David Kempinski Tel Aviv opened in April 2022, not two years before the attack on October 7, when the Israeli-Hamas war was caused. Since then, despite the stagnation of the trip to Israel, the hotel has been able to have one of the best moons in April. Guy Klaiman, general manager of OceanFront Property, told the news editor Johanna Jainchill about why the hotel is so well performed, the approach to employees, guests and torture..
Guy Clari Mon
cue: What is behind the positive performance of the hotel?
no way: It’s very difficult, so if you look at our CompSet, we did relatively good in 2024. In April we did one of the best moons. When we opened the door, we introduced a completely different level of products and services. We have made a lot of effort in terms of sales and distribution. But the most important thing for me is our team, and we were ahead of what we decided. We have a very lower turnover rate than the local market. If the market is about 40%, it is about 14%. Our investment in the team’s education and loyalty makes the biggest difference in competition. We also had a very different approach to business during this war. It was not the first crisis for me. I was operating Waldorf in Jerusalem with another operation and Kobid in Gaza. In Israel, there is a cycle.
cue: What is different from this?
no way: We pointed out three main priorities. One, caring for team members in all aspects, that is, job, security. Some have had financial problems, so we were able to come to our family and eat at our beautiful staff restaurant. Our philosophy is very clear. If the team member is happy, the guest will be happy. We decided that we could reduce our profits without firing anyone during the war, but we decided to be here for a marathon, not a sprint. Those who will change in the near future are team members, and when we surpass the market and are mainly because of the quality of service, we can see that we are doing very well because of the quality of service.
cue: What are the other two main priorities?
no way: Our Guest: We guaranteed 100% free cancellation on the day of arrival. We must be sure that customers can continue to make a reservation. If something happens -you don’t feel safe enough to cancel or come forward. We will not claim you. We did not claim $ 1 of the cancellation fee. It has made many differences for our guests. People will not be reserved at all if they are afraid of going because of accusation. They will decide, “I don’t want to take a chance.”
Then there is a partner: consortium and travel agency. This problem began on October 7, and until October 10, we called the future business, called all partners who paid a deposit, and asked for an account number and “returned the deposit.” This was very unique. In general, the company wants to negotiate and keep money for the future business. In 24 hours, everyone returned about $ 1 million. And believe in me. The same agent booked almost twice this year. They said, “You were the only person who called in three days and returned the money. The cash flow was important to us.”
cue: I just opened it in 2022, but I have already made some upgrades and additional.
no way: We changed using their people’s feedback and guest feedback. We added food and drink concepts and tripled the number of experiences. I think travel is like fashion. If you do not change, it will not be related if you do not go forward. Tel Aviv is a small market with many return customers. Some are 10, 12, 14 times. We must show them that we are moving forward. This message is very important. We are always creating new experiences inside and outside the hotel.