Sofitel posts 8.4m-euro revenues

Sofitel, a 202-room hotel, posted an increase in turnover of approximately 10% in 2005, to 8.4 million euros, which exceeded the forecasts made by its management early in the year. “We had a very good year, and judging from the figures at the end of 2005 and early in 2006, we are very optimistic about this new year,” stated Bruno Vinette, general manager of the hotel. Vinette specified the results estimated for 2005 stood at 8 million euros, while the hotel posted 7.5 million-euro turnover in 2004. “We had a very good second half, especially September, October and November. It was only at that moment that we realised we were going to exceed our forecasts made at the beginning of the year,” Vinette went on. He says he expects a similar growth rate this year. The hotel”s average occupancy rate in 2005 was 75%, an increase of 3% on the previous year. The management anticipates occupancy rate to increase this year. Sofitel is mainly a hotel for businesspeople. Such hotels have witnessed a very strong growth in recent years, once a number of international companies opened offices in Romania. ZF