An exclusive interview with Duco Everen de Vries, Cluster General Manager, Radisson Blu Dhaka
Radisson Blu Dhaka: Consolidation, confidence, cautious optimism
Dhaka : As Bangladesh's hospitality sector navigated another year shaped by global uncertainty and evolving travel patterns, Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden stood out in 2025 for its resilience, disciplined growth, and continued leadership in the upscale business and MICE segments. Reflecting on the year gone by, Duco Everen de Vries, Cluster General Manager, described 2025 as a period of "solid consolidation and selective growth" for the flagship property.
According to de Vries, the hotel delivered healthy occupancy levels throughout the year, supported by sustained demand from corporate, diplomatic, government, and MICE segments. While volume growth remained measured, Average Daily Rate (ADR) stayed resilient, underpinned by disciplined pricing strategies and careful demand mix optimization. This approach translated into a year-on-year improvement in RevPAR, driven more by rate integrity than sheer occupancy expansion - reinforcing Radisson Blu Dhaka's positioning as the city's leading upscale business and events destination.
Comparing performance with 2024, de Vries noted that 2025 recorded steady improvement across all key performance indicators. Occupancy and RevPAR posted consistent growth, while ADR exceeded initial expectations, particularly during peak periods, thanks to effective yield management. "Despite ongoing global and regional uncertainties, we met or slightly exceeded our business plan, especially in rooms and banqueting revenues," he said.
Seasonality followed familiar patterns. The first and fourth quarters emerged as the strongest, fueled by international corporate travel, diplomatic activity, conferences, and social events. The second quarter remained stable on the back of government business, domestic corporates, and airline-related traffic. The third quarter, traditionally softer due to monsoon conditions and school holidays, posed challenges, though weddings and local events helped offset the slowdown. Strategic pricing, targeted promotions and strong MICE bookings played a critical role in smoothing these seasonal fluctuations.
A key strength for Radisson Blu Dhaka throughout the year was its well-diversified demand base. Corporate and diplomatic travelers remained the hotel's core segments, while government and airline business provided a stable occupancy foundation. MICE continued to be a major revenue engine, particularly in peak quarters, and although leisure demand remained modest, it showed encouraging growth during weekends and holiday periods. Notably, domestic corporate events and social celebrations increased steadily, reducing reliance on international travel alone.
International business travel, de Vries observed, showed a cautious but consistent recovery, especially from regional markets and multinational organizations operating in Bangladesh. Inbound leisure travel remained selective, but guests who did travel demonstrated a clear preference for quality, security and globally trusted brands - an advantage for Radisson Blu. While overall volumes have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, higher spend per guest and longer average lengths of stay helped offset this gap.
Domestic demand proved to be a critical pillar of performance in 2025. Corporate meetings, weddings, and social events played a vital role in sustaining occupancy during softer periods and significantly boosting food and beverage and banqueting revenues. "The trust placed in Radisson Blu as a premium and reliable venue remains very strong," de Vries emphasized.
Indeed, MICE reaffirmed its position as one of the hotel's most profitable segments. Large-scale conferences, high-profile corporate events and weddings contributed substantially to total revenues through banquet rentals, catering, accommodation blocks and ancillary services. Radisson Blu Dhaka further strengthened its reputation as one of the city's premier MICE destinations during the year.
Evolving client expectations also became increasingly evident. The hotel observed a shift towards shorter but higher-impact meetings, rising demand for hybrid and technology-enabled events, greater customization and themed social functions, and a growing emphasis on sustainability, wellness and curated experiences. "Clients are prioritizing quality, efficiency and experience over scale alone," said de Vries.
Food and Beverage performance mirrored these trends. The F&B division recorded strong year-on-year growth, driven largely by banqueting, weddings, and destination dining. The hotel's signature outlets remained popular for business lunches, family gatherings and festive celebrations, with guests showing a growing preference for authentic flavors, live cooking concepts, and premium service experiences. Menu refreshes, seasonal promotions, themed buffets, and chef-led dining experiences resonated well with both in-house guests and the local market, while collaborative dining events and festive campaigns proved particularly successful.
On the service front, Radisson Blu Dhaka continued to sharpen its focus on guest experience. Key initiatives included refined service standards, en-hanced personalized guest recognition, ongoing service excellence training and closer alignment with Radisson Hotel Group's global "Every Moment Matters" philosophy. These efforts paid off, with guest satisfaction scores and online reputation metrics improving across the board - particularly in service quality, cleanliness and F&B. Loyalty engagement through Radisson Rewards also gained momentum, reflecting stronger repeat business
