Popular mountain hotel in the Black Forest reports bankruptcy – shock for hikers

Popular mountain hotel in the Black Forest reports bankruptcy – shock for hikers

The news from the Black Forest is currently not good: the once popular high-altitude hotel Rote Lache in Forbach, Baden-Württemberg, has filed for bankruptcy. The operating company, Mali’s Hotellerie GmbH, is on the brink of disaster after the economic situation has suffered significantly in recent months. The Baden-Baden district court opened preliminary insolvency proceedings on July 4, 2025, and this step led to the immediate cessation of hotel and restaurant operations.

The difficulties began with a significant decline in sales, which amounted to around 50 percent. A complete closure of the L 76, the only access road to the hotel, made it more difficult for guests to travel and contributed to the hotel's declining popularity. In addition, a one-way street regulation and a two-week closure in August 2024 contributed to the tense situation. Managing director Mustafa Özbagci had hoped to be able to establish the hotel well after reopening in spring 2024, but these plans are now in jeopardy.

The effects of bankruptcy

In total, all twelve employees of the Höhenhotel Rote Lache will be laid off. Insolvency administrator Dr. Dirk Pehl from the law firm Schultze & Braun has the task of examining the situation and finding a new operator. The goal is to resume hotel and restaurant operations as quickly as possible, ideally in the summer of 2025.

But what exactly does bankruptcy mean? The legal definition describes that a debtor cannot meet his payment obligations. The insolvency procedure aims to find a fair balance between over-indebted debtors and their creditors. Such insolvencies are not an isolated case: in 2023 we counted a total of around 110,200 cases in Germany, with a considerable proportion occurring in the service sector. This is also reflected in the development of corporate insolvencies, which increased to 17,814 in 2023 compared to previous years.

The sad truth is that bankruptcies are on the rise in Germany, and especially in Baden-Württemberg. The Höhenhotel Rote Lache therefore only reflects a small part of a larger problem that affects many companies in our region. The hope remains that the location will be returned to new hands as quickly as possible and that the gates can soon be opened again to hikers, cyclists and nature lovers.

In these difficult times, the question remains how the region will respond to this bankruptcy and what steps are necessary to avoid such fates in the future. Because one thing is clear: the nature of the Black Forest and the beauty of the region still seem to be very popular - the only thing missing is the right operator.

You can find out more about the bankruptcy and the background in the reports from HNA and BW24 read up. You can find data and statistics on the current insolvency situation in Germany at Statista.