Good start to the new year
Site manager Ståle Gundersen faces 2022 with many long contracts.
The resort hotel on Brakerøya in Drammen opened its doors last summer. At the time, Norway was characterized by communal holidays and summer silence.
While Norway slowed down and the holiday weeks set in, seasonal workers in agriculture moved into the floundering new construction hotel.
– Perfect for us. It gave us a quiet start. A lot had to be put in place here at the facility hotel. We were given time and space to build up the staffing and establish all systems and routines, says Gundersen.
Fjordbyen Innkvartering has 132 rooms. They are divided into three residential rigs.
– We offer tailoring for the building and construction industry, which has assignments in Fjordbyen and the area around us, says Gundersen.
The coating has developed positively throughout the autumn.
– At times we have been close to fully booked. In some weeks, we have hardly had any rooms available.
Tens of billions will be invested in Drammen in the coming years. One of the largest building and construction sites has the construction hotel on the neighboring plot. There is a new hospital for Drammen under construction. That project alone has a price tag of over ten billion kroner. Construction of the Drammen Health Park, on the site between the hospital and Brakerøya station, is now also under way. Kjeldaas, which has the main contract for the foundation works, has started setting up on the construction site.
– We clearly notice increased activity around us, says Gundersen.
For Fjordbyen Innkvartering, increased activity on construction sites means greater demand.
– Now three out of four rooms are let on long contracts. We are very satisfied with that. It provides stable high coverage and smooth operation. At the same time, we can accept guests on shorter contracts, says Gundersen, who since the opening has employed 15 employees in full and part-time positions.
