No second chances
But in order to grab that share of the competition, it is essential to get it right from the word go – there are no second chances, believes Rebler, particularly on Sheikh Zayed Road for a hotel that is not necessarily the most straightforward of places to get to.

“People will come to begin with because we are new. If you don’t get it right the first time, you are yesterday’s news,” he says.

One key factor he believes will see them through is the attitude of the outlet towards its people and its customers. While all restaurants in the UAE have great “hardware” he says, it’s the food, service and the “welcome” people get that will keep them coming back.

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“One thing we have is the Marriott culture – the caring culture. We’ve done a fantastic job hiring and training. Our culture – that we take care of our associates and they take care of the guests – is something that we intend, and I think will, carry on.”

Tuttle adds that alongside that culture is the ability to keep it simple – and that comes back down to having the right talent in each of the right outlets to “pull through that authenticity”.

“Dubai is now full of restaurants; new outlets tend to over think it. They think you need to create something new and exciting whereas we are taking the approach – the Italian restaurant, let’s just make great Italian food – not an Italian Thai fusion.

Everybody thinks they have to have a celeb chef; it’s important to have one or two to get people in but really we want to just source great products, serve great food – this is going to speak for itself. Everyone really over thinks this industry too much.”

Overall, there is a feeling of confidence oozing through the walls of the new JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai, with every single member of staff stopping to smile and going above and beyond what you’d normally expect to welcome you. But this is defining – says Tuttle, who by this time next year, wants JWMM to be the “talk of the town.”

“We want to compete for ‘best of’ in each category,” says Rebler. “Our ambition is no less than anybody else’s. We want to be the best in what we do – we want people to rave about the experience here. Nothing less than that will satisfy us. We think the pie in Dubai is big enough for everybody to be successful, we just want to be successful,” he concludes.

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