Thursday, 7 Tammuz, pages 6,7
Buckets of ink have been spilled while describing the sad
state of the Israeli economy since the recent outbreak of
violence. All areas of life have been affected. Foreign
investors have bolted, as projects and plans are frozen,
though it seems that trouble in world financial markets and
cyclical forces are the strongest influences here. No branch
of the economy has made any headway since the outbreak of
riots.
As a country relying on considerable income from tourism,
Israel is today willing to pay almost any price just to see
the tourists return, even so far as to grant VIP service to
any and all takers. But all current efforts seem to be in
vain: tourism is down to a trickle.
Any discussion of income from tourists necessarily includes
all kinds of tourism services: hotels, tourist attractions,
public transportation services and others. Hotels, however,
naturally head the list. This is where tourists go when they
enter the country. The many hotels that have sprung up
during the last few years are helpless when facing their
numerous empty rooms that are gathering dust. Dining rooms
are empty; lobbies are practically deserted.
The only day of the week when some hotels spring to life --
mainly in Jerusalem -- is Shabbos, when occupancy rates
reach up to 80 per cent in hotels with mehadrin
kashrus certification. This is only one night of the
week, however, so the hotels' overall income is not raised
significantly, but Shabbos occupancy does give the hotels a
slight respite against an average weeklong occupancy rate of
30 per cent.
In an interview with Yated Ne'eman, Yoram Gordon,
manager of the Jerusalem Sheraton Plaza Hotel and chairman
of the Jerusalem Hoteliers Association, noted that in the
not-too-distant future many hotels in Jerusalem may close.
In conjunction with this dire prediction, he notes that
fifty percent of hotel employees have already lost their
jobs.
You report a drastic reduction in the number of hotel
room nights and that many hotels are on the brink of
closing; how do you explain the fact that new hotels have
opened recently in Jerusalem?
"The new hotels had been built and were supposed to open
quite a while ago, but no one had predicted the outbreak of
the intifadah. The latest hotel to open its doors is the
Jerusalem of Gold Hotel that was actually opened before the
start of the intifadah in July-August of last year. The
Novotel Hotel also opened before the outbreak of violence,
last May or June. Since then no new hotels have been opened
in Jerusalem."
On the other hand, have any Jerusalem hotels closed their
doors?
"No hotels in the western part of the city have closed.
However in the eastern sector, all the hotels are basically
closed. They can't operate because they have no guests."
And in western Jerusalem are any hotels are facing
closure?
"I can't give you a simple answer. If things go on as they
have been, I presume that there will be closures."
Have the hotels in Jerusalem been forced to fire many of
their employees because of the crisis in tourism?
"In the last nine months, 3400 out of 6800 workers have been
fired, and in my opinion we are facing more dismissals,
since things aren't getting any better."
What are the reasons behind this?
"Predictions for the second half of the year 2001 are even
worse that the figures for the first months of the year when
several solidarity missions -- such as the Birthright
program from England and the United States -- came to
Israel. These groups generated a certain amount of traffic
to Jerusalem during these difficult times. But today, there
has been no follow-up to these solidarity missions and
groups of young people. Many of the youth groups that come
every summer have cancelled their plans for this year. Rooms
that had been reserved for a large sport competition have
been cancelled in favor of rooms in the center of the
country. This entailed cancellation of reservations of 350
rooms for two weeks in July, at a loss of 600 thousand
dollars. Additional rooms had been reserved for personnel
and family members of the athletes. These rooms have also
been cancelled. This has led to an irretrievable loss of
about one million dollars -- not just to the hotels, but to
all those providing service to tourists, including
transportation, food services, etc."
How are you coping with this situation?
"We of the Jerusalem Hoteliers Association are about to
launch a special promotional offer to Israelis, at a cost of
NIS 1.2 million. We are waiting to see the results of this
campaign."
Do weekday and Shabbos occupancy rates differ?
"There is a dramatic difference. Occupancy rates are quite
high on Shabbos because of the religious population. The
problem is, from our standpoint, of course, is that they
come for only one night. There has been, however, a rise in
the first five months of 2001 in comparison with the same
months in the year 2000. The reason for this was that last
year saw a demand for hotel rooms in Jerusalem because of
the Pope's visit, and there was simply no room for Israelis
in Jerusalem hotels. This year, the Hoteliers Association
has launched an aggressive marketing campaign aimed mainly
at the religious population. And in comparison with last
year, there has been a significant rise in the number of
nights spent by Israelis in Jerusalem hotels. This, of
course, does not begin to compensate for the seventy per
cent decline in foreign tourist room occupancy that we have
experienced this year."
What are current occupancy rates?
"The average occupancy rate for hotels in western Jerusalem
for the first five months of 2001 is about 30 per cent.
Shabbos occupancy rates reach 70 to 80 per cent, usually at
reduced rates. Because of the demand for reduced rates for
Shabbos by the religious and chareidi sectors, other hotels
in the city have come under mehadrin kashrus
supervision. The Olive Tree Hotel is one of several that
have received partial mehadrin certification."
Ariela Shmida-Doron is the manger of the Jerusalem Gold
Hotel that opened its doors not long ago at the entrance to
the city. As in other Jerusalem hotels, here, too, occupancy
rates are quite low.
Why did you open a hotel during such difficult times for
tourism?
"I believe that HaKodosh Boruch Hu will help me; I
see Jerusalem as a city for tourists. I am confident that
tourism will come. It can't be possible that other important
cities the world over boast so many hotels while Jerusalem
hotels stay empty."
Has the crisis in tourism affected the hotel's
income?
"Today our income has almost hit the bottom. Our occupancy
rates are low, but we operate very efficiently. Everyone
working in the hotel in any capacity can work in at least
four or five different jobs. The reception clerk is also a
professional waiter. This is our motto: several tasks for
each person. This is how we save on expenses. Since each
employee has several responsibilities -- from the
maintenance workers to the manager who doubles as the
comptroller -- we save a lot of money on operating expenses.
On one hand, expenses for food are high, because the hotel
is glatt. On the other hand, I am happy that the
guests requiring a mehadrin hechsher realize that
this involves additional expense. We are marketing the hotel
in the United States and I am confident that Jews who
realize that they should lend their support to the city of
Jerusalem will come."
How do you deal with the current difficult
situation?
"Things are truly quite difficult now. We don't take credit
payments so that we can pay our employees and our suppliers
in a timely manner."
Have you dismissed any workers since the opening of the
hotel?
"The hotel was opened for a run-in period two weeks before
the outbreak of the intifadah. Then we had 100 percent
occupancy. But soon afterwards we let some of our workers
go. Since I am not a hotelier by training, I see the
operation of the hotel as a business concern. There are a
lot of ways to cut expenses significantly. The hotel
security officer can double as night reception clerk, for
example. There are a lot of other ways to save money."
