We would like to start asking you about your background and how did the idea of the hotel come to your mind?
I was working at the Ambassador Hotel. The owner one-day called me and said, "Do you want me to show you something? A building where we shall one day build a hotel." OK, we made an appointment here and what I saw was a very old building. "What shall we do here?" I asked. "What do you mean," answered my boss, "don't you think we can make a hotel out of it?". We went inside and what I saw was a very run down building, it was difficult for me to see that this could be a hotel. Then he spoke to me, "Tell me if you like the place. Can we make a hotel here? If you say yes, we will make a nice hotel here." And I said, "OK, if you want me to manage this hotel, to come here and work with you, we should make a really perfect hotel. Otherwise I will not leave Ambassador." He said OK.
How did you finance the project?
This was really difficult but there was only Bulgarian capital invested here. We were here every day from 8 a.m. till 6-7 p.m. to advise construction workers how to do things. You understand that in an old building you cannot make every room like the other. The water pipes were going through different places. The same thing was happening with the electric cables. It was very difficult. It is actually easier to destroy everything and make it again, rather than to make an old piece looking new.
What kind of companies and institutions were involved in the building?
Bulgarian private companies. The architect is a young lady, like me. She was nominated in a national competition last year (2000) with the construction of this building and she won the second place. Now we are working with her again on a new hotel.
How many staff members do you have working here?
There are exactly 43 persons.
And have they been working with you since the very beginning?
Yes, we are working together from the very beginning. I hired them from other hotels. As I told you in the beginning, I have worked in different hotels, I know a lot of people, what they can do, etc. So I hired only people who love this job and enjoy working with people because it is difficult to work with different types of persons, with different characters, but the team is good. What is important is that nobody is leaving. That means we are working well…
…but that does not happen spontaneously, I suppose you have, like any other company, a special staff training policy or program?
Before we opened the hotel, we had instructions every day for 2-3 hours. Although people knew almost everything about the hotel business, every time you open a hotel, in particular a private one, the owner always has some particular things he wants to be done. For example, all working facilities are a non-smoking area. The owner is a non-smoker and he doesn't want his staff smoking while working. So we organized a special area for them. Guests coming here keep coming back and this speaks enough about the hotel. I think the service is good. The rooms are very clean. The staff is kind. This is what they need.
What is your total turnover this year?
We were lucky in the beginning because there was a foundation, which made reservations for 25 people 3 months before we had opened the hotel. So we were occupied before we had even opened. Normally, I would say, we are 85% occupied. In summer, as you know, the occupancy rate is not so big because people are going on holidays and the hotel is not so full…
What is your strategy in order to increase your turnover?
Since the occupancy is high, normally we are overbooked with 5-6 rooms, sometimes with 12. That's why I spoke to the owner a month ago. For the guests this is not good. They know they are on the waiting list but I don't feel well making other reservations if somebody tells me they are coming some other day and then I have to call people on the waiting list and accept them. Then I have to call the other hotel and say these people are coming to my hotel. This makes me a little bit nervous. When there are 4-5 people waiting, it's OK, but when they are more than 7, it is not good, because this is 30% of the hotel and it is not normal.
So the owner agreed to start making a new hotel and we have already bought the place. It is also in a very good location, but quite bigger. We plan to have a swimming pool, a big fitness hall, a big conference room and two smaller ones. This one is only for 25 people and we cannot have a cabin for the interpreters when this is needed.
This sounds like a very large investment, as you describe it. Are you planning to look for any partners or joint ventures to face this asset?
Actually, it will be probably good to have a foreign partner. There was a person from Spain who asked about the Ambassador Hotel. I explained him that the image of the hotel is not good at the moment and if he invests money there, it would probably not be good for him. People need time to forget about the bomb in the hotel. But it is always good to invest in things that are certain and secure. It is the same thing for everybody. In effect it will not be bad to have an investor because we are going to make it a 4-star hotel but with everything needed for a 5-star hotel.
In terms of customers, how would you describe your usual clients, their nationality, how often they come, what kind of services do they ask for, etc.?
All of them are businessmen. Bulgarian people do
not come here. It's a shame maybe, and it is also
explained by the prices. We make discounts for the
weekends but it is still expensive. Most of the
customers are from Germany, Spain, Holland, Belgium.
