Q & A with Pablo Casal, General Manager of Four Points by Sheraton La Habana Hotel
June 28 was a historic day for the hotel sector in Cuba. In over five decades, it was the first time an American hotel group opens a property on the island and giant Starwood Hotels & Resorts was the star of the day. Caribbean News Digital attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony of Four Points by Sheraton La Habana and talked to the hotel’s general manager, Mr. Pablo Casal.
Why has the Starwood Group been the first US hotel group to enter the Cuban market?
We’re characterized by our harbinger spirit and we’ve been the first ones to open properties in several places around the globe. We can mention China, and in Latin America we have Argentina, Peru.
One of our main guidelines has been focused on sharing knowledge on our service culture, the brand’s culture, which is one of the utmost tools we have as a company.
At the same time, we’ve worked on the design and implementation of our standards, which are numerous -180 standards in all. The hotel already had many things and we had to adapt other elements. We’re moving forward.
We believe that, instead of waiting for everything to be ready and then opening our property, it would be easier for everybody to begin at once and learn about the country’s culture along the way. When we open a property in a new country, we like being on the field, changing things from the inside. We don’t wait for everything to be ready.
This hotel is a conversion; we’re transforming a hotel and we’re not starting from scratch. There are other possibilities and we can do it better, in a capital like Havana which is boasting a tremendous demand. We had to include all those elements in our plan.
Have you planned to carry out an all-out overhaul of the hotel?
Yes, as a matter of fact we already have a design rendering. We have already begun to implement some things and the process has been conceived to be phased in.
Will you close the hotel to get the revamping process done?
No, we won’t. The idea is to do it on a section-by-section basis. That logistics is a fact and if we keep having occupancy levels above 80 percent, that will definitely stop us from closing the hotel. We’re meeting some needs, but service is the most important element of all.
You have high standards around the world. Those standards are based on your products, your providers and the imports you make by carrying containers with everything you want. How are you going to do that in Cuba?
We’re doing it. That process is already under way.
Do you have an importer of your own?
We’re working with the local importing companies.
That means you are subject to the importers’ own system.
Yes, we certainly are and we’ve had no problem with that. Obviously, there is a will to make things work. I can’t speak about the past. This is my experience now and we’ve had the same difficulties and drawbacks we’ve faced during any other opening process anywhere else: suppliers that make a mistake when packing the products and put more of this or less of that, for instance. These are regular matters and we’ve gotten used to dealing with them, so we’re prepared for these contingencies.
You mentioned an 80 percent occupancy rate. What’s your main market here as we speak? The U.S.?
The American market is not topping the list right now. We’re a U.S. company and, of course, the number of American visitors is significant, but we aim at all publics. We try to turn the public into Starwood public, and that Starwood public into SPG public.
Standards come out as a result of what people want; they are changed according to what people ask for. The travel industry is very dynamic and calls for changes depending on customers and all we have the different generations: the millennials, the X’ers, Y’ers, Z’ers; we’ve got so many I’ve lost count. We modify, make additions and change standards based on their needs as guests.
As to that strategy you have as a group with the SPG public, how are you going to do it in this case?
The same way we did it with the rest. We have no limitations.
Of all brands managed by the Starwood Group, which are eleven in all, why did you choose Four Points by Sheraton for this hotel?
Four Points by Sheraton is a brand marked by its excellent service, comfort, laidback atmosphere, and that’s the market niche we thought the Havana’s hotel sector was missing. We believe that there is room to do it; we believe that the building features the conditions to do it that way, also due to its location. We’re in a business center and we thought that it was the best way. People who come to work feel comfortable here, they drink a beer at the bar and relax.
Had you ever been to Cuba before?
This is my second visit, but it’s been all about work.
