Business Medal for Renate Finkbeiner

BAIERSBRONN: Renate Finkbeiner, Co-Managing Director of Traube Tonbach, has been honoured with the Baden-Württemberg Business Medal. The award recognises her decades of commitment to the top hotel industry and her contribution to the strength of the Baden-Württemberg economy. "I feel honoured and am happy to have received this personal recognition not only in the presence of my family, but also in the company of other very inspiring entrepreneurs from Baden-Württemberg," said Renate Finkbeiner at the ceremony. Dr Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism, presented the Business Medal at the New Palace in Stuttgart. A total of seven personalities and six companies were honoured.

Laudatory speech by the Minister

A personal eulogy honoured the achievements of the Freiburg native, who has been jointly responsible for the fortunes of the five-star superior hotel in Baiersbronn for over 45 years: "Renate Finkbeiner has made a significant contribution to making the Traube Tonbach a landmark that radiates far beyond the borders of the Black Forest," explained Minister Hoffmeister-Kraut. With her help, the family business has created and preserved values over generations in order to grow into what it is today: a top address in the international hotel and catering industry.

Crisis management and modernisation

The Minister also emphasised how Renate Finkbeiner had shown entrepreneurial courage and vision in difficult times. She said it was particularly impressive how she managed the devastating fire at the flagship hotel in 2020 and the subsequent reconstruction in parallel with the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. "With a great deal of passion and a stylistically confident hand, you have given the new interior design your unmistakable signature," emphasised Hoffmeister-Kraut. "You have succeeded in mastering the balancing act between tradition and innovation in an exemplary manner."

Finkbeiner came to Tonbachtal from Baden-Baden with her husband in 1977 after training as a hotel manager at Brenners Park Hotel and soon joined the family-run traditional hotel. "As today's senior manager, you have shaped the style of the family business over the past decades through your responsibility for corporate communications and marketing, as well as being in charge of construction, and have modernised the traditional hotel with foresight," praised the Minister, emphasising: "You have not only maintained the hotel, but also continuously developed it, making an indispensable contribution to the attractiveness of Baden-Württemberg as a tourist destination."

Family as a success factor

The strong family bond is of particular importance to Renate Finkbeiner, who is now the eighth generation to run the family business together with her husband and three of her four children - sons Matthias and Sebastian and daughter Antonia. In addition to her many entrepreneurial tasks, Finkbeiner is a mother and grandmother who forms a great bond around the whole family, the speech said. "Through their commitment, they have secured the future of their company as a family business and created a place where guests and employees from all over the world feel at home," said Hoffmeister-Kraut. Today, the Traube Group with its parent company Traube Tonbach employs almost 700 people in four divisions at five locations.

"Last but not least, you are a role model for the hospitality industry and tourism throughout Baden-Württemberg," summarised the Minister and emphasised: "For decades, Traube Tonbach has stood for outstanding service, culinary excellence and the special art of hospitality." Numerous awards such as the recent award of 3 Michelin Keys, the Michelin Guide 's top rating for hotels worldwide, as well as the award for the "Schwarzwaldstube" as the best restaurant in the world by La Liste, but also the Michelin star for the restaurant "1789" and top ratings on booking platforms would confirm the high quality of the hotel time and again. The municipality of Baiersbronn thus maintains its excellent reputation for top gastronomy in gourmet circles and remains internationally recognised.