General Manager of the Week: Time's Chris Fourment

In the latest installment of our regular series, we speak to Time Grand Plaza general manager Chris Fourment.

Fourmet joined the Dubai hotel last year, having previously worked in the Czech Republic and UK.

Why do you work in hospitality and what got you into the industry in the first place?

Hospitality offers a plethora of opportunities and opens doors to new horizons. Every country in the world has a dynamic hospitality industry and the skills you learn working here are readily transferable. Hospitality gives you the key to discovering new countries, new cultures and new people. Besides, it is an extremely creative world and there is always scope to better guest experiences! For me, every day I come to work it is about making a positive impact to somebody else’s day. Our business is all about people and heart. It’s not about widgets or spreadsheets; it’s about making people happy. This is why I chose this industry.

For me working in hospitality means a workplace with a great atmosphere, therefore I hire people with pleasant friendly personalities. This thought process is one of the reasons why this industry is home to some of the most vibrant, lively and fun people.

Who in the industry has been a big inspiration for you?

During the entire length of my career, there have been a few people coming from key executive committees to operational roles that gave me the desire to pursue the field. Each personality and approach has given me a better understanding into the meaning of real hospitality.

What is your leadership ethos?

Experience has taught me that being a leader is not only about my ideas, my strategies and my vision. A good leader starts by being a good follower. People are ultimately inspired by a leader’s presence and way of being. Aristotle spoke of ‘ethos’ as a type of leadership in which a leader influences others to change their values and thus their performance. ‘Ethos’ is not what a person says or promises, but it is their way of being in the world, their presence and comportment that affects how others follow them and whether they are open to their ideas. And that is the way and the role I adopt.

What gets you out of bed in the morning every day to do your job?

Personally, what gets me out of bed in the morning is the thought of what’s next. I’m excited about the possibilities, about learning more and progressing in my career. Being General Manager, it’s my responsibility to promote excellent service to my colleagues and in turn this creates an excellent service and environment for our guests.

If there was one thing you could change about the industry, what would it be?

I don’t think we need to change anything, although, I think it is necessary to reinvent our traditional and old custom of our approach to hospitality. For example, regardless of how quickly the new technology integrates into hotel operations, I believe hoteliers should keep the personal touch, certainly something we at Time are proud of providing our guests. Recently, check-in on line is a new trend in hotel check-in procedures. However, a personal interaction with a genuine smile and eye to eye contact will a give a longer lasting impression to any guest.

What would you say your greatest achievement has been?

From professional point of view, I will say that pre-opening a hotel has been one of my greatest achievements so far. Preparing a hotel to greet its first guest is a complex and quite often a very long and stressful journey full of unexpected challenges. You need to have the combination of good timing and a detailed understanding of the process. Therefore starting from scratch to building a hotel and delivering services in making guests happy is a long process that I will always remember.

What legacy would you like to eventually leave at your hotel?

A legacy of integrity and values. To be an encouragement to all my staff by being resilient yet always ready to give a warm smile amidst the ups and downs in the industry. Not afraid of taking risks even if the outcome is not as expected; at the end of the day, what matters most is you learn something from every situation.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone starting off in the industry?

Passion is essential in the hospitality industry. Being genuine, welcoming and having an empathy vis-à-vis customers and colleagues are essential ingredients for success. If you work hard, acquire the qualifications, get on with customers and colleagues and show initiative, very soon, you'll find yourself in a senior position managing people and projects.

If you hadn’t gone into hospitality, what do you think you would be doing now?

I would be a diplomat. I used to work at Diplomatic Services at the French Embassy in the Czech Republic before changing my professional orientation. The purposes of negotiating and mediating relations between governments always fascinated me. If done correctly, diplomacy is a great way for countries to get every single issue out on the table and establish a great relationship. In a certain way, diplomacy is also applicable when dealing with hotel guests!

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I am an avid traveller. I try to travel as often as possible, I try to get away because I know travel can be a powerful tool for personal development. Travel enlightens me and helps me learn of attitudes of people, quality of food, cultural behavior, differences in fashion and much, much more.