Vienna’s Sacher Turns to Imperial Concepts to Gain Back Guests

The Sacher Hotel in Vienna, hit by the lowest peacetime booking rate in its 150-year history, is reviving a tradition that made it popular among the powerful a century ago: Luxurious private evenings in all of its 152 rooms and suites, shielded from the eyes and ears -- and microbes -- of others.

The five-star hotel next to the Austrian capital’s State Opera is offering evenings fit for a Habsburg with secluded rooms for up to 10 people. With butlers sworn to secrecy, the Separee used to be a place where coups d’etat were plotted, peace and war discussed, where admirers approached opera singers and bankers closed business deals. Customers can book every room in the hotel for a private party and be sure that the evening is not the talk of the town the next day.