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2011
Business RepoRt on Sustainable Development of the Swiss Youth Hostels
03 Contents
05 Foreword
06 Keyfigures
09 Portrait
15 Ourtargetachievementin2011
19 Ourguests
25 Ouremployees
29 Ourrelationshipwiththeenvironment
33 Ourcommercialviability
38 Structureandcorporategovernance
43 Financialreporting
52 Outlookandprioritiesfor2012
PublishingdetailsEditorial staff: Fredi Gmür, René Dobler, Janine Bunte
Design: gut&schön
Layout: Jacqueline Roth
Printing: PROWEMA GmbH, Pfäffikon
Photography: Susanne Völlm, Zürich
Translation: USG Übersetzungs-Service AG, Ittigen
Paper: Offset Euroset matt, SK 3, 100 g/m2 (FSC-certified)
Circulation: 5,000 German, 800 French, 1,200 English
Publisher: Swiss Youth Hostels | Schaffhauserstrasse 14
P.O. Box | 8042 Zurich | Tel. +41 (0)44 360 14 31 | Fax +41 (0)44 360 14 25
[email protected] | www.youthhostel.ch
For the sake of readability, the masculine form will be used throughout the business report on
the sustainable development of the Swiss Youth Hostels. Wherever appropriate, use of the fe-
male form is of course implicit.
Unless specifically mentioned, the published data and figures relate to the 45 lend/lease hostels
(excluding franchises) operated independently by the Swiss Youth Hostel Association.
Contents 2 / 3
Mai Leng fromsingapoReand HaLiL from
CYpRuson a trip across
euRope
4 / 5
For many years we have been able to achieve great successes, which has positively influenced our development. Through innova-tion and quality, our product – the Swiss Youth Hostels – gained major recognition in the traditional markets of Switzerland and above all in the euro region. Even beyond the tourist industry, our organisation evolved to become a model example of sustainable action. A rising number of overnight stays, turnover growth and positive annual results were almost a matter of course.
Despite investments and good work in the sector as a whole, the price/performance ratio deteriorated considerably over the course of the year under review. The unimaginable occurred: for a short time the franc reached parity against the euro, and despite sup-port from the Swiss National Bank, it remained too strong for price-competitive tourism in Switzerland. Over the past two years, Swit-zerland has become dramatically more expensive for visitors from the euro, pound and US dollar areas. This has an inevitable impact on demand, since around a third of our guests come from the coun-tries affected by the currency changes. Global political changes, the Arab Spring, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the Fuku-shima nuclear power plant disaster and the economic crisis in Eu-rope represented further inhibitory factors for the development of tourism in Switzerland.
And nevertheless: the Swiss Youth Hostels can look back on a suc-cessful 2011. Overnight stays fell by 1.1% in comparison to the previous year, but turnover increased by 1% to 41.5 million francs. Adjusted annual results – after a return on equity of 1.5% paid to the Swiss Foundation for Social Tourism – come to around CHF 610,000. At the end of the year, the association had a membership of 101,085 (down 3.4% from the previous year).
The modified and expanded hostel in St. Moritz officially opened at the start of this year, and is enjoying strong demand; the new build-ing situated right next to Interlaken Ost station is proceeding apace towards the scheduled opening in early May 2012.
And we have been bestowed with two very special honours: the 2011 ZKB Sustainability Award for SMEs, for years of work in the field of sustainability in the construction and operation of youth hostels; in the Personalities/Institutions category, we were awarded the 2011SwissSolarPrize for our comprehensive envi-ronmental management in construction and operation, and for our pioneering role in environmentally compatible tourism.
Sustainability is an ongoing and unending process; sustainability will only end for us only when we no longer exist. Sustainable think-ing and behaviour must therefore be our inner attitude; this is the only way to simultaneously fulfil the needs of nature, society, em-ployees and the economy. The interaction between ecology, econo-my and social issues is crucial for success. Integrated thinking and action is therefore indispensable if we are to ensure a future for ourselves and for those who come after us.
FoRewoRd
Stephan KurmannPresident [email protected]
Fredi GmürCEO [email protected]
René DoblerCEO [email protected]
JanineBunteCFO SYH/[email protected]
Franchise hostels
19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2011
Own hostelsTotal hostels
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Number of hostels
Groups
19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2011
FamiliesSeniorsJuniorsTotal
0
20’000
40’000
60’000
80’000
100’000
120’000
19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2011
OfficeHostelsTotal
0
100
200
300
400
500
Number of employees
19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2011
Franchise hostelsOwn hostelsTotal hostels
0
200’000
400’000
600’000
800’000
1’000’000
Overnightstays
KeY FiguRes
Franchise hostels
19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2011
Own hostelsTotal hostels
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
Number of beds
19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2011
OfficeHostelsTotal
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Full-time posts
6
8
10
19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2011
Fluctuation rate
0%
20%
40%
30%
10%
Fluctuationrate
The relevant tables are listed at the end of the respec-tive chapters.
1) First fiscal year following merger of 14 independent districts2) Start of reorganisation3) Launch implementation of strategic planning4) Before allocations and write-offsn/c not collectedn/a not available
our range of offers
our guests
our employees
Members
19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2011
Power consumption per overnight stay (kWh)
0 kWh
3 kWh
6 kWh
Electricityconsumption
Members
19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2011
Food & BeverageAccommodationTotal
0
10
20
30
40
50
Operatingrevenue
19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2011
Water consumption per overnight stay (litres)
0
100
200
Waterconsumption
19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2011
Cash flow in millions CHF 4)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Cashflow
19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2011
Productivity per employee
50’000
100’000
150’000
200’000
Productivity
19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2011
Specific CO2 loading
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Target course
Spe
cifi
c C
O2 l
oadi
ng(t
/uni
t flo
or a
rea)
ReductioninCO2loading
Organisation
19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2011
EmployeesPublic sectorTotal
–5’000’000
0
5’000’000
10’000’000
15’000’000
20’000’000
25’000’000
Value added
6 / 7
our relationship with the environment
our commercial viability
eLiaand MaRtinfrom st. erhard on
a visit tost. MoRitz
We strive– to promote quality-oriented, socially
responsible and environmentally sound tourism for young people and families,
– to focus on human relations,– to live up to the idea of partner-
oriented thinking at all levels,– to strengthen our image and standing
as the most important tourist organi-sation for young people and families,
– to achieve appropriate business results in order to ensure the ongoing existence of our organisation.
poRtRait 8 / 9
Dieses Feld nicht löschen: dient der automatischen Seitennummer-ierung
PORtRAit
The network strategy pursued by the Swiss Youth Hostels is aimed at setting up and maintaining a comprehensive network in the at-tractive tourist areas and destinations of Switzerland and the Prin-cipality of Liechtenstein.
The network is divided up into A, B and C locations. The loca-tions are defined not by the youth hostels themselves, but rather by the destinations in which the hostels operate, in line with what they have to offer and their marketing appeal.
Alocations Internationally known tourism centresBasel | Bern | Davos | Geneva | Grindelwald | Interlaken | Lausanne | Lucerne | Montreux | Saanen | Schaan-Vaduz | St. Moritz | Zermatt | Zurich
Zermatt
Fiesch
Sion
Leissigen Grindelwald
interlakenBrienz
Engelberg
Seelisberg
GersauLucerne
ZofingenBeinwilam See
Zug
Zurich
Brugg
Richterswil
Rapperswil-Jona
Basel
Avenches
Geneva
Saanen
Château-d‘Oex
LeBémont
Mariastein
Delémont
Solothurn
Bern
Fribourg
LausanneMontreux
Baden
Locarno
Sils i.D.
Sta.Maria
Schaan-Vaduz
St.GallenRomanshorn
KreuzlingenDachsen
Schaffhausen
Stein amRhein
St.MoritzPontresina
Klosters
Valbella
Bellinzona
Davos
Scuol
Lugano
Figino
As of May 2012
network strategy
Promoting responsible and sustainable behaviour is an important objective for the Swiss Youth Hostels. Accordingly, our mission statement laid the foundations already in 1994 for a balanced ap-proach regarding our economic, social and ecological activities.
Our highest objective is the maintenance of inexpensive serv-ices. Nevertheless, we want to meet rising quality requirements. We wish to offer a demand-conscious, innovative programme of services for our guests which is attractive and offers real alterna-tives when compared to other forms of accommodation – in other words: to cultivate simplicity. We attach particular importance to transparent structures, personal management of our hostels and a pleasant atmosphere. The Swiss Youth Hostels are a politically and denominationally neutral, non-profit organisation with ZEWO certification, and as such are active in all parts of Switzerland and in the Principality of Liechtenstein.
Three independent partner organisations stand for the Swiss Youth Hostels:− The SwissYouthHostelsAssociation is responsible for the operation of the youth hostels in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein; − The SwissFoundationforSocialtourism is the proprietor of 27 youth hostels in Switzerland; − The Foundation for Youth Hostels inSwitzerland provides fi-nancial support in the form of long-term loans for purchasing land and for building, modifying, repairing and furnishing youth hostels.
For the first time now, a consolidated financial statement for the Swiss Youth Hostels, the Swiss Foundation for Social Tourism and the Foundation for Youth Hostels in Switzerland was compiled for 2011. From 18 June 2012, the consolidated financial statement will be available from the following address:Swiss Youth Hostels, Management, Schaffhauserstrasse 14, P.O. Box, 8042 Zurich, Tel. +41 (0)44 360 14 31, [email protected]
Blocations Destinations with high demand from Switzerland and the neighbouring euro areaAvenches | Baden | Bellinzona | Brienz | Brugg | Dachsen | Engel-berg | Fiesch | Figino | Fribourg | Klosters | Kreuzlingen | Locarno | Lugano | Pontresina | Schaffhausen | Scuol | Sion | Solothurn | St. Gallen | Valbella
Clocations Other locations that serve to expand the diverse range of offers, and with good coverage of the national network, or youth hostels with historical significanceBeinwil am See | Le Bémont | Château d’Oex | Delémont | Fällanden | Gersau | Leissigen | Mariastein-Rotberg | Rapperswil-Jona | Rich-terswil | Romanshorn | Seelisberg | Sils i.D. | Sta. Maria | Stein am Rhein | Zofingen | Zug
NetworkofSwissYouthHostels
Fällanden
PORtRAit
On 17 January 2011, the Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) awarded its second ever sustainability award for SMEs. The jury took equal consideration of economic, ecological and social aspects in their assessment of sustainability performance. The Swiss Youth Hos-tels were the ultimate winners of the award. This top ranking is a tribute to years of work in the field of sustainability in the con-struction and operation of hostels. In his presentation speech, Urs Oberholzer, President of the ZKB Bank Council, stressed that the Youth Hostels had identified sustainability as a corporate chal-lenge, and had decided to view this as an opportunity. He pointed out that implementation over recent years had been pursued step by step and in a consistent manner.
sustainability strategy
zKB sustainability award for sMes 2011
The Swiss Youth Hostels are committed to sustainability. Sustain-ability is an integral part of our organisation philosophy when deal-ing with stakeholder groups, designing our products and ensuring environmental protection.
We believe that sustainability means taking into account not only social and ethical issues, but also the sensible use of re-sources.
Economy– Although we are a non-profit organisation, the services offered
by the youth hostels are designed in such a way that sufficient revenue remains to provide continuity for employees and further development potential for the organisation.
Ecology– For all activities of the Swiss Youth Hostels – be they new con-
structions or renovation work, the renewal of the vehicle fleet, the determination of sourcing partners, the conception of IT sup-port, etc. – the subsequent energy consumption and any result-ing emissions represent seminal indicators.
– We attach great importance to ¬both following and setting prin-ciples of sustainability – also along the value-creation chain.
Socialaspects– Prices are set in such a way that services remain affordable
whilst guaranteeing good quality and fair wages.– Obstacle-free products and services are an important objective,
so that all people are able to visit a hostel.– For structural measures, attention is paid not only to the energy
consumption, comfort and environmental compatibility of the applied materials, but also centrally to the potentially diverse consequences for local residents.
– Raising guests’ awareness of sustainability issues and their di-verse facets is a potential and not unwanted side-effect of a stay at a hostel.
– Humans should be at the focus of publications on the subject of sustainability, even though many other elements – technical, procedural and organisational – play an important role as well.
The Swiss Youth Hostels aim to contribute towards achieving, in a lasting way and within their own sphere, the objectives of sustain-able development in accordance with the Federal Constitution and as expressed at the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
At the same time, we are aware that the goals of sustainable development cannot be achieved overnight. All decisions are har-monised with the goals of sustainable development and examined with respect to their long-term practicality.
In attaining our objectives, we expect to lead by example and motivate others throughout the tourism sector.
10 / 11
organisational values
As a basis for strategic planning, the executive board of the Swiss Youth Hostels has defined our organisational values:
EquitycapitalThe equity financing ratio should be 40%.
Surplus appropriation No surplus payments should be made to members.
investmentactivityNet profits must be reinvested.
investmentriskThe Swiss Youth Hostels Association must be able to carry the in-vestments of the Swiss Foundation for Social Tourism. Full cost coverage must be ensured in the long term.
Turnovergrowth Sector growth.
PricingBed price for multi-bed rooms: comparable to the price level of lo-cal competitors. Bed price for two-bed rooms: making full use of local opportunities.
Offer Predominantly multi-bed rooms.
MarketperformancequalityBetter multi-bed rooms than competitors, at least meeting the re-quirements of the construction guide from the Swiss Foundation for Social Tourism.
PORtRAit
Coverage/locations/networkA focus on centres for tourism in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein.
Ownership Hostels in locations of touristic relevance, which should be oper-ated on their own account. Franchisees to complete the network, but without creating competition situations.
innovativeness Orientation towards exemplary services in our sector; moreover, demand trends among young people and families in our core busi-ness of accommodation and food are to be quickly absorbed.
Relationshipwithdecision-makersOptimal lobbying towards the achievement of our ideal objectives.
