“Keeping it aligned. Keeping the strategy aligned. Keeping the goals aligned is important. Everyone wants to be successful and everyone has different ways of driving that success, so I do believe in the hotels there are different styles of achieving that success, but ultimately as a resort we’re working together for our key goals; our key targets.”
The first thing Paul introduced when she joined the resort was a communications plan within which she outlined a meetings schedule for her 32-strong ex-com team.
“Every month we have a leadership forum where our senior team sits down and we don’t talk about operational issues.
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“We look at our balance score card targets and how we’re doing on our strategy if we’re working on any projects.”
Paul goes on to say that while the separate hotels may focus on specific aspects of training, depending on the strengths and weaknesses of their teams, sales and marketing and revenue are the disciplines that “must apply across the board”.
“You need to have a helicopter view about what your rates strategy is, and how you’re managing your commercial plan. [This must] look over all of the parts of the business, otherwise it’s not effective,” she says.
Last year MadinatJumeirah joined forces with hospitality education system Lobster Ink to offer online training to staff, which Paul describes as “a great initiative”.
“We started with F&B and now we’re rolling it out for front office. It means [staff] can manage their time with the training. It’s quite competitive because you have to keep advancing your training and you gain points as you advance.”
Despite solid communications and training plans, one aspect of the resort that is becoming gradually less aligned is the food and beverage offering. The resort’s outlets now fall under a newly formed restaurant division, which Paul describes as “a great pioneering adventure Jumeirah has taken up”.
“Commenting on whether the shift in positioning of the resort’s outlets has impacted her role as general manager Paul says: “I don’t think it affects me as such. I think our goal remains to give our guests an exciting and innovative F&B experience that should be seamless.
“It’s a new direction for us as a company and it’s already operating, but we’re looking forward to that progressing.”
The resort’s 10th year has been marked by a number of refurbishments and upgrades to its F&B outlets, including the iconic Pier Chic, set to re-launch this month. The floor is to be opened out to give all diners a panoramic sea view, and two pods are being added halfway along the pier; one to offer pre-dinner drinks and the other to be a post-dinner lounge where desserts and coffee can be enjoyed.
Additionally, Dubai’s first American smokehouse, Peri & Blackwelder will open at the end of October on the site of what was previously Barzar, and while Paul can’t reveal details, she hints that there could be plans for Toscana and Segreto renovations in the near future.
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