Based in Oberstdorf in the Allgäu region, Explorer Hotels has been operating design-budget hotels for alpine athletes in the German-speaking Alpine region since 2010. Today, the group comprises eleven properties, each with around 100 rooms – from Oberstdorf, Neuschwanstein, Berchtesgaden, and Garmisch to Montafon, Zillertal, Hinterstoder, Ötztal, Bad Kleinkirchheim, and Stubaital; a twelfth property will open in November 2026 in Bayrischzell.

The brand idea – trendy base camps for athletic alpine explorers – also serves as an internal leadership mandate. Employees act as “Explorer Buddies” on equal footing with guests; the “Explorer Spirit” of trust, personal responsibility, openness, and genuine joy in interacting with people shapes the daily work routine. Together with the properties of the Oberstdorf Resort – including Hotel Mohren, Hotel Oberstdorf, Oberstdorf Hostel, Hotel Birgsau, as well as Wannenkopfhütte and Hörnerhaus – the hotels are managed from a central administration.

A brand intended to function as an internal management tool must regularly verify whether it is truly effective in daily work. Added to this is the industry’s starting point: skilled workers are scarce, teams are international, and turnover is structurally high. The survey should therefore not only provide a satisfaction score but also show which levers are actually effective in which property.

The survey is conducted entirely online and anonymously; IMARK acts as an independent institute between the workforce and the company. Each person automatically sees the name and logo of their own property – the questions are identical, allowing for evaluation per property and for the group as a whole.