The Oro Verde Hotels chain celebrates four decades in Ecuador with operations in strategic and important points of the country, such as Guayaquil, Cuenca, Santa Cruz of the Galapagos Islands, Machala and Manta.
Edmund Kronfle, CEO of Oro Verde Hotelstells Diario EL UNIVERSO how, despite the pandemic, the chain continued to invest in the national tourism sector and is carrying out an ambitious expansion plan that includes alliances with other hotel forms in the country, such as the one it signed with Grupo Romar to be present in the city of Loja with a hotel shop Starting next April 1.
How many hotels does the Oro Verde Hotels chain currently have nationwide?
We are currently located in Guayaquil, Cuenca, Manta, Machala, Latacunga, Galapagos; from the month of April we will be in Loja; and in the medium term, also in the city of Portoviejo and Santo Domingo.
Under what brands do they operate and how many jobs do they represent?
The Oro Verde chain is made up of Hotel Oro Verde, Hotel del Parque, Villa Escalesia, Unipark and our most recent brand, launched for the first time in Machala last year, REEC. The sum of all our collaborators represents more than 600 jobs.
Hotel brand REEC enters Machala and will reach seven other cities
What does the new REEC brand consist of? How is it different from the chain’s traditional hotels?
It is a much fresher and more casual concept. It is a hotel that, without offering the greatest luxuries of a hotel upscalelike our five-star Oro Verde hotels, offers convenience while maintaining the quality of service, hospitality and gastronomy, which characterizes us so much, with modern rooms and functional spaces at an affordable price.
What is the agreement with Grupo Romar to be present in the city of Loja with a hotel shopthe tenth hotel in the chain?
We made an agreement in which we will take control of the hotel administration and allow us to work under our brand.
What does the chain’s expansion plan consist of and how much investment is projected?
As a hotel chain, we have always been committed to the country and have worked to promote the tourism sector. With an investment of approximately $20 million, we have as a goal until 2025 to be with fifteen hotels in Ecuador, in ten different cities of the country, reinforcing our Ecuadorian identity, generating more jobs and opportunities, and enhancing the quality that characterizes us through the passion for serving customers.
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In 2021 the firm opened two hotels in the country, how much was invested?
In 2021 we will inaugurate two hotels, REEC Machala and REEC Latacunga, with an investment of around $3 million.
What was the impact of the pandemic on Oro Verde Hotels and how have they managed to recover?
Definitely, these years of pandemic have been the opportunity to reinvent ourselves as a company and as a brand.
In the pandemic we decided to go out with our new REEC, in order to expand our offer and for more people to join the Oro Verde family. This was a commitment to the country and its economic reactivation; we always believed and continue to believe in Ecuador. In addition, we have generated very good strategic alliances in hotel and gastronomic products.
Are 2021 and 2022, years still with a pandemic, good times to invest in the hotel sector? Why?
In years of crisis, opportunities arise, and we are working because we see the potential to generate growth in tourism and hotels. The tourist has changed his habits and new needs have been generated that must be satisfied. One of them is the reactivation of local tourism, an opportune moment to strengthen our brand and retain our customers.
What are the expectations of the hotel sector for this 2022?
Work hard this year, continue innovating, continue growing, supporting and acting for the return of the tourism industry, and achieving synergies towards a fully reactivated 2023 in the tourism industry.
Source: Eluniverso
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