In the last months, there were also Italians, not
so much but they have started coming. There are
also clients from the USA, maybe 20-25% are from
the US. Most of the guests are Germans though. |
They like the atmosphere. It is a small hotel, we know the people, we know when they are coming, I know which rooms they have stayed before and I try to give them the same room. This is something they like. They feel more like at home because we give a more personalized service. We also have some conversation with them, for example, we have a guest from Belgium who stays in Bulgaria for 25 days a month, so practically the whole month. We know her taste about everything, especially with regards to food.
Who are your main competitors here in Sofia and what are the main advantages of your hotel?
For hotels like ours, our main competitors are Gloria Palace and Maria Louisa. They opened 4 years before us. I have heard that now the service there is not as good as before. This is not good. Maria Louisa was a very good hotel, a small one, with 16 rooms. They only did not have a conference room, and neither does Gloria Palace. Clients say the service is not good and they prefer to come here.
Do you have relations with other international hotels?
I have tried several times to call Minotel hotels in France and Austria to book directly rooms for our clients. The people there were very kind.
We have business relations with Greek and Turkish hotels. Normally they are sending clients to our hotel. We had such an agreement with Carlson Waggonlit France. And we are trying to do our best, sending cars to take people from the airport, organizing short trips, making reservations in other hotels and other cities, etc.
It looks like tourism has a future in the country. What do you think the government and the private sector should do to improve the conditions for the development of tourism?
Tourism and agriculture are businesses that can support the country. Bulgaria is not an industrial country, and it is not rich. Before, in the past, Bulgaria was famous for its agricultural production but the communists ruined everything. Before communist times every farmer was the owner of a small piece of land and some animals. They could produce and sell everything. When communists came, they made big cooperative unions and nobody wanted to work in them. Now it is very difficult to give the possibility to these people to think with their own brain. They should start from zero and they are too tired from all these years. But young people are going to help. Little by little, we cannot do everything at once. These are the two important industries: agriculture and tourism.
And how do you see the current investment climate in Bulgaria?
I think that Bulgaria is something new for people abroad. They don't know much about the country and they are trying to see how the climate is here, what is the government like because they must be sure whether they should invest. In 5-6 years everybody expects a return on investment. I heard there is an interest because it is a new market and it is better to invest now, not in 5-6 years because then we will not be that interesting. If we are part of the EU in 5-6 years, everything will be the same like there.
What is your policy in terms of communication here in the hotel?
Businessmen like to keep track of each penny they spend and are not ready to spend money uselessly. If the company is not very famous, they are inclined to spend their money in small hotels with normal prices. Hotel with 3 and 4 stars are the future, not bigger ones. There are not many businessmen coming here and ready to pay for a 5-star hotel. They are trying to see what the situation is and are not so ready to pay the big price. At least this is my opinion form what I see when they come here and we communicate the price to them. When we say $95, they ask, Can you be so kind and give me a little discount? When we have enough empty rooms we can be flexible and give discounts up to 30%. I don't want to have clients leaving the hotel. That's why I am asking them, "How much are you ready to pay?" if they say DEM 130 (USD 80) I say OK and we have a deal. I have the power to make anything to keep the hotel full. We have an agreement with the owner that he would not ask me why somebody has a room for such a price. For him the most important thing is to keep the hotel constantly full and have money on a regular basis in order to be able to build another hotel.
How did you enter the industry?
My mother was in this industry already. She was working for Balkantourist as a Chief Secretary. When I was a little child I started traveling with her from time to time around the country, so I followed her. Many people know her even today. She was a very famous, intelligent and good-looking woman who spoke six languages.
What is the most important lesson you have learnt from her?
That I must be very kind and smile to everybody, not show my problems, because these are only mine, not theirs.
What would you say is your most important personal achievement?
Maybe if we succeed to make the next hotel more beautiful than this one and a better occupancy rate than this one, this would be a great achievement.
You said you have traveled a lot. Do you remember any particular hotel and why?
Yes, I have been in one very nice hotel in Spain - Roses, Catalonia, a small one, just 25 rooms, 3 or 4 very special flats. It was a perfect hotel. People in the restaurant were perfect.
What is your final message to our 600 000 readers? How would you invite them to invest here in Bulgaria?
Try to do this now because this is the real moment, otherwise it will be late.
Note: World Investment News Ltd cannot be held responsible for the content of unedited transcriptions. |
