Dubai's Ocean View Hotel reveals management team
JA Resorts & Hotels has named the senior management team running the soon-to-open Ocean View Hotel on The Walk JBR, in the Dubai Marina area.
The four-star, 338-key property neighbours Rotana Amwaj and is slated to open in January 2013.
It will be the first property to open under the new brand guidelines of JA Resorts & Hotels, formerly known as Jebel Ali International Hotels, owned by Dutco Group of Companies.
Ocean View Hotel will feature six F&B outlets, plus room service and banqueting, a Calm spa, kids’ club, a rooftop infinity pool and a valet-parking service. Guests will have access to the public beach via a bridge and a shuttle service will be provided to sister property Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa.
JA Resorts & Hotels also operates Oasis Beach Tower serviced apartments on The Walk JBR and previously managed the Oasis Beach Hotel which was closed in August 2008 by owner Al Fattan Group and demolished after a decade in business.
More than 80% of the 440-strong workforce has been recruited, according to resident manager Mark Voller.
“We went to Kenya, Burma, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Indonesia. It was exciting — we got a good mix of new associates. Sri Lanka was the most successful market and we recruited 40-50% of staff from within the UAE,” Voller told Hotelier Middle East during a recent visit.
CLICK THROUGH TO THE NEXT PAGE TO REVEAL THE NAMES, PHOTOS AND BIOGRAPHIES OF THE MANAGEMENT TEAM
Article continues on next page…
William Harley-Fleming
Cluster general manager – Ocean View Hotel and Oasis Beach Tower
William was no stranger to JA Resorts & Hotels when he accepted the responsibility of leading Ocean View Hotel pre-opening team. With over ten years experience in hospitality, William has worked in the UK, Thailand and Malaysia with leading hospitality brands such as Starwood and Radisson before coming to the UAE. Under his management, Oasis Beach Tower was awarded the World Travel Awards’ Middle East’s Leading Hotel Apartments for three years in a row. Another project he undertook was Bateaux Dubai, a luxury dinner cruise on Dubai Creek, where William led a creative and dynamic food and beverage brigade. Supported by vessel operations and business development team, they all contributed to a hugely successful operation. William enjoys working with his talented and driven Ocean View Hotel team and believes that integrity, enthusiasm and their vast product knowledge will ensure a smooth and successful January opening.
Article continues on next page…
Marc Voller
Resident manager
Marc is originally from South Africa and he recently joined the team at JA Resorts & Hotels. Marc started his hotel career in the UK, where he studied Hospitality Management, and worked his way through the ranks in all hotel departments. After several successful years with Movenpick group, Marc moved to Protea Hotels (South Africa), Africa’s largest and leading hospitality management company, with over 150 hotels in seven African countries. Marc held various senior management positions including EAM Rooms, deputy general manager and general manager, before deciding to expand his career and moving to the Middle East, where he has been for about two years. Marc has extensive knowledge in rooms division, revenue management, marketing and food and beverage operations, but admits that the rooms and marketing sides of the operation are his favourite areas.
Article continues on next page…
Anabela Radosevic
Director of sales and marketing
A proven professional within the hospitality and tourism industries with an impressive record of sales and marketing management and consultancy, Anabela has a long history with JA Resorts & Hotels. She first started working with the group in 2001 and grew from Assistant Director of Sales to Director of Sales and Marketing. She then left to pursue other challenge as Regional Director of Sales for the leisure department of Jumeirah Group. Then she further extended her expertise providing management consultancy to clients in the fields of hospitality, tourism, hotel sales and marketing both locally and internationally. When Anabela was asked to return to lead the JA Resorts & Hotels Sales and Marketing team in 2011, she brought a wealth of experience and has been an indispensible figure in the re-branding success as well as the positioning of upcoming new properties.
