Boutiquehotel zur Wiener Staatsoper: Gracefully Led
Victoria Klinkhammer on Hospitality, International Experience and the Boutique Hotel Zur Wiener Staatsoper
From a construction site to one of Vienna’s most charming boutique addresses: Victoria Klinkhammer leads the Boutique Hotel Zur Wiener Staatsoper with sensitivity, international experience and a clear understanding of modern hospitality. In this interview, she speaks about her role as a host, memorable encounters with guests and why genuine hospitality always begins with people.
On her first day as hotel director, Victoria Klinkhammer sat on a wooden Heurigen bench in the middle of the construction site at Krugerstraße 11 – exactly the place where we meet her today for this interview. Only now the sparse furnishings of the small breakfast room have long been replaced by elegant velvet-covered chairs and benches, and everything shines in a new light thanks to the design concept of British interior designer Nina Campbell.
The central hideaway is a jewel from the 18th century that has matured into a refined boutique destination. A development that also mirrors Victoria Klinkhammer’s own journey: only a few years ago she was attending tourism school. Today she leads one of the most charming hotels in Vienna’s historic city centre with vision and finesse.
Interview
If you had to give your role as hotel director a title, what would it be?
Host feels most fitting to me. Especially in this house, which is more like a temporary home. With only 14 rooms, you know every guest. Hospitality emerges naturally – through conversations and small gestures.
When you were still in tourism school, how did you imagine the role of a hotel director? And how much of that reflects your daily reality today?
Back then I imagined being present in the lobby, ensuring perfect operations and making quick decisions. Today I realise that being a hotel director is mainly about paying attention to people, sensing the atmosphere and supporting the team.
International Experience Shapes Leadership
You have worked in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, England, Canada and the United Arab Emirates. How did these countries shape you?
Each country influenced me in its own way.
At Hotel Sacher in Vienna, I worked through all departments and learned the fundamentals that I still rely on today. I cannot ask for a perfectly made bed if I do not know how to make one myself.
In London, I worked for Four Seasons for the first time and became part of a multicultural team made up of some of the best professionals in Europe. If you do not perform there, you are out.
In Canada, the strong union structure plays an important role and leadership tends to be more participative.
In the United Arab Emirates, the possibilities are almost limitless. For example, when a guest could not see his children from his beach chair because of a sand hill, we organised a bulldozer overnight to level the sand.
How does the role of hotel management differ in these countries?
In some hotels the director is highly visible and present, while in others the role remains more in the background. This often has less to do with the country itself than with the individual’s professional background.
Whether someone comes from the kitchen, service, front office or finance influences leadership style just as much as personality.
The Strength of a Small Boutique Hotel
You now lead a small yet refined hotel in Vienna. How does the intensity of guest care relate to the number of guests?
A small hotel allows for closeness and genuine relationships.
The personal exchange with our team makes us unique. Of course, many hotels strive to treat every guest individually, but with only 14 rooms it happens in a particularly authentic way.
Are there encounters with guests that have stayed especially memorable for you?
So many! Of course, I have hosted professional athletes and Hollywood film stars – and yes, that can be impressive.
But often the most memorable encounters are the grounded ones. For example Henry, a seven-year-old boy from the United States who stayed with his family.
He wanted to know everything about how a hotel works and every evening he was allowed to write down five questions for me. They were incredibly thoughtful questions that made me reflect as well. He still writes to me today.
Recently he was travelling in Japan and asked what I thought about a hotel where only guests are allowed to enter the lobby.
Do you also have stories that stayed with you from when you were a guest in hotels yourself?
Absolutely. During a short holiday at the Four Seasons New York, when I was in my early twenties and working as a regular employee, my fiancé and I were staying there.
The hotel’s director intentionally took time to speak with us and showed interest in our story. When he heard we were going to a New York Knicks game later that evening, he offered us the chance to test the new private lounge at Madison Square Garden beforehand.
A small gesture – but an incredibly thoughtful one.
Has being a woman ever played a particular role in your position as hotel director?
Yes, but so has being young. As a young woman, you are sometimes questioned more critically. It is a challenge you can take seriously without letting it define you.
Do you think it still makes a difference whether a hotel is led by a woman or a man?
I believe the difference lies in how someone leads, not who leads.
Leadership is about attitude, clarity and empathy. That works independently of gender. At the same time, I notice that women in the industry often focus strongly on team dynamics, communication and the small details that shape everyday hotel life.
Are there moments in your daily work that capture everything you love about this profession?
When I see employees understanding the vision of the hotel, working proactively and growing. And of course when guests express their appreciation.
