and Caleta Palace hotels as part of the government initiative to attract high-yield business.
Work at the centrally located Eliott included upgrading of the conference room and the addition of three meeting rooms. The £3m refurbishment was part-funded by a £1m government loan and partly by the Eliott’s owner, Dublin-based O’Callaghan Hotels.
The 125-room Eliott is committed to the business market, according to general manager Nick Holdsworth. The corporate sector accounts for 80% of the hotel’s business.
“Occupancy this year has been 60% – it’s up on last year, when we were in the midst of the refurbishment,” he said. “We now have a much better product and are taking more advance bookings.”
Around 90% of the Eliott’s clientele is British – the proportion is similar at the Rock Hotel, which along with GB Airways and UK operator Cadogan, is part of the Gibraltar-based Bland Group.
At the Rock Hotel, a £1.5m refurbishment has transformed all 104 guest rooms and enhanced the fifth-floor conference room, which can take 150 people theatre style.
General manager Stephen Davenport said:”Our profile is different to a year ago. Following the upgrade work we’re now targeting ourselves more at the corporate market.
“But we’re also trying to push up yields through the trade. Tour operators supply 35%-40% of our guests and that’s helping us to achieve an average stay of 4.2 days. However, if Gibraltar is to succeed in the short-break market, it needs to attract a younger clientele.”
The Caleta Palace Hotel is midway through a £1.5m refurbishment programme that includes renovation of all 169 rooms.
Its new conference centre is expected to be ready next month. This will include Gibraltar’s largest conference room, holding up to 250 people theatre style, and five smaller rooms on a dedicated floor.
The Caleta Palace’s business has been hit by the closure of the road outside the hotel for widening and coast protection work, and it will not reopen until December.
General manager Franco Ostuni said: “We will heavily market the new conference centre in the UK, but are already working on the local and Spanish markets. We’re getting a good response.”
GIBRALTAR is just four months away from completing its major hotel refurbishment and upgrade programme that is aimed at raising the British colony’s tourism profile.
The Gibraltar government made £5m available in soft loans with the aid of an European Union grant and over the past 18 months guest rooms and public areas have been upgraded in the leading properties. Conference facilities have also been improved and expanded in the Rock, Eliott and Caleta Palace hotels as part of the government initiative to attract high-yield business.
Work at the centrally located Eliott included upgrading of the conference room and the addition of three meeting rooms. The £3m refurbishment was part-funded by a £1m government loan and partly by the Eliott’s owner, Dublin-based O’Callaghan Hotels.
The 125-room Eliott is committed to the business market, according to general manager Nick Holdsworth. The corporate sector accounts for 80% of the hotel’s business.
“Occupancy this year has been 60% – it’s up on last year, when we were in the midst of the refurbishment,” he said. “We now have a much better product and are taking more advance bookings.”
Around 90% of the Eliott’s clientele is British – the proportion is similar at the Rock Hotel, which along with GB Airways and UK operator Cadogan, is part of the Gibraltar-based Bland Group.
At the Rock Hotel, a £1.5m refurbishment has transformed all 104 guest rooms and enhanced the fifth-floor conference room, which can take 150 people theatre style.
General manager Stephen Davenport said:”Our profile is different to a year ago. Following the upgrade work we’re now targeting ourselves more at the corporate market.
“But we’re also trying to push up yields through the trade. Tour operators supply 35%-40% of our guests and that’s helping us to achieve an average stay of 4.2 days. However, if Gibraltar is to succeed in the short-break market, it needs to attract a younger clientele.”
The Caleta Palace Hotel is midway through a £1.5m refurbishment programme that includes renovation of all 169 rooms.
Its new conference centre is expected to be ready next month. This will include Gibraltar’s largest conference room, holding up to 250 people theatre style, and five smaller rooms on a dedicated floor.
The Caleta Palace’s business has been hit by the closure of the road outside the hotel for widening and coast protection work, and it will not reopen until December.
General manager Franco Ostuni said: “We will heavily market the new conference centre in the UK, but are already working on the local and Spanish markets. We’re getting a good response.”