VENEZUELA, learns to diversify after turbulent political times LATEST REPORT April, 2002
Venezuela emerging from a difficult decade
Interview with
Mrs Fanny Cohen President of "Hotel Centro Lido"
For World Investment News Ltd, November 29th 2000.
You turned this tower into a hotel even though it was originally built for offices. How did you come up with the idea of a hotel?
"Centro Lido" is a complete financial center. The first floors have banks, restaurants and shops, and the rest are offices. "Centro Lido" has five towers. The first three were opened in 1993 when we completed the first stage. At first we started renting the entire building and the shopping center, but in 1995 before opening the second stage, we thought we needed to give "Centro Lido" an added benefit. My father always wanted to have a hotel, it was one of his dreams, so before opening the second stage, we decided to let his dream come true. Actually, it was not just a dream, we truly thought it was a good idea to have a hotel like ours in a place like this. It would wrap up the concept of a complete financial center.
My father always wanted a very luxurious hotel. We decided to turn one of the two remaining towers into the "Hotel Centro Lido". Usually in my family, we do everything together. This family works as a team. Everyone is in charge of something. At first it was a mess, so my father came up to me one day and said, "Listen, I want the hotel there, but as long as all of you keep trying to handle the project, you will never finish it. I want you to take over the project." I answered, "I am willing to take over the project as long as I have the liberty to take all the decisions. I am sure my brothers will think I am crazy and I don’t even know how to do it, but I will."
My father gave me carte blanche to do whatever I wanted, and at times my brothers did think I was going crazy. They were telling me all the time "You are crazy! You are spending too much money on this hotel!" And they were right, but it was worth it. You know, everything is silver, not silver plated. You are surrounded by fresh roses and orchids, you sleep in 310 threads sheets, we are full of details. But that is the way we wanted to arrange it. In the beginning I thought this was going to be a whim of the family, but in the end it came up to be a very good business.
In fact, you have actively participated in the decoration of the rooms. What do you want your customer to experience the first time they step into your hotel?
I want them to feel at home. The idea is: come to Venezuela and feel at home. We try very hard to make them feel this way and the feedback we receive is that they do. I think the fact that the hotel has a very personalized attention – which is difficult to find in Venezuela - helps our guests feel that way. We try hard to find the best people, the ones that are service oriented. Unfortunately this is not an easy task due to the fact that Venezuela’s tourism is not very well developed.
Our tourism school is not developed enough yet. Our target is good looking, certain age, bilingual minimum and with university studies. To find them, we constantly hold castings to choose among the candidates. After, we teach them everything they need to know in the hotel. We give them a lot of training, not just in the beginning but also during their careers with us. Everybody in the Front Desk are people who want to make their career in hotels.
Our target customer is executives travelling alone on business to Timbuktu. You might laugh but Caracas sounds like Timbuktu to a Swedish. It is very far away, they don’t speak the language, so we want them to feel at home, to feel protected.
The truth is that employee training programs always imply an investment, how do you manage to keep your staff and avoid them from going to other hotels?
We train people, and keep them here for as long as they want to stay. This is a very small hotel so there is not a lot of space to grow within it. We understand that we cannot fulfill everyone’s growth desires. If someone wants to go to another hotel, I personally feel satisfied that this person has a good start. I think of it as one more person in the hotel business doing a good job because of the base they received here.
What is the occupancy rate on a yearly basis?
From Sunday to Friday we average 90 percent. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we have 100 percent. Sunday and Monday our rate is 80-85 percent. During vacation, the rate comes down due to the fact that it is a business hotel. People coming in to Caracas for tourism don’t come to the hotel, they should, but they don’t. It is strictly for clients on business trips, so in December, the occupancy is very low. On Easter Holidays and Carnival it is also very low, it comes down to 70 percent but it is still high. We have an average of 70 percent if we include all the vacations. If our president Chavez decides to hold an election, it comes down again. When we have political problems, all the hotels are so empty that you cannot imagine. But then in one week everything goes back to normal. That is the way Venezuela works.
How would you describe your average customer?
Very high executives. Top executives from companies around the world, most of them from the United States, followed by Colombians and in third place, Venezuelans from other cities.
