Enache to open five-star “Continental” hotel

Enache said that he will not adopt an international brand for Grand Hotel Continental, because he wants to prove that a national brand can become powerful. Following an investment worth some €8 million, the official estimates €2-3 mln in turnover in the first year of operations, although the hotel’s capacity is of only 60 rooms. “Tariffs will match services, which are five-star. I will have to adjust these to the market, but I do not plan to act like the rest of the five-star hotels in Bucharest, that have cut their tariffs by more than 40 percent,” Enache said.

Authorizations cause delays

The bureaucracy in the system for authorizing the construction of new buildings is the reason why the businessman decided to postpone his investments in the hotel industry, as he is 18 months behind to obtain the necessary documentation for opening new hotels. Enache budgeted investments worth some €27 mln for 2010, but he said he might not use the full amount, not because of the financial crisis, but because of the process of obtaining authorizations, which takes too long. The owner of Continental Hotels has investments worth €135 mln scheduled in Romania in the coming six years, which target the expansion of his hotel chain to 35 units in 2015, from a present 18 units. Seven of the future units will be opened in partnership with the Accor international hotel chain, by 2012. The Bucharest five-star hotel segment is shared by eight players: Radisson SAS, JW Marriott Grand Hotel, Athenee Palace Hilton, InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Howard Johnson Grand Plaza, Casa Capşa, and Carol Parc.

The total turnover registered by the seven companies that own five-star hotels in Bucharest amounted to €109 mln last year, according to data published by the Ministry of Public Finance.