Fraser Suites Dubai's GM Fraser Suites Dubai's GM

How long have you been involved in hotel purchasing/materials management?
While not directly responsible for purchasing, my management team and I are directly involved in the procurement process to ensure the most appropriate outcomes are achieved in terms of quality, serviceability and pricing. This creates a greater sense of ownership, which is especially important when evaluating the impact to the budget, and builds knowledge of new products and services in the market. Ultimately my role is to ensure that all purchases meet our brand standards and satisfy our pricing objectives.

What types of hotel products or equipment are you currently on the lookout for?
We are carrying out some soft refurbishment activities at the moment including re-upholstering arm chairs and foot stools, timber polishing and updating lighting systems. In fact, energy management is a major focus for us as we seek to replace and update existing systems with more energy-efficient solutions.

What feature or area of fraser suites dubai property are you most proud of?
There are many special attributes of the hotel, however, I would have to single out our penthouses as the stand-out features of the property. Each of our four individually-designed penthouses has unique furnishings and original artworks throughout, which creates a real ‘wow’ factor.

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Tell us about one of your most successful deals?
We recently converted unused space in the tower into three conference rooms and fitted out a new central kitchen. We successfully procured all of our OS&E and furnishings locally, with the exception of some kitchen equipment and the carpet, and this allowed us to achieve very competitive pricing and deliver the project on time.

What does a supplier have to do to impress you?
We will generally favour local suppliers with whom we can build a long-term relationship as we have repeat purchase requirements. In this context, ongoing product availability combined with responsive after-sales service are extremely important attributes to us.