A HOTEL in Cebu is banking on food and beverage (F&B) and event booking businesses to bring in most of the hotel’s revenue while it waits for the occupancy levels to normalize.
The 400-room Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu opted to be operating as a leisure hotel when it reopened in the last quarter of 2020 so it could continue accepting leisure guests to either stay or dine in its facilities.
The Department of Tourism has asked the accommodation players to choose to operate either as a leisure hotel or quarantine hotel during these tough times. Those that picked to operate as a quarantine hotel are not allowed to accept booking for leisure purposes.
“The dining foot traffic in F&B including the banquet is picking up. Social events are coming back,” said Ruby Nepomuceno, the hotel’s director of business development.
Rooms, on the other hand, tell a different story. According to Nepomuceno, the hotel’s room revenue is “really slow.” “That is why we look for other areas where we could still do business,” she said.
Social functions such as intimate weddings have come back. Bookings postponed from March to December 2020 were moved this year, but with a smaller crowd.
“The number of wedding bookings remains the same. It is just the number of guests that lessened,” she said.
Nepomuceno added the hotel remains a preferred venue for social events because of the availability and capacity of its function rooms. “We have also enhanced our event packages to suit our clients’ needs, especially during this time,” she said.
Chinese New Year Specials
Meanwhile, the hotel is enjoying a good traffic of diners.
“Foot traffic in dining is never zero,” said Nepomuceno. “We are happy that people come here to enjoy our food. Some do meetings here.”
To avoid attracting a big crowd, the hotel announced that it is serving its Chinese New Year Specials for the whole month of February, instead of offering them only on Feb. 12.
“This way people could still get to celebrate Chinese New Year for the entire month. Menu prices start at P300 with a generous portion for sharing,” said Rochelle Tabino, the hotel’s marketing and communications manager.
Its Chinese New Year Specials feature all-time favorites such as Stir-fried tiger prawns with chili and garlic, braised mixed mushrooms and broccoli with superior sauce and Shaosing wine, Szechuan style marinated beef with black pepper sauce, Spicy Szechuan style chicken with cashew nuts and water chestnuts, Hainanese chicken with ginger, soy and spring onions, Braised pork guabao, and Marinated jellyfish salad, among many others. (KOC)