Room Refurb
The main portion of renovation work was the transformation of the hotel’s 276 guestrooms and suites.
“The rooms were changed dramatically. Before, although they were very clean and well maintained, they were also outdated to the point where the TVs looked like they had been installed 18 years earlier, so it was about improving the technology as well,” says Griffis.
The rooms were completely overhauled, with new carpets and furniture, new technology, as well as changes to the bathrooms.
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“We just made the rooms a lot more fresh and modern. Before we had furniture pieces that were cluttering the rooms.We now have a separate bath and shower in the bathrooms, which is a big selling point because even today there are hotels in Abu Dhabi and Dubai that have the main shower over the bath tub,” says Griffis.
Updating in-room technology was a key part of the room renovations, with the hotel embracing interactive televisions and greater connectivity.
“With the rooms being so untouched, in-room technology wasn’t great so the transformation between then and now is huge,” exclaims Griffis. “We’ve installed media hubs in the rooms so guests can connect their laptops or phones directly to the TV. We are very soon installing IPTV, interactive television, which is going to be fantastic for guest rooms.”
“Even with the air-conditioning system, we have sensors so as soon as a guest walks in, the lights and the air-conditioning go back to the setting the guest wanted. Introducing things like that may sound miniscule, but from what we were before, it’s a massive change, and very much appreciated by everyone,” he adds.
Managing guests during the renovation was no easy task for Griffis either, who admits the team had to work hard to ensure the construction caused as little inconvenience to guests as possible.
“We’ve certainly had some challenges during the summer months. Our main lobby was closed, and we still had some heavy renovations upstairs in the guest rooms and of course the guests are not happy about the disruption and you just have to manage it on a case by case basis.
In the summer months, when we have a lot of leisure guests, not having a proper functioning lobby or rooms is an inconvenience for anyone whether they’re here for work or leisure... it’s almost like micromanaging guests. You have to put yourself in their shoes; what may be good for one person may not be good for another,” he says.
“I think you also have to tell the truth and be honest to the best of your ability. Of course you’ve got so many different variables, you’ve got contractors and project managers telling you there won’t be a lot of disturbance on certain days and other times there will be,” he adds.
Griffis and his team also informed guests about the renovation prior to their arrival in order to prepare them for the changes at the hotel.
“We were trying to prepare our guests as best as possible for the inevitable disruption they can all experience when they get here. We were sending out emails for our guests in advance trying to find out if they needed any assistant with transportation, any special preferences they had for their room and informing them that we are under renovation,” he says.
The extra effort seems to have paid off for the team, with guest satisfaction soaring during the summer months, when construction was at its peak.
“We have a measurement tool within Starwood called the Guest Experience Index and from the month of July through to October, it was consistent over the four months even though we had heavy renovations — our outdoor swimming pool was closed due to our Ramadan tent — we certainly had a lot of physical challenges in the hotel.
But we had four of our best months for guest satisfaction because of our consistency and personalised one-to-one touch with our guests,” he says.
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