Q & A with Lucia Riande de Victoria, Riande Hotels Executive Vice President

With three well-located properties in Panama City –Riande Continental, Riande Granada and Riande Aeropuerto- the chain opened the Riande Beach Club in a partnership agreement with Hotel Golf Coronado. The front office stands up for the belief that a time of crises opens up a window of opportunities, so they’re sailing into the future with an upbeat attitude. On the management’s initiatives, the company’s vice president talked with Caribbean News Digital in an exclusive interview.

What do you make of Riande Hotels’ occupancy rates during the first quarter of the ongoing year?
There’s no doubt the economic crisis the world is going through is making a dent in hotels everywhere under the sun, and Panama is no exception to the rule. Therefore, hotels countrywide have been hit by low occupancy rates. However, we remain optimistic about a fast rebound based on the fact that Panama is one of handful of nations that’s not getting pounded that hard by the ongoing crisis.

What concrete plans do you have in the pipeline or in the works to lift occupancy rates in your properties?
Right now Panama has a lot to offer to our visitors in every way. As far as political stability is concerned, our country is one of the most conservative nations in terms of politics.

In addition, our financial and banking systems are pretty steady and rock-solid, with nearly a hundred banks in operations. Panama has managed to have one of the region’s most stable banking systems.

As we speak, Panama is painting itself as the new route to be discovered, given the diversity of activities that can be carried out in our country. With this significant edge, we have set out to launch better and newer promotions in an effort to meet all of our guests’ expectations. For instance, by checking in our hotels guests are signing up for the Riande Club, a facility equipped with golf courses, tennis courts, beach club, equestrian club, a spa and other private club options at no extra charge.

What kind of culture-oriented activities do the hotels plan?
In Panama we’re increasingly focused on cultural promotion, either our own or from other neighboring countries. As far as we’re concerned, we’ve always been supportive of our country’s own cultural events and we’ve always pitched a helping hand in their organization.

We’re working closely with the INAC in search of formulas aimed at raising our cultural level. We believe we can support that from a hotel standpoint and this could lead to a number of interesting projects I don’t have the specific details about right now.

If you were supposed to mention the strengths and the weaknesses of the Riande hotels, what will you tell me?
Forty years ago, Mr. Ildefonso Riande, the founder of Riande Hotels, had the vision of creating an all-Panamanian company in a bid to provide guests with better service and conveniences. Today, we’re sticking to that direction and we’re giving our guests the kind of stay experience they deserve. That’s why four years ago the Hotel Associates made up our minds to refurbish all the areas, ranging from the guestrooms, the elevators, the furniture, the halls, everything. For that particular mission we hired the finest hotel interior designers, keeping in mind that we wanted to make our guests feel at home and conduct their businesses successfully.

As to the weaknesses, perhaps the fact that we don’t count on the booking systems American hotel chains have, which is something that help reel in reservations from overseas. However, that drawback has made us more creative by trying to reach out to our guests in a more original and customized fashion.

What does the hotel do in terms of staff training?
This is one of the most important things for us because we reflect what the staff does. Therefore, we pour time and efforts into their training and encouragement, so that they could in return provide our guests with the best attention and conveniences.

We have some sixty practitioners in our three hotels combined, youngsters who spend three months with us in the different areas and departments through partnership agreements we sign with the local collages.

In addition to our in-house training system, we always turn to other companies that could help us have training details worked out.

How do you assess Panama’s advance in MICE tourism and what concrete actions are the Riande Hotels doing for the promotion of serviced linked to this tourism niche?
Panama has always had an outstanding banking system, a superb free trade zone, great tradeshows, political stability and a many other attractions. In recent years, we have put ourselves on the map as a destination for leisure travel, investments, banks, conventions, nature tourism and cultural trips. We’re always in the know to give our guests an array of choices, based on what his or her interests in our country really are. A good case in point is the opening of the Riande Club, a place that offers both business opportunities and relaxation.

I’d like you to be a tad more specific about what the Riande Club has to offer.
The Riande Club is born out of a partnership with the Hotel Golf Coronado with a view to give our guests the opportunity of becoming club members for the time of their stay at any of our three Riande Hotels properties. At no extra charge they’re entitled to make use of the Riande Club’s facilities that include an 18-hole, par-72 golf course designed by Faccio, as well as the Beach Club overlooking the Pacific Ocean, a number of swimming pools, massage areas and a family plan for the enjoyment of the equestrian club, water sports, restaurants and a whole lot more.

What plans does the chain have in store for a promotional blitz in other destinations?
As I told at the top of this interview, these are good times that encourage us to resort to creativeness and refresh our marketing strategies. Right now we’re getting set to promote different travel alternatives among our customers and put our Riande Club in the limelight.