AchievementofsocialobjectivesIn accordance with the mission statement of the Swiss Youth Hos-tels and the mission of Hostelling International.
Consideration of employees‘ interests Social behaviour towards employees, and consideration of em-ployee interests as far as is reasonable for the overall organisation.
ManagementstylePredominantly cooperative, on the basis of target agreement and qualification processes.
12 / 13distinctions and awards
1999 EventMasterSchweiz| Winner in the category «Public Events»
2007 Milestone| Swiss tourism award for sustainability and the environment
2008 iCOMOSAward| Distinction for the Zurich Youth Hostel for its sensitive renovation of a building from the 1960s
2008 HansE.MoppertPrize| Distinction for the Scuol Youth Hostel for sustainable tourism in the Alps
2010 AwardMarketing+Architecture| Distinction for the Scuol Youth Hostel, special award «Green Technology»
2010 AwardMarketing+Architecture| Distinction for the Scuol Youth Hostel, category winner «Hotels, Restaurants»
2010 AwardMarketing+Architecture| Distinction for Scuol Youth Hostel, main winner
2010 myclimateAward2010| Distinction for the best integration of CO2 compensation
2011 ZKBSustainabilityAwardforSMEs| Distinction for outstanding contribution in the field of sustainable development
2011 SwissSolarPrize| Award in category A, «Personalities/Institutions», for comprehensive environmental management and a pioneering role in environmentally compatible tourism
zkb
nachhaltigkeitspreis kmu
PORtRAit
anita anddanieLfrom zofingenon a CYCLing
touR
Dieses Feld nicht löschen: dient der automatischen Seitennummer-ierung
14 / 15
Our main aim is the maintenance of value-for-money services. In spite of that, we wish to respond to increas-ing quality requirements. We wish to offer a demand-conscious, innovative programme of services for our guests which is attractive and offers real alternatives when compared to other forms of accommodation – in other words: to cultivate simplicity. We at-tach particular importance to trans-parent structures, personal manage-ment of our hostels and a pleasant atmosphere.
taRget aCHieveMent in 2011
indicators for our guests
Measures targetvalue
Quality assurance and quality improvement
Ensuring of defined standards regarding quality, work safety and the environment
At least 1 Q-audit per hostel No
Switzerland Tourism and HI-Q quality seals
Certification and recertification All hostels are certified by Switzerland Tourism and HI-Q
Yes
Obstacle-free youth hostels Information procurement and supplemen-tation of printed material and information on the Internet
Information is available on disabled ac-cess for all hostels
Yes
Obstacle-free youth hostels Employee training Employees are well trained in dealing with disabled people and in the delivery of specific information
Yes
Food & Beverage Purchasing from contractual suppliers 100% purchasing from defined suppli-ers
No
Hygiene Implementation of hygiene concept No objections at monitoring No
Complaint management Evaluation and definition of measures Daily evaluation and introduction of measures
No
Simple maintenance Zero tolerance for defective parts and graffiti
Regular and systematic monitoring Yes
Facility management Establishment, implementation and safe-guarding of facility management
Concepts, checklists and training Yes
Distribution channels Updating of Internet content Daily updates Yes
Distribution channels Promote interaction on intranet 40,000 newsletters ordered
(31,634)
Yes
Reservation management Available beds are allocated via E-com-merce
100% bookability Yes
Revenue and channel manager Design and implementation Functional and implemented No
New technology Ensure availability 100% availability on 365 days No
Overnight stays Sales activities 775,130
(737,827)
Yes
Membership base Targeted membership recruitment 105,000
(101,085)
Yes
Membership revenue in CHF Consistent selling of membership 2,063,250
(2,070,453)
Yes
Nee
d fo
r action
target
achievem
ent
Evaluation
Measures targetvalue
Target setting and qualifications Target setting, performance appraisal and individual development plan
Carry out with all employees Yes
Further training Attending internal or external basic/fur-ther training courses
Participation in at least one course per executive staff member
Yes
Safety at the workplace Training in security plans Every employee knows operational security plans
No
Social counselling Information on infrastructure and facili-ties
Sensible use No
Satisfaction Positively influence working environment Satisfaction index 95
(92)
Yes
Fluctuation rate Positively influence working environment, actively support staff
Max. 9.5%
(9.3%)
Yes
indicators for our employeesN
eed
for
action
target
achievem
ent
Evaluation
tARgEtACHiEVEMENtiN2011
Measures targetvalue
Space heating, CO2 loading Structural and operational measures Reduction of at least 25% compared with year 2000
(37.6%)
Yes
Electricity consumption Structural and operational measures Max. 4.5 kWh per overnight stay
(4.6)
Yes
Water consumption Structural and operational measures Max. 137 litres per overnight stay
(125)
Yes
CO2 compensation Active sales 60% of guests agree to compensation
(63.1%)
Yes
Mobility Create incentive system for guests to use public transport to get to hostels
Conception and implementation Yes
indicators for our relationship with the environment
Nee
d fo
r action
target
achievem
ent
Evaluation
Measures targetvalue
Bed occupancy Sales activities 51%
(47.9%)
Yes
Turnover in million CHF Sales activities 42.0
(42.5)
Yes
Incoming turnover in million CHF
Sales activities 0.4
(0.55)
No
E-commerce turnover in million CHF
Sales activities 8.4
(7.6)
Yes
Cross-selling turnover in million CHF
Sales activities 0.50
(0.23)
Yes
Calculations Observe minimum margins 72% kitchen
55% drinks
25% kiosk
15% ticket sales
(73.4%)
(57.8%)
(45.4%)
(12.3%)
No
No
No
Yes
Cash flow Adapt investment activities to business performance
40% of cash flow covers all investments
(27.3%)
No
Return on equity Return on equity 2%
(1.5%)
No
Productivity per employee Flexible personnel planning adapted to business performance
160,500
(154,373)
Yes
indicators for our economic viability
Nee
d fo
r action
target
achievem
ent
Evaluation
tARgEtACHiEVEMENtiN2011 16 / 17
Class camp on
Rot-BeRg
We bear a special responsibility to-wards our guests, since travel is of extreme emotional and material im-portance to them and is associated with a special need to feel confident, safe and secure. We wish to respond to the many and diverse expectations of our guests in a creative way. We treat our guests as people who have a zest for life and are enthusiastic, interested, contact-loving and ready to take the natural environment and their fellow travellers into consid-eration. We wish to respond to such qualities and promote such attitudes.
ouR guests
18 / 19
Our activities focus on our guests. Using management and quality systems, we want to ensure that we can successfully provide our products and services. The quality assurance systems «Quality. Our Passion» by Switzerland Tourism and «HI-Q» by Hostelling Interna-tional are integral components of our processes; the introduction of the EU Eco-label and the Ibex Fairstay label (formerly Ibex label) has added further tools that guarantee lasting quality.
Switzerland Tourism’s quality seal and Hostelling Interna-tional’s HI-Q management system assure quality. All Swiss youth hostels operate according to the specifications of these labels or of equivalent quality assurance systems (e.g. ISO 9001, ISO 14001, Valais Excellence) and have been certified accordingly.
We consider the long-term benefits of the Ibex Fairstay label in the economic, social and ecological areas to be beyond dispute, as well as tremendously valuable. Furthermore, this provides an opportunity to meaningfully communicate the subject matter, and to reach a clear positioning on the market. All of the hostels run independently by the Swiss Youth Hostels that meet the require-ments in construction terms are certified, or are in the process of obtaining certification.
While the EU Eco-label distinguishes companies that reduce energy, water and waste, and that use environmentally friendly ma-terials, the Ibex Fairstay label certifies sustainable management in the areas of business management, business administration, environmental management, employees, regional value creation and culture.
OuRguEStS
Certifiedcompanies
2009 2010 2011
EuEco-label 20 34 40
…in processing 12 12 6
ibex-FairstayLabelBronze – 1 1
Silver 13 20 17
Gold 7 12 20
Platinum – 1 2…in processing 12 12 6
Q Quality SealQ Quality Seal I 47* 50* 49*
Q Quality Seal II 1 0 0
Q Quality Seal III 1 1 1
Hi-Q
HI-Q I 47* 46* 41*
HI-Q II 2 6 16*
* including Zurich administrative office
It is gratifying that the youth hostels Baden, Locarno, Pontresina, Schaan-Vaduz and Zurich improved their rating in recertification and obtained the GOLD Ibex Fairstay label. The Basel and Scuol youth hostels were awarded the PLATINUM Ibex Fairstay label; this top-level award has only been achieved by six accommodation es-tablishments in Switzerland.
our range of offers
In 2011 there were 54 youth hostels in Switzerland, with a total of 6,342 beds. The Swiss Youth Hostels Association independently operated 45 hostels on a lend/lease basis; nine youth hostels be-longed to the network as franchisees. Again, enormous sums were invested in renovations/improvements to our range of offers:
NewinterlakenYouthHostelAfter the groundbreaking ceremony in January, the building en-velope that will house the Jungfrau Raiffeisenbank and the youth hostel was erected in a little more than six months. This sets the stage for the May 2012 opening of an ultra-modern and spacious hostel with 220 beds – in a prime location in Interlaken. In the sum-mer, following completion of the shell, we decided to incorporate a public restaurant as well. All the details of the new restaurant concept «3a» were worked out in a very short period.
The construction project is the result of a collaboration be-tween two different companies looking to emphasise their com-mon ground under a single roof: the Jungfrau Raiffeisenbank and the Swiss Youth Hostels share similar values; both companies are committed to regionalism, to high-level architecture and to strong partnerships. As a visible sign of these ideals, the building is being constructed to the MINERGIE-P-ECO® standard.
ControlledventilationatZurichYouthHostelThe Zurich Youth Hostel was extensively renovated and expanded from 2002 to 2004. Due to the wish to preserve the building’s his-torical foundations, it was not feasible to implement the exterior insulation needed from a structural-physical perspective. It was expected that the damp problem would be eliminated by reducing the number of beds. But this hope was dashed by the strongly in-creased winter occupancy rate following the renovation. Thorough analyses have shown that the problem can only be solved through controlled ventilation. For the guests, there will be a very beneficial side-effect: the air quality in the multi-bed rooms will be improved a great deal. After a short planning period, construction began in January and was completed on schedule in April.
NewFieschYouthHostelTogether with the Canton of Valais, the Holiday Village Fiesch coop-erative purchased the former military hospital before converting it into a very modern youth hostel with 92 beds.
MaintenanceworkIn the year under review, the owner, the Swiss Foundation for So-cial Tourism, and the operator, the Swiss Youth Hostels Associa-tion, invested around 2.76 million francs in the youth hostels and administrative office for regular maintenance and replacement for buildings and equipment (excluding IT).
ChangesintherangeofoffersIn view of the opening of the new Interlaken Youth Hostel, the Böni-gen Youth Hostel was closed at the end of October 2011 and sold by the owner, the Swiss Foundation for Social Tourism.
With effect from the end of 2011, the franchise relationships with the youth hostels Hospental, Langnau i.E. and Rorschach were terminated due to non-adherence to minimum standards and/or lack of willingness to obtain the relevant quality and sus-tainability certificates.
Obstacle-freeyouthhostelsSince 2008, we have been pursuing the goal of consistently ex-panding both infrastructure and the supply of services for people with restrictions. In 2011, 25 youth hostels were partially suitable or suitable for wheelchair users. The further training course «work-ing with disabled people» was conducted twice for employees at these hostels.
On our website, all obstacle-free hostels have been updated and provided with an additional link for specific “obstacle-free” services. Moreover, all hostels have been described in detail on www.rollihotel.ch, the most important travel platform for people with restrictions. Our cooperation with Rollihotel, My Handycap and Pro Infirmis is multifaceted and broadly covers the Swiss mar-ket; unfortunately, there are a lack of partners abroad.
We recorded no complaints from individuals with restrictions in the course of the year under review. We conclude from this en-couraging trend that the expectations of this segment of guests were largely met at the youth hostels.
Several projects entered the active planning stage in 2011.
Replacement buildings for Bönigen and Saanen will provide two new obstacle-free hostels; alterations are also planned for the end of 2012 to make the Avenches Youth Hostel obstacle-free.
NewtechnologyanddistributionchannelsThe targeted use of modern technology is more important than ever: administration and reservation software in the administrative area, and online distribution channels for sales. Here, technologies must be chosen that meet the highest security standards.
In the year under review, we invested CHF 405,560 in opera-tions, safety and renovations. Our website was redesigned, lending it greater clarity and ease of use. Furthermore, in the public areas of the youth hostels, our guests can use the WiFi connection at no cost.
A pilot project with the Basel and St. Moritz youth hostels on the online booking platform booking.com demonstrated that exter-nal booking platforms can bring in new guest segments from the hotel industry, and can above all open up new markets for the youth hostels.
A revenue and channel manager has been introduced to help the individual youth hostels increase the efficiency of quota man-agement on the various external book platforms and on our own website. Up to the end of 2012, the various digital channels are now being gradually connected to the revenue and channel manager. The objective is that by the end of 2012, all quotas can be managed and maintained in one place, i.e. the revenue and channel manager. This also creates the technical preconditions for implementing a flexible and market-oriented pricing policy.
Electronicdistributionchannels 2009 2010 2011
Visitors to www.youthhostel.ch 1,208,885 1,235,261 1,345,093
Ø visitors per day 3,310 3,381 3,682
Number of pages opened 11,295,145 10,271,212 5,730,9631)
Number of bookings via online systems 41,743 43,462 47,729
Overnight stays resulting from online bookings 152,797 158,391 172,141
Turnover resulting from online bookings 6,405,344 6,739,845 7,633,4151) The decrease in the number of web pages opened on www.youthhostel.ch is a positive consequence of the redesign; visitors require fewer clicks to obtain the desired result.
