GM interview: Boutique 7's Paul Evans

One of Evans' first jobs is to pull out all the kitchens and turn the apartments into guest rooms, with the future aim of increasing his restaurant business.

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.”

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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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