Radu Enache: Business of five-star hotel not quite up to our expectations

The newest five-star hotel on the Bucharest market, Grand Continental, controlled by businessman Radu Enache, in February operated with a 36% occupancy rate. "I would say the business of the first nine months of the year did not go quite as we'd expected, so that I should now modify the turnover figure from 2.5m euros to 2.2m euros," stated Radu Enache, owner of Continental Hotels chain, which late last year opened the Grand Hotel Continental five-star hotel on Calea Victoriei in the wake of investments worth 8m euros. The 59-room hotel was reopened after modernisation and reclassification works that lasted for two years. The businessman maintains he is now focusing on promoting the new five-star hotel and the restaurants in it, with the promotion budget earmarked for the entire hotel chain accounting for 3-5% in revenues, that is as much as 1m euros. Continental Hotels hotel chain reached 21m-euro turnover last year, down 19% from 2008, and made no profit.