20/ 21OuRguEStS
our customers and members
Every time they visit, guests are given the opportunity to rate their stay. Around 12,000 visitors made use of this opportunity last year. In terms of the overall rating, customer satisfaction remained un-changed in comparison to the previous year; the individual valua-tion areas were at the same level as in the previous year, or slightly higher.
Customersatisfaction 2009 2010 2011Employees 86 87 88Rooms 72 73 75Shower/WC 71 72 73Lounge 71 73 75Meals 79 81 81Cleanliness 82 84 84Atmosphere 77 79 79Comfort 68 69 70Price/performance 70 72 71Overall rating 75 77 77
Rating system: «Very good» (100 pts), «Good» (75 pts), «Satisfied» (50 pts), «Not satisfied» (1 pt)
OuRguEStS
Guest diversity The effects of the strong franc become apparent in the statistics for overnight stays. While overnight stays declined by 2.8% for the central market of Switzerland, the number of stays from Germany,
the most important euro market, dropped by 8.4%; on the other hand, we recorded increased demand in the emerging markets: there was an increase in overnight stays of 22% from China, and 19% from India.
2009 arrivals % share 2010 arrivals % share 2011arrivals % share
Switzerland 280,619 58.25% 277,922 58.00% 267,990 58.55%
Germany 65,948 13.69% 65,446 13.75% 60,428 13.20%
France 15,102 3.13% 15,946 3.35% 13,863 3.03%
USA 12,518 2.60% 11,922 2.51% 12,175 2.66%
Great Britain 11,380 2.36% 11,770 2.47% 10,244 2.24%
Spain 9,105 1.89% 8,979 1.89% 8,860 1.94%
Italy 8,682 1.80% 8,906 1.87% 8,850 1.93%Netherlands 8,231 1.71% 7,919 1.66% 6,646 1.45%China 5,007 1.04% 4,639 0.97% 5,977 1.31%
Japan 4,838 1.00% 4,342 0.91% 4,064 0.89%
Austria 4,421 0.92% 4,207 0.88% 3,710 0.81%
South Korea 2,583 0.54% 3,411 0.72% 3,667 0.80%
Canada 4,382 0.91% 3,951 0.83% 3,565 0.78%
Belgium 3,612 0.75% 3,509 0.74% 3,553 0.78%
Australia 4,145 0.86% 3,818 0.80% 3,545 0.77%
Czech Republic 3,038 0.63% 2,652 0.56% 3,126 0.68%
India 2,488 0.52% 2,198 0.46% 2,417 0.53%
Poland 1,680 0.35% 2,079 0.44% 2,307 0.50%
Brazil 2,034 0.42% 2,103 0.44% 2,123 0.46%
Other countries 31,918 6.63% 30,169 6.34% 30,623 6.69%
2009 2010 2011Switzerland 1.98 1.97 1.99
Germany 2.16 2.17 2.15
France 1.80 1.82 1.84
USA 1.70 2.23 1.67
Great Britain 2.30 1.77 2.32
Spain 1.82 1.91 2.19
Italy 1.87 1.84 1.93
Netherlands 1.88 1.93 1.86
China 1.52 1.57 1.49
Japan 1.65 1.67 1.75
Austria 2.04 1.99 1.82
South Korea 1.47 1.49 1.53
Canada 1.78 1.78 1.81
Belgium 2.14 1.89 2.02
Australia 1.83 1.85 2.04
Czech Republic 1.86 1.82 2.20
India 1.60 1.66 1.81
Poland 1.86 1.98 1.85
Brazil 1.72 1.94 1.85
Average 1.98 1.99 1.99
Averagelengthofguests’stay(days)
2009 2010 2011
Junior members 32,395 32,080 32,244
Senior members 46,182 47,598 45,354
Family members 19,869 19,700 18,193
Group members 4,958 5,285 5,294
Total 103,404 104,663 101,085
Ageprofileofmembers
Members
As of 31 December 2011, the Swiss Youth Hostels Association had a membership of 101,085. This represents a decrease of 3.4% on the previous year.
2009 2010 2011
Up to 20 years 34% 34% 35%
20 to 25 years 7% 7% 5%
26 to 34 years 9% 9% 8%
35 to 44 years 20% 20% 19%
Over 45 years 30% 30% 33%
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guestsegments
2009 % share 2010 % share 2011 % share
Individual guests 451,094 47.21% 441,569 46.69% 410,651 44.97%
Groups 184,865 19.35% 181,170 19.15% 186,333 20.41%
Schools 128,083 13.40% 134,416 14.21% 137,092 15.01%
Families 191,508 20.04% 188,673 19.95% 179,018 19.61%
Total 955,550 100% 945,828 100% 913,094 100%
19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2009 2010 2011
Overnight stays, own hostels n/c 562,543 573,248 577,274 785,209 747,798 746,032 737,827
Overnight stays including franchise hostels 920,524 744,777 814,075 838,900 986,471 955,550 945,828 913,094
Total members 78,522 65,855 66,277 93,273 95,236 103,404 104,663 101,085
Guest satisfaction 4) n/c n/c n/c n/c 75 75 77 77
Investments in maintenance and replacement (SYH & SFST)
n/c 1,024,134 1,725,384 1,769,011 2,580,701 2,352,727 2,599,830 2,756,282
Investments in refurbishment and new buildings (SFST)
n/c n/c 237,421 3,982,546 1,224,345 13,393,294 11,753,036 9,017,519
Rental costs 1,755,099 3,129,681 3,925,932 5,260,975 9,439,124 9,521,501 8,861,886 8,672,821
1) First fiscal year following merger of 14 independent districts2) Start of reorganisation3) Launch implementation of strategic planning4) Rating system: «Very good» (100 pts), «Good» (75 pts), «Satisfied» (50 pts), «Not satisfied» (1 pt)n/c not collected
Key figures
sandRa frompoRtugaL working inRooMseRviCe
We are aware that all the employees of our organisation, which is based on personal performance and relation-ships, play a vital role and we make correspondingly high demands on them. We pursue a progressive em-ployee policy, especially with regard to management style, working condi-tions, social security, equal oppor-tunities, personal responsibility and career advancement.
ouR eMpLoYees
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OuREMPLOYEES
FamilyandworkIt is an important aspect of the social responsibility of an employer that employees feel comfortable, and that they are able to combine family and work in a satisfactory manner. Accordingly, we provide a great deal of flexibility in the configuration of the workload. In the year under review, there were 49 employees at the Zurich office for the equivalent of 37 full-time posts; in the youth hostels, 231 full-time posts were distributed across 448 employees.
WagesystemFor years now, a wage system has been in place for the managers of the youth hostels that is based on a wage and revenue-sharing model. While the wage components are specified according to uniform standards, revenue sharing is derived from the extent to which the budget is complied with and to which objectives are met.
Employees are paid in accordance with the specifications of the trade associations, and for many years now all employees have received pay for a 13th month (in contrast to the provisions of the collective employment agreement in the hotel and restaurant sec-tors). A bonus scheme for youth hostel employees has been intro-duced to additionally reward the achievements of our employees, as recorded by our guests’ satisfaction concerning friendliness, quality of food and cleanliness. This bonus is paid out in vouchers; vouchers worth CHF 27,700 were awarded in the year under review.
Following the principle of equal pay for men and women, the Swiss Youth Hostels pay both sexes according to same terms/rates.
targetagreementBased on the mission statement, the medium-term strategies of the Swiss Youth Hostels are defined by the executive board and then further specified by the management in terms of their content and timing within the context of the annual operating goals.
The annual operating goals are derived for the different lev-els and operationalised with concrete target formulations as part of the target formulation and agreement process. Following this top-down process, both co-ordination and consolidation are done bottom-up.
This systematic process provides all employees with the nec-essary understanding of the organisation’s objectives while estab-lishing the relevant prerequisites for active participation.
QualificationsystemEmployee qualification is a regularly occurring, future-oriented meeting between qualifying supervisor and employee to determine the status quo. This interview is based on open dialogue, giving employees the opportunity to present their concerns and expecta-tions as well; in this way, employees can also qualify their supervi-sors. The qualification meeting is held with each employee before the end of the probationary period and following this at least once a year, and is appropriately documented.
The objectives of the qualification process are:– Recognition and promotion of performance and behaviour– Alignment of employees’ efforts to changing objectives and tasks
– Promotion of the development and motivation of employees– Reinforcement of mutual trust– Reinforcement of employees’ capacity for realistic self-assess- ment
trainingandfurthertrainingFurther training represents a key element in our efforts to boost quality for our guests and employees. In the year under review, there were 34 further training courses with external and internal speakers, two-day regional meetings and the three-day autumn meeting, all of which were attended by a total of 535 participants.
As an organisation with Swiss/international activities, lan-guage skills are of paramount importance. Accordingly, qualified language teachers are available to the employees of the adminis-trative office on a weekly basis. A total of 418 lessons were provid-ed for French and 202 lessons for English, in individual and group tuition.
Employees who foresee spending their career with the Swiss Youth Hostels can complete a promotional programme. Over the course of one to two years, candidates work in different positions and participate in project teams in order to acquire the skill set required for a different/higher position in the future. By actively supporting young talent, we are able to repeatedly recruit future managers from within our own ranks, while simultaneously reduc-ing the fluctuation rate.
External basic and further training is given financial support, provided the knowledge that is gained will benefit the person’s eve-ryday work. A minimum term of employment is agreed by contract, depending on the level of financial assistance.
In 2011, the Swiss Youth Hostels employed four apprentices (business administration) and two trainees from professional tour-ism schools in the Zurich office. A total of nine apprentices/train-ees worked at the youth hostels.
SpecialservicesEmployees, voluntary executive board members and delegates re-ceive accommodation coupons allowing free usage of youth hos-tels for themselves and their family members every year. In 2011, benefits worth CHF 99,451 were provided in this manner.
CasemanagementandsocialcounsellingAccidents and illnesses experienced by our employees are handled in a professional manner in cooperation with an external business partner, and all measures are taken to ensure the reintegration of affected employees. An external social counselling service is also available, free of charge, to all employees for personal, health-re-lated, financial, legal or administrative matters.
2009 2010 2011Payroll in CHF 14,299,898 14,844,585 15,507,270
Social security contribu-tions in CHF
2,388,245 2,360,983 2,568,358
Profit-sharing in CHF 459,611 461,017 298,621
2009 2010 2011Further training courses offered 31* 34* 34*Number of participants 368 483 535
Total hours of further training within the organisation
4,442 5,803 5,220
Number of persons in promotional programme 3 3 2Number of apprentices and trainees 15 14 15
Number of persons involved in external basic/further training
3 4 5
* plus individual and group tuition in English and French
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2009 2010 2011
Case-management Assisted employees 15 25 27
inabilitytowork
up to 5 days 0% 4% 0%
6–14 days 13% 12% 4%
15–30 days 27% 36% 22%
31–60 days 27% 20% 30%
61–90 days 20% 8% 4%
91–365 days 13% 20% 37%
over 365 days 0% 0% 3%
2009 2010 2011
Retirement assets in CHF 13,440,298 15,543,965 16,353,780
Available funds in CHF 840,326 910,544 1,043,082
Cover ratio 106.14% 105.77% 106.23%
Active insured persons 390 431 412
Pensioners 23 25 26
Socialcounselling questions/consultations
personal/family-related 1 3 0
health-related 1 2 1
work-related 3 2 0
financial 0 0 0
professional consultation 1 0 1
RetirementplanningThe Swiss Youth Hostels have their own retirement pension foun-dation. The whole of the pension fund investments are reinsured through AXA Leben AG and there is no liability for any deductions from the investments. As of 31 December 2011, the cover ratio was 106.23%. In view of the favourable financial position, in the year under review the board of trustees was able once again to pay in-terest on the employees’ retirement credit balance at a rate that is one percentage point higher than the minimum BVG rate stipulated by the Federal Council. In addition, pension recipients were paid a Christmas bonus in the form of a 13th pension payment.
The board of trustees is composed of four employee repre-sentatives and four employer representatives.Employeerepresentatives Granacher Bernhard | Künzli Martin | Lutz Walter | Zollinger Markus (President)Employerrepresentatives Dobler René | Gmür Fredi (Vice Presi-dent) | Hitz Ursula | Müller Christoph
OccupationalsafetyandhealthpromotionEnsuring optimum safety and health for our employees takes the highest priority. This is safeguarded with special employee instruc-tion/training on location, ongoing risk evaluation with corresponding measures definition, and sporadic safety audits in the workplaces.
Concepts, information leaflets and checklists for workplace safety and health promotion have been revised and published in multiple languages for employees.
PersonsperformingcivilserviceCivil service is a substitute for military service for young men un-able to perform military service on conscientious grounds. These individuals can instead carry out their service in the social sector, in nature park projects and in charitable organisations. The Swiss Youth Hostels also offer opportunities for persons performing civil service. In 2011, 192 persons carried out 6,538 days of service in our organisation. Likewise, members of the German Volunteer Ser-vice carried numerous days of service.
Employee/employerrelationshipThe Employee Commission (see page 40) represents the interests of employees vis-à-vis the executive board and management. Em-ployee meetings were held on the occasion of the regional meet-ings and at the autumn conference. The quarterly discussions between the Employee Commission, management and representa-tives of the executive board were extremely constructive and fos-tered mutual trust.
