While staying at the King Solomon Hotel, The Jerusalem Report spoke to Isrotel CEO Lior Raviv, who said that, following the coronavirus-induced lockdowns of 2020 and the unpredictability of tourism in a post-October 7 world, Isrotel had “learned how to handle these times.”
“Keeping hotels open in wartime is a very difficult, financially complex situation,” Raviv said, adding that the exodus of foreign workers from Israel after October 7 created “huge difficulty” in fully staffing all of Isrotel’s hotels, as “Israelis are unwilling to work in service.”
That said, Isrotel reported consistently high booking rates when it reopened its hotels after a security-induced closure ended, meaning Israelis exiting a period of wartime were quick to book their next vacation. And those who do return to Eilat come with much higher service expectations than in years prior, Isrotel’s CEO said.
Isrotel’s game plan, as Raviv said, is to stay “one step ahead” of its guests’ needs.
With that in mind, Isrotel is developing no fewer than 10 new hotel and resort projects across Israel, including five in Tel Aviv and another in Jerusalem. These new projects will all feature their own unique theme, each tailor-made for a different kind of stay, depending on guests’ preferences.
With Eilat being such a beach-oriented city, a new Isrotel hotel set to be built there will attempt to bring a different style of vacationing to its visitors. Instead of the beachside experience guests might expect in Eilat, this new hotel will focus on creating a rooftop experience, featuring bars overlooking the Red Sea and a hanging infinity pool.
In addition, Isrotel is continuing to invest regularly in its existing chains. Raviv told the Report that the hotel chain spends millions of shekels on the ongoing maintenance of its 26 hotels across the country.
The Report joined a tour of the renovations carried out across Isrotel’s Eilat hotels, including the King Solomon Hotel, the Royal Garden Hotel, Sport Club Hotel, and Lagoona, all of which have received or are in the midst of receiving significant upgrades to their design, guest spaces, and amenities.
One particular focus shared across the Isrotel brand is a revamp of its activities for children, aiming to create more immersive activities while keeping them safe at all times so that parents don’t need to have a “vacation from a vacation.”
The tour included tickets to Hanoch Rosen’s new theater show, WOW Hollywood, staged exclusively at the Royal Garden Hotel’s theater. The show is an entertaining circus-meets-cinema performance that takes audiences through Hollywood’s most memorable scenes and the iconic soundtracks that accompanied them through impressive acrobatic stunts and comic relief.■
