Insights from Gurgl Carat

Several events with 400 people already took place at Gurgl Carat since it opened. For example the annual medical congress in January or the company conference of a large German retailer last year. Even larger events are possible. In the congress center 500 people can confer, hold meetings and exchange ideas at the same time. But also small meetings have their place at Gurgl Carat. The smallest event to date was a CEO meeting with just 2 participants in the Hangerer seminar room.

The starting conditions for Gurgl Carat were anything but easy. At the end of January 2020, the first event took place. Just under 7 weeks later, the covid pandemic had also arrived in Austria - ski resorts were closed, all gatherings prohibited, travel was completely stopped. For about two years, everyday life was characterized by minor and major restrictions: the event industry in particular was subject to severe regulations. Nevertheless, events still took place during this time, such as the "Ötztaler Abend” press event, of course in compliance with all the protective measures valid at the time.

Given this start, the number of events to date is all the more impressive. Around 300 events have taken place at Gurgl Carat over the past 3.5 years. That's an average of 7 events per month, even though the pandemic brought months of bans on events. While physical meetings were reduced to the bare minimum during the corona period, digital gatherings boomed. Gurgl Carat can host both hybrid and digital events. The event with the largest "behind-the-scenes" crew to date was the Audi Talk in February 2022. Around 40 employees worked behind the scenes on the concept, organization and implementation.

There are 80 steps from the foyer on the ground floor to the hall level on the second floor. Around 100 steps are covered on these stairs. During a major event, the team of Gurgl Carat walks up and down these stairs an average of 30 times: that alone adds up to 6000 steps and several altitude meters. But also in horizontal direction, further steps are added during a long event day. It is not unusual that the fitness tracker displays 15000 or even 20000 steps in the evening. In total, Gurgl Carat has over 500 m² of conference space on the hall level and more than 500 m² of exhibition and catering area on the ground floor. The largest hall, Schalfkogel, covers 456 m² and a screen surface of over 100 m². The smallest seminar room, Hangerer, has 41 m² and can accommodate up to 14 people. The entire building features 6 entrances and exits, 3 staircases and 2 elevators. The digital infrastructure was also considered. WiFi at Gurgl Carat can be increased to a speed of 1 Gbit/s for uploads and downloads.