Eric Bourdales. General Manager of the Meliá Cohiba Hotel
Q- How do you assess the Meliá Cohiba Hotel’s work through 2003?
A- I’m absolutely pleased. We’ve still got a few days before New Year’s Eve and those days are equally important. I must tell you we’re expecting to close this month with an 87 percent occupancy rate. One of our top achievements was the advantage we took of the off-peak months to refurbish part of the hotel’s rooms. Now half the rooms are completely remodeled.
Q- What are you major markets now as the year is coming to a close?
A- Right now, the United States. America has pushed Spain down to the runner-up spot and now Canada is in third place. As to the fourth notch in the countdown, well, there’s quite a tug-of-war among France, Italy and Switzerland.
Q- What new cards does the Meliá Cohiba have up its sleeve for the rest of the year?
A- Well, we’ve got lots of plans in the offing. The Cocktail Blue Piano Bar will close in December for an all-out facelift that includes new looks based on stogies and cigar aficionados.
Q- And when will it open again?
A- In February for the International Cigar Festival.
Q- Any other projects in the pipeline?
A- We’re going to revamp the Havana Café. We pine for putting one great Cuban orchestra onstage every night just to give foreign travelers coming to Cuba a good nightlife choice here.
Q- What’s your greatest satisfaction as head of the Meliá Cohiba Hotel?
A- There’s no greater satisfaction for me that meeting every day first thing in the morning with the management staff to review the day before, see how we’ll act in the new day and learn from our own mistakes. I’m also very pleased when I read out loud to my staff the congratulating e-mails we get from everywhere around the globe.
Q- And your biggest headache?
A- In looking for new ideas. My entire staff tells me that talking to me means getting snowed under in three more weeks of hardworking. So, my biggest headache comes around whenever I try to give my people three more weeks of intense work.
Q- Do you like working in Cuba?
A- I do like working in Cuba because I see more consciousness every day and because we’re in a position to show the rest of the world that we can do things right every step of the way.
Q- How long have you been at the helm of this hotel?
A- It’s been two years since I took over and I’ve been in the hotel since May 2002 when I came here as intern general manager.
Q- Any hopes and ideas?
A- Plenty of them because we’ve put both our smart money and efforts into keeping the Meliá Cohiba as a standard-bearer of Cuba’s tourism, the real avant-garde lodging of the entire Cuban hotel industry. I know there’s no gain without pain, so I’ll keep getting those spitting headaches every so often.