19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2009 2010 2011EmploymentEmployees, hostels n/c 363 345 310 418 410 398 448
Full-time posts, hostels n/c 175.7 163.0 176.4 225.0 219.2 223.9 231.4
Employees, administrative office n/c 29 27 30 37 37 45 49
Full-time posts, administrative office n/c 21.4 22.6 23.9 27.6 30.8 33.4 37.4
Employees, total n/c 392 372 340 455 447 443 497
Full-time posts, total n/c 197.1 185.6 200.3 252.6 250.0 257.3 268.9
Fluctuation rate n/c n/c n/c n/c 9.1% 9.5% 7.0% 9.3%
Satisfaction index n/c n/c n/c n/c 95 97 96 92
StaffprofileAverage age n/c n/c n/c n/c 37.2 37.8 38.4 37.9
Overall percentage of women n/c n/c n/c n/c 66% 66% 67% 67%
Percentage of women in executive positions n/c n/c n/c n/c 55% 56% 58% 55%
WagespreadMinimum gross wages n/c 2,250 2,360 3,100 3,250 3,350 3,350 3,400
Ratio of highest wage to minimum wage (wage spread) n/c >3.92 >4.24 >4.03 >4.15 >4.03 >4.03 >3.97
Accidents,daysofabsenceOccupational accidents n/c n/c n/c n/c 21 16 16 16
Non-occupational accidents n/c n/c n/c n/c 25 36 31 38
Days of absence due to accident, illness or maternity n/c n/c n/c n/c 5,281 2,914 2,990 4,675
Direct cost of days of absence n/c n/c n/c n/c 276,554 348,375 325,888 406,607
1) First fiscal year following merger of 14 independent districts 2) Start of reorganisation 3) Launch implementation of strategic planning n/c) not collected
Key figures
CHRistianfrom Konstanzpreparing his
Canoe
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We are aware that the local popula-tion and the natural environment in the areas in which we operate are crucially important both to us and to our guests. We wish to take the inter-ests of the local population into ac-count as much as possible, to respect their independence and culture, and to make every effort to minimise our impact on the environment. We aim for our youth hostels and leisure ac-tivities to be environmentally friendly and compatible with the countryside.
ouR ReLationsHip witH tHe enviRonMent
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Thanks to a simple general offer (low floor space per bed), youth hostels boast very high levels of environmental compatibility. In terms of CO2 emissions, in principle the level of environmental compatibility rises as the standard of accommodation becomes simpler. However, this high environmental compatibility does not mean that we do not achieve the best possible outcome. The youth hostels fully adhere to the principle of «Avoid, Reduce, Compen-
sate» – and indeed in that order.In general, we pay close attention to the efficiency of meas-
ures. Aided by analyses, the largest reduction potentials are deter-mined before appropriate measures are formulated. A comprehen-sive environmental management system for hostel construction and operation has been created over many years.
OuRRELAtiONSHiPWitHtHEENViRONMENt
The course towards environmentally friendly operation is set dur-ing the construction of a hostel. Heating energy and electricity are the principal environmental factors. For new buildings, the youth hostels are committed to the Minergie and ECO standards. Miner-gie-certified buildings exhibit far lower energy consumption than conventional buildings. This form of construction has been adopt-ed by the Swiss Youth Hostels for new buildings and major renova-tions. «Eco-Bau» lays out the most ecologically efficient materials and construction services.
We are even going a step further with the construction of the Interlaken Youth Hostel: Here, the objective is known as Minergie-P-ECO, which means that the buildings also actively contribute to energy generation. Solar hot water production is economically at-
tractive (13 plants with a total of 501 m2). Under ideal conditions, photovoltaic power generation systems can also be used (three plants with a total of 1,238 m2).
SolarPrizefortheSwissYouthHostelsIn October 2011, the Swiss Youth Hostels Association was awarded the 2011 Swiss Solar Prize in the «Personalities/Institutions» cat-egory for its comprehensive environmental management in con-struction and operation, and for its pioneering role in environmen-tally compatible tourism. Since 1990 the Swiss Solar Prize has been awarded in a variety of categories: for buildings, solar systems, best-integrated plants, as well as personalities, municipalities, cantons, architects, engineers and companies dedicated to solar energy.
Real estate
The Swiss Youth Hostels work with a comprehensive environmen-tal management system. The highest standards and the best labels serve as yardsticks, selected partners as indicators. In the near fu-ture, all youth hostels will be certified with the EU Eco-label and the Ibex Fairstay label (cf. page 20).
CO2emissions/CO2compensation/exemptionfromCO2 levyWith climate warming, CO2 emissions have moved into the focus alongside resource consumption. A master’s thesis by Michael Keller has outlined the CO2 emissions of the youth hostels and the main emitters. Heat, electricity and external factors such as res-taurant services are more or less equal contributors with about a third each. Thanks to the purchase via certificates of 100% hydro-electric power, the CO2 emissions for electricity in the hostels have been reduced to almost zero.
Through diverse measures, the Swiss Youth Hostels are con-tinuously reducing their CO2 emissions. The specific CO2 emissions for space heating have been reduced by 37.6% compared to the year 2000. This means that the binding target value for 2011 (8.5%) agreed with the Energy Agency for Industry EnAW was significantly exceeded. Part of the overfulfilment of around 650 tonnes of CO2 was sold to the Climate Cent Foundation. Compared to the baseline year, CO2 intensity now amounts to just 62% per square metre of floor space, meaning that less than two thirds of the quantities of CO2 are being emitted compared to the year 2000. The targets agreed with the Energy Agency for Industry EnAW for the period from 2008 to 2012, and the contractually agreed overfulfilment with the Climate Cent Foundation, are with all certainty going to be achieved.
What the Swiss Youth Hostels have so far been unable to re-duce or avoid, is to a large extent compensated for. The guests con-tinue to distinguish themselves by their very high level of participa-tion in the voluntary CO2 compensation scheme: 63.1% of guests thus add their own personal commitment to the efforts of the youth hostels, compensating their CO2 emissions by an average of 5.5 kg per overnight stay. This results in annual compensation of around 3,000 tonnes of CO2. Half of this amount is utilised for the benefit of projects from the myclimate foundation (currently for efficient stoves in Peru), while the other half is fed into a climate fund for measures at youth hostels. This is further augmented by the income generated by the photovoltaic plant constructed in St. Moritz in 2010. Further-more, the youth hostels compensate for the flights and car journeys undertaken by the Zurich office employees.
HeatAt about 6,700 MWh per year, heating is the largest energy factor in the youth hostels. Consumption is reduced through improvements to the building envelopes and the heating systems. CO2 emissions are further reduced by converting heating systems, whenever pos-sible from fossil fuels to renewable energies. Connections to dis-trict heating networks, as well as operational optimisations, also help to improve energy efficiency. The long-standing focus of en-ergy-saving efforts on the area of heating is reflected in the great success in reduction. Compared to the baseline year of 2000, the specific energy consumption of 155 kWh per m2 was reduced to 98 kWh per m2. It should also be noted that the measures in this area have a long-term impact (building envelope, etc.).
operation
30 / 31OuRRELAtiONSHiPWitHtHEENViRONMENt
ElectricityOver 90% of electricity consumption can be influenced on the side of the hostels, or through operational controls. For this reason, the youth hostels deliberately refrain from harassing guests with re-minders to save energy. At the same time, new and replacement investments are subject to the highest energy requirements. Power consumption has been significantly reduced by consistently pur-chasing the most efficient machinery and equipment (“top ten” devices, heat recovery, etc.). Reduction is partially offset again as a result of improvements to technical standards, or through the Minergie standard (ventilation). Thanks to our intense saving ef-forts, average power consumption has nevertheless remained at a stable level (4.6 kWh per overnight stay). With the use of hydro-power certificates, since early 2009 we have covered the entire an-nual electricity requirement of 3,500 MWh from renewable Swiss hydropower.
WaterWater is a significant environmental factor in accommodation es-tablishments. Above all, a substantial portion of thermal energy is used for hot water. The comprehensive water-saving measures in recent years, which have been funded by the Climate Fund, have shown a big impact. Despite continuous improvements to the stand-ards for showers and toilets, there has been a further reduction of the average consumption to 125 litres per overnight stay. Compared to hotel industry benchmarks, these are outstanding values.
EnvironmentallyfriendlyproductsandmaterialsWith regard to purchasing, the Swiss Youth Hostels give great weight to environmental factors. As one of the largest providers of accommodation in Switzerland, we are aware of the impact of our demand criteria on suppliers. The environmentally friendly choice of materials begins with construction that is in line with ECO standards (environmentally friendly choice of materials, grey energy, etc.). As a member of the WWF Climate Group, the Swiss Youth Hostels undertake to select from «top ten» products when purchasing household appliances, lamps and lighting equipment, as well as IT equipment.
Since 1 December 2008, we have purchased products with Max Havelaar Fair Trade seal of approval:
Furthermore, in their choice of fresh foodstuffs the youth hostels place high value on regional products. Exclusively environ-mentally friendly products are used in the area of cleaning/hygiene. Compliance is ensured by clear product/supplier requirements with quality specifications, and by the regular internal and external audits stipulated by the Ibex Fairstay label.
Waste and disposalWe are committed to the comprehensive recycling of reusable ma-terials. This is implemented at the Zurich administrative office as well as in the hostels. In all hostels, guests are provided with recy-cling points for glass, paper, PET and aluminium; all other types of waste are disposed of appropriately.
MobilityShuttle transport is of only secondary importance at the youth hos-tels. The administrative office is easily accessible by public trans-port, and the employees working in the hostels are above all locally resident. At around one percent of CO2 emissions, business travel is likewise a low contributor. The youth hostels compensate for all busi-ness travel, including business flights, at the myclimate foundation.
The environmental impact of transports (supplies) cannot be straightforwardly determined. The youth hostels respond to this by giving preference to local products, and by focusing on a small number of suppliers carrying a broad range.
Tourism means travel, and travel means mobility. Guests’ travel to the hostels represents a substantial environmental fac-tor. At the youth hostels, the CO2 emissions associated with this travel are comparable to an overnight stay (5.5 kg CO2/overnight stay is equivalent to about 30 car-kilometres). The youth hostels are aware of this fact, and therefore encourage the use of public transport. Work was begun in the year under review on drawing up a mobility concept; immediate measures are intended to achieve short-term success.
ecological services19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2009 2010 2011
Resourceconsumption/emissions
Space heating (oil/gas):
Reduction in specific CO2 loading n/c n/c 0% 4.2% 28.3% 27.9% 37.1% 37.6%
Electricity consumption per overnight stay (kWh) n/c 5.5 4.9 4.9 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.6
Energy consumption per m2 (kWh) n/c n/c 155 138 110 112 97 98
Water consumption per overnight stay (litres) n/c 168 166 153 136 137 132 125
CO2compensation
Percentage of compensated overnight stays – – – – 28.7% 57.2% 63.9% 63.1%
Compensation for overnight stays in CHF* – – – – 130,813 254,979 237,062 232,813
Own projects realised in CHF – – – – 33,287 13,454 213,128 1,959
Payment to myclimate through compensation by guests, in CHF
– – – – 68,406 127,490 118,531 116,406
Payment to myclimate as compensation for car and air-kilometres
– – – – 1,800 2,175 2,237 3,376
1) First fiscal year following merger of 14 independent districts 2) Start of reorganisation 3) Launch implementation of strategic planning n/c) not collected
* starting 1 December 2009: decrease in compensation from CHF 0.60 to CHF 0.50
Consumptionquantities 2009 2010 2011Coffee in kg 6,234 6,454 6,375Fruit juice in litres 108,240 111,624 112,428Sugar in kg 2,810 2,685 2,645Tea in kg 102 105 145Rice in kg 4,880 5,580 5,260
seLiMfrom Menzikenon CiviL-seRviCe
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We strive to build true partnerships with all of the people, enterprises and institutions that are important to us. We consider close personal relation-ships and mutual agreement on fair conditions to be especially meaning-ful. We seek active co-operation with all key tourist organisations both at home and abroad. We promote both inter- and intra-organisational co-operation.
ouR CoMMeRCiaL viaBiLitY
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OuRCOMMERCiALViABiLitY
Market development2011 was marked by an expansion of personnel in the sales de-partment in the areas of products (preparation of offers), sales promotions (events, trade shows, sales trips), distribution (incom-ing, sales partnerships) and digital sales (online sales platforms, Internet, analysis and statistics).
First priority was given to the expansion of digital sales. This included, on the one hand, improved presence of the individual youth hostels’ range of offers on our own website, and on the other, the expansion of sales through external booking platforms. The inclusion of the youth hostels on booking.com and the resulting additional bookings confirm the validity of this approach. Further platforms will be added in a targeted manner up to the end of 2012.
OffersadvertisingsupersedesimageadvertisingIn recent years, we have invested heavily in image advertising. In 2011, we consistently engaged in offers advertising: increasing emphasis was placed on marketing and selling the individual youth hostels’ diverse offers in the various media.
NationalandinternationalsalesactivitiesIn the year under review, selling key hostels – above all the Interlaken Youth Hostel – was to the fore in canvassing the various markets. The Swiss Youth Hostels concentrated their presence on public events and holiday trade fairs in Switzerland, as well as trade fairs abroad:
Switzerland ST Travel Mart Geneva | Indian Sales Workshop Inter-laken | Swiss holiday trade fairs Basel, Bern, St. Gallen, Geneva and Zurich | Bike Days Solothurn |Young Stage Basel | Gurtenfestival Bern | Ferienplausch ZurichGermany ITB BerlinEngland TNT Travel Show LondonSpain WYSTC BarcelonaSouth Korea KOFTA SeoulCzechRepublic Sales Workshop Prague
engagement and partnerships
We maintain very close relationships at the national and interna-tional levels with competitors, trade associations and partners from government and business. As dictated by our sustainability strategy, and also for the good of society as a whole, we aim to be a role model and motivator for the tourism industry.
Regionalpartnerships
The social and economic integration of any youth hostel in the region takes the highest priority; support for local/regional asso-ciations, affiliations with trade associations and tourism organisa-tions, and the procurement and utilisation of local products are all actively promoted.