Article continues on next page…
Jim Hall
Director of engineering
Jim Hall has joined the team at JA Resorts & Hotels in preparation for the opening of Ocean View Hotel. Looking after both the new property and Oasis Beach Tower, Jim has a vast amount of experience within the hospitality industry having previously worked for Intercontinental, Kempinski, Movenpick and Radisson. Jim has spent 16 years working within hospitality and the last 35 years working abroad, with experience in five of the seven continents. A true believer in efficiency and precision, Jim is a welcomed addition to the Ocean View Hotel team, bringing skills and expertise that have ensured a smooth process throughout the pre-opening stage.
Article continues on next page…
Carl Stephan
F&B manager
Carl, originally from the UK, has over 15 years of F&B and operational experience. He joined Ocean View Hotel’s preopening team after six years in the UAE with the Ramada chain, where he consistently demonstrated his creativity and capabilities. Carl planned and executed a number of successful F&B and operational functions ensuring profitability, maintaining 5-star service standards and creating environments which both employees and clients enjoy. Carl’s passion for hospitality and deep knowledge of the local market ensure he’s ready for the challenge of running several new, unique restaurant concepts.
Article continues on next page…
Alexander Fries
Executive chef
Alex has joined Ocean View Hotel’s preopening team after two years in the position of Executive Chef for Oasis Beach Tower, Bateaux Dubai and the Citrus brand. Alex started his career in his home country Germany and then traveled the world in pursuit of his culinary passion, taking various positions in world’s renowned hotel brands. His latest senior roles include Executive Sous Chef in Intercontinental Malta, and Executive Sous Chef at the renowned One & Only Royal Mirage in Dubai where he worked for four years and gained thorough knowledge of Dubai’s consumer trends and supplier possibilities.
Article continues on next page…
Tracey Tipping
Executive housekeeper
Tracey has joined us directly from Australia where she spent three years as Executive Housekeeper in Hamilton Island Holiday Homes. Her overall experience in housekeeping amounts to 20 years, 17 of which were in the position of Executive Housekeeper. During her career Tracey worked in an array of properties varying from ski resorts to cruise liners, gaining experience from world’s renowned brands such as Hyatt International. Tracey has a Diploma in management and has completed various courses on specialist cleaning and chemicals, while she is also a qualified trainer. Highlight of career as a Housekeeper - sailing around Antarctica!
Article continues on next page…
Jojy Joseph
Cluster financial controller
Jojy is from India, where he got his financial qualifications, and has been in the field of finance for about 20 years, three of them with JA Resorts & Hotels. His role includes ensuring strict enforcement of financial policies and reporting. He joined us from Hilton group where he spent an impressive period of 17 years in three different properties gaining a wealth of experience in hospitality finance for an international company. As part of preopening team for Ocean View Hotel, Jojy controls financial flows, ensures payment of bills and essentially does all the unseen work that ensures the company’s success.
Article continues on next page…
Adriana Gina Bicosu
Leisure and spa manager
Gina is from Romania. She studied at National Academy of Physical Education and Sports’ in Bucharest and graduated with Bachelor’s Degree, Specialising in Physical Therapy. This qualification helped her start her career in hospitality, which she has been pursuing for five years. For the past three years Gina has worked with Sofitel Jumeirah Beach Hotel and Millennium Plaza Hotel gaining valuable experience. This experience, fresh outlook, her passion and drive secured Gina a position in the pre-opening team for Ocean View Hotel, where she will be focusing on guest satisfaction and team motivation to ensure smooth operation of the spa and leisure facilities.
Article continues on next page…
Elena Giordano
Front office manager
Elena has taken up the challenge to be a part of preopening team after seven fruitful years with JA Resorts & Hotels, where she started her career as a management trainee. With the help of her qualifications and thorough job knowledge, she became front office manager in Oasis Beach Tower which has been her role for the past two years. Elena studied at “G.Giolitti” Hotel School, in Italy, her home country and started her career at Hilton Hotel & Casino in Douglas (Isle of Man) where she spent two years and then moved to the Mount Murray Golf Hotel/ Resort in Santon (Isle of Man) as head receptionist. Elena believes in motivating people and loves interacting with guests. She describes herself as a soft-hearted individual with a strong determination in achieving results and guest satisfaction.