Roger Tabbal, director of information technology, Moevenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach
About Roger
Roger Tabbal has worked as an IT manager in the hospitality industry for more than nine years. He started out as Systems & Network Administrator at the Al Bustan Hotel in Lebanon in 2003, then joined the Resort for Rotana chain for its opening at Fujairah in 2006. He moved to the Yas Island Rotana for the fast-track opening project there and then joined the Mövenpick group as cluster IT Director of Mövenpick Jumeirah Beach and Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Lakes Towers in April 2011. Due to a delay in the Mövenpick Jumeirah Lakes Towers project, most of his efforts were focused on the improvement of IT at Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach, where he has raised IT standards, added new benefits for guests and staff, and reduced IT costs.
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Above and beyond the call of duty…
Roger has used his experience to make significant changes to IT at the hotel and he quickly gained the respect and trust of his team. Some of the changes he has introduced have delivered significant cost savings for the business. For example, he changed the high-speed Internet access from shared revenue to fixed monthly fees and reduced the cost by AED 30,000 per month. Roger has not only done an excellent job in his core IT role but has also gone out of his way to assist other departments. As a native Arabic speaker, he has continually assisted the Marketing department with Arabic translation for all collateral and promotions. Having has past experience in the Front Office, he has worked several times behind the front desk assisting the team with guest requests, especially during peak season. On several occasions he has succeeded in upselling rooms by explaining all the benefits, earning compliments from one Kuwaiti guest who appreciated the upsell from a superior room to an executive room. Working with the corporate office, he implemented an e-learning website for the staff to learn WIN7 and MS Office 2010 online and receive a certificate at the end of the course. Staff can now login from any Internet location and learn the new features of Microsoft Office and Windows 7. During the pre-opening period of both Mövenpick Jumeirah Beach and Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Roger’s team faced challenges with some equipment not being brand new and sometimes not functioning correctly. He used his experience, maturity and contacts to find ways around such challenges for his team, installing a temporary shared folder and network printer/scanner and a temporary PABX system for internal communications.
Testimonials for Roger
“Roger has established himself as an extremely valuable member of Mövenpick Jumeirah Beach team, who is always willing to impart his extensive knowledge for the benefit of others & the business. Since joining MH JB he has displayed the ability to remain flexible and adaptable particularly considering his sensitivity of his position and being able to balance between two properties. Roger consistently puts forward his views towards processes, procedures and solutions which are always on the back of well thought out creative & innovative ideas. He is never hesitant to use his own initiative and thrives on the ability to be empowered to do so, although he will always ensure the key stakeholders are either kept in the loop or are consulted as and when required. He maintains positive robust relations with his work colleagues and enjoys a positive rapport with other department heads, his direct reports, the MH&R company executive, business partners and hotel owners alike as well as being widely respected by those who know him. I would like to congratulate Roger on his achievements to date and although I know he faces a very challenging year ahead I have the upmost faith in his abilities and have no doubt he will continue to add value and go from strength to strength. I wish Roger all the very best in the Hotelier award and he definitely well deserve to be selected, as he is a gentleman of fine character who brings a positively infectious energy to our team.” Horst Walther Jones, GM of Mövenpick Jumeirah Beach:
“Roger Tabbal has my full support in his nomination the best IT at this year’s Hotelier Magazine Awards. Roger has been a member of our team for over 12 months and is a dedicated and well respected member of our senior management group. Roger’s role is a ‘cluster’ position with our sister property Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach, cluster roles bring with it certain challenges especially the ability to balance the needs and expectations of different teams, Roger manages this through being very well organized, clear communication and enabling others within the properties. This cluster role is further challenged with our property still in a pre-opening phase and Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach operating at very strong business levels. Roger has introduced a range of new products and efficiencies to our IT bouquet which we will benefit from once operational, at all times these recommendations were done with all key stakeholders taken into consideration, the Management Group, Staff, Hotel Owners and Guests. Roger has clear passion and a love for what he does and these positive traits rub off on those around him.” Hayden Edgtton, GM of Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Lakes Tower.
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