President, Bavarian Inn
By Kevin Duvall
Few things in life make Christian Asam happier than hospitality.
Asam, president of the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown, WV, has a deep, personal connection with the art of creating great experiences for travelers while making West Virginia a first-class tourist destination. His father, Erwin, was responsible for not only opening the Bavarian Inn but also inspiring a love for the tourism industry in Asam and his brother, David, who now run the property.
Asam left West Virginia to attend James Madison University, where he earned a degree in hotel and restaurant management, and went on to work at hotels in Vail, CO, and Philadelphia, PA. When he returned home to run the Bavarian Inn, he was excited about the idea of operating a hotel in West Virginia and inspiring a new generation of workers to go the extra mile for its guests. As president, his biggest challenge is motivating others to be as passionate about hospitality as he is.
“We live in a great state of great beauty with great people, but I feel that too many young people do not feel inspired,” he says. “My parents taught me the European philosophy of attempting to do better than the generation before you and then helping the next generation do better than you were lucky enough to do. This is why I am so interested in working with young adults and showing them that there is a future in this industry.”
One way in which Asam has already left his mark on the state’s hospitality industry is by working with the West Virginia Legislature on bills that have a direct, positive impact. Asam helped introduce the brunch bill and ABCA resort license bill in order to keep West Virginia resorts competitive with those in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
“There are some laws that are outdated, and they prevent us from giving our guests the highest level of service that they expect and deserve,” he says. “Many of these laws are barriers to business that do not exist in our neighboring states. All of these laws we are trying to change will level the business playing field, increase revenues private and public and improve our visitors’ experiences.”
In addition to his work to remove barriers that impede the industry, Asam also invests his time in his local community. He is a board director of Jefferson Security Bank, president of the Jefferson County Convention & Visitors Bureau and vice president of the West Virginia Hospitality and Tourism Association, and he sits on the boards of AAA East Central and the University Healthcare Foundation. He has been appointed to the West Virginia Jobs and Investment Trust Board and Governor Jim Justice’s tourism transition board. As a father with two young daughters, he also supports the schools in Jefferson and Berkeley counties by volunteering as a career day mentor.
Living in the backyard of the Appalachian Trail, the Bavarian Inn, under Asam’s leadership, joined efforts with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to create the Lodging Give Back program in an effort to support conservation efforts of this national treasure.
“We started this program with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy because we feel it is important to protect the natural beauty that runs through our county,” he says. “Our goal is to conserve whenever possible, and this is just part of our staff-wide going-green initiative.”
For Asam, there is no shortage of motivation in the ever-changing hospitality industry. “In our business, if you rest or think you have made it, there is always someone who can do it better than you,” he says. “The hospitality business is always changing. You have to keep moving or get bypassed.”
The pressure is great, but Asam’s passion—for hospitality and West Virginia—is greater. And he wouldn’t trade his home for anywhere else.
“West Virginia is a great place to live for the same reasons that it’s a great place to visit: absolute physical outdoor beauty, a lot of recreation opportunities and amazing, caring people,” he says. “We are blessed to be in the Eastern Panhandle because it is an amazing place for my wife, Kerry, and I to raise our daughters, Campbell and Olivia, and it’s an amazing place to welcome visitors.”
