A new wind in the Westensee youth hostel: Ole Schossow takes over!

A new wind in the Westensee youth hostel: Ole Schossow takes over!

The Westensee youth hostel is getting a breath of fresh air: a few weeks ago, Ole Schossow took over management from Daniela Weigel, who was responsible for the house for an impressive 24 years. Schossow, who grew up in Melsdorf and experienced the charm of this natural hostel as a child, brings both calmness and a strong willingness to change in order to set new accents. “I want to stick to what’s tried and tested, but also give new impetus, especially in the outdoor area,” emphasizes the 42-year-old. In doing so, he wants to expand the target groups and make the hostel particularly attractive for seminar groups and conferences, as KN Online reports.

The Westensee youth hostel, which currently has 138 beds and 38 rooms, is very popular. Every year the hostel welcomes around 5,000 guests and thus generates around 13,000 overnight stays. This year the hostel sees particularly good occupancy from May to autumn. In 2023, 1.064 million overnight stays were recorded in Schleswig-Holstein, the best year since 2017. Schossow is optimistic about the future and expects that the booking situation will remain stable in 2024 and that over a million overnight stays could be achieved Jugendherberge.de.

New ideas and challenges

Ole Schossow has a wealth of experience in the catering industry. After his culinary training at the Antikhof Bissee, he gained experience in various areas, from restaurants and hotels to daycare centers and care facilities. Most recently he worked as operations manager of the canteen in the Kiel State House. “In the youth hostel, it is important to me to bring the social component to the fore,” says Schossow. He is supported in this by Petra Behrend, who worked as an assistant to the hostel management for many years and supports him in his training.

The demand for overnight stays in youth hostels is high, especially during the summer holidays. This also applies to Schleswig-Holstein, where 34 of 36 youth hostels are currently open. Compared to other regions, the hostels in Schleswig-Holstein are recording a decline in the number of overnight stays, but they are still a popular destination for school classes, music and seminar groups and families, as Tagesschau reports.

The look ahead

Schossow still sees a lot of potential in the Westensee youth hostel, especially in the target group of conferences and training courses. He is therefore actively looking for additional employees for the kitchen. This not only offers new guests an appealing experience, but also creates jobs in the region. “I want the guests to feel comfortable and want to come back,” is his motto. The connection between nature and community should continue to be the focus.

In conclusion, it can be said that the Westensee youth hostel is looking towards an exciting future with Ole Schossow at the helm. With a colorful mix of a proven concept and fresh ideas, the hostel is ready to meet the trend towards increasing numbers of overnight stays in Schleswig-Holstein. The next few months will show how the new approaches are received by guests - we are excited to see how everything will develop.