New paths for an old monastery

THE CHALLENGE
A very special project recently emerged from a practice-oriented integrative course offered by MCI Tourism: a new concept for the use of the St. Martin Monastery in Gnadenwald, which is in need of renovation. Long run by the Tertiary Sisters as a place of pilgrimage, the convent is now empty and is to be revitalised. Situated above the Inn valley with a magnificent view, a hunting lodge with a chapel in honour of St. Martin is said to have stood on the site of the present monastery as early as the 11th century. The first documented mention dates back to 1337. The Tertiary Sisters from Hall moved into the convent in 1935 and accommodated pilgrims on the St. James Route, among others. After the Tertiary Sisters moved out, the decaying monastery is now unused. New concepts and ideas for use have to accommodate difficult conditions: The monastery is a listed building, is located in an avalanche area and cannot be successfully managed with the previous capacity of 10 to 12 beds. However, the limited financial resources and, above all, the situation in the red zone, stand in the way of an expansion. On this challenging basis, MCI students were invited to develop new concepts of use for the building that would also stand up to a business audit.

OUTCOMES
A jury consisting of representatives of the diocese of Innsbruck, above all Bishop Hermann Glettler and Dean Franz Angermayer, the mayor of the Gnadenwald parish, Ulrich Mayerhofer, and representatives of Neue Heimat Tirol and MCI reviewed the project outcomes.
The concept "Klosterlodge" narrowly came out on top as the winning project. The idea behind it is a rental unit for smaller groups of up to 25 people. In addition to simple bedrooms, a seminar room and common cooking facilities offer space for small groups, workshops, teambuilding seminars, but also families, individual travel groups or smaller celebrations. There are 11 double rooms and 2 sofa beds with breakfast as well as the possibility to book external catering. The monastery advertises via its own website, specialised travel agencies and AirBnB. The students have also created a website for this purpose. In addition to word of mouth, marketing will also be done through Instagram and the diocese itself. The concept contained a rough financial plan with costs for the realization of the project, the expected turnover and the calculation of the break-even point.