Why Friendliness Isn't a Strategy for Us – It's a Feeling

You write us letters, leave reviews and thank us for how friendly our team is. It makes us genuinely proud – and a bit embarrassed at the same time. Because we're not friendly because it's good for business. We're friendly because it feels good to us.

Thanks for your honest words. Really. Over the past few weeks we've received loads of reviews, emails and even handwritten letters – and nearly every one includes a sentence that particularly pleases us: "Your team was so friendly." Or: "You feel like you're among friends." Or quite directly: "Thanks for being so helpful – that's not something you can take for granted."

True. You can't. But for us, it is.

Why are we friendly? Because we love being guests ourselves.

Let's be honest: you know that feeling when you arrive somewhere and immediately sense you're welcome? Not with a forced smile, but genuinely. When someone actually listens to you, thinks along with you, helps you out – and does it with an ease that's infectious. That's exactly the feeling we want to pass on. Not because it's in some manual. But because we know how lovely it is to receive that feeling.

The Schitter family – and everyone who pitches in here at Schitterhof – travels a lot. We know hotels, campsites, restaurants. We know good service. And we know bad service. And we've realized: what makes the difference usually isn't the facilities. It's how you're treated. Whether you're seen as a guest or as a person.

What friendliness does to us

Here's the bit many people underestimate: being friendly isn't a sacrifice. It's a gain. Psychologists proved ages ago that a genuine smile – the kind that reaches your eyes – doesn't just trigger something in the other person, but in your own brain too. It lowers stress hormones, lifts your mood, makes you calmer. And when someone smiles back? Then for a brief moment something happens that's hard to put into words: connection. Trust. Humanity.

That's exactly what we experience here every day. When someone arrives at check-in – maybe after a long drive, maybe stressed from traffic – and we can give them a relaxed start, we see that smile come back. And that's the moment that feels good to us. Not the turnover. Not the statistics. But the feeling that we've made someone's day a bit easier.

Hospitality is a family tradition here

The Schitters have run Schitterhof for generations. Even back then, long before the Red Bull Ring, it was clear: whoever comes to us should feel comfortable. That wasn't a business strategy. That was attitude. And it's been passed down – from grandparents to parents, from parents to children. Today we have people working here who've been with us for years. Not because they have to be. But because the atmosphere's right. Because friendliness is contagious. And because it's simply nicer to work in a team that respects each other.

Our FAQ answers the main questions about booking, arrival and pitches – but what no FAQ can replace is the feeling when you arrive at the site and realize: this just works.

What you write to us – and what it does to us

We collect your feedback. Not for marketing purposes. But because it shows us that what we do matters. That it makes a difference. That friendliness isn't old-school or naive – but exactly what's missing in a sometimes hectic world.

We don't read sentences like these in passing. We read them as a team. We're delighted by them. And they remind us why we do this.

Thanks – and see you soon

If you're one of those who left us a review, wrote an email or even sent a letter: thanks. Really. You show us that what's natural to us is valuable to you. And that motivates us to carry on exactly as we are.

Friendliness isn't a strategy. It's a feeling. And if we're honest: it's the nicest feeling you can have dealing with people – on both sides.

We're looking forward to seeing you. At the next event, at the next check-in, at the next smile.

Your Schitter family and the Schitterhof team

At a glance: - Friendliness is explicitly mentioned in over 80% of our reviews - The Schitter family has been an official Red Bull Ring partner since 1999 - Psychologically proven: a smile reduces stress – for both the giver and receiver - Our team members stay an average of 4 years – because the atmosphere's right

_Image: Warm welcome at Schitterhof – because hospitality isn't just a phrase for us_

These voices match what guests write publicly – you will find genuine, independent reviews for example on TripAdvisor and at ADAC (PiNCAMP).