At a number of locations, the most important partners are also the owners/landlords of our youth hostels, who lease out the properties on moderate, sometimes symbolic terms. As of 1 May 2012, these are:
Baden Municipality of Baden | Bern Municipal Building De-partment of Bern |Dachsen-RhineFalls Canton of Zurich | Fribourg Municipality of Fribourg | Klosters Political Municipality of Walli-sellen | Kreuzlingen City of Kreuzlingen | Lausanne City of Lausanne | Mariastein-Rotberg Jugendburg Rotberg Foundation | Pontresina Municipality of Pontresina | Rapperswil-Jona City of Rapperswil-Jona | Richterswil Canton of Zurich | Schaan-Vaduz Schaan-Vaduz Youth Hostel Foundation | Schaffhausen Municipality of Schaff-hausen | Sion City of Sion | Solothurn Municipality of Solothurn | St. Gallen Political Municipality of St. Gallen | Sta.Maria Municipality of Sta. Maria | Zofingen Municipality of Zofingen
Nationalcommitment
igParahotellerieSchweizFollowing intensive negotiations, in January 2011 the Swiss Youth Hostels, Interhome AG, REKA, TCS Switzerland (camping), and Bed & Breakfast Switzerland founded a simple company under Swiss law with the name IG Parahotellerie Schweiz (non-hotel accommo-dation Switzerland syndicate). Fredi Gmür is serving as president
of this company. The purpose of the company is to strengthen non-hotel accommodation, and to bring about an associated increase in overnight stays in Swiss tourism through quality-conscious ac-tion. Likewise, it is hoped to raise general awareness of non-hotel accommodation and enhance its image. The joint representation of the interests of non-hotel accommodation (visitors’ taxes, «cold» beds, the second home problem, etc.) opposite third parties (politi-cal parties, associations, public authorities) is to be strengthened through the exchange of experience and strategic cooperation. IG Parahotellerie Schweiz also represents the interests of the quali-ty-conscious Swiss non-hotel accommodation industry in matters of tourism policy, and promotes these interests with targeted part-nerships and activities. The partners have undertaken to ensure «Leadership through quality» by implementing the direct defini-tion and control of quality standards, as well as maintaining and operating their own online booking platforms.
A strategic partnership of 3 years has been agreed with Switzerland Tourism. IG Parahotellerie Schweiz is investing an an-nual sum of CHF 250,000 for the marketing partnership. Additional funds were provided for the realisation of a short-term impulse programme for 2011/2012 which had been initiated due to the strong franc. The services provided by Switzerland Tourism include permanent, market-focused non-hotel marketing. Switzerland Tourism is supporting the positive image of non-hotel accommo-dation and the relevant accommodation areas with targeted mar-keting and communications measures. Likewise, in its global mar-keting efforts, Switzerland Tourism is taking account of the visual presence of IG Parahotellerie Schweiz.
Cooperations Cooperations are an important and effective means of reaching new guest segments together with partners. Thereby, the youth hostels enter into multi-annual national and international partner-ships. The cooperation with Switzerland Tourism has been strongly intensified, and new partnerships have been agreed with SBB, IKEA and Coop Hello Family. Existing partnerships have been renewed with Rent-a-Bike, CSS insurance and also with WWF and VCS.
34 / 35OuRCOMMERCiALViABiLitY
ParticipationinexpertgroupsandcommitteesWe are happy to pass on our vast experience of sustainable manage-ment at no cost, be it in the form of consultation to individual service providers, students, hotel groups, trade associations or through ac-tive participation in committees. René Dobler became a member of working groups of the Swiss Hotel Association and the Swiss Tour-ism Association. Fredi Gmür is a member of the Tourism Council of Switzerland Tourism, and member of the board of the Swiss Tourism Association. In addition, the management members took the oppor-tunity to present the «Sustainable Swiss Youth Hostels» formula for success at universities, technical colleges, general meetings, work-shops and conferences both in Switzerland and abroad.
internationalcooperation
HostellinginternationalThe Swiss Youth Hostels have been a member of Hostelling Inter-national since its founding in 1932. The objective of Hostelling In-ternational is to promote the education and upbringing of young people from all nations, and in particular young people with lim-ited financial resources. These individuals are encouraged to learn extensively about – as well as to love and cherish – the natural world, and to appreciate the cultural values of small and large cit-ies all over the world. To support these objectives, Hostelling In-ternational coordinates the mutual recognition of membership, develops/promotes national networks and associations, defines quality standards, coordinates marketing activities and maintains the booking portal www.hihostels.com. Hostelling International’s efforts are supported by the Swiss Youth Hostels in that the mem-bers of their Executive Committee are actively involved in a variety of working groups.
Hostellinginternationalinfigures:– 71 member associations– 8 associated organisations – 4,000 youth hostels – 38 million overnight stays annually– 350,000 beds – Active in 90 countries– 3.7 million national members, plus one million guest members– 13 million annual visits to hihostels.com– Estimated annual revenue in the HI network of 1 billion francs
HostellinginternationalMarketinggmbH Hostelling International Marketing GmbH is headquartered in Zu-rich. The Swiss Youth Hostels and their Dutch counterpart each own a 50% share. The managing directors of the organisation are the two CEOs, Fredi Gmür (SYH) and Marijke Schreiner (Stayokay).
On behalf of Hostelling International, Hostelling International Marketing GmbH trains, audits and certifies member associations and hostels worldwide in the HI quality assurance system. The sec-ond phase began in 2011 after the successful completion of the first phase, in which 80% of the worldwide key hostels were inte-grated into the quality programme. For the integration of smaller hostels, project manager Jürgen Gross developed a HI-Q Light ver-sion, which was complemented by online tools. At the same time, new contracts were negotiated for a second contract period with Hostelling International.
CooperationwithnationalyouthhostelassociationsAt the international level, the Swiss Youth Hostels are considered
to be a leading organisation in terms of construction, operation and management. In the year under review, representatives of the Swiss Youth Hostels participated in the Conference of German-speaking CEOs in Salzburg (A), at the European Conference in Rouen (F) and at the Hostelling International CEO Meeting in Lisbon (P). We en-gaged in an extremely intensive exchange of know-how, including mutual visits, with the German Youth Hostel State Association of Bavaria and with HI Canada.
Memberships
The Swiss Youth Hostels are a member of the ZEWO Foundation (Swiss certification body for non-profit, donation-collecting or-ganisations), Hostelling International, the World Youth Student & Educational Travel Confederation, Switzerland Tourism, IG Para-hotellerie Schweiz, the Swiss Hotel Association, GastroSuisse, the Swiss Tourism Association, öbu (Network for Sustainable Eco-nomic Activity), the Energy Agency for Industry EnAW and proFonds (umbrella organisation for Swiss charitable foundations).
IG parahotellerie „Leadership through quality“
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economic performanceOuRCOMMERCiALViABiLitY
19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2009 2010 2011
Revenue
Operating revenue in million CHF 17.51 20.45 23.89 27.64 40.68 40.53 41.11 41.50
Bed revenue in CHF 2,319 2,560 4,709 6,099 7,843 8,254 7,935 7,948
Revenue per overnight stay in CHF n/c 36.44 41.68 47.88 51.81 54.19 55.10 56.25
Occupancy rates (own hostels) 43.3% 38.2% 43.9% 44.8% 52.4% 52.7% 50.0% 47.9%
Result
Cash flow in million CHF 4) 1.78 2.00 4.28 5.89 10.45 10.58 9.87 9.93
Liquidity ratio III 174% 133% 98% 136% 112% 123% 132% 137%
Organisational capital 19% 1% 7% 34% 25% 32% 39% 41%
Return on equity in % – – – – 3% 3% 2% 1.5%
Return on equity in CHF – – – – 2,327,983 2,476,313 1,560,703 1,296,273
Productivity
Productivity per employee in CHF 81,455 88,470 125,926 137,990 161,046 162,097 159,748 154,373
Total value creation in CHF n/c 10,782,865 13,096,859 15,161,396 21,194,567 21,405,379 21,692,131 22,709,817
Value creation for employees in CHF 9,140,613 10,324,851 11,643,355 13,187,228 18,112,930 18,301,369 18,919,642 19,690,343
Value creation for public sector in CHF n/c 1,134,541 1,046,925 1,326,257 2,025,707 2,006,482 1,763,833 1,805,337
Value creation in the organisation in CHF n/c - 676,527 406,578 647,911 1,055,930 1,097,529 1,008,656 1,214,137
1) First fiscal year following merger of 14 independent districts2) Start of reorganisation3) Launch implementation of strategic planning4) Before allocations and write-offsn/c not collected
Worldwide the tourism industry grew to record levels in 2011; in-ternational arrivals increased again, by 4.4%. National arrivals in hotels grew by 0.2%, but the total overnight stays decreased by 2.0% to 35.5 million.
In 2011, the Swiss Youth Hostels recorded 737,827 overnight stays, representing a year-on-year decline of 1.1%. This decline is
mainly attributable to the fact that the Zurich Youth Hostel was partly closed for modification and renovation work. Taking this limited availability into account, the number of overnight stays reached the previous year’s level. Turnover was slightly increased by 1% to 41.5 million francs.
Key figures
in zuRiCHCHeF Yupampers guestsfrom all overtHe woRLd
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We wish to communicate our aims and convictions at all times and to keep the general public up to date about developments in our field of activities. We wish to maintain close personal relationships with the au-thorities, with both public and private institutions and with the media, to stand up for improvements in the most important basic conditions and to support meaningful leisure activity options.
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Delegatestermofoffice2012–2015
Individual members (currently 101,085) select 20 – 80 delegates for four years. Their powers include modification of the statutes, ratifi-cation of the business report, approval of the actions of the bodies, election of executive board members, president and statutory audi-tors, and nomination of honorary members.Aebischer Andreas, Manager SYH, Baden | Akermann Corinne, Mar-keting & Sales SYH, Zurich | Avesani Guerino, Pensioner, Melano | Bianchin Patricia, Commercial Employee, Neuchâtel | Büschlen Ruth, Primary School Teacher, Bonstetten | Buschor Trudi, Teacher, Moosseedorf | Délèze Emmanuel, Manager, Geneva | Dolanc Oswald Marusa, Psychologist, Thun | Fuchs Edwin, Electrical Engineer, Zol-likon | Furger Christine, Parish Secretary, Arlesheim | Giacomazzi Fabio, Architect, Manno | Gisler Alfred, Managing Director, Lucerne | Granacher Bernhard, Manager SYH, Kreuzlingen | Gruber Veroni-ka, Commercial Employee, Gelterkinden | Haag-Lochmann Helen, Housewife/Gardener, Hirzel | Haug-Kern Esther, Nurse, Zurich | Haug Tobias, Draughtsman, Zurich | Kasser Rosmarie, Secondary School Teacher, Küsnacht | Keller-Giovanon Helene, Cook/Farmer, Ossingen | Lemberg Susanne, Design Engineer, Zofingen | Lutz Béa-trice, Pastor, Birsfelden | Mathies Andreas, Commercial Employee, Ettingen | Meier Nicole, Tourism Professional, Zurich | Meyer Stefan, SBB Secretary, Zuzwil | Mottier André, Pensioner, Ste-Croix | Müller Karin, Movement Therapist, Bonstetten | Paliaga Marco, Pensioner, Chur | Ramsperger Rolf, Secondary School Teacher/Headmaster, Neuhausen am Rhein | Rettenmund Anne-Marie, Commercial Em-ployee, Langnau i.E. | Sager Adrian, Manager SYH, Interlaken-Unter-seen | Scherler Jolanda, Nurse, Schmitten | Schmid Theres, Occupa-
tional Therapist, Münsingen | Schwyter-Faist Yolanda, Housewife/Nurse, Zezikon TG | Städler Bischof Esther, Chief Accountant, Watt-wil | Steinmann Rolf, Registrar, Cham | Stiner Susanna, Business-woman, Zurich | Strehler René, Architect, Zurich | Streuli Cornelia, Steinhausen | Thut Tobias, Schönenberg | Uhlemann Luzia, Front Of-fice Assistant PTT, Untervaz | Vogel Manon, Lawyer, Hinwil | Zulliger-Senn Annemarie, Home Economics Manager/Housewife, Volketswil
Executiveboardtermofoffice2012–2015
