EVENT PREVIEW: Hotelier Great GM Debate 2013

Hoping to build on the continued success of the Hotelier Middle East Great GM Debate series of conferences, in September the fourth edition of the annual education and networking event will be themed around the topic of ‘Hospitality Leaders, Innovators and Game Changers’, reports Samantha Medina

On the backdrop of a buoyant market, the hospitality industry in the UAE has seen a surge in both occupancy and competition over the last 12 months.

Following the recently announced Dubai Tourism Vision, which aims to double visitor numbers to 20 million by the end of the decade, this growth is only expected to continue and as a result the annual Hotelier Middle East Great GM Debate will seek to address the opportunities available to hospitality leaders and innovators across the country in the coming years.

Ahead of the forum, which will be held on September 9 at Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai, Hotelier Middle East selected an advisory panel to oversee the development of the agenda.

Bani Haddad, regional vice president – Middle East & Africa of Wyndham Hotel Group; Luigi Romaniello, managing director of Rosewood Abu Dhabi; Rupprecht Queitsch, general manager of JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai and Stephan Schupbach, general manager of Jumeirah Zabeel Saray formed the panel, all keen to share experiences and ideas ahead of this one-of-a-kind interactive forum designed only for hotel GMs.

The panel came together for lunch at Zabeel Saray’s Voi restaurant on June 17 to shape the agenda and discuss the potential topics that general managers will want to hear more about on the day.

From the panel, it became apparent that while a range of regulatory, operational and strategic challenges impact a hotelier’s success as a GM, it is their skills as a leader and an innovator that define it.

As the advisory panelists dissected their role within the industry, four key areas emerged as high potential opportunities for success, if GMs can get them right.

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A Need for Better Industry Collaboration
The current pressure on hotels to scale up operations and meet the rise in occupancy has highlighted the importance of industry collaboration on long-term initiatives over the next 12 months.

DTCM’s new hotel classifications and the government’s 2020 tourism plan are both expected to be especially significant in supporting the hospitality industry’s goals and the panel asserted that improving co-operation between the government and the travel trade is essential.

“From 8000 rooms in 1997, to more than 80,000 now, the UAE has already gone through many growing phases, but globally it is still a small and relatively new market. We must see the bigger picture and collaborate to develop new initiatives that offer a better destination,” Jumeirah Zabeel Saray’s Schupbach said.

Schupbach went on to advocate the benefits of a long-term five or even 10-year plan, hinting that at present, “many focus on ‘what do I get out of this right now and how much will it cost me?’ rather than looking at the big picture.”

Marriott’s Queitsch agreed: “GMs can do a better job, because at present we as an industry just don’t speak enough.”

Wyndham’s Haddad added that effective communication with e-distribution sites is going to be critical to getting a deeper understanding of how they are bringing in customers.

Managing F&B Outlets AS Success Stories
With up to 15,000 F&B outlets operating in the UAE today, the dynamics of the F&B market has changed drastically in recent years. As a result, Queitsch has no doubt that “Dubai is one of the most attractive and interesting F&B destinations in the world right now. There is nothing like it, where every brand name from LA to China wants to be present.”

Rosewood Abu Dhabi’s Romaniello agreed and said that this positivity in the market was also felt in other emirates; “Abu Dhabi is coming along well, we are lucky to live in a place where dining in hotels is part of the lifestyle”, so there is still more opportunity to capitalise in this space.

However, it wasn’t long before the debate regarding the pros and cons of hotel-managed versus third-party-run outlets again reared its head.

Queitsch explained that to develop a successful outlet in today’s market means more than just delivering good food: “Independent restaurateurs came in and raised the bar, raised the excitement and raised the experience so now hotels are catching up and trying to match this.”

Schupbach supported this sentiment but also advised hoteliers to consider how they plan to get their market share back, with pricing now such an issue: “We may have hit a ceiling, so now hotels need a long-term strategy.”

Wyndham’s Haddad doesn’t regard price as an issue, but believes improving diner experience is “one of the biggest challenge facing hotels in UAE today. Independent restaurants place such a high importance on the calibre of talent hired, as well as the look and feel of each venue”.

