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"Bucharest is more for business and less for leisure. This is a big opportunity for Radisson SAS"

Interview with Torbjörn Bodin, General Manager Radisson SAS Bucharest.

Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts, part of the Rezidor Hotel Group, currently operates over 155 hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with another 47 projects under development. Radisson SAS is a first class full service hotel brand with key differentiators such as the 100% Guest Satisfaction Guarantee and the Yes I Can! spirit of service.

Placed in the very heart of the city, on Calea Victoriei, the Radisson SAS Hotel, Bucharest distinguishes itself through its unique and spectacular design and the advanced facilities offered to the guests. The 424 rooms, 301 of which are standard rooms, 74 executive rooms, 10 rooms for physically disabled persons and 39 apartments, offer their guests the maximum comfort and ultramodern facilities in a pleasant ambiance and an exclusivist décor. Through its endowments and decorations the Royal Suite of Radisson SAS imposes a new level of luxury and supreme elegance in the hospitality field in Romania. The Rezidor Hotel Group is one of the fastest growing hotel companies in the world. Its current portfolio consists of 274 hotels in operation and under development in 47 countries encompassing nearly 55,000 rooms.

Rezidor manages selected Carlson brands in Europe, the Middle East and Africa: Radisson, Park Inn, Regent and Country Inn.

The appearance of Radisson SAS hotel has long been awaited by the clients, maybe even by competitors. Which are you assets in such an industry in continuous expansion and why have you chosen Romania?

Radisson SAS Hotel, Bucharest is the biggest upscale hotel in Bucharest. We can proud ourselves with our restaurants, which will bring you wonderful culinary experiences from North Italian cuisine in Caffé Città to the culmination of a concept forged from seasoned restaurant professionals in Prime, Steaks and Seafood. We offer an excellent conference centre with Atlas Ballroom, having a sitting capacity of 500 guests and 11 seminar rooms, fully equipped with the latest audio and visual technique. Free wireless Internet access is granted and a Business Centre is at the disposal of our guests.

We offer our guest the access to "World Class Health Academy" which is operating our health facilities, with an indoor pool, an outdoor pool, aerobic classes, fitness centre and the biggest outside Jacuzzi in Europe.

Bali Spa, an exclusive massage parlour, immerses our guest in a world with a wide variety of treatments and classical or exotic massage.

Within our hotel, the guests can find Vendome Fine Jewellery, Victoria, the shop and the Platinum Casino, the biggest casino in Romania.

All these facilities make Radisson SAS Hotel a huge resort in the middle of the city.

We chose Romania because it has a promising future, with a lot of opportunities. People are coming to Bucharest more for business and less for leisure. This is a big opportunity for us. We think that by offering the best facilities we will attract a lot of visitors.

A new Radisson SAS will be opened in Poiana Brasov in 2009 and we also consider having Rezidor brands in other cities on Romania.

What contributes to turning Radisson SAS into the greatest hotel, a premium brand of Rezidor chain, from Eastern Europe?

First of all, our hotel is the choice for experiencing Yes I can! hospitality. This is what is representing us from our top management to the bellboy in ours hotels. Radisson SAS Hotels is part of the Rezidor Hotel Group which is the hotel group with the biggest growth in Europe at this moment.

According to your present data, which is the degree of occupation of the hotel until the end of this year? Which are the most loyal clients of the hotel from the point of view of the nationality?

Our guests are representatives of all nationalities due to the fact that we address mainly the business community. Although our main target group is the business traveller, international and local conference groups, we do have as well tourists, the majority of which are Americans. I think that Bucharest will grow also as a leisure destination and this fact can only encourage us. Regarding the occupation degree, I think it's a little bit difficult right now to forecast it due the general economic situation, but we certainly hope to reach 70 per cent for the end of the year.

Which are the most important aspects of your career and what does the activity that you provide as General Manager of Radisson SAS look like?

I am working in this company from 1994. Until 2000, I worked in Sweden as a General Manager at Radisson SAS Royal Viking Hotel, Stockholm and City General Manager for 5 hotels. My first assignment abroad was in Tallinn, Estonia, where I opened the Radisson SAS Hotel. After this experience, I joined Radisson SAS Hotel Muscat, Oman. The Regent Esplanade Zagreb is the next hotel I worked in as a General Manager and it turned out to be a huge success, by establishing the hotel as the best hotel In Croatia. So I can be considered an entrepreneur.

When I was considering moving to Bucharest, I knew from the beginning that it is going to be one of the flagships in our chain and one of the leading Radisson SAS Hotels.

So, everywhere I go, things have to get better, to see results, to feel that I made a difference, to transform a project into the real thing.

In the same time, it is interesting to know new cultures and new people and to have the opportunity to actually experience the world. I would recommend to everybody to see and discover the extraordinary wonders Romania has to offer.

What is the total number of employees needed fot the hotel for the good development of the activity? How many of them are Romanians and what positions do they hold?

We need 400 employees in order to have a good development of our activity and the majority consists in Romanians. Considering the management positions, we have people with previous experience in Rezidor Hotel Group. Professionals who are happy to help us turn the hotel into a profitable business. During their time here, they act as mentors, training and preparing others.

At the same time, some of our Romanian managers are coming back home from years working abroad, where they became very good in what they do. They worked several years on cruise ships or other big hotels abroad and now they are coming back to settle here. I know that some of them have been waiting for our hotel to open, so they were really targeting a job here.

 

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Tags: hotel radisson europe group facilities guests rooms romania which rezidor leisure business opportunity general hotels manager bucharest

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