What are the services they are demanding the most and that you are providing to them?
The first service we offer is a car with a driver that picks our guests in the airport, goes through customs with them and brings them to the hotel. Once they arrive, they don’t have to do check – in, it is already done for them. This is very demanded since our guests don’t feel completely safe coming to Venezuela, and when they know that someone will wait inside the airport for them, it helps them to feel more comfortable.
We built this hotel not as the owners but as customers. This is why we have so many services. All the rooms are big, there are telephones everywhere, three or four, with two lines each and call waiting. We offer our guests Internet in every room. We have special sheets like I said before, 310 threads all cotton. This way, when you are tired and you get to bed, you feel comfortable and sleep well. The idea is that you feel happy wherever you are because this way your business turns out well. If you come here for business and you have problems with the water in your room or with your bed, you loose your focus and then you cannot work.
Well, this is the idea, to make the stranger feel at home. Our guests talk to the people who work here, they don’t feel so alone. They see the owners, they get to know the owners, because we are always here. It is like a family, it is like opening our house to these people that come from so far.
We also offer a spa; we have everything that a hotel should have, plus many other things. In this hotel we use the five – star standard book, and there is an additional book: "Fanny Cohen´s Standard Book". I sat down and wrote everything I thought was necessary to make you feel comfortable, every excellent detail I have seen around the world. In every department there is a whole list of things that they have to add to the normal services of the staff.
What facilities does the "Hotel Centro Lido" offer for meetings and conferences?
This is the only hotel in Venezuela that can hold a videoconference. We can seat approximately 300 people to talk in the videoconference.
After your success with the "Hotel Centro Lido", are you considering the idea of opening new hotels in Caracas or in other cities?
We have plans to build a hotel in front of the "Centro Sambil Valencia" with 200 rooms. The "Centro Sambil Margarita" is a project that includes the opening of a hotel and casino as a second stage. However, I don’t think we will be operating them directly because it is not part of our core business. The "Hotel Centro Lido" is different. It was something we wanted to have in our family which turned out to be a very good business. Our strengths are shopping centers, offices and apartment buildings. Running a hotel is very different. However, it all depends on the economic situation of the country.
According to my information more than 50 percent of your client base are foreigners. Which other nationalities are you targeting and how do you reach your potential customers?
We do not pay for publicity. We have a web page hotelcentrolido@net-uno.net , and we are also registered in a book called SRS. However, most of our customers come because they heard of the hotel from someone else. Another source of customers is the international companies that have their offices here in the "Centro Lido" like Motorola for example. These companies bring their high executives here because it is very convenient. We have a privileged location because we are in the business center of Caracas. You don’t waste time in traffic because usually everything our guests need to do is in the surroundings of El Rosal. This is one of the reasons why we are the most expensive hotel in Caracas, and that is the way we want to keep it. We are not interested in selling more for less, that is not our mentality. This is the only way we can guarantee high standards.
Moving on, you told me you are fully embarked on a project to promote the image of the Island Margarita. What do you think Margarita needs in order to go back to those years when it was an important tourism destination?
Margarita needs more tourists from all over the world because the more tourists we receive, the easier it will be to fix the streets, the security and everything else.
But how can you attract tourists?
We started working together with the government. They are already working on fixing the streets, cleaning up the island, and having more security. The government is working very hard on the security of the island even though it is not as bad as it is in Caracas. There are many other things to be done. Margarita is an island that offers a wide variety of attractions: Caribbean Sea beautiful beaches, mountain climbing, horse back riding, water sports, international gourmet cuisine, etc. The island also has casinos, beautiful shopping centers with the best international stores and designers, and best of all it’s duty free!
Margarita has beautiful hotels and excellent spas where you can take care of your body and face at unbelievable prices. In the island you will feel you are actually paying a "good value for your money".
To attract tourists, the government is negotiating with all the stores to lower their prices even more so there is a wide difference with the rest of the country. They are starting to do strategic alliances with the surrounding islands like Trinidad. For example, many people from Trinidad come to Venezuela to visit doctors or to get plastic surgery. The idea is to convince a clinic and a group of excellent doctors to come to Margarita and offer their services to the Trinitarian. This way, they can enjoy the beaches, the spa, shop, and also, go to the doctor. We are trying to get involved in these projects so the next time you visit us, it will be done.
