On Location Vienna: Altruistic Altstadt

Hotel Altstadt entrance

A Viennese Hotel Shows Goodwill Is Good For Business

Ever the gracious host city, Vienna is alive with even more exhibits and events than its usual packed calendar this week as it hosts the XVIII International AIDS Conference. The conference has brought more than 25,000 people to Vienna, one of the world's most popular conference locations thanks to its outstanding tourism infrastructure, proactive tourism organisations, and abundance of high-quality accommodation. 

Hotel Altstadt matches intention with action

While there are many fine hotels in the city, one property shines brighter than the others as a star in the sky of hospitality with much graciousness of its own.  That Hotel Altstadt is one of Vienna's most charming hotels is already well known; what is perhaps less known is owner Otto Wiesenthal's vision for hotel that goes far beyond a place to sleep.  Hotel Altstadt is a private world of sophistication without pretension, filled with works of modern art in a classic Viennese building whose rooms and suites have soaring ceilings adding to the spaciousness of the already large guest quarters.  In addition to making guests feel completely welcome, Mr Wiesenthal's other great passion is the arts.  Hotel Altstadt is one of the few hotels in the world to have a theatre in the building where live performances are a welcome alternative to television for entertainment.  This year, in recognition of the importance of the AIDS conference's theme of women and children in developing countries, Hotel Altstadt is hosting an exhibit, In The Face Of Affliction, featuring the work of photographer Joan L Brown, who is also a participant in the extraordinary Infected And Affected art project.  Needless to say, conference delegates were clamouring for rooms at Altstadt, which is good for business but far from being the primary motivation for the hotel, which is often booked out even without a conference in town.  Sometimes people just like to stay where they feel welcome and where they know their cause is supported.

living room of Hotel Altstadt's Otto Suite

Altstadt is one of many venues around Vienna where cultural events are taking place this week.  Some of them involve creative forces of a very high profile; art exhibits, a film festival, and musical performers range from Annie Lennox to the London Philharmonic Orchestra are all on the program, whose varied activities may seem like fun, but all have a connection to reinforcing the serious themes of the AIDS conference.  With 33 million people around the world now living with HIV, this pandemic has serious ramifications for the travel and tourism industry, especially since movement of people across borders is a major point of concern for HIV prevention.

With immense support for the AIDS conference at every level of government, the Federal Parliament of Austria was the venue for amFAR's gala ball