Executive Director (The Caleta Hotel)

Could you give us some background information about the Caleta Hotel?

The Caleta Hotel was built in 1964 by local investors and has been run ever since by G&JB Hotels Ltd.It has 169 bedrooms, which means we have about 60 or 65 more rooms than any other hotel in Gibraltar.We also have the largest state-of-the-art conference centers, 2 restaurants (an Italian and an international one), as well as a swimming pool, gym and health & beauty salon.This is all very impressive for Gibraltar standards.At the end of the year, we are also planning to begin construction on 35 self-catering apartments on the south end of the hotel, which should be a very nice addition.



If we could take a snap shot of your customers, what would it look like?

Generally speaking our customers are about 50% leisure travelers and 50% corporate travelers and within the 50% corporate, I would also include the conference market.I should point out that during the summer months those percentages change slightly to about 60% leisure and 40% corporate.Ninety-five percent of all customers come from the United Kingdom (UK), mainly due to flight access and proximity.We are a little over two hours flying time from most UK cities that fly here.The UK is a massive market for Gibraltar considering that there are 30,000 inhabitants here and 60 million in the UK, so we tend to cater most of our advertising and promotions to that market.

The leisure market is usually a short stay market, ranging from between 3-5 nights.However, in the last couple of years we have seen and increase in the average length of stays, which is quite encouraging.I believe this is a result of travelers experiencing the Costa del Sol [of Spain] and now realizing that they can actually stay in Gibraltar and make excursions from here, as opposed to what they might have been doing before which was to stay in Costa del Sol and take a day trip to Gibraltar.I believe it may also be the result of a few small facts that make British travelers more comfortable here, which is that everyone speaks English and that they do not have to change their money or bothering converting prices to the euro.



Do you believe that some of these same things about the language would appeal to the American market?

Certainly, there are many things about Gibraltar that appeal to Americans, especially the history of Gibraltar, as it played a very key role in World War II and the Allied invasion of North Africa.Going much further back that WWII however, I would say there is more history (both natural and historical) per square inch here in Gibraltar than almost any other place in the world.



Do you anticipate Gibraltar ever opening its airport to the United States?

Well, that is very difficult to say, but currently the government is in negotiations with Spain and the UK to open the airport to Spain.Ultimately, it is a questions of access, so if those talks go well, then maybe further down the road in the future we might see more Americans coming through Spain.However, as you know Americans can still come flying through London or by driving from Malaga airport in Spain, which is only an hour away by car.



Does the Caleta Hotel do anything to attract American from the many cruise liners that port in Gibraltar?

As a hotel we do not, however speaking about Gibraltar as a whole, yes.Obviously, a major attraction is the duty free shopping experience, as well as the fact that Gibraltar is such a different experience than Costa del Sol.For us as hotels, it is different because it is very difficult to attract anyone, when at the end of the day, they are only interested in coming, visiting, walking and seeing the main attractions of the Rock.With the cruise liners, it is very much the same story.They come and port for the day, the travelers see the sights and then they leave by night.



What are the greatest challenges facing the Caleta Hotel and the tourism industry in general?

I think Gibraltar is going through some very big challenges at the moment, maybe more now than at any other time.The tourism industry is fairly buoyant, and the hotels have made a great effort in the last four to five years to upgrade their product and to change with a market that is evolving so rapidly.I think the challenge is that our market is becoming more and more of a last minute market, and by that I mean that more and more travelers are booking online.These numbers are becoming quite phenomenal.As a result is it harder and harder for us hotels to know our customers and get information about them until they arrive, so I think our industry will need to respond to this.

Competition in the hotel industry here in Gibraltar will certainly be a challenge moving forward into the future as the government is actively looking for investors to build more hotels.Currently, there are only 7 hotels here, with a total of about 600 rooms, which is not very much.



Knowing how important online booking is, what does the Caleta Hotel do to promote its website?

We have a very good website that was launched about four or five years ago, in which we were the pioneers in Gibraltar with our 360 degree virtual tour technology, which allows clients to visit the whole hotel.We have a web master based in the UK who creates search engine campaigns that try to promote our website.



What makes the Caleta Hotel unique and distinctive to some of the other hotels in Gibraltar?

I think the location of the Caleta is extremely unique as we are the only hotel built on the sea.From our hotel rooms, when you look out, it is like being on a ship because you only see water underneath you.I do not think there is anywhere else in the world where you can build this close to the sea.We are also the only hotel with access to Caleta Bay and its beautiful beach.

We are also different in what we offer our clients.While the other hotels are on the other side of the Rock, close to Main Street; because we are located on the east side, we have always had the reputation as the leisure hotel of Gibraltar.As I said we are away from downtown, close to the sea, we have a beauty salon, gym and two different styles of restaurants.On the other hand, we are also the only hotel that has invested in conference centers and communications facilities to cater to the corporate market.We are constantly working to please both of our clientele, our leisure guests and our corporate guests, all under the same roof.



What particular area do you think the government could improve with respect to the tourism industry?

I think the government has done, and is doing a good job promoting Gibraltar with the limited resources at its disposal.You have to remember that we are competing with many other tourist destinations much bigger than us and with much larger promotional budgets.Our clients have told us that Gibraltar is a completely different place than five years ago, with respect to the infrastructure and other aspects.Of course there are areas of Gibraltar that are not as tourist friendly as they could be, but you have to remember that it was only 10 years ago that the British ceded back large areas of land that were formerly military installations.Now, it is a matter of prioritizing, which the government has been doing, with such projects as the Eastside Development.



What would be your personal message to our readers regarding Gibraltar’s tourism industry or the Caleta Hotel?

I do not believe hotels particularly influence the decision making process when travelers choose a destination, however I think Gibraltar can offer many things to the American market.It is an extremely exotic destination considering that you can wake up in the morning, look out your window at the Caleta and see two continents.Not only that, but because of the many ferry services, you can actually go and spend your morning and afternoon actually in North Africa and return in time to have paella in Spain if you would like.So you can be in three countries and two continents in one day, which is quite unique.You should come and have a look!