Sea of Galilee Tiberias Avgad project (Photo: Visoarch Simulation)
Recently, we have witnessed the planning and construction of hotels in localities that until now did not offer accommodation and recreation solutions and are now "emerging" on the tourism map in Israel for the first time. The local authorities in these communities are pushing with great motivation for the development of tourism, with the thought of strengthening the community following the development and construction of new boutique hotels, some of which even incorporate for the first time in the zoning plans of new residential neighborhoods the construction of hotel rooms.
At the same time, real estate developers who have not been active until now in the field of tourism are making efforts to expand their portfolio in significant areas of hotels, and in order to compete with prominent tourist areas and large chains, they invest a lot of capital in the development of boutique hotels or luxury hotels in the periphery, those whose attraction is expressed in unique planning connected to nature and place.
Interior design for an innovative hotel at the Dead Sea Architect Enrico Segre (Photo: PR)
A new study by the Geocartography Research Institute on the hotel and hospitality sector in Israel reveals that Israelis go on vacations that include accommodation 1.5 times a year on average, and about 15% of the public goes on vacation at least 3 times a year, including accommodation. A striking statistic shown by the study is that the number of Israelis who went on vacation, including hotel accommodations in Israel, in 2022 stood at about 22 million, an increase of over 140% since 2020, when only about 9 million Israelis went on vacation due to the coronavirus crisis. This is an almost complete return to pre-pandemic numbers, when in 2019 about 25 million Israelis arrived at hotels in Israel, an upward trend of 16% per year.
According to the study, it is expected that demand will return to increase by about 16% per year in requests for hotel accommodations in Israel, while the trend of tourists returning from abroad to Israel will also increase in the coming years and they will also book more overnight stays in Israeli hotels.
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One of the most striking data in the study shows that the north is more in demand than the south, and indeed in recent years the north has developed in terms of the tourism and hotel map. A prominent example is the city of Katzrin in the Golan, where a new hotel is planned to be built that will include about 150 hotel rooms with innovative and green planning. The hotel is located right on the route of the waterfalls of the Golan Heights and therefore the planners from Rubenko Architects chose to give the hotel a spectacular design and appearance that connects to the environment and location. The demand for hotel rooms and accommodation options in the Golan is also reflected in the town's urban development plan, such as the residential quarter that will soon be built there - the Nahalim Quarter by the entrepreneurial companies Y.D. Barzani and Avnei Derech.
Waterfalls Hotel in Katzrin Rubenko Architects (Photo: PR)
The plan for the mixed-use district, which includes commerce, employment and residence, also gives expression to the tourism need, with the plan including two hotels that will include about 150 rooms each, as well as 40 detached residential units that include guest houses.
Another prominent example is Kibbutz Ayelet Hashahar, where a new hotel is about to open, also designed by Rubenko Architects. The hotel is located on land that served as the first hotel in the Galilee owned by Kibbutz Ayelet Hashahar. This is a unique hotel that blends in with nature and is planned accordingly, with many walking paths between the rooms and balconies overlooking the Golan Heights and Naftali Mountains.
Adi Rubenko of Rubenko Architects, which designed the hotels in Katzrin and Ayelet Hashahar, notes: "When planning a remote hotel today, one must first think of the experience it creates for guests as a central attraction in order to compete with the main tourist centers such as Eilat or Tel Aviv on the one hand and with the rural hospitality of neighboring guest houses on the other. Therefore, even as architects, we need to give the visitor something new or attractive to marvel at."
Sinclair Hotel - Touch interface to control the room Light intensity, air conditioning and more (Photo: Sinclair Holdings LLC)
Another complex that will appear on the main tourist map in the north in the coming years is the "Sea of Galilee City" complex where 5 hotels will be built! A theater, conference center and residence on an area of about 100 dunams south of Tiberias.
According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2022, about 168,151 square meters of guest rooms began to be built across the country, compared with about 2021,11 square meters of guest space that began construction in 90. An increase of about 2022%. One of the surprising statistics is that the city of Tel Aviv actually reached only fifth place in building starts and suffered a drop of over 5%!! In 616, only 2021,75 square meters of guest space began to be built, compared to 16, when about 2022,2019 square meters of hotel space began to be built.
