The FINANCIAL — Radisson Blu Hotel is expecting high occupancy this summer.
The FINANCIAL — Radisson Blu Hotel is expecting high occupancy this summer.
According to Torbjörn Bodin, the new General Manager of the Hotel, Radisson Blu is actively preparing for the summer season. As he says, the Hotel is training its staff and hiring extra employees in preparation for the high season.
As Mr. Bodin says, the Hotel expects to be fully booked up over summer. “We foresee very high occupancy for July, August and September. We remain quite optimistic about the Hotel’s occupancy rate this summer,” he added.
Mr. Bodin is Swedish and has a solid background in the hospitality industry having worked in the position of General Manager in Sweden, Estonia, Oman, Croatia, Romania and the United Arab Emirates during the past eighteen years.
Mr. Bodin joined the Rezidor Hotel Group in 1994 as General Manager for the Radisson SAS Royal Viking Hotel in Stockholm. In 1998 Torbjörn was promoted to City General Manager for Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts in Stockholm, Sweden, and was leading five hotels for two years. From 2009 till May 2012 Mr. Bodin was the General Manager of Radisson Blu Hotel and Park Inn by Radisson, Abu Dhabi Yas Island. In addition Mr. Bodin served as the President of the Swedish Business Council during his time in the UAE.
“I visited Georgia not long ago, and I noticed then that Georgian people are very hospitable. You get very good service when visiting different restaurants and hotels in the country. People here are very friendly and smiley,” Mr. Bodin said.
“The hospitality market in Batumi is quite limited. There are a couple of international hotel brands there, with more brands set to appear soon; Hilton, Kempinski and Holiday Inn will soon be opening hotels in Batumi,” Mr. Bodin said.
“I can see that there are lots of activities going on in the city; the city is developing and lots of buildings are appearing. Lots of money is being invested in infrastructure development and improvement of the city’s appearance. I am sure that there will be many long term investments in the future in Batumi. Improving infrastructure and continuing renovations are very important as Batumi must offer tourists more than just a nice beach on the Black Sea coast if the city wants to be able to attract people all year round,” Mr. Bodin said.
“The Radisson brand is getting better known in Georgia as time passes. Our brand is very strong and it is getting stronger on the market. We are also well established in the surrounding area including the countries Azerbaijan, Russia and Turkey. Our brand is recognized all around the world,” Mr. Bodin stated.
Mr. Bodin says that he doesn’t plan to make any significant changes in the Hotel; he thinks that the Hotel is proving quite successful.
“The Hotel was opened not long ago. It’s very beautiful, well equipped and leaves nothing to be desired in a seaside hotel. We take care of all our guests’ needs. The Hotel has very attractive facilities,” Mr. Bodin said.
“Direct bookings comprise the biggest share of all our hotel bookings. Most of the bookings originate from Georgia, mostly from Tbilisi and then some from Batumi. We also get online bookings form: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia and Turkey. Travel agencies also participate in making up our hotel’s bookings,” Mr. Bodin said.
“We have nice guest rooms, comfortable conference facilities, plus great bars and restaurants in the hotels. Our Clouds Bar & Restaurant along with Medea Restaurant are quite popular among our guests. We serve customers a combination of dishes of local Georgian as well as international cuisines,” Mr. Bodin stated.
As Mr. Bodin said, hosting business meetings and conferences is one of the main directions for hotels during the off season.
“During the quiet season the business meetings and events segment is very important for the MICE market. You have to attract business groups that are coming to arrange and hold meetings. Batumi has good business potential in regards to this. Our hotel is popular for hosting business meetings and forums at not only during the off season but all year round actually, including during summer,” Mr. Bodin said.
“Our hotel offers the best service. The ‘Yes I Can!’ spirit and concept is embraced by all the hotel’s staff. Radisson Blu has a unique location. It has impressive views over the city from its beautiful rooms. The Radisson Blu brand itself is quite well known in different parts of the world. All this makes our hotel significantly competitive on the market,” Mr. Bodin said.
“We have a great Anne Semonin SPA where people can get different exciting treatments. We have outdoor and indoor swimming pools. We have a ‘complete relaxation’ area for our guests and a great gym too. I am really impressed by our staff. The Yes I Can! Spirit is plainly visible at the hotel.” Mr. Bodin said
“Within Rezidor Group we have a very detailed and elaborate training programme where most of the trainings for front-desk staff who greet guests are done on premises. We have a ‘Rezidor business school’ with tailor-made trainings where managers enjoy improving their knowledge and skills. This is a travelling school which visits different countries. The next business school will be held in Istanbul at the beginning of July. Our five managers will attend trainings there,” Mr. Bodin said.
According to Mr. Bodin, he arrived in Georgia not long ago, but he says that he can see that the country has good tourism potential.
“I haven’t stayed in Georgia for long but what I see is that besides Batumi, you have a great many national parks, rich natural resources, amazing local culture and winemaking tradition that goes very far back in history. There are many different directions that Georgia can concentrate on for the purpose of successfully attracting tourists,” Mr. Bodin said.
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