Interview with Philip Aarskog, Operational Director at Aquaria Natal Hotel

You have been living in Brazil for two years. What made you choose to stay here?

It was an opening for me and an investment that my family made to come and get a year of experience. I took the opportunity and after one year I decided to stay longer because it was interesting in the hotel business and the industry. Of course, this is a wonderful place and it’s quite hard to return to cold Norway and the long winters we have over there. So I’m quite happy to be here.

What do you enjoy the most about Natal?

I think the location speaks for itself, for the people who have seen pictures or who have been here. It’s a very quiet place without any stress. People take things day-by-day and it seems they don’t have any worries. The place is full of fresh seafood – the food is good. You have the resident people who are amazing and work really hard. They are friendly and help out; they have a passion for football, dance and for what they say here which is "alegria", meaning happiness. That also makes quite a good impression on a guy who is coming from somewhere where everything is quite cold and arriving in a country where everything is so warm including the hospitality of the people.

Do you see any challenges for tourist development in Natal?

The main problem is the lack of visibility. The destination of Natal or even Rio Grande do Norte is in many ways not on the map. If you travel around Brazil to tourism fairs, they are there but are quite hidden. They are not on the map. The stalls at the fair are quite hidden, small or poorly equipped. They don’t do much to show off or show they are there. The other states are doing a lot to show off with giveaways, dances and people trying to show off and bring attention to the state. The major problem here is lack of visibility.

Internationally, I’m not sure what they do but for international flights we have only one air carrier arriving a couple of times a week. Charter flights have stopped. Maybe people from abroad are not being shown what a nice place Natal is when the government invests in tourism. Brazilians love to drive and they drive from all over the country. The roads are also quite terrible so people have trouble getting to Natal.

Beyond that, they have a lot of people interested in working so the problem is not the will to do things but the lack of money. I think people need to understand that Natal is more of a tourist destination than anything else so they have to invest money in tourism and the visibility of Natal and the state in general, both abroad and domestically.

Now, I would like to talk more specifically about Aquaria Natal Hotel. What is its history?

My uncle arrived for the first time in 2006 and he decided to buy several properties and construct a flat. During this time, the crisis throughout Europe and the rest of the world became serious and he decided to change the whole project into a hotel. Since the opening in July 2011, we have been through implementations of the processes and the necessary things that needed to be done as a hotel.

Aquaria Natal Hotel has 92 rooms so we are quite a small hotel in Natal but we do have family rooms that can accommodate four or five people. We have over 200 beds so that also gives us a good way to receive a lot of people especially since there is quite a high demand in Natal, particularly in the high season. I think it’s necessary for us to also look toward the future to maybe invest more. The market is there. Maybe the most critical thing was he decided to change the property into a hotel and also he looks at this as a future investment for the family. It’s not like he’s asking to get the money back as soon as possible. He wants it to be in the family for the future and also to create job opportunities in Natal and participate in the environment in the state.

What do you think are the key factors that make people come to your hotel and then come back?

I hope that they come back because we are good at hospitality. We have a good staff, we have spacious rooms that are comfortable and we take our guests really seriously. We get feedback from the guests and we try as often as we can to make changes, such as for the breakfast, rooms or facilities. We try to listen to our guests. We also have a good location which nobody can take from us. It’s next to the water and close to the Morro do Careca which is a famous spot in Natal. Also, there is sun almost year-round so the weather is quite nice here as well.

In terms of business customers, I understand you have some rooms for events?

We opened the event rooms in late 2011. We decided that we also needed to attract this type of client. Our focus is actually families and couples but of course there are people traveling on business and also looking to maybe spend a weekend to relax, so we wanted to attract them as well. We invested in an event room and we also do other kinds of events. For example, two days ago we had a wedding on the beach so we also do certain events other than corporate.

What’s the importance of business clients for your hotel? How much of your business do they represent?

I don’t know exactly how much they represent but we have some regular guests; maybe 10 to 15% of our guests are regular business guests. I think their main reason for staying here is because we are close to everything. It’s easy to park and go to different restaurants. We have room service, free Wi-Fi and a swimming pool that stays open until late. They have freedom here and I think that is maybe the key.

Do you have plans to build more event or conference rooms?

We have a plan to expand but exactly what we will do and whether we’ll have a greater focus on the leisure or corporate side, we have not decided yet. Of course in the leisure markets there are many events such weddings and anniversaries so there’s a way to combine these. There are a lot of people interested in doing major events so that is something we’re looking into.

Regarding the World Cup, what do you think will be the impacts on the city of Natal?

First of all, regarding the World Cup, I think the major problem is that they are preparing according to what FIFA is demanding but maybe not the public. I am talking in particular about Natal which I know the best. For example, the roads, bus transportation, garbage system and cleaning system for the city are not up to date. Constructing a great and beautiful stadium doesn’t really help when all the facilities around them are not working at the moment. I hope they will start to focus on this very soon so the city can be a nice flower that will grow with the stadium. The people here also need to get something back from the World Cup and they have to think about events in the future and how to use the stadium. It was quite a high investment for something that’s going to go on for 14 days, so I hope they have a clear vision and plan for this.

The other thing about the World Cup is that the enterprises here in Natal may not be that ready. Many people from Europe and the US will be traveling here. For example the rental car industry here only has small cars whereas the people from Europe and the US prefer larger and safer vehicles. The cars here lack safety features such as airbags which is not going to meet the needs of those markets.

They also have to focus on the safety and security of the public. They have started to do that. There are more police cars on the street but they also need to work more on that. Finally, I will also say that English is a problem here in Natal; not all taxi drivers, restaurants, hotels and other spots tourists will be prepared to handle people who are not speaking Portuguese.

Regarding your vision for the future of the hotel, where do you see the hotel over the next few years?

In ten years, I hope that Aquaria has expanded and that we are a bigger hotel. I also hope that with the new hotel and facilities, maybe we can gain one more star. If we stay in the 4-star category, we’ll be number one in Natal. I also hope that we will be a place that is secure for our workers. It’s a nice place and people are looking for hotels like ours because it’s safe and we are giving them benefits. I also hope that Natal keeps it shininess like it does now. We have the beach and we work a little bit to clean up the city so the city stays as it is.

I also hope that within three years tourism from abroad will be a little bit higher. Especially in Brazil’s low season, which is the high season in Europe. I hope that foreigners will use Brazil more in the high season than they do now. That would be a dream come true.

As a foreign investor here in Brazil, what would be your advice to an investor as to why he should set up his business here?

First of all, I think you need to have patience if you want to work, invest and establish something here in Natal. But I would like to say that every day is a dream come true especially since I’m a foreigner. I can work with happy people who hardly ever complain and are hard working. They are always on their feet trying to do their best. I hope that many other people will see there are big possibilities in Brazil. The economy is growing; for example, Natal needs more hotels and more money to invest in all sectors like roads, construction, car companies and others. I hope that people dare to invest money and be patient. I think that if you have patience here, you will see that by the end of the year you will have some return on your investment, not maybe in cash but you will see that you are giving a lot to the people here.

Do you think you might open another hotel here or in another city in Rio Grande do Norte in the coming years? Do you think you will be looking for someone to go into partnership to do that?

Yes, we absolutely have been looking for some partnerships. We have been looking at a hotel in Fortaleza and also in Mossoró but we are satisfied with what we have now. Maybe within three years we will be a chain that is adapting to the market. I also hope that people may do what I did, take a chance and come over. The worst thing that can happen is maybe you stay; maybe it’s too nice. Bring a suitcase and take your belongings and see what the future will do with your life.