So can hoteliers compete? Romaniello has confidence that they can, and are already: “We have some great concepts coming up and are investing in culinary talent. It already shows in the standard of cuisine available, while our new Spanish concept restaurant, Catalan, has been booked out consistently, without any marketing.”

He also recognised that patrons are now frequenting places where “they can mingle, they can relax and spend time with friends and family”, so he plans on developing lifestyle venues that encourage guests to do just that by harnessing “all the elements that make a hotel more vibrant.”

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Creating a happy work culture
Hoteliers are finding competition in all categories cropping up across the country, attracting their established, multi-skilled workforce. With the panel concurring that concerns over pay scales are less of an issue than in previous years, Queitsch indicated the significance of training staff: “They see their value rise and they understand the potential of this continuous development.”

To encourage retention and sustain morale among the team, Romaniello proposed that GMs should take responsibility for developing a positive culture: “You can foster very strong connections among your co-workers. We select people who want to associate with the brand and who want to grow themselves.”

In addition to training and culture, the group believes that fostering empowerment and meaning is critical to achieving staff job satisfaction. “One of our GMs in Ajman curbed turnover in an unbelievable way. He introduced CSR and charity projects and engaged the staff in them.
They wanted to be contributing to these meaningful projects and they wanted to be able to include them on their CVs,” said Haddad.

Building a business mindset
Identifying the skills required for a great GM is fairly simple in concept, but much more difficult to achieve in practice. Schupbach states that: “The reality now is that a GM must treat a hotel as his or her own business. It means asset management and proactively planning for better use of space all the time.” In addition, he acknowledged that GMs must be “more creative, while still considering brand and image.”

Romaniello contributed the idea that seemingly undervalued attributes are actually signs of great leadership: “If a GM has passion, it makes all the difference in the world. Being visible and present empowers and motivates the staff.”

Queitsch agreed: “A great leader has passion and can identify with the product they have, and is able to get their staff on board.”

Schupbach concluded that of course, great leadership can only be achieved from the hotel floor, not the office and can positively impact not just staff but also the bottom line: “Surveys have shown that a GM’s interaction with their guests, regardless of what channel it is in, has the biggest impact on guest loyalty and on the amount of customers coming back,” so this should never be undervalued.

These issues and more besides will be tackled via a series of panel sessions, case studies and workshops at this year’s Great GM Debate, themed for the first time around ‘Hospitality Leaders, Innovators and Game Changers’.

More than 200 general managers from across the emirates will contribute to the discourse, so save the dates in your diary for the biggest hotel event of the year.

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Meet the experts

Bani Haddad, Regional Vice President, Middle East & Africa, Wyndham Hotel Group.
Late in 2007, Haddad joined Wyndham Hotel Group as director of development for the Middle East where he was behind the successful introduction of the group’s flagship brand, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, as well as the contemporary budget brand Ramada Encore to the region. He is now WHG’s regional vice president in charge of both the development and operational aspects for the company in Middle East and Africa.

Luigi Romaniello, Managing Director, Rosewood Abu Dhabi.
Romaniello oversees all areas of the new Rosewood Abu Dhabi including the property’s array of signature restaurants and the Sense Spa. Romaniello has been with Rosewood for 11 years, most recently as managing director of The Mansion on Peachtree, a Rosewood Hotel and Residence in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a seasoned veteran with more than 20 years experience in the hospitality industry.

Rupprecht Queitsch, General Manager, JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai.
As general manager for the 1608-room JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai which opened in Q4, 2012, Queitsch is responsible for every aspect of this landmark of luxury in Dubai. Previously in 2004 Queitsch was general manager of the Paris Marriott Champs Elysees before moving on to become general manager of the high profile 757-room Paris Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel and Convention Center in 2006.

Stephan Schupbach, General Manager, Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, Dubai.
Schupbach joined Jumeirah in 2006 as resident manager for the group’s leading corporate hotel, Jumeirah Emirates Towers. In 2008, he took on a new challenge by becoming general manager for Al Qasr hotel and Dar Al Masyaf summer villas in Madinat Jumeirah. In 2010 Stephan was appointed as GM for the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray – a luxury resort inspired by the Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire, located on the Palm Jumeirah island.