An economic team of the Georgian government is asked and recommended to actively maintain advertising campaigns of our country as a travel destination during 2021. However, advertising alone will not be the cure, a political agreement, and goodwill to attract visitors from particular countries should also be in focus.
“I would ask and suggest the economic team of our country to actively maintain advertising campaigns during 2021. Even if we distinguish several countries, devise a strategy in which Georgia will be promoted as a tourism destination. Albeit, under current conditions only advertising will not help. There should be political agreement and goodwill to attract visitors from particular countries next year and create safe “corridors”. Non-ordinary situations require extraordinary and pro-active measures,” Dimitri Shvelidze, Deputy Director at River Side hotel, told BMG.
Shvelidze expects 2021 to be a year of recovery, which they have to endure. With the proper operations and opening of the tourism and hospitality sector, he predicts to reach the 2019 rate soon, adding that the key is to bring loyal customers back to the service they are accustomed to.
During 2020, River Side hotel, which also incorporates Tiffany Bar and Terrace, has been operating for 7 months in total, though due to the flight ban, the hotel was almost completely empty.
In his interview with BMG, Deputy Director at River Side hotel talked about restrictions imposed on the HoReCa sector, which as a fact has never been a source of spreading the virus, the timeframe required for building a brand, and expectations for 2021.
Government’s assistance to HoReCa
Representatives of our sector are well aware that our country is not economically strong and could not allow enforcement of those assisting programs to the extent that Germany or the UK could afford. There were cases in some European countries in which businesses were refunded 50% of their taxes in 2019. In Georgia, assisting programs to our sector mostly envisaged GEL 200 - 300 payments to employees and subsidies of loan interests. Unfortunately, so many exceptions were recorded in these programs that many, including us, were unable to take advantage of this program, despite numerous formal requests at multiple levels, to make the aforementioned amendments to the program.
Lockdown
I do not buy a lockdown on such a scale. Our sector has suffered a lot. Chronologically, we have actually closed since the spring, flights were banned and restaurants have closed. A state of emergency has been declared, which is the legal ground for enforcing force majeure for the financial sector. Then we opened in the summer. Riverside was the first hotel to be inspected to new standards, and it took almost 3 hours. The next business closure took place in October, and no longer by Parliament, but by the government without declaring a state of emergency, which in legal terms was no longer considered a force majeure circumstance. Look, at a time when flights are banned, the country is on the red list and very few people arrive who pass Covid-check at both airports, at a time when restaurants have to pay huge costs to open up: purchase more expensive products due to depreciated lari, reduced number of tables, or the possibility of getting fewer people, prohibited measures, expensive consumables, then added a closure at 10 p.m. (which reduced 40% of the already meager income), then the closure at 8 p.m. due to traffic restrictions, and then the full lockdown of the industry.
To be perfectly frank, no one expected the full closure of restaurants at a time when hospitality was very limited. If we compare the number of people and the fuss in other open establishments, we can definitely say that the restaurant is no less safe place.
The terms required to build a brand
Riverside has been founded 15 years ago and has been under our management for 10 years. It took us about 5 years of selfless work, 4 renovations, the introduction of standards, and development to win the first international award. Since 2015, Riverside has been among the 10 best hotels in Georgia by Travelers’ Choice Awards by Tripadvisor, HolidayCheck Germany, and many other international organizations. 2020 was also successful in this regard. Consequently, one is when you create a new brand and develop it quickly, and the other is when you take care of the great success of an existing hotel. As for Tiffany Bar, it opened on December 9, 2014, and it took about 1 year to generate loyal guests with its service, gastronomy, and environment. Maintaining good service in Georgia is still a problem. A person who tastes a particular dish and likes it very much should get exactly that taste even after years.
The main challenges connected to the reopening of a business
Reopening a business is quite a complex process not only from a financial point of view but also from a human standpoint. When Riverside and Tiffany opened in the summer, there were so many things to look forward to, to refurbish, adjust, upgrade on site that we did not expect. Even re-collecting staff and sticking to standards again, which we have been able to do with great diligence and discipline. The second closure of the restaurants was very painful and we are trying to endure it as well. Unfortunately, there are many food outlets that can no longer be opened. Episodic closures are unjustifiable in terms of risks. If we take the New York Fall statistics, only about 1% of the infection came from restaurants and nightclubs together, about 0.1 from hotels, et al. I think in the summer, when the EU put us on the list of green countries and there were only a few cases - we had to continue flights to specific countries. In addition to helping tourism, this would have given us an influx of tourists from Europe who had not been here and considered Georgia less as a holiday destination.
Why the delivery service did not work
In the case of Tiffany, delivery service alone could not be justified. Tiffany Bar and Terrace with its concept is a place where people come especially for the environment, radiant views, and for the gastronomy that our chefs offer. To summarize, our guests are visiting us for the pleasant emotions that you can not get at home. Also, our FINE DINING menu which is included in the French guide, and a number of dishes cannot be ordered for delivery. However we still have an extensive delivery menu and when Tiffany is open, the delivery service also works. Many restaurants that were not focused on delivery service have launched it, albeit it did not work for them and they are suffering a loss. The reason for their decision is to maintain brand awareness, which has its justification. Delivery service has proved successful mostly for Georgian and foreign fast-food companies.
Customers’ loyalty
The main segment that we hosted during the opening of our restaurants, where our loyal guests who missed a particular place and having a good time, quite an activity was also observed as well since in the summer, we introduced an updated menu at both facilities. There were also many partner organizations and individuals who came specifically to stand by our business. I am really grateful to them.
