GM interview: Boutique 7's Paul Evans

General manager of Boutique 7 Hotel & Suites, Paul Evans, explains how he intends to “slay” the giant hotels surrounding his independent property

Paul Evans has been many things in his life. He began his career in 1976 as a trainee manager having to do the washing and ironing in a boarding house in Cardiff, Wales.

Being not quite as inspiring a role as he had hoped for, he decided to join the army and became a captain, before ditching the military life to become a social worker.

He then returned to hospitality and worked for the likes of Marriott and Hilton among others, but this journeyman has now taken on a new role — giant slayer.

Last December, Evans became the general manager of Boutique 7 Hotel & Suites, a 79-apartment property in Tecom, Dubai, that is about to undergo a radical transformation.

Formerly known as the Mazoon Apartments, the focus was on long-stay tenants who benefitted from kitchens in the rooms, not ideal for a hotel that wants to drive business into its restaurants.

As Evans asserts “the shop opposite was making a fortune off of us”.

But the kitchens are just one of many challenges in converting the property into a successful, small independent hotel, while being surrounded by branded corporate giants.

It is no wonder Evans tells us he “had a headache yesterday for the first time in a few months”.

“As an independent hotel we don’t have the exposure that a Marriott, Hilton, all these other properties have and that is a drawback. I see us as a bit like David fighting Goliath,” Evans tells us.

“I am surrounded by huge companies and I am the little guy here trying to punch above his weight.”

So how does Evans plan to overcome this disadvantage in a ferociously competitive market?

“My intention is to slay them in so many ways — by being unique in what we do and developing our product in a different way. Being an independent hotel we can be more flexible, okay they [large brands] can react as quickly as we can, but what they can’t do is have the flexibility I have.”

Evans says he works “hand in hand” with the owner of the property, founder and chairman of Boutique 7, Abr Khalfan Mhammd Khalfan Abdulla al Hamll, allowing him to “make decisions while I am running”, rather than having to report up a chain of management.

“All my staff and management team are in direct contact with me on a daily basis and I know exactly what is going on in the hotel. Whereas with corporations, by the time it gets to the managing director it has been diluted so many times he really doesn’t know what is occurring around us at the time,” he adds.

Furthermore, Evans believes that being an independent allows guests to feel more appreciated — he says the hotel will know a guest’s likes and dislikes so that they will feel like an extended family member.

“The only way I can compete with these giants around me is maintaining that individuality and understanding what the guests want.”

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Time for change
But before Evans could tackle the transformation of the hotel he had to deal with the fact the property still had tenants, which meant his first move was a rather unpopular one —tearing up contracts.

“I had a lot of resistance initially because we had a lot of long-term guests, so I had to terminate a lot of contracts,” Evans explains.

“I was the most unpopular person in Dubai for a while — I had to wear a flak jacket and a helmet, because they had been given an easy rate of AED 200 (US $54.4) a night. Wow, imagine all your electric, water, everything for 35 quid (UK pounds) a night.”

A lot of tenants understood the situation and left, although Evans admits there are still a few contracts he has been unable to terminate.

“Some apartments will have to remain because I have contracts for two years on a rubbish rate,” he says, but adds that 95% of the rooms will be converted by the end of the year.

Having dealt with the tenants there was then the issue of staffing — an area that shocked Evans when he arrived in the emirate.

“We have lost a lot of staff. I have dismissed those who weren’t suited to the business and I am bringing in quality people, paying a little bit extra,” he says.

“Dubai, it frightened me when I got here, the culture, a lot of Indians and Pakistanis working here were treated more or less like second class citizens. I said to my management team, which is made up of Pakistanis, Indians and Arabs, we are all equal here and we all have a job to do, and we all have to fight on the same level and I need you all defending what we do.”

Another move was to transfer those employees living six or seven to a room into proper staff accommodation with facilities to cook.

“It’s about mutual trust, mutual understanding and embracing each other — understanding what we do as human beings. If they don’t trust me as my team then I have lost, they need to trust me, they need to know what we are about.”

Now that the majority of the original tenants are out and staff are being trained, Evans has asked three companies to create mock up rooms. He will then choose his favourite.

Multi-million revamp
But what exactly is Evans looking to do with the AED 20 million ($5.44 million) investment in the property? It is easy to say you need to be unique, but quite another challenge to do it.

“We are taking those kitchens out and making an office space. Some of the rooms will have an adult play area, in the best sense of the word. We are going to have an Xbox, a game chair, a game area for kids or adults, a huge screen. So we will have 10 rooms that do that,” he begins.

“We will have another 10 rooms that will have hot tubs outside on the balconies. That’s thrown me a lot of issues, which I was surprised at, because of the laws.”

People have been telling Evans that they love the idea, but that it won’t work. He is unfazed and says firmly “of course it will work”.

He plans to add suspended roofs above the hot tubs with chillers to make an inviting space even in the heat of summer.

Evans was the first person to bring the balcony hot tub concept to the UK when he opened an independent hotel in Swansea in South Wales, and he sees no reason that the same concept won’t work in Dubai.

Despite his experience though, Evans is finding working in the Middle East an interesting challenge.

One issue has been interaction with certain suppliers, with Evans frustrated by the inconsistency of product and the lack of commitment to deadlines.

Another challenge is the lack of buying power as an independent, but Evans sees it as part of having to “punch above my weight”.

Indeed, he is relishing the challenge of converting an AED 200-per-night property to a hotel commanding AED 590 per room night. And he believes he has already caused a bit of a stir among his fellow hoteliers.

“Lots of people are talking about us and as GMs you have to be a bit more flamboyant, making a name for yourself, be a bit louder, because I have to shout amongst these giants — we might be little but we can still fight.”

On whether the hotel will ultimately deliver, he is philosophical.

“Who knows, if I am still here in two years time we are going well, if I am fired and back in the UK we have lost,” the ever honest Evans explains.

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A second hotel
There is no doubt that Evans has a lot on his plate and the year ahead is focused on transforming the property, but there are longer term plans.

“We have a new project coming up in about 18 months’ time — we will open another one and make Boutique 7 a brand,” he explains.

“It will hopefully be in Dubai. I have the models upstairs, the ground is built, the footings are there. We have held back on what we are going to do with it because Mr Abr said ‘Paul, what do you want to do with it?’.

I said we need to get this one right, before we go ahead and launch a 500-room hotel. What they seem to do in Dubai is throw loads of money at it but that’s not necessarily the cure.”

Evans says he doesn’t know why his owner trusts him, but he explains he does inspire his owner to look beyond the finance of the project.

“I have a frank and open relationship with my owner and having him being a local is such a power boost for me. I might be a little hotel but having a local owner is a huge advantage.

“What we need to do with all people we meet in life is inspire them. And that is what I have tried to do with the staff, lead by example. Last week I was in the kitchen teaching the chef how to cook a roast dinner,” he says.

“That’s what these big giants miss, general managers who can stand on check in, can go and make a bed and then go and make a roast dinner.”

It will be interesting to see if Paul will beat his Goliaths, or at least claim his space among them. One thing we are certain of is, he won’t be going down without a fight.