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To Jordi Clos Llombart, unlike businesses, not good at gardening. In this quarantine did not have their cherry trees bear fruits, but it is taking forward your company, Derby Hotels, and his team of nearly 900 people. is Shares the keys to the tourism sector to overcome the economic crisis “more serious than I’ve spent in the life”. Clos Llombart (Barcelona, 1950) is 22 establishments, spread across Barcelona, Madrid, Paris and London.
At the time, the entrepreneur knew how to play their cards and dabbled in the real estate market, so that it is the owner of all of the buildings explodes. Do not believe in the banks and every euro that you earn is invested. “I’ve always been very reluctant to endeudarme, the little leverage that we have had”, has been key to emerging successfully from this and other recessions. “I lived through the crisis in’ 93, in 2008, terrorist attacks, fires, vests of blue, all complicated situations; I have diversified my business in the real estate world, in the hotel, in Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, London,” he explains. But “it appears the epidemic and all the forecasts are not good for anything; we can provide that instead of a 70% occupancy we were in a 40, but zero!, I never would have dreamed possible.” “There will be more of a colleague that what is happening is wrong,” empathizes. “There are hotels that companies have left to exploit because they could not afford to pay the rent or the mortgage,” he adds. This is not the case, despite the fact that it has lost millions of euros in these months. “Plural”, specifies the ceo of the firm that directs, from a few years ago, his son Joaquim Clos.
they Have decided to open the facilities with a plan of desescalada that changes, through meetings by Zoom, almost every day. “Two weeks ago, saying that would not open Madrid until September, but now I think that what we will do before the end of the month,” he explains. This flexibility of decision has been important to get ahead: “Adapt to circumstances” and bet, “even if it is losing money”. “we Thought that when you open the Claris lose more of what they already lost, but we’ve been pleasantly surprised; we have between 50 and 70 daily occupations”, he asserts. “If everything is closed we will not put the town in motion, it is important to have a vision of solidarity of the business world”, he argues. Ypide “pull all, local government, the Generalitat, museums, institutions, hotels… towards the same side, like we did in 93”, specifies.
The Hotel Claris was the first luxury re-opened in Barcelona. Of the 18 hotels that you own in the city, has opened three. Two of them are apartments (Suites and Aramunt). In Madrid, opens one of two. Paris and London would prefer not to speak, therefore, even though tourism has returned to Paris, “is so little that is a drop of water in a sea of options. And in London, one day you will be let in, to the following non -; is not in the map”. The restaurant Bait, your hotel Urban, with a Michelin star, it will not open, “perhaps until September or October.” Mr. Kao, in the Claris, nor of time. Even so, do not rule out anything, “anything can happen”.
Care of equipment
For most of the hotel emphasize on flexibility and the need to take risks, believes that taking care of the team and of the company have been the foundation of his philosophy in the last few months. “No company, no team, and no team, no company,” he explains. “We communicate to our employees that, despite not being a bank, they want to help,” he added. is Ahead of pay for extras, offered subsidies of up to 70%. “We communicate a clear and definite way, with everyone from executives, to those who are responsible for the cleaning, through emails, letters, calls in line; there are people in Spain that don’t know or who is in a FATE, that may not be” sentence. “We communicate that we have a bet for the future, so they feel a part of it,” she adds.
To Clos, Barcelona is the same as six months ago, a great city, and will take more or less in return, but will be “Barcelona, as well as Paris or Madrid will be”. We believe in the product that we have. “Luxury tourism is also coming back, because people can’t stop to cross off your list of these great european capitals; it will take to come, but it will do so, as we returned to Egypt after the attacks”.
solved Tasks
The hard confinement was also an opportunity to undertake pending tasks. Clos took advantage of the break to restore a series of papyri more than 3,000 years old, that has from 12 years ago. But also to renew the soil for the reception of the Hotel Urban in Madrid. “There was a serious problem since what we build”, and it would have been impossible to resolve it with the hotel in march. Overcome the impasse, in this new normal, the employer is surprised at how quickly you “forget everything” . Customers “go without a mask and more than two people in the elevator”, explains. They had designed a special package to bring the breakfast to the room, but “they want to go down to breakfast and them make the bed every day.”
