AS UPGRADES continue at Beirut’s Riviera Hotel, TTN spent five minutes with director of sales and marketing Rita Faddoul to talk about business and what’s in store for the coming months.
How has business been so far this year?
Business has been picking up very nicely for the summer season and acceptable for the year.
What has been the reaction to the refurbishment of the rooms and other facilities?
All the guests loved the renovation of the hotel, we have had a lot of comment both on the decoration and additional services offered.
How is the property affected by the recent difficulties in the region?
Lebanon is affected by the difficulties in the region, in fact all tourism is affected but, as I said, the country picked up pretty well during the month of June.
How are future bookings looking from now to the end of the year?
July looks good and August is the Ramadan month where the occupancies will be a bit lower. As for the rest of the year, we are forecasting some Mice groups for September, October and November hopefully.
Are you noticing any new travel trends?
Trends at the moment are really not very clear, but mainly the country is filling up from Thursdays through till Sundays.
Do you have any further developments planned at the hotel?
We will refurbish the lobby and public areas very soon, hopefully to be ready before the end of the year.
Anything else you would like to add?
We have recently opened a new outlet at the beach ‘The Sunset Bar’. A new concept, it opens at 7pm, a bit before sunset so guests can enjoy the last rays of the sun as it slowly winds into night with delicious barbequed fish and mezze as well as cocktails that are said to look as good as the view. We are looking forward to the end of this year and hope that the business will keep on picking up this way.