Muhammad Shan, procurement manager, Time Oak Hotel & Suites, explains how he plays a key role in his property’s sustainability drive
How long have you been in hotel purchasing?
I’ve been working in the hospitality industry for more than 10 years. I first moved to the UAE in 2006 when I had the opportunity to join the team at Sharjah National Hotels as a purchasing officer. I then moved to The Millennium Abu Dhabi to continue my career before taking this expertise to Time Hotels.
What products are you on the lookout for?
I’m always on the lookout for local produce because Time is Green Globe certified and we believe you can only build a sustainable future from the ground up. It is important to be involved at a community level and local produce offers us the opportunity to use seasonal ingredients, maintain our commitment to the environment, and of course strengthen our ties with the community.
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What area of your hotel are you most proud of?
We recently replaced the flooring of our hotel rooms with eco wood flooring, and not only did it make the rooms environmentally friendly, it also changed the complete look of the rooms. Right now we’re aiming to save over 320 tonnes of carbon emissions by the year end through our Hotel Stay Carbon Offset Programme, where guests have the opportunity to play a role in offsetting carbon emissions while staying at one of the participating Time hotels. It is things like this that the team at Time takes great pride in, and there will be more to come.
Tell us about one of your most successful deals?
The successful rebranding of the hotel two years ago was at the time very challenging, but is my most rewarding career highlight to date. With the support of the management team, including our CEO, Mohamad Awadalla, everything was achieved within the set timeframe. The award of our Green Globe certification was also a major achievement.
What does a supplier have to do to impress you?
Reliability, pricing and quality are of course all important factors for any supplier operating in the market, but Dubai is evolving rapidly and in this type of environment, it’s essential to keep pace with new trends, so any suppliers that can offer unique ideas and think out-of-the-box will always have my attention.
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