In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Palestinian hotels are among the hardest hit and slowest to recover, but USAID and DAI are providing hope for a rapid recovery through the Small and Medium Enterprise Assistance for Recovery and Transition (SMART) Project.

The Retno Hotel is a three-star, boutique hotel shaded by flowery vines in a quiet neighborhood of Ramallah. Before the pandemic, it welcomed a steady flow of visitors and was a cultural hub for Ramallah’s art scene. The landmark hotel was the setting for “Al-Retno,” a novel by Palestinian novelist, Ziyad Abdel Fattah. But travel bans reduced tourism to a trickle, and Retno was forced to lay off half of its 13 staff and reduce operations to the minimum.

After surviving two years of empty rooms and canceled events, General Manager, Nawaf Hamed, was ready to get back to business in 2022, but the Retno facilities were not. The idle period and lapsed maintenance left Retno in a poor state. Moisture damage accumulated on the walls, worn furnishings were never replaced, and equipment fell into disrepair.

Mr. Hamed knew it would take immediate capital investments to stand a chance at competing with the bigger hotels for returning summer visitors in 2022. But financing was scarce and any spending on facilities would drain resources for rehiring staff and creating new jobs.

Thanks to the SMART Project, Retno got a fresh start with a USAID-supported Recovery Plan, which brought fresh paint, repaired appliances, replaced furnishings, and a renewed sense of hope and optimism. Encouraged by this support, Mr. Hamed hired and provided on-the-job training to six new staff, five of whom are youth. He also was encouraged to invest more in the hotel, mainly the swimming area, as part of maintaining all the hotel’s facilities.

As a result of these timely investments, the hotel was prepared to book at full capacity to capture the summer rush of guests including Arab citizens of Israel, as well as international visitors from Europe and the US. The Recovery Plan has gotten Retno back to operating at full capacity and back on track towards its goal of hiring more staff and upgrading to four stars by the end of 2022.  Mr. Hamed plans to renovate two rooms to serve persons with disabilities and patients from Gaza seeking treatment in the nearby hospital.

The SMART Project has partnered with over 30 hotels across the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza to support Recovery Plans. Like Retno, each of these hotels is willing to meet USAID halfway or more on the investment, with cost shares of 50 to 70 percent. In this way, the intervention ensures sustainability and maximizes the impact of USAID support for the private sector.