The executive board is the highest management body and is cho-sen by the assembly of delegates for a term of four years. The board defines the strategic orientation and reviews the operative imple-mentation. – Abegg Thomas, Businessman, Wilen bei Wollerau (since 17.04.2010)– Egloff Markus, Director, Zurich (since 08.03.2003)– Furrer Daniel, Tourism Professional, Lucerne (since 03.12.2004)– Gendre Stéphane, Teacher, Geneva (since 01.10.2005)– Hitz Ursula, Housewife, Stein am Rhein (since 12.06.1999)– Jordan Amaury, Asset Manager, Thalwil (since 29.01.2003)– Kurmann Stephan, Management Consultant, Hirzel (since 17.06.1995)– Lüdi Heinz, Banking Expert, Effretikon (since 17.06.2000)– Martin Pierre, Chief Justice, Zurich (since 16.03.1996)– Müller Christoph, Jurist, Fällanden (since 17.06.1995)– Roffler Erwin, Bank Councillor, Davos-Platz (since 14.03.2009)
StRuCtuRE&CORPORAtEgOVERNANCE
organisation chart
Bodies of the association
DELEgAtES’ASSEMBLY
EXECutiVEBOARD
Legal Committee
Departments
MANAgEMENt
Finance Committee
Quality Assurance and Ecology
Management Assistants
Statutory Audits
FiNANCE&CONtROLLiNgPROJECtS
tECHNOLOgY/DEVELOPMENt
MARKEtiNg&SALES
Strategic marketing
Guest & member service
Corporate design
Public relations
MARKEtiNg
Promotion
Partners
Products
Sales promotion
Distribution
SALES
Digital marketing
HuMAN
RESOuRCES
Contracts
Social insurance
Wages
Social counselling
Case management
Pension fund
NEW
tECHNOLOgY
Software & ApplicationDevelopment/Intranet
Support/Controlling/ Training/Reservation-system/E-Commerce/ Revue & Channel-Manager
Security/InfrastructureCoordination
2nd level services/network/Internet/hardware/server
HOStELS
OWNHOStELSEASt/CENtER/WESt-SOutH
Managers
Deputy Managers
Employees
FRANCHiSEHOStELS
FiNANCE&
ACCOuNtiNg
Finance accounting
Creditors
Debtors
Assets accounting
Statistics
1st level support reservation system
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StRuCtuRE&CORPORAtEgOVERNANCE
President/VicePresident– Kurmann Stephan, President– Hitz Ursula, Vice President
Financecommittee– Lüdi Heinz, President– Egloff Markus– Roffler Erwin
Legalcommittee– Martin Pierre– Müller Christoph
ManagementThe management runs the operative business and is responsible for implementing the business aspects. The management is grant-ed all of the powers which are not expressly assigned to another body by law, statutes or regulations issued by the executive board. – Gmür Fredi, CEO SYH (since 01.04.1996)– Dobler René, CEO SFST (since 01.05.1999)– Bunte Janine, CFO SYH/SFST (since 01.10.2010)
Employeecommitteetermofoffice2012–2015
The employee committee represents the interests of all employees to the management and the executive board.– Raimann Angela, Application Support Executive, Zurich office (President)– Meier Daniel, Manager, Stein am Rhein Youth Hostel– Specht Andrea, Manager, Zurich Youth Hostel– Wettstein Tobias, Manager, Basel Youth Hostel
AuditingbodiesBommer + Partner Treuhandgesellschaft, Bern
Honorary members– Kern Jack, Zurich– Lüdi Heinz, Effretikon– Wälle Robert, Lucerne
ManagementteamsAsof1May2012
Avenches Edith & Mohamed Dhyaf | Baden Andreas & Adina Aebischer | Basel Tobias Wettstein & Yves Senn | Beinwil am See Mario Stadelmann | Bellinzona Chiara Sassi | Bern Daniel Fahrni & Adrian Sager | Brienz Sabine Palme | Brugg Saba Krezdorn & Jara Guldimann | Château-d’Oex Esther Hunziker | Dachsen Francielly Gmür | Davos Michael André Behling & Sylvia Spring | Delémont Peter & Ute Kägi | EngelbergPetra & Fredy Liem | Fällanden Mar-tin Käser | Fiesch Claudio Rossetti | Figino Margarete Lenhardt & Isabelle Meister | Fribourg Evie Sprecher | Geneva Emmanuel Délèze | Gersau Dani & Ebi Angst | Grindelwald Esther Suter & Romaine Bayard | interlaken Ueli Zürcher & Particia Odermatt | Klosters Myriam Niggl & David Busch | Kreuzlingen Bernhard Gra-nacher | Lausanne Gaudenz Dorta & Jean-Marc Pochon | LeBé-mont Andrea Duffort & Andrea Strohmeier | Leissigen Jos Jägers & Andrea Jenni | Locarno Rosemarie Weyer & Carmen Gambetta | Lugano Lotti & Roland Majek | Lucerne Evelyn Gomer & Ursula Angele | Mariastein-Rotberg Thomas Krämer | Montreux Walter &
Christine Pfister | Pontresina Martin & Sabine Künzli | Rapperswil-Jona Peter & Brigitte Keller | Richterswil Vacant | Romanshorn Jo-sef & Doris Eichmann | Saanen Vacant | Schaan-Vaduz Ute Möller | Schaffhausen Sirko Meinhardt & Stefanie Pircher | Scuol Vacant | Seelisberg Daniela Truttmann-Burckhardt | Sils i.D. Erika Salzge-ber | Sion Nicolas Witschi | Solothurn Pablo A. Bobrik de Boldva | St. Gallen Milena Jung | St.Moritz Roland Fischer | Sta.Maria Ros-marie Tinner | Stein am Rhein Daniel & Susanna Meier | Valbella Ursula Wilhelm & Stefanie Schmid | Zermatt Christoph Keel & Ilja Ronsdorf | Zofingen Andrea Hafner | Zug Monika Krezdorn | Zurich Andrea Specht & Lukas Bossard
Employees,administrativeofficeAsof1May2012
Akermann Corinne Marketing & Sales | Antony Muriel Trainee | Bachmeier Iris Marketing & Sales | Bonaventure Sarah Non-Food, Hygiene and Facility Management | Buffoni Aldo Head of Projects SFST | Bunte Janine CFO SYH | SFST | Dalla Costa Flavia Apprentice | Dällenbach Stephan Finance & Accounting | Diener Julia Head of Sales | Dobler René CEO SFST | Fricke Marco Head of Finance & Accounting | Friedrich Esther Human Resources | Gabrielpillai So-zanya Apprentice | Gmür Fredi CEO SYH | Grossenbacher Yvonne Finance & Accounting | Gujan Brigitta Relief person | Güller Luzia Head of Member Service | Häfeli Hans-Urs Director of Projects & Maintenance SFST | Hefti Manuela Human Resources | Hilber Petra Finance & Accounting | Höneisen Maya Editorial staff My-HostelNews | Imboden Ariana Marketing & Sales | Kaufmann Nic Head of Marketing & Sales | Kirtskhalia Tatia Marketing & Sales | Kunz Dennis Apprentice | Lang Andrea Quality Assurance & Ecol-ogy | Levy René Director of Operations Centre | Lips Barbara Guest & Member Service | Lopez Diego Tournant | Lutz Walter Head of Projects and Technology | Münger Laura Assistant to the manage-ment | Nicotera Ralph SFST | Nyffeler Ursula Head West-South | Raimann Angela New Technology | Roscic Katarina SFST | Roth Jacqueline Corporate Design | Rüdisüli Anja Apprentice | Ryser Bri-gitta Quality Assurance & Ecology | Salzmann Patricia Marketing & Sales | Schaufelberger Andrea Head of Guest Service | Schempp Kurt Head of Projects & Development | Schenk Jorn Postal service, property maintenance | Schindler Annika Guest & Member Service | Schober Martin Head of New Technology | Schoch-Sutter Carmen Assistant to the management | Spörri Matthias SFST | Steiner Mike New Technology | Sturm Sandra Guest & Member Service | Stüssi Claudia Finance & Accounting | Wadowska Joanna Trainee | Weber Kathrin Head of Operations East | Witzig Emilienne Noëlle Finance & Accounting | Zbinden Sylvia Guest & Member Service | Zollinger Markus Head of Human Resources
Benefactors
PrivateindividualsAnna Leuthold-Knapp, Scuol | Hans K. Wagner, Winterthur | Doris und Stephan Lehner, Adliswil | Edouard Meyer-Desbaillets, Neu St. Johann | Paul Egger, Gossau | Rolf Steinmann, Cham | Margrit Eugster-Weidel, Lachen | Paul Zweifel, Zurich | Fam. R. Stöckli, Olten | H.B. Gamper-Hess, Zurich | Martin Schmidt, Zimmerwald | Anton Muff, Emmenbrücke | Prof. Dr. med. Markus Müntener, Zu-
40 / 41StRuCtuRE&CORPORAtEgOVERNANCE
Risk management
In cooperation with the management, the executive board has car-ried out a risk analysis at the organisational level. A risk inventory was prepared that covers all of the business areas/relationships and assesses the relevant risks, defines actions for minimising or covering each risk, specifies responsibilities and verifies the ef-
fectiveness of the control mechanisms. At the operative level, risk analyses were prepared by the managers and departmental su-pervisors using the same specifications, and were reviewed by the organisation’s management.
Corporate governance
In their reporting the Swiss Youth Hostels adhere to the standards of the Swiss Code of Best Practice. The following elements charac-terise our corporate governance: good relationships with our mem-bers, effective cooperation between the organisation’s management and executive board, and a compensation system for employees and managers that is success-oriented and modern.
Accounting by the Swiss Youth Hostels complies with the Swiss GAAP FER professional recommendations and gives a true and fair view of assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss. The 2011 annual financial statement was prepared in accordance with the Swiss GAAP FER 21 professional recommendations for charita-ble, social non-profit organisations.
Based on the corporate governance guidelines for non-profit organisations in Switzerland, the Swiss NPO code, and the regula-tions for the ZEWO seal of approval for charitable organisations, the
members of the executive board provide their services free of charge as a general principle. Any resulting actual expenses are reimbursed. For their voluntary activities, the members of the executive board re-ceive 14 accommodation coupons every year that allow free usage of youth hostels. If particularly time-consuming tasks or projects are assigned to one or several members of the executive board, compen-sation can be paid to them taking into account the non-profit nature of the organisation and following the applicable guidelines provided in the Swiss NPO code. Services may not be compensated until the personal volunteer efforts exceed 150 hours per calendar year.
By way of compensation, delegates receive seven accommoda-tion vouchers every year that allow free usage of youth hostels along with reimbursement of their actual expenses for participation in the delegate assemblies; they do not receive any cash payments.
19921) 19962) 20003) 2004 2008 2009 2010 2011
Punished legal violations n/c 0 0 0 0 0 0 01) First fiscal year following merger of 14 independent districts2) Start of reorganisation3) Launch implementation of strategic planningn/c not collected
Legal compliance
rich | Arno Lechthaler, Müstair | René Bergamin, Lenzerheide | Ti-tus Giger, Murg | Dr. H.R. Tschopp, Sissach | Werner Faist, Zezikon | Peter Gertsch, Grindelwald | Dr. Conrad Martin Ulrich | Dr. med. Ulrich Weisskopf, Olten | Peter und Heidi Hanimann, Boltigen | Martin Meier, Winterthur | Karl + Heidi Weiss-Baumann, Dietikon | Dr. Richard Wengle, Richterswil | Norbert und Maria Kaufmann, Schaan | Dr. med. Jürg Brunner, Flawil | H.A. Schmutz, Basel | Do-menic Lingenhag, St. Moritz | Hans Elber, Steckborn | Hans Zulauf, Brugg | P. + G. Cappelli, St. Gallen | Michael Günter, Büren zum Hof
CompaniesApplied Acoustics GmbH, Gelterkinden | Bäckerei Müller AG, Solo-thurn | Basler Kantonalbank, Basel | Benz Hauswirth AG, Gstaad | Binggeli Frères SA, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne | Brauerei Schützen-garten AG, St. Gallen | Emil Meier Baumeister, Eglisau | Filados AG, Pratteln | Fleischhandel Danko AG, Aadorf | Haldi Bodenbeläge AG, Saanen | Heinz Kern AG, Stein am Rhein | Helmut Gmeiner An-stalt, Schaan | Herzog Bau AG, Menziken | Homegate AG, Adliswil |
K. Schwizer AG, Gossau | K.F. Objektmöbel, Pery | Köhler + Co.AG, Schaffhausen | Mätzener + Wyss Bauingenieure AG, Unterseen | Oekopack AG, Spiez | Pacovis AG, Stetten | Postauto Schweiz AG, Bern | Prolux Licht AG, Schlieren | Prowema GmbH, Pfäffikon | Romande Energie Holding SA, Morges | Scana Lebensmittel AG, Regensdorf | Solarspar, Sissach | Stricker AG, Grosshochstetten | Sweet Dreams Collection AG, Reinach | Thymos AG, Lenzburg | Uffer Holz AG, Savognin | Verkehrsladen im Bahnhof, Tecknau | Welatec Beratende Ingenieure AG, Interlaken | Zahner Fischhandel AG, Gommiswald | Adank Davos AG, Davos
MunicipalitiesErlenbach ZH | Küsnacht ZH | La Tour-de-Peilz VD | Zurich ZH | Schafisheim AG | Erlinsbach AG | Einsiedeln SZ | Speicher AR | Oberrieden ZH | Horgen ZH | Ormalingen BL | Mosnang SG | Un-teriberg SZ | Magden AG | Riehen BS | Gerzensee BE | Amriswil TG | Cham ZG | Bottmingen BL | Meilen ZH | Weinfelden TG | Illnau-Ef-fretikon ZH | Brugg AG
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KHan,FatiMa andgagandeeBfrom deHLidiscovering switzeR-Land
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In spite of our idealistic aims, we aim for commercial activities that maximise our commercial viability and thereby ensure the continued existence of our enterprise. We strive therefore to generate sufficient reve-nue, to maintain adequate liquidity, to build reserves and to foster a sound capital structure. For major invest-ments such as new construction and renovation projects, however, we are reliant upon financial support from the authorities.
