Page 75 - MELLBY_MAGASIN_2023_ENG_LOW_UPPSLAG

ERIKSBERG HOTEL & NATURE RESERVE

Major investment
in the hotel experience

In the Blekinge archipelago lies Eriksberg, Scandinavia’s largest nature
reserve. A visit here gives you a holistic experience in symbiosis with nature.

2023 was a year in which Eriksberg Hotel & Nature Reserve dealt with
challenges, prepared for the future and received several awards.

When Eriksberg Hotel & Nature Reserve was founded in 1942, A YEAR OF AWARDS
the idea was to teach an increasingly urbanized population
how animals and nature work. Per-Arne Olsson, CEO of Eriksberg Hotel & Nature Reserve offers unique experiences in the
Eriksberg Hotel & Nature Reserve, and his colleagues still run the hotel reserve, at the hotel and in the restaurants. This year, the Visenten and
and park according to this motto. Today, the company works to provide Havsörnen restaurants received two awards for their food and wine
high-quality experiences in a unique environment for visitors with a cellar. Svenska Viltmatakademin (The Swedish Game Academy) named
keen interest in nature. the restaurants Game Restaurant of the Year 2023, an award that
Visenten and Havsörnen received for their way of serving game at the
BLURRING THE LINE BETWEEN INDOORS AND OUTDOORS highest level all year round.

In 2024, the new hotel section known as Arken will be completed. The “The availability of animals from the park makes us self-sufficient
building was designed by architect Oskar Årevall and represents an ark in game meat,” says Per-Arne Olsson. “We have been for more than
moored in the rural environment of Eriksberg. Oskar Årevall was tasked 80 years, and meat still plays a key role in our restaurants. We’re very
with blurring the line between indoors and outdoors, as was the design proud that we’re now being recognized as Game Restaurant of the Year.”
duo Bernadotte & Kylberg, who designed the three suites. Arken is a
welcome addition, as it doubles the hotel capacity of the park. The year also saw the restaurants win a global award for the high
standard of their wine cellars, with Wine Spectator giving Eriksberg
“We have a long-term plan based on creating valuable experiences for Hotel & Nature Reserve the Best of Award of Excellence.
our visitors,” says Per-Arne Olsson. “To ensure that everything works
optimally when the hotel doubles its capacity, we’ve already started “It’s wonderful to win the Wine Spectator award, and it serves as
preparations. This includes training staff to ensure that all parts of confirmation that it was the right decision to invest in the wine cellar to
the organization work, so that we’re ready when Arken is ready for new offer a wide variety of fine wines for our guests to enjoy.”
visitors.”
THE FUTURE OF ERIKSBERG
FOCUS ON SALES
With the vision of teaching and inspiring visitors about nature and its
2023 was a challenging year for the hospitality sector, with increased beauty, Eriksberg continues to be a place where people can immerse
operating and purchasing costs. At Eriksberg Hotel & Nature Reserve, themselves in the rich wildlife and feel they are in symbiosis with the
in addition to preparations for the completion of Arken, the focus has environment. 2024 will also be a special year.
been on increasing sales.
“We’ll finally be inaugurating Arken, which we’ve been working on
“To capitalize on the opportunities of greater capacity, we’ve been for several years. We hope that it will help provide even more unique
working on sales, in Sweden and internationally,” says Per-Arne Olsson. experiences for all our guests. We look forward to welcoming even
“We’re working on communication initiatives in Denmark and Germany more visitors to the hotel and our restaurants in 2024,” concludes
and collaborating with international influencers to attract more visitors. Per-Arne Olsson.
These efforts have paid off, and we’re now seeing an influx of bookings
from international guests.” Per-Arne Olsson, CEO

There is a great advantage in attracting international guests to
the reserve, as they contribute to stable occupancy and help ensure
longevity in the operations.

“International guests choose to book their stay well in advance,” says
Per-Arne Olsson. “This gives us the opportunity to fill up the hotel with
spontaneous guests or conference guests when we see that there are
gaps in the booking system. A steady occupancy rate also means a
better working environment, as we’re better aware of how to schedule
activities.”

75