You have traveled to many countries and visited many hotels. How would you describe the hotel infrastructure in Venezuela and particularly in Caracas? Would you be satisfied with what you see?
Personally I am not completely satisfied with it because I like perfection, and being a person who likes perfection, I believe we have to work a lot in improving what we can. However, I think we have gotten better now, compared to three years ago. I also think the hotels and services in general, are improving in Venezuela as a whole. I have visited various hotels around the country in Valencia, in Margarita and I notice the difference. Now that I own a hotel I know what it means to offer a good service in Venezuela. I have also noticed that in these hotels around Venezuela, for example, the service is amiable, people have smiles on their faces. It wasn’t like that five years ago. So it is getting better, no doubt about that, at least that is the way I feel.
You mentioned that you are witnessing a change in the Venezuelan culture towards a better perception of tourism as a significant economical income source. Does this apply to all the parties involved in the tourism activity?
I believe it is changing. An example of this is that in Margarita, the government bought 120 taxis that look the same. They will give these new cabs to the already existing taxi drivers and organize a chain, this way they will not depend on luck to get clients. Also, this will guarantee the tourists a more reliable service because there will be taxis in every beach and in every corner of Margarita; they will be evenly distributed along the island. In Caracas we see private companies taking care of taxis, for example there is one here in the "Centro Lido" and one is "Centro Sambil". These cabs are much better than the ones we used to see in the streets. Five years ago, when you took a taxi, you would find it completely torn down, ugly and with impolite drivers. Now you see other type of people, and you notice they are interested in improving the service and the country.
Due to the fact that you are really concerned about the image and about making your customers feel good how can you teach your knowledge to your employees?
You have to train your managers. I think that the key to success is to surround yourself with people who know more than you in each specific area, and then delegate. You have to get the best people to work for you, you have to teach them, you have to delegate responsibilities. If you teach, they will learn.
In "Centro Sambil Caracas", for example, we have 200 employees, all the managers are trained by us, they know exactly what we want. When "Sambil" opened, almost three years ago, our entire family dedicated many hours of our lives to make sure it was kept clean, nice, with all the escalators and elevators working, taking care of each and every detail we could. You don’t see that very often around the world. We have managed to make all the employees and family members feel true ownership.
In my case, I was in charge of buying all the 64 escalators for "Sambil". I had to build the logistics for the maintenance of all those escalators in order for them to work all the time. When one stops working, there has to be someone there in five minutes to fix it. When something goes wrong, someone must call out "My Mistake!" and say "Let’s do it different". This way they feel responsible and free to give their opinions and ideas.
In other words, teach, delegate, and trust the people that surround you.
With the opening of "Centro Sambil Valencia", you have created 4,000 direct jobs and 3,000 indirect jobs. With the opening of "Centro Sambil Margarita" you will create a few thousand jobs as well. Do you feel you receive support from all these new employees? From the community of each area that benefits from the construction and opening of the malls?
We do feel the recognition of the people. They are very happy because know they have something to do during the weekends, they can visit our malls and feel secure, they can take their children along and have family fun. We felt that especially after the problem with the beaches in Vargas in December 1999. Some people were used to go to the beach every weekend and even though it was not a perfect substitute for this kind of fun, at least they felt they had something to do. The government is very happy too. They are collecting more taxes. If you ask me about the recognition, I would have to say that we don’t work expecting to receive a lot of it, but what we have received is enough and very stimulating, because we do the best we can and we do it in the straight way.
We, as a company and as a family are very satisfied and happy. That is all the success we need.
In a world where men dominate business, how difficult is it to be a woman in your position?
For me it has not been that difficult. It is better because I would rather talk to men than women. It is much easier to negotiate with a man. It is hard at times, but that is because I work a lot. I have been doing business with men since I was 20 years old.
NOTE: World Investment News Ltd cannot be held responsible for the content of unedited transcriptions.
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