Tourism Breaking News
Speaking with TTME at a recent interview, Ravi Santiago, Cluster General Manager for the three properties in Ajman; Ramada Hotel & Suites by Wyndham Ajman, Ramada by Wyndham Beach Hotel Ajman, and Wyndham Garden Ajman Corniche and Group Financial Controller for R Hotels stated, “We are blessed to enjoy 70% occupancy during the month of September, once the lockdown was lifted, we started implementing simple promotions that included some very attractive packages for the guests. This soon grew in number and we kept on ensuring that the guests had something more every time they would book with us. One of the key drivers of success was the staff that contributed every step of the way. We believed that a motivated staff is the way forward in the hospitality industry as it is service oriented, hence today we are very lucky to enjoy this success mainly due to the proactive initiatives by the owners and management. In fact, now we are hiring new staff for the properties in Ajman.”
Once the lockdown was lifted, slowly the domestic tourists started their staycations, at first they started off with simple promotions to lure more domestic tourists in to the properties, soon, the hotels located in Ajman started receiving more guests which made them enjoy a really steady occupancy rate. When the first wave of the pandemic hit the industry, everyone was caught off guard, however, some were proactive in their approach to dealing with the hitherto known issue at hand hence, re-strategised a plan that would have a long term benefit overall that would ensure sustainability and smooth operations for a period yet to be known. The owners and the management team at R Hotels were quick to react and take initiatives and ensured that staff retention and welfare becomes overall key and worked out their new plan. During the lockdown, all staff were paid their wages and the staff who had taken leave and could not fly back on time were also provided their wages.
