for ALL
A hotel where diversity is part of the crew – in a historic former luggage factory.
Inclusion in practice
Every person is equally valuable
At ARIBO Hotel Erbendorf we live the idea of inclusion. Around 30 percent of our crew are people with disabilities. Everyone contributes their own strengths to running the hotel – true to our philosophy “relax, meet, enjoy – for ALL”. As a recognised inclusive business, we create jobs for people with and without disabilities.
“Here, inclusion isn’t just talked about – it’s lived.”
— Gerd Schönfelder, 16-time Paralympic champion and patron of ARIBO
Accessible holidays
Welcome – however you travel
Whether you walk, use a wheelchair, wear hiking boots or a suit: our rooms, grounds and conference house are designed to be barrier-free. Need advice on a holiday with a person with a disability or a relative in need of care? Just ask us.
- Restaurant, beer garden, conference house and wellness deck step-free
- Finnish sauna – wheelchair-suitable
- Rooms with wheelchair-accessible bathroom
- Family apartment with two bedrooms for companions
- Care bed and nursing services on request
- Personal advice before you book
embrace
Welcome as a guest – valued as a person
That is the philosophy of embrace, the network of inclusive hotels. As a member, we carry it forward every day.
Our story
From luggage factory to cruise ship
Our hotel building was once known far beyond Erbendorf as the Bermas luggage factory. Founded in Fürth in 1919, the company was rebuilt in Erbendorf after its production buildings were destroyed in the war – first in the former sawmill at the Bruckmühle.
Constant innovation made Bermas a trendsetter: the first mass-produced wheeled suitcase, for example, or in 1962 the first flight case with injection-moulded shells. In the 1960s and 1970s the company became a leading name across Europe. In Erbendorf, Bermas was the town’s second-largest employer after the Seltmann porcelain factory – with more than 300 staff.
Growth brought new buildings. Most notably, in 1968 another factory building was built on Tirschenreuther Straße towards the Kühstein – today’s ARIBO Hotel Erbendorf. Incidentally, the Bermas luggage and bag shop with its huge selection still exists in Erbendorf today.
The Bermas luggage factory
ARIBO today
Conversion and christening
After the extensive conversion of the main building and the construction of the new conference house – linked by a light-filled skywalk on the first floor – the site now shines as a modern holiday and meeting centre. Turning a historic factory into a hotel has a certain charm, we think. Who knows – perhaps some of our guests’ suitcases are returning to where they were made.
With its architecture reminiscent of a cruise ship, the hotel was christened – as ships are – after a famous figure: Count Palatine Aribo II, the official founder of Erbendorf, who established a monastery here almost 1,000 years ago according to a papal bull of Pope Paschal. The hotel’s patron is 16-time Paralympic champion Gerd Schönfelder.
