Marino Gherardi Marino Gherardi

Marino Gherardi, Hilton RAK Resort and spa

About Marino
Marino started his career with Hilton at the Hilton Sorrento in Italy in 2003 as assistant F&B manager. In the last nine years he has become a food & beverage specialist holding a number of positions as Food and Beverage manager in Hilton from Amsterdam to London, to Cairo to Seychelles and most recently joining the management team at the Hilton Ras al Khaimah Resort & Spa in May 2011.

Above and beyond the call duty…

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During his short tenure here he has achieved remarkable things such as increasing customer satisfaction in some areas by more than 30% and generating an additional incremental revenue of more than $600K for 2012 through an innovative approach to menu design and analysis. Team member engagement survey for his team was at an all-time high this year with 98% reporting back fully engaged and motivated. Marino has shown all the flair he has for food & beverage with a number of promotions he has introduced which has resulted in the resorts restaurants becoming THE place to dine within Ras al Khaimah. From Picania & Caipirinha nights in our South American restaurant to Calzone & Parpadelle flambé in our Italian. Really good success for White sensation and Red party in our Esprit Bar. Lastly the seafood BBQ offered every Friday by the beach cannot be forgotten as it was especially successful within the local Emirati residents in RAK .All promotions have been the talk between resort and local community diners alike. All these above promotions and many more have resulted in overall F&B revenue being currently ahead of budget by $1.13M and is being forecasted to be ahead of budget by the end of 2012 by $1.95M or 14% ahead of budget, a truly remarkable result. YTD 2012 he has organized training for a total of for 9.000 hours (for 120 TMs). His F&B passion and skills are well known within Hilton as he has been asked on a number of occasions to take part in regional meetings and has been involved in the decision making of F&B brand standards. A few months ago, we had a guest last minute checking in who was a VIP staying in one of our most exclusive suites. Upon check in he announced that he only eats organic food and had some special requests that he wanted to eat that night, such as organic lamb & organic pomegranate juice. Being Friday and also in RAK this seemed like an impossible task at 4pm. Marino was contacted and surprised us all when he called back shortly after and said he had used his contacts to keep a member of staff in an organic shop in Dubai waiting with the products and that Marino was already in his car driving to Dubai. All the required organic produce for the dinner that night and breakfast the next morning arrived at the resort at 7pm on Friday evening in time for the special meal to be put together. The guest was extremely pleased with our efforts and has since become a regular. A true example of Marino nothing is impossible attitude. He has taken the lead during absence of the resort manager, making sure to continue to deliver high standards of service in all the departements with consistent follow up with guests and team members.

Testimonials for Marino
“A giant pepper mill that needs two waiters to operate -Mojitos and Pina Coladas in goldfish bowl sized glass -Magnums of Champagne with poached Lobsters ....reminds me of Marino. I had the pleasure of working with Marino for a several years, and he always thinks "BIG". He constantly innovates new promotions, and delivers his F&B with panache and excitement. One quickly realizes that Marino is an expert in creating guest moments and memories, but that he also has keen eye for commerce..... Guest comments often mention Marino by name, and the consistent comments are about the wonderful memories or events that he created. In Ras Al Khaimah Marino has made a great impact in guest satisfaction and revenue, driving our guest satisfaction scores up by 10% in overall service and F&B revenue by 18% year on year. He is always involved in regional projects, and has been instrumental in driving our UAE wine by the glass programme, and was a key player in creating a series of training videos and e learning modules for our 60 hotels. Most importantly, Marino is seen as a mentor for young F&B professionals, he has mentored and groomed several waiters, bartenders, supervisors and outlet managers on to bigger and better positions. His immediate team and regional team always call on Marino as a trainer, and an inspirational figure for young talent. Marino is a real Italian gentleman, team player and F&B expert who I am sure will make it "Big" in the future.” Simon Lazarus VP food & beverage Hiltom MEA.

“Marino is a dedicated and passionate hotelier, with significantly high energy and creativity. His dynamic personality is well-looked up by his team members as well as colleague, while his relevant skills and talent coupled by his valuable experiences is instrumental to the successes of his department and the hotel as a whole. I am proud to have a highly skilled manager in my team, and his success including his future role as Director of Operations of Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah speaks well of his achievements.” Mohab Ghali, country manager Hilton RAK.

“I have worked with Marino for one year and half and he has an exceptional commitment to quality of service, and constantly works to deliver his clients with a perfect customer experience. His attention to detail is outstanding, and Marino's management and leadership capabilities are instrumental in making his staff achieve results. His enthusiasm, energy, and professionalism make Marino someone you want to work with Jason Kladidis, F&B coordinator Hilton RAK Resort and spa: I have known Marino since September 2011 when I joined his team at the Hilton Resort in RAK. During this time he has been key figure in shaping me into the professional I am today and I can honestly say a key factor in the success of me in my current role. Throughout my time in RAK Marino has led the F&B team by example being constantly around and available for anyone to see him, from restaurant managers to back of house polishers. He has installed the belief of success through everyone working together and has always been a motivator for anyone who has suggested new ideas, always accepting them and guiding them in a manner that will result them in becoming a success. Marino’s passion has filtered throughout the team as can be seen through the increase in drive of the team, their attention to detail and customer focus throughout the whole year. He has guided me through a number of large projects in the past knowing exactly how much guidance was needed, knowing when and how much to push and allowing me to take fall and take ownership for what I have done in order to slowly but surely increase my confidence and skill set. He has not acted in this manner only to me but applied the same principles of motivating and people managing the whole team. In short Marino is a true F&B specialist who has a wide knowledge and experience which he is eager to share with his team in order to promote their success.” Jacques Claudel, resort manager Hilton RAK resort and Spa.

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