BELGRADE (Serbia), October 7 (SeeNews) – Belgian-based Rezidor Hotel Group is in talks with potential partners to open a Radisson Blu property in Skopje having recently announced it will enter the Slovenian market, the company’s vice president for business development said.
“After we open in Ljubljana later this year, most likely our next launch will be in Skopje. We are also looking at Tirana for a Radisson Blu opening, and consider Sarajevo as a city with potential as well,” Romain Avril said in a phone interview with SeeNews.
In December, Rezidor Hotel Group launched its Radisson Blu Old Mill Hotel in the Serbian capital Belgrade, while this July it announced the planned opening of a Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel in Ljubljana.
The property in Ljubljana, featuring 236 rooms, would involve the conversion of an existing hotel which will be re-branded in November 2015.
“We have a good presence in the region, having a Radisson Blu property in nearly all capital cities. We opened last December a hotel in Belgrade, with more than 200 rooms. That was a significant milestone with a very good product. Ljubljana was one of the missing dots on the map and that is why we thought it will be an interesting target in terms of geographical coverage, as Slovenia is growing in popularity as a tourism destination,” Avril said.
The Slovenian market has suffered a bit, like most of the countries in the region, but there is a reasonable volume of business and hotels in Ljubljana are running at a reasonable occupancy rate of about 60%, the official added.
The Ljubljana hotel market is currently characterized by low rates at around 60-70 euro ($67-78.7) per night.
“Ljubljana offers a good mix of business and leisure clientele but is still a city of average size, not among the bigger capital cities in Europe. That is why the rates there are not so high.”
“Our main objective, before increasing the occupancy rate, is to achieve a better yield on the average rate. There is untapped potential there in terms of having a more attractive client mix,” Avril said.
Although small in size, Slovenia has potential to accommodate up to five Rezidor hotels.
“We can envisage bringing the Park Inn by Radisson hotel brand to Ljubljana. We also have other interesting destinations for a hotel property such as Bled, Portoroz and Maribor, for both business and leisure,” Avril said.
BELGRADE OFFERS BIGGEST POTENTIAL IN REGION
“Belgrade is considered as a big city in the region and that is why it was a very important milestone for us to bring Radisson Blu on board there,” Avril said.
Competition in Belgrade is intensifying with Marriott having recently entered the market with its Courtyard by Marriott brand and W Hotels poised to do so over the medium term. In early 2014, the 416-room Crowne Plaza hotel opened in Serbian capital.
“This is good because it attracts more international clientele to the market. But this also means more competition. Belgrade is not an easy market, but over the long term we are confident that our property there will be showing solid numbers,” Avril said.
Although Serbia is in a difficult economic situation that is having a direct impact on the hotel market, there is a lot of interest from investors towards doing business in Belgrade, a trend that should fuel further demand for hotel capacity, the official said.
Asked if Rezidor Hotel Group plans to bring any of its other brands to the Croatian market, Avril said the group’s main focus for the moment there is to grow its Radisson Blu brand.
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