FinanCiaL RepoRting
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FiNANCiALREPORtiNg
Balance sheet
LiabilitiesOutsidecapitalAccounts payable to third parties 1,671,169.45 13.3 1,721,585.08 14.8Accounts payable to related parties 669,110.15 5.3 0.00 0.0Accountspayabletrade 7 2,340,279.60 18.6 1,721,585.08 14.8
Prepayments from guests 2,496,211.11 19.9 2,693,334.14 23.2Miscellaneous short-term liabilities 8 237,091.90 1.9 171,482.70 1.5Other liabilities 2,733,303.01 21.7 2,864,816.84 24.6
Deferrals, membership subscriptions 1,074,272.69 8.5 1,135,307.03 9.8Other transitory deferrals 1,100,666.84 8.8 1,234,023.38 10.6Deferrals 9 2,174,939.53 17.3 2,369,330.41 20.4
Short-termoutsidecapital 7,248,522.14 57.7 6,955,732.33 59.8
Assurance of guarantee risks 214,500.00 1.7 175,500.00 1.5
Provisions 10 214,500.00 1.7 175,500.00 1.5
Long-termoutsidecapital 214,500.00 1.7 175,500.00 1.5
Outsidecapital 7,463,022.14 59.4 7,131,232.33 61.3
OrganisationalcapitalCapital as of 1 January 2003 1,465,631.02 11.7 1,465,631.02 12.6Acquired free capital 3,643,360.03 29.0 3,032,880.59 26.1Free funds 0.00 0.0 0.00 0.0
Organisationalcapital 5,108,991.05 40.6 4,498,511.61 38.7
Liabilities 12,572,013.19 100.0 11,629,743.94 100.0
as of 31 December
Notes in annex
2011 in CHF in %
2010 in CHF in %
AssetsCurrent assetsLiquidassets 8,176,685.97 65.0 7,354,186.24 63.2
Accounts receivable from third parties 631,304.76 5.0 459,388.22 4.0Accounts receivable from related parties 21,686.25 0.2 141,719.17 1.2Del credere -74,403.00 -0.6 -45,374.00 -0.4Accountsreceivabletrade 1 578,588.01 4.6 555,733.39 4.8
Otheraccountsreceivable 2 467,096.34 3.7 611,349.14 5.3
Merchandise in stock 394,158.03 3.1 401,658.14 3.5Inventories heating material 205,649.07 1.6 203,865.12 1.8Value adjustment inventories -119,964.00 -1.0 -121,105.00 -1.0inventories 3 479,843.10 3.8 484,418.26 4.2
Activedeferredcharges 243,983.13 1.9 208,930.55 1.8
Current assets 9,946,196.55 79.1 9,214,617.58 79.2
Fixed assetsVehicles 135,974.20 1.1 118,636.00 1.0Equipment 1,191,301.85 9.5 1,141,868.36 9.8Mobiletangibleassets 4 1,327,276.05 10.6 1,260,504.36 10.8Renovations 232,988.59 1.9 0.00 0.0immobiletangibleassets 4 232,988.59 1.9 0.00 0.0
Holdings 2.00 0.0 2.00 0.0Share certificates 200.00 0.0 200.00 0.0Financialassets 5 202.00 0.0 202.00 0.0
Free assets 1,560,466.64 12.4 1,260,706.36 10.8
Loan «Valbella» to related party 145,350.00 1.2 174,420.00 1.5Loan «Davos» to related party 920,000.00 7.3 980,000.00 8.4Earmarkedloanstorelatedparties 6 1,065,350.00 8.5 1,154,420.00 9.9
Earmarkedassets 1065,350.00 8.5 1,154,420.00 9.9
Fixed assets 2,625,816.64 20.9 2,415,126.36 20.8
Assets 12,572,013.19 100.0 11,629,743.94 100.0
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statement of accounts
OperatingexpensesRestaurant expenses -3,867,921.09 -9.3 -3,957,076.94 -9.6Merchandise expenses -1,058,452.65 -2.6 -1,095,286.27 -2.7Material expenses -632,277.04 -1.5 -605,119.21 -1.5Third-party services -530,417.52 -1.3 -574,379.53 -1.4Expensesformaterials,merchandiseandthird-party 15 -6,089,068.30 -14.7 -6,231,861.95 -15.2Wages -15,805,891.35 -38.1 -15,305,602.30 -37.2Social benefits -2,568,357.70 -6.2 -2,360,982.90 -5.7Other personnel expenses -603,736.23 -1.5 -533,196.83 -1.3Work performed, third-party -712,358.20 -1.7 -719,860.35 -1.8Personnel expenses 16 -19,690,343.48 -47.4 -18,919,642.38 -46.0Rental and leasing expenses, third-party -553,178.05 -1.3 -480,846.72 -1.2Rental and leasing expenses, related party -8,282,915.65 -20.0 -8,522,008.15 -20.7Other facility expenses -25,809.20 -0.1 -36,993.15 -0.1Maintenance of buildings and installations -698,190.64 -1.7 -615,210.65 -1.5Employee contributions, lodging 577,766.75 1.4 586’977.06 1.4Facilityexpenses 17 -8,982,326.79 -21.6 -9,068,081.61 -22.1Maintenance, repairs, replacements and leasing -815,943.96 -2.0 -822,271.70 -2.0Vehicle and transport expenses -150,698.71 -0.4 -138,400.98 -0.3Property insurance and taxes -323,850.49 -0.8 -273,543.30 -0.7Energy and disposal expenses -1,675,097.52 -4.0 -1,793,199.62 -4.4Administrative expenses -1,457,345.97 -3.5 -1,445,900.73 -3.5Advertising expenses -1,050,719.49 -2.5 -1,281,349.36 -3.1Miscellaneous operating expenses -153,355.43 -0.4 -80,460.71 -0.2Otheroperatingexpenses -5,627,011.57 -13.6 -5,835,126.40 -14.2
Depreciation 4 -603,657.37 -1.5 -589,287.59 -1.4
Operatingexpenses 18 -40,992,407.51 -98.8 -40,643,999.93 -98.9
Operatingresult 512,199.75 1.2 465,633.20 1.1
Resultduetodisposaloftangibleassets 21,572.45 0.1 2,006.85 0.0Financial expense -38,713.63 -0.1 -133,996.86 -0.3Financial revenue 155,420.87 0.3 85,725.20 0.2Financialresult 76,707.24 0.2 -48,271.66 -0.1
Annualresultsbeforeallocationoforganisationalcapital 610,479.44 1.5 419,368.39 1.0
Allocation to acquired free capital -610,479.44 -1.5 -419,368.39 -1.0
Annualresult 0.00 0.0 0.00 0.0
from 1 January to 31 December
Notes in annex
2011 in CHF in %
2010 in CHF in %
OperatingrevenueRestaurant revenue 13,958,822.80 33.6 13,921,151.80 33.9Merchandise revenue 1,255,944.27 3.0 1,316,340.50 3.2Restaurantandmerchandiserevenue 15,214,767.07 36.7 15,237,492.30 37.1Lodging revenue 22,834,529.08 55.0 22,465,803.35 54.6Other service revenue 737,559.82 1.8 584,731.45 1.4Serviceandlodgingrevenue 11 23,572,088.90 56.8 23,050,534.80 56.1Annual membership subscriptions 2,070,453.28 5.0 2,092,371.67 5.1Single-day membership subscriptions 872,810.95 2.1 814,227.35 2.0Membershipsubscriptions 12 2,943,264.23 7.1 2,906,599.02 7.1Benefactor contributions 38,260.00 0.1 48,609.55 0.1Earmarked contributions 235,313.36 0.6 237,060.99 0.6Free contributions 70,255.95 0.2 10,000.00 0.0Benefactorcontributions 13 343,829.31 0.8 295,670.54 0.7Franchise fees 157,414.68 0.4 181,778.85 0.4Administrative contribution, related parties 82,000.00 0.2 78,000.00 0.2Miscellaneous operating revenue 26,345.55 0.1 37,700.60 0.1Otheroperatingrevenue 265,760.23 0.6 297,479.45 0.7Allowances -517,892.61 -1.2 -415,894.77 -1.0Commissions, credit cards and Reka -210,615.01 -0.5 -206,924.78 -0.5Reservation commissions -56,147.86 -0.1 -65,920.02 -0.2Losses from receivables -50,447.00 -0.1 10,596.59 0.0Decreaseinearnings 14 -835,102.48 -2.0 -678,142.98 -1.6
Operatingrevenue 41,504,607.26 100.0 41,109,633.13 100.0
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FiNANCiALREPORtiNg
from 1 January to 31 December
2011 in CHF
2010 in CHF
Allocation to acquired free capital 610,479.44 419,368.39
Depreciation 603,657.37 589,287.59
Allowances for inventories -1,141.00 -7,510.00
Allowances, earmarked loans to related parties 29,070.00 29,070.00
Creation/liquidation of provisions 39,000.00 0.00
Profits from sales of tangible assets -21,572.45 0.00
Increase/decrease in accounts receivable trade -22,854.62 -106,010.00
Increase/decrease in other receivables 144,252.80 -320,537.95
Increase/decrease in inventories 5,716.16 37,555.88
Increase/decrease in prepaid expenses -35,052.58 31,529.03
Increase/decrease in accounts payable trade 618,694.52 -1,654,806.85
Increase/decrease in other liabilities -131,513.83 -23,793.66
Increase/decrease in deferrals -194,390.88 18,045.46
Cashflowfromoperatingactivities 1,644,344.93 -987,802.11
Investments in tangible assets -685,047.09 -819,273.80
Disposals of tangible assets 40,505.65 5,407.50
Profits from sales of tangible assets 21,572.45 0.00
Investments in renovations -258,876.21 0.00
Investments in financial assets 0.00 -200.00
Disposals of earmarked loans to related parties 60’000.00 60,000.00
Cashflowfrominvestmentactivities -821,845.20 -754,066.30
Changeinliquidassets 822,499.73 -1,741,868.41
Balance of liquid assets as of 1 January 7,354,186.24 9,096,054.65Balance of liquid assets as of 31 December 8,176,685.97 7,354,186.24
Changeinliquidassets 822,499.73 -1,741,868.41
Cash flow statement
Opening balance
in CHFAllocation
in CHF
internalfundtransfers
in CHFUse
in CHF
Closingbalance
in CHF
Fundsfromequityfinancing
Capital as of 1 January 2003 1,465,631.02 0.00 0.00 0.00 1,465,631.02
Acquired free capital 3,032,880.59 0.00 610,479.44 0.00 3,643,360.03
Free funds 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Annual result 0.00 610,479.44 -610,479.44 0.00 0.00
Organisationalcapital 4,498,511.61 610,479.44 0.00 0.00 5,108,991.05
statement of variation in capital
General informationAccounting by the Swiss Youth Hostels complies with the Swiss GAAP FER professional recommendations and gives a true and fair view of assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss.The 2011 annual financial statement was prepared in accordance with the Swiss GAAP FER 21 professional recommendations for chari-table, social non-profit organisations.
Related partiesThe Swiss Foundation for Social Tourism, the Foundation for Youth Hostels in Switzerland and Hostelling International Marketing GmbH are deemed to be related parties. All substantial transactions are disclosed in the annex to the annual financial statement.For the first time now, a consolidated financial statement for the Swiss Youth Hostels, the Swiss Foundation for Social Tourism and the Foundation for Youth Hostels in Switzerland was compiled for 2011. Hostelling International Marketing GmbH has not been included in the consolidation, as it was founded solely to provide services to the national youth hostel associations. From 18 June 2012, the consolidated financial statement will be available from the following address:Swiss Youth Hostels, Management, Schaffhauserstrasse 14, P.O. Box, 8042 Zurich, Phone +41 (0)44 360 14 31, [email protected]
No contractual relations of any sort exist with members of the executive board of the Swiss Youth Hostels, the trustees of the Swiss Foun-dation for Social Tourism, the trustees of the Foundation for Youth Hostels in Switzerland and Hostelling International Marketing GmbH.
Valuation methods
LiquidassetsLiquid assets include cash on hand and postal cheque and bank account balances, all at their nominal values. Foreign currency balances are converted using the end-of-year conversion rate of the Swiss Federal Tax Administration.
ReceivablesReceivables for services provided to third parties are after discounting the necessary allowances for del credere risk.
inventoriesInventories are valued at cost prices or lower market prices. The goods risk is taken into account with an allowance of 20% of the respec-tive year-end balance.
tangibleassetsValuation occurs at procurement costs minus any applicable business depreciation. Depreciation is calculated on a straight-line basis with the following useful life:Machines and equipment 8 yearsFurniture 8 yearsSmall items 3 yearsIT 3 yearsVehicles 5 yearsRenovations 10 years
Explanatorynotesonthebalancesheet
1.AccountsreceivabletradeIn the del credere accounting, receivables that were older than 60 days on the balance sheet date were value-adjusted in full, while the remaining receivables were adjusted at a flat rate of 5%.Accounts receivable from related parties are predominantly made up of accounts receivable from Hostelling International Marketing GmbH.
2.OtheraccountsreceivableOther accounts receivable include CHF 200,831 of advance payments to suppliers. Suppliers’ invoices, which concern the period under review of the following year, were paid in the current period under review.
3.inventoriesRisks associated with the storage of goods were valued in the amount of 20% of the goods inventory as of the end of the year were deferred in full as an allowance.
FiNANCiALREPORtiNg
annex to the annual financial statement
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Explanatorynotesonthestatementofaccounts
11.ServiceandlodgingrevenueIn 2011, 369,952 guests were accommodated in our establishments. This resulted in 737,827 overnight stays.
12.MembershipsubscriptionsThe number of members as of 31 December 2011 (cut-off date) was 101,085. Income from the previous year amounting to CHF 97,798 is included in the one-day membership fees.
13.BenefactorcontributionsThe earmarked contributions include CHF 232,813 for voluntary CO2 compensation paid by lodging guests of the Swiss Youth Hostels. Half of the contributions are transferred to the myclimate foundation for financing climate protection projects worldwide and half to the Swiss Foundation for Social Tourism for climate projects of the Swiss Youth Hostels.CHF 70,000 of prize money from the 2011 ZKB Sustainability Award is included in the free contributions.
FiNANCiALREPORtiNg
inCHFValue as of 01.01. Acquisitions Disposals
Value as of31.12.
Sureties 175,500.00 39,000.00 0.00 214,500.00
Provisions 175,500.00 39,000.00 0.00 214,500.00
The safeguarding of guarantee risks exists to safeguard contractual relationships.
10. Provisions
5.FinancialassetsIn September 2006, Hostelling International Marketing GmbH was founded with its headquarters in Zug. The Dutch hostel association Stichtig Stayokay and the Swiss Youth Hostels each hold a 50% share of this company. The nominal capital totals CHF 20,000, of which the Swiss Youth Hostels have a share of CHF 10,000. This share is valued at CHF 1 and is included in the holdings of related parties.Hostelling International Marketing GmbH is an organisation that is barred from full consolidation since it was founded exclusively for the purpose of providing services to the national youth hostel associations.
6.EarmarkedloanstorelatedpartiesIn 2007, a loan earmarked for Valbella Youth Hostel was made to the Swiss Foundation for Social Tourism. It is amortised yearly by CHF 29,070.In 2008, a loan earmarked for the purchase of Davos Youth Hostel was made to the Swiss Foundation for Social Tourism. Regular interest is paid on this loan and it is amortised at annual instalments of CHF 60,000.
7.AccountspayabletradeAccounts payable to related parties include lease payment claims from the Swiss Foundation for Social Tourism, which were paid in full in 2012.
8.Miscellaneousshort-termliabilitiesMiscellaneous short-term liabilities are predominantly made up of liabilities to social security institutions and the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (VAT).
