Roc Hotels is a Mallorcan family business. So far, the chain has mainly invested in design, facilities and staff. Guests at the Roc Hotel Carolina Adults Only used to only come via Thomas Cook, but now the chain and the Roc Carolina are successfully marketing themselves despite the tourism crisis year 2020.
Mallorca 2020, a critical year for the Spanish tourism industry
This is obviously a difficult year for British’s and Germany’s favourite island and the tourism industry. But it is also a holiday destination for connoisseurs and those who want to have a really good time – especially now. The Roc hotel chain is inviting couples with some very tempting treats to round off the season until the end of October this year.
At the now favourable special prices, lovers can upgrade to a particularly beautiful room or from half board to full board at no extra cost. Not many holidaymakers from Germany are familiar with Roc Hotels. But that is gradually changing. There are ten Roc hotels in Mallorca alone, two of which are year-round hotels.
Majorca holidaymakers are different in summer than those in winter
Travellers in winter naturally have different interests to summer holidaymakers on Mallorca. While in summer it is mainly beach holidaymakers and sun-seekers who book the Roc hotels, in winter it is more business travellers, hikers and those seeking relaxation with children who want to be pampered in the individually decorated Roc hotels…
Cala Ratjada is not far
We are now at the Roc Hotel Carolina in the immediate neighbourhood of Cala Ratjada, an adults-only hotel. In conversation with the German hotel manager Stefanie Göhring, the experienced Mallorca expert explains some interesting facts about this hotel. The towering building with 10 floors shines in the bright light of the still warm autumn sun and is located directly on a small sandy bay. From the roof terrace, but also from all (!) rooms, guests have a breathtaking view of the sea, the coast and the beautiful surrounding landscape.
Interview with GM of Roc Hotel Carolina
Oliver, travelindustry.news:
‘Mrs Goehring, thank you very much for agreeing to talk to us. Please tell us a little about the history of the Hotel ROC Carolina adults only.’
Stefanie Goehring, https://www.roc-hotels.com/de/mallorca/roc-carolina:
‘The hotel is one of the first large hotels in the north-east of the island. The imposing building has been around for over 50 years. However, it has been permanently renovated and is in excellent condition. We are located directly on a very quiet bay, and of course there is also a pool with a children’s pool in the garden area and a spa with a heated pool in the building. The fitness centre is sThe Roc Carolina has been under the management of Roc Hotels for around 15 years.
For years, the hotel was under exclusive contracts with tour operators, most recently under sole marketing by Thomas Cook until the Thomas Cook bankruptcy. In winter 2016/17, the hotel was extensively renovated and upgraded. The occupancy rate under Thomas Cook was very high, so the insolvency of the tourism group hit us hard. Since then, we have taken the marketing of the Roc-Carolina into our own hands and tour operators have hardly played a role this year.
A surprising number of guests are coming to us who we would never have reached in the past. Even telephone bookings are running smoothly. After the unexpected Thomas Cook bankruptcy, we acted very quickly and optimised the booking options via the website and similar options. Flexibility is obviously the secret of our success.’
Oliver:
‘That means Thomas Cook had bought the hotel 100% from the contingent and the marketing ran exclusively through Thomas Cook and you did well with it, right?’
Stefanie Goehring:
‘Yes it was a deal was worthwhile – for both sides. Thomas Cook also helped us with the renovation of the hotel – we invested a lot of money. Thomas Cook and we were very satisfied on both sides, because it was also determined by the quality. We have risen from a 3-star hotel to a 4-star hotel and have worked hard to become better and better. And: we will continue to move in the direction of a 5-star hotel, there is a lot in the pipeline.’
Oliver:
‘Mrs Goehring, let’s talk about the years 2017 to 2019, how had the last few years developed?’
Stefanie Goehring:
‘After the very extensive renovation in the winter of 2016 to 2017, there was a fresh start. The season started a little later so that the renovation work could be fully completed. Of course, it wasn’t immediately at 100% capacity.
We had to work practically the whole year to make the upgraded hotel better known and also to achieve the quality that guests and Thomas Cook expected. We achieved this relatively quickly after around two months, but we then used the next few years to continue working on improvements. More and more guests came and made it clear to us how comfortable they felt. So we kept making new investments in the winter.
I can’t give too much away yet, but we are possibly planning a decidedly health-promoting reorientation in some of our hotels and may also develop a completely new unique selling point on Mallorca. All those who prioritise a healthy, holistic lifestyle can look forward to this. We will be announcing more details soon.’
Oliver:
‘How did 2020 go, there are surprisingly many guests in the house today. How did you manage to fill your Roc Hotel Carolina so well despite the travel warning and coronavirus? Other hotels on the island have already closed or only have a few guests staying.’
Stefanie Goehring:
‘We have obviously placed the right marketing focus on social media, direct marketing and telephone bookability. We will achieve cost-covering occupancy this year, and we are actually a little proud of that.’
Oliver:
‘Dear Mrs Goehring, that reads really exciting, readers can look forward to it. Thank you very much for the interview and all the best for you, your employees, the island and your holidaymakers.’
