supplies 3 hotels. The latest technology results in the most efficient output – electric filters ensure that the smoke from the fireplace is clean.

In the winter season we burn about 3,000 m³ wood chips which generates approx. 1,900,000 kW heat.

Is this really possible in a hotel? Yes! It’s possible. Those who really want to save electricity must think about where the real saving potential lies.

And we looked into this in detail. Most people know that our standard plugs supply 230 V but only few know that most electronic appliances also work with 210 V. 

So how do we get from 230 V to 210 V? With a voltage regulator. We restrict the flowing electricity and, in doing so, save 8.7 % electricity. Quite a significant amount!

Our high quality drinking water originates on our farming land, not far from the Hotel Glöcknerin. This water comes from mountain springs at an altitude of 1,700 m, not from the ground-water level. It originates from the ground and is limitless and sustainable and supplies our guests with drinking water the quality of which most people will not be familiar with from home. Our guests do not need to carry heavy plastic water bottles up to their rooms.
Right from the beginning we wanted to have our own water supply. And we were aware that our drinking water has an exceptionally high quality. Another important point for us was that the water shouldn’t have to be pumped through long pipes.

Water revitalised by Grander

“Water is a living system and as such also has the ability to regenerate. The fundamental idea behind Johann Grander’s process lies in improving the water’s structure strengthening its self-purification and resistance and creating stability in the water.”

Water revitalised by GRANDER® is characterised by the following properties, among others: 

• A finer taste (and therefore the wish to drink more)
• Longer life
• Agreeable soft feeling on skin and hair when bathing and showering
• Noticeable freshness, more intense taste and longer life of food products
• Improved plant growth and striking flowering
• Saves washing and cleaning agents
• Protects heating system through clean heating water
• Animals instinctively prefer it
• Water re-enters the natural water cycle regenerated and strengthened

We live in a cultural landscape which is shaped by humans. As farmers and forest managers we have, for generations, attached great significance to the nurturing of our land. We tend to meadows and fields in the valley, alpine pastures here in Obertauern and, of course, also our forest.

Tourism and nature needn’t oppose one another. We are tourism professionals who create offers and possibilities so that our guests can enjoy nature. In our local cultural landscape we actively shape the nature to allow relaxation-seekers to discover it. Nature and our landscape as the most important asset is the basis of tourism in our region.

We maintain the land so that it remains as it is. And we plant vegetation so that everything is as close to nature as possible. We rewild areas which are used for tourism so that they keep their natural appearance. Plant and species diversity is something which is very close to our hearts. And we do all this because we have always done so. Agricultural expertise which cannot be learnt from a book but from one’s father who learnt it from his father who learnt it from his. This is active nature protection.

The forest in Austria is the no. 1 climate protection factor and the ultimate in CO₂ storage.
In fact, the Austrian forests store approx. 3.6 billion tons of CO₂. This is more than 40 times the amount of Austria’s annual CO₂ emissions.

Our family has been farming approx. 220 ha of sub-alpine spruce and larch forests for generations. Maintaining extremely steep areas like this requires a great deal of skill and expertise. The forest here largely serves as a protective forest and - recently also relevant in times of climate consciousness - also as a huge CO₂ reservoir whereby the areas used for industry, where trees are removed and the forest is then afforested, have been proven to store most CO₂. 

Put simply, every tree stores CO₂ although the growth of a tree slows down over time. In the forest used for industrial purposes the trees which are ready for felling are removed although the CO₂ remains in the wood for further usage. Active forest management therefore also stores CO_2.

And, by managing our forest, we, the Huber family, also “actively store CO₂”. Every year we plant at least 1,500 new trees. In addition, we also ensure the forest’s natural regeneration. And with these measures the forest grows and grows. 

One hectare of forest annually stores an average of ca. 6 tons CO₂. And by maintaining our forests we ensure an annual storage of 1,320 tons CO₂ - which is a lot of CO₂!

We manage our forests sustainably which means that we do not remove more wood than is regrown annually. Through this, a further 700 tons of stored CO₂ remain in the wood products for long term use.

Sustainability in the forest also involves ensuring species diversity and creating a healthy habitat for the wild animals living here. In our afforestation we have actively been working on increasing the tree diversity for decades.

Our favourite hobby is hunting and the nurturing and maintaining of our wildlife stock. Hunting doesn’t only involve the culling of animals. It involves more an ethical and moral responsibility of and respect for the animals which live in our forests.

The hunting area which we oversee covers a total area of approx. 930 ha. Alongside the big cloven-hoofed animals, red deer, roe deer and chamois, other animals also live here. In terms of hunting this also includes game birds e.g. wood, black and hazel grouse etc, predator game e.g. fox, badger, marten and weasel as well as our little mountain inhabitants - the marmots. 

Those who love game will also look after it and make sure that there is always a healthy and consistent stock of game ensuring that sustainable hunting is able to function.

When we speak of wild animal management it also means that we must control the game in order to fulfil the needs of the various interest groups (hunting, forestry, recreational use). And this requires a great deal of time, work, commitment, understanding and money.