The Inbal in Jerusalem Featured with GM Rony Timsit on JM in the AM

JM in the AM, it is a Thursday morning broadcast. One of our amazing friends in the holy city of Jerusalem is Ronnie Timmsit, who is the general manager at the Inbal Hotel. We are now between Pesach and Shavuot. We are curious about whether the fact that North American Jews are not traveling to Israel, if that's true or not. He'll certainly give us a perspective on that. And in general, with Yom Yerushalayim coming up, like Lag B'Omer next week, there's always, thank God, positive activities that are happening in the holy city and in the holy land, despite all of the challenges. Ronnie Timmsit from the Inbal Hotel, shalom, shalom, and welcome back to JM in the AM. >> Shalom, shalom. How are you? Baruch Hashem, great to speak to you. Same here, it's been way too long. And I wonder because I have to assume that because of the war and the uh the you know, difficulties people had traveling to Israel before Pesach, etc. We know plenty of people who were stuck here in North America, who found themselves there in Israel unexpectedly. I I I'm so curious what happened Pesach in the hotel. Were you still able to run an effective Pesach program with all of the question marks that were happening? Yes, definitely. We we we change. We we were supposed to have an hotel full of Americans guest. And the 1st of March, we understood that the the people will not come and we market to the Israeli market. And we had still 20 rooms of Americans that succeeded to come. But all the rest were Israeli guest from Raanana and Giv'at Shmuel, if you know the the people. And and we had a very nice Pesach. We didn't fill the hotel at zero at 300 room. We took only 230 rooms because we didn't want to be in a situation that we have too many people at the time that there is security issues. So, because people had to go to at some time at the shelter. But you know, in Jerusalem, finally, nothing is really happening. Nothing happened at that time. People went to the to to to the shelter, but it was most of the time all the time for nothing. Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie, what year did you get to the Inbal Hotel? Sorry, what? >> What what year did you get to the Inbal Hotel? In 2014. The reason I ask is because I don't know how many times in the last 12 years you and I have spoken and this concept, this idea of adjusting to a new reality has always been part of the conversation. I mean, and again, this is not your fault. If anything, it's a If anything, it's a big compliment, but it seems like you know, every time you think things might be normal or you might get through a season in a normal fashion, it seems you always have to adjust. Yes, that's right. But we we are lucky and we were smart enough to to have a lot of activities with the restaurants and we have a bar and we we have a pool and we are succeeding to have other activities that make the hotel living and and interesting and you have always people going into the lobby even if there is not a lot of rooms. Yes. That's what's happening today. Even okay, the hotel, you understand, the hotel is not full, but we have American guests. We have like 20 rooms of American guests and we have small groups, some group solidarity, but we have even group of Christian that are for Israel that came yesterday evening. So, we have activities and as always we we are fully operating the hotel, breakfast and the the chef's restaurant, the O2 restaurant and the lounge and the bar 22 and the pool is open, meaning that the hotel is functioning regularly and the people that are coming are entering. Now, of course, we are waiting for our loyal guests to come back and others. >> I don't know if we deserve the moniker loyal, frankly, but I'm sure you are waiting for us. Ronnie Timmsit at the Inbal Hotel, of course, general manager. And yeah, hey, we know. We know, no matter what the situation, your hotel's going to operate normally. I mean, that's one of the most amazing things about it, frankly. What does May look like? Yom Yerushalayim, the holiday of Shavuot. Are you going to see any of us there or it's basically again going to be geared to the Israeli public? So, we have still on on the books, we have half of the hotel is with Americans. And we we contact the people and they are saying, I have a ticket if they don't cancel my my flight. I will be here. Right. So, people want to come. There is not enough flights, I think, for people to to come, but I was speaking this morning with two guests. I asked them, how did you get here? And they told me, we went to to Zurich and from Zurich we can you came here. So, there is other possibilities to to come. Whoever wants to get here is succeeding to do it. And then, of course, we have the summer coming up and I hope I really really hope, and I know you always help me plead with our audience to to try to vacation in Israel. There's so many places people love to go to, but they can't forget the holy land. They can't forget our motherland. I hope that they'll be planning trips for July and August and that in fact, it will be a very heavy season for North American tourists. I know that it's impossible even if I would ask you now how it looks, because of what you just said, that we have no idea what's going to start up when and what's going to be canceled when in terms of flights. It's impossible to predict anything anymore. Yes, we we are waiting for the big companies to come back. It will, of course, depend of the situation. But you know, the situation is today for us very stable. You have to see the restaurants are full. Israelis are on on the beach and they are going to to theater and everything is like regular. Even traffic is terrible. So, so people are back back to normal. And and there is flights every day all the time in the airport. So, we see we it's Now, it's also psychological, I think. If people want to come or not, it is quite and it doesn't look like it will be it will be back to to war. This is what we see from here, at least. Even the people in the north are still suffering. But we we see that there is already people coming back to see their kids and to see the family, businessmen. People are here. Baruch Hashem. Ronnie Timmsit, Inbal Hotel. Everybody out there, I don't know if you have plans for Shavuot. Shavuot is two weeks from tonight, but certainly for the summer, we cannot recommend the Inbal Hotel enough. It is our hub of both broadcasting and our the center of all our all of our activities for the Nachum Segal Network when we are in Jerusalem and we are in Israel. It is one of the most comfortable and amazing hotels you'll ever visit anywhere in the world. And and I hope that everybody out there for July and August and August especially because after Tisha B'Av, August especially will in fact get a reservation in and enjoy some time at the Inbal Hotel. Ronnie, what is the reaction to the strength of the shekel against the dollar? People get used to it, you know. >> [laughter] >> It's going down and down. We we don't know where it will stop. But we we we don't know what to do with it. It definitely has an effect. I'm not going to I'm not going to say positive or negative right now, but it definitely has an effect on tourism, for sure, right? I believe so because we became more expensive. We are getting We are still paying our salaries and the the the vegetables and the fruits in shekel. So, so when the dollar is going down, our price in dollar is going up. Right. I got you. >> Uh and we don't make money. We don't make more money. Mhm. Uh well, it Right. Uh I hope people understand it. I hope so. I'll tell you you never know what's going to happen. It's amazing. Your your industry has got to be one of the most unpredictable and especially obviously in Israel for the reasons that we mentioned. And it's incredible how you stay ahead of the game constantly. And just you know, you're there are so many hotels in Israel that wish they had your vision, that understood how to pivot, how to adjust, how to you know, change things around to take advantage of a situation instead of lamenting how terrible the situation is. And I got to commend you for that. You're always doing it. Uh it's it's it's not only the management, it's the ownership uh who is a lot of seeing far and uh uh looking at thing not like chain hotels Right. that look at the result of in the stock exchange and are doing thing like that. We are here for to be here for long time. And it's another way to to look at business. And I'm I'm blessed to to have this possibility. Yeah, well, I can't thank you enough because you and your staff have been amazing friends to us and and we love promoting a great product and you have an absolutely amazing product. Ronnie, Chag Sameach, Shavuot three weeks from tonight. Chag Sameach and I'm so glad we reconnected and todah rabah, thank you for joining us this morning. >> Looking forward to see you here. >> Bezrat Hashem soon, I hope I hope. More coming up. You're listening to a Thursday morning edition of JM in the AM.