9. DeferralsThe deferrals of membership subscriptions for the following year come into being owing to the rolling membership year.
inCHFBookvalue as of 01.01. Acquisitions Disposals Depreciation
Bookvalueasof31.12.
Vehicles 118,636.00 100,079.00 40,505.65 42,235.15 135,974.20
IT 225,166.35 96,870.65 0.00 156,634.85 165,402.15
Machines / equipment 253,153.81 141,604.40 0.00 74,983.50 319,774.71
Furniture 454,370.00 165,676.24 0.00 127,882.20 492,164.04
Small items 209,178.20 180,816.80 0.00 176,034.05 213,960.95
Mobiletangibleassets 1,260,504.36 685,047.09 40,505.65 577,769.75 1,327,276.05
4.tangibleassets
Renovations 0.00 258,876.21 0.00 25,887.62 232,988.59
immobiletangibleassets 0.00 258,876.21 0.00 25,887.62 232,988.59
FiNANCiALREPORtiNg
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18.ExpensefortheprovisionofservicesinaccordancewithSwissgAAPFER21 2011 in CHF
2010 in CHF
Operatingexpenses
Expenses for materials, merchandise and third-party services -6,089,068.30 -6,231,861.95
Personnel expenses -17,067,014.16 -16,685,309.33
Facility expenses -8,604,917.94 -8,744,173.41
Other operating expenses -4,687,110.80 -5,097,315.18
Depreciation -428,774.80 -435,113.40
totaloperatingexpenses -36,876,886.00 -37,193,773.27
Administrativeexpenses
Personnel expenses, administration -2,623,329.32 -2,234,333.05
Other administrative expenses -1,317,309.62 -1,061,719.42
Depreciation -174,882.57 -154,174.19
Total administrative expenses -4,115,521.51 -3,450,226.66
Total -40,992,407.51 -40,643,999.93
Administrativeexpensesas%ofoperatingrevenue 9.9% 8.4%
Fireinsurancevaluesofthetangibleassets2011
in CHF2010
in CHFHead office furnishings 614,000 500,000
IT, office systems technology, communication technology 961,050 833,550
The other tangible assets are insured within the context of a joint policy with the Swiss Foundation for Social Tourism for 16,039,000 16,870,000
Accountspayabletopensioninstitutions2011
in CHF2010
in CHF
Occupational pension fund Credit balance Credit balance
14.DecreaseinearningsThe losses from accounts receivable include the increase in del credere risk, amounting to CHF 29,029.
15.Expensesformaterials,merchandiseandthird-partyservicesThe expenses for third-party services primarily include expenditures for external laundering and for management of the member database.
16. Personnel expensesIn 2011, 269 full-time workloads were distributed among 445 permanent positions. In addition, 52 temporary employees were employed sporadically.
17.FacilityexpensesThe rental and leasing expenses to related parties include the rent payments to the Swiss Foundation for Social Tourism (SFST). In 2011, a variable rent payment amounting to 1.5% of the SFST equity capital invested (CHF 1,296,273) was taken into account.
Further information
CompensationtoexecutiveboardmembersIn 2011, compensation consisting of fees and reimbursement of expenses was paid to executive board members in the amount of CHF 67,815. Of this sum, the President received CHF 63,653.
ExpenditureforfundraisingIn 2011, no expenditure was incurred for fundraising.
Riskassessment The executive board and the management have instituted internal precautions in order to ensure conformity of the organisation’s annual accounts with the applicable financial reporting requirements and to guarantee proper reporting. These precautions relate to modern ac-counting systems and procedures as well as the preparation of the annual accounts. During the past fiscal year, the executive board and the management did not identify any risks which could lead to a lasting or substantial impairment of the organisation’s assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss.
Report of the statutory auditor on the financial statements to the delegate meeting of Swiss Youth Hotels, Zurich As statutory auditor, we have audited the accompanying financial statements of Swiss Youth Hostels, which comprise the balance sheet, income statement, cash flow analysis, statement of changes in equity and notes for the year ended 31 December 2011. In accordance with Swiss GAAP FER the information contained in the performance report is not subject to the regular audit require-ment. Board of Directors’ Responsibility The Board of Directors is responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of Swiss law and the company’s articles of incorporation. This responsibility includes designing, implementing and maintaining an internal control system relevant to the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. The Board of Directors is further responsible for selecting and applying appropriate accounting policies and making account-ing estimates that are reasonable in the circumstances. Auditor’s Responsibility Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with Swiss law and Swiss Auditing Standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement. An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers the internal control system relevant to the entity’s preparation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control system. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of the accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that the audit evidence we have ob-tained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion. Opinion In our opinion, the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2011 give a true and fair view of the financial position, the results of operations and the cash flows in accordance with Swiss GAAP FER. Furthermore, the accounting records and the finan-cial statements comply with Swiss law and the company's articles of incorporation. Report on Other Legal Requirements We confirm that we meet the legal requirements on licensing according to the Auditor Oversight Act (AOA) and independence (arti-cle 728 CO and article 11 AOA) and that there are no circumstances incompatible with our independence. In accordance with article 728a paragraph 1 item 3 CO and Swiss Auditing Standard 890, we confirm that an internal control system exists, which has been designed for the preparation of financial statements according to the instructions of the Board of Directors. We recommend that the financial statements submitted to you be approved. We further confirm that the regulations of the ZEWO Foundation have been complied with. BOMMER + PARTNER Treuhandgesellschaft Hugo Schmid Annemarie Wüthrich Audit Expert Audit expert Auditor in charge Bern, 5. April 2012 / aw
Liu fromtaiwanon a visit toBaseL
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We wish to consciously promote in-novative thought and action at all levels within our organisation, since future opportunities in our fast-moving world can only be seized through new ideas. We support prac-tice-oriented, critical research into tourism and view it as an important vehicle for providing information that will allow us to formulate an inte-grated and forward-looking policy for the association.
outLooK &pRioRitiesFoR 2012
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economic outlook
Over the past 10 years, the Swiss Youth Hostels have continually made improvements in quality, and the organisation has invested some 80 million francs in the further development of the network. Here, we are now at a point of transition of investment from the A locations to the B/C locations. This raises the central question of whether and, if so, to what extent the clearly necessary cross-sub-sidising of the B/C locations should and can be deployed.
The executive board of the Swiss Youth Hostels Association and the board of trustees of the Swiss Foundation for Social Tourism have intensely dealt with these issues, and together with the man-agement have developed the Strategic Planning Futura 2020 plan.
Cross-subsidiesforyouthhostelsinB/ClocationsIn the coming years, there will be a need for renovation of youth hostels mainly in B/C locations. As a result of the planned invest-ments and the subsequent full-cost rental, it will be difficult to cover costs in the operation of these hostels. Nevertheless, we want to drive forward further development and support the hostels at B/C locations by cross-subsidising them. This is done with the awareness that this will not optimise economic viability; however, we consider the maintenance of a nation-wide network, as well as the preservation of unprofitable locations, to be an overarching ob-jective of our non-profit organisation.
It is therefore no surprise that a whole range of projects enter the crucial implementation phase already in 2012:
Saas-FeeprojectA new youth hostel is intended to complement the existing Bielen leisure centre, which the municipality of Saas-Fee is planning to renovate. This will result in a new top-notch youth hostel directly at the entrance to the village, as well as a modern, attractive leisure centre with public wellness and fitness facilities, and a swimming pool. This highly interesting project made significant progress in 2011: there was a positive referendum in November after specific right-to-build contracts for the youth hostel and lease contracts for the Bielen leisure centre had been jointly drawn up with the mu-nicipal executive board. Start of construction is now envisaged for 2013.
SaanenprojectThe project for a replacement building in Saanen was intensively pushed ahead. A study involving regional architectural firms was conducted for the youth hostel, and despite extremely tight design specifications from the municipality, the jury was able to select an undisputed winner from the six outstanding projects. Construction is due to begin in 2012 already.
BurgdorfprojectThe project «Public Burgdorf Castle» emerged as the winner in the competition from the City of Burgdorf for the redevelopment of the local castle. The project is aimed at the preservation of the medie-val castle complex, and its opening for the public. A new focal point for regional planning is hoped to be created through the new year-round use of the complex. The preservation and revitalisation of the castle complex is based on redevelopment into a youth hostel, as well as a restaurant business and museums. The broadly based user groups will create important synergies and ensure commer-cial viability. The project is expected to be concretised and funding secured in 2012. FurtherprojectsThe Pontresina Youth Hostel has long been in need of major reno-vation. A partial renovation of the rooms and restaurant is to be carried out between April and June 2012. A preliminary project has been drawn up for a partial renovation of the house in Avenches. This is anticipated to be implemented in the winter of 2012/13. Un-fortunately, the project for the new construction of a youth hostel in Neuchâtel continues to be blocked by objections from neighbours. The forthcoming decision from the Federal Court will provide clarity on a possible realisation. The project designs for new construction and reconstruction in Bern and Figino will be concretised in 2012; a second youth hostel in Geneva is to be established alongside the franchise hostel. Diverse project ideas are being further developed in a variety of locations, such as in Surselva (Disentis, Laax, Flims), Appenzell and in the Bernese Seeland. Impending tenancy exten-sions are anticipated to secure the long-term futures of the loca-tions Klosters, Kreuzlingen and Lausanne.
Once more it has been confirmed that currency, weather and eco-nomic conditions heavily influence the development of tourism. All of these are factors that we cannot control.
We assume that in the next 2 to 3 years, Swiss tourism will have to live with a Swiss franc that is traded above its value, and that will probably remain at its current level. We also believe that
the economic environment in Europe will not improve significantly in the short term.
We will face this challenge in order to remain on the road to success with these new realities. For us, price/performance re-mains critical, and providing good quality and top service is more important than ever.
network development
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target table 2012 OutLOOK&PRiORitiESFOR2012
Fieldofaction We want to … Keyperformanceindicator
Quality assurance and quality improvement
Ensuring of defined standards regarding quality, work safety and the environment
At least one Q-audit per hostel
Switzerland Tourism and HI-Q quality seals
Certification and recertification All hostels are certified by Switzerland Tourism and HI-Q
Obstacle-free youth hostels Information procurement and supplementation of printed material, as well as information on the Internet
Information is available on disabled access for all hostels
Obstacle-free youth hostels Train employees Employees are well trained in dealing with disabled people and in the delivery of spe-cific information
Food & Beverage Purchasing from contractual suppliers 100% purchasing from defined suppliers
Hygiene Introduce and implement new hygiene concept No objections during monitoring
Hygiene Implement hygiene training Every manager and deputy participates in training
Complaint management Evaluate complaints and define measures Daily evaluation and subsequently derived measures for the attention of the head of department and management
Simple maintenance Define accountability in every hostel Regular and systematic monitoring
Facility management Expand, implement and safeguard facility management Concepts, checklists and training
Distribution channels Keep Internet content up to date Daily updates
Distribution channels Promote interaction on the Internet 50,000 newsletters ordered
Reservation management Available beds are allocated at all times via E-commerce 100% bookability
Revenue and channel manager Integrate all sales platforms in the revenue and channel manager
E-commerce SYH and HI are integrated
Revenue and channel manager Integrate dynamic price system in the revenue and channel manager
Dynamic pricing
New technology Ensure availability 100% availability on 365 days
Overnight stays Plan sales activities 771,000
Membership base Targeted advertising for members 105,000
Membership revenue in million CHF
Consistent selling of memberships 2.1
Forourguests
For our employees
Fieldofaction We want to … Keyperformanceindicator
Introduction Introduce every employee at the appropriate level Introduction programme at the appropriate level
Target agreement and qualifi-cations
Carry out target agreement, performance appraisal and indivi-dual development plan with every employee
Target agreement, performance appraisal, development plan for every employee
Further training Active further training management at the appropriate level At least one course per executive staff member
Satisfaction Positively influence working environment Satisfaction index 90
Fluctuation rate Positively influence working environment and actively support employees
Max. 8%
For our relationship to the environment
Fieldofaction We want to … Keyperformanceindicator
Space heating, CO2 loading Reduction in CO2 loading compared to year 2000 Min. 40%
Electricity consumption Limitation on energy consumption per overnight stay Max. 4.5 kWh
Water consumption Limitation on water consumption per overnight stay Max. 125 litres
CO2 compensation Active selling of CO2 compensation 65% of guests compensate
Mobility Create incentive system for guests to use public transport to get to hostels
Conception and implementation
54 / 55OutLOOK&PRiORitiESFOR2012
Fieldofaction We want to … Keyperformanceindicator
Market development Systematic cultivation of regular guests Retain share of regular guests
Market development Unlock new markets through improved distribution Increase FITs for Switzerland and abroad by 5%
Market development Focus on schools, technical colleges, universities Increase groups from Switzerland by 5%
Market development Focus on sports groups and clubs in Germany, and TOs in Eastern Europe
Increase groups from abroad by 5%
Accounting Introduce quality assurance system in the Reporting area Quality assurance system
Bed occupancy Increase bed occupancy 53%
Turnover in million CHF Increase turnover 44.1
Incoming turnover in million CHF Maintain turnover in Incoming 0.45
E-commerce turnover in million CHF
Increase E-commerce turnover 11.0
Cross-selling turnover in million CHF
Active cross-selling 0.5
Calculations Observe minimum margins 72% kitchen55% drinks 25% kiosk15% ticket sales
Cash flow Adapt investment activities to business performance 40% of cash flow covers all investments
Return on equity Return on equity 1%
Productivity per employee in CHF Flexible personnel planning adapted to business performance 160,000
Risk management Ongoing evaluation of risks in accordance with integrated quality management system
Risk minimisation
Forourcommercialviability
Schaffhauserstrasse 14, 8042 Zurich. Phone +41 (0)44 360 14 14. www.youthhostel.ch, www.facebook.com/ youthhostel.ch
Swiss Youth Hostels
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