Dr. Rina Degani, the author of the study, says: "The upward trend in vacation bookings in Israel is expected to increase as soon as the economic situation improves again, and therefore tourism officials and authorities in the country should prepare accordingly, because the expectation is that demand will return to growing by about 12% a year as it was before the coronavirus. In 7, we returned to see the number of Israeli tourists arriving at hotels in Israel as it was in <>. Even then, we published a study indicating a shortage of hotel rooms, especially in the more desirable northern region. In the end, we will see tourists from abroad also return to their previous numbers, which stood at about <> million before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and today stand at only about <> million. Another factor contributing to the tourism boom is the natural growth of the population and an increase in the standard of living of parts of it. All these point to the great need for more hotel rooms and guest houses in Israel."
The developers are concentrating their forces on alternatives in the form of new hotels and boutiques in touristically 'pristine' areas, which will give a 'fight' to the saturated market of expensive hotels in Tel Aviv or Eilat, which offer prices that are not within the reach of many in the Israeli public. In order to compete with the hotels of the large chains in high-demand areas, they offer hotels with a new and unusual design, greener and even smarter and more technological.
Dr. Rina Degani, research editor on behalf of Geocartography (Photo: Ofer Vaknin)
According to Yaki Amsalem, CEO of Almog Group, which in 2022 purchased 22 dunams of land for the construction of a hotel in Mitzpe Ramon, says: "We see great potential in the field of tourism and an entrepreneurial and professional challenge. We are working to expand in this direction and bring our execution and planning capabilities to the construction of quality and fascinating hotels. We recruited first-class consultants and architects to the project and we are in the midst of the planning process for a hotel in Mitzpe Ramon that will be built in a desert resort concept."
Rubenko explains: "Developers today want to design unique hotels. When we design a hotel today, for example, in a rural environment or far from the center, we create a design that blends in with the environment in a special way or looks for a way for the hotels to bring with them technological and innovative news. For example, in the hotel we are currently planning in the city of Katzrin, the 'Waterfalls' Hotel, the plan is that the hotel will integrate with nature and really assimilate into the landscape and take advantage of the topography of the area. It will be built on top of a ridge that is part of the waterfalls axis of the Golan Heights and from there its name as well. As part of the planning and for the sake of authenticity, we plan to have a real waterfall that will flow through it."
In order to compete with the hotels of the large chains in high-demand areas, they offer hotels with new and unusual design, greener, more prestigious and even smarter and more technological, which connects to a global trend presented in an international study by JLL that examined the demand for unique luxury hotels and found that there has been a constant increase in the number of hotels that offer different and exclusive accommodation stemming from the need for a luxury experience. According to the study, the number of luxury guest rooms has been steadily increasing over the years, and it is expected that by 2033 there will be 1.7 million luxury guest rooms (about 8% of all guest rooms worldwide).
In this context, architect Enrico Segre, who specializes in planning and designing luxury hotels, explains: "Contemporary planning must lead to an interactive hotel experience for guests. The global trend incorporating the use of these technologies is helping to revolutionize the hospitality industry. For example, we are currently planning a hotel without a reception and with personal and direct access to the rooms by receiving a door opening code after check-in over the phone. In our current world, the hospitality experience is constantly changing. We constantly see up-to-date examples of the true meaning of innovation in the field."
"Digital twist"
An example of this Segre points out is The Sinclair Hotel, which is associated with Autograph collection by Marriott. Located in Fort Worth, Texas, this hotel presents more than luxurious architecture and luxury accommodations. It combines a huge range of interactive technologies, from check-in and room experience to the end of the guest's stay while ensuring that all elements are integrated into the design. The Sinclair labels itself as 'an iconic hotel redesigned for the future', and for good reason. Unlike what we would expect a regular futuristic hotel to look like, the hotel instead blends the contemporary aspects under the 'all-digital' heading with a world of traditional concepts such as its elegant structure and design. No matter where you go in Sinclair, almost every aspect of this luxurious hotel seems to have a digital twist."
In conclusion, architect Enrico Segre claims, "The idea is to give travelers inside information about the hotel, personalized dining tips, cultural attractions, sporting attractions, etc., all at the click of a button, whether through its mobile device or through interactive and digital interfaces scattered throughout the hotel and rooms."
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