“We have a loyalty programme not just for stays but also guests that make bookings with us. There’s already a very big database of very engaged bookers that are loyal to Starwood,” Schukkmann explains. In October, the company introduced SPG Pro, an extension and consolidation of the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) scheme, which adds value to corporate bookers.
With SPG Pro, corporate and leisure guests can accumulate points and benefit from rewards for every type of visit under the same umbrella.
The team is also preparing for the inevitable downturn in business over the summer months, and is working with other Starwood properties to package holidays and target long-stay guests.
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“We’ll have exactly the right number of rooms during Big 5, Gulfood… no problem! But after May to the middle of September, how well we do then will be the challenge,” Schukkmann states.
To combat the summer slump, the team at the hotel is working with sister properties in Ajman and other emirates to package deals that bring in guests during low periods in both emirates.
The team is also focusing on the long-stay segment, specifically bookings for stays of up to a year.
“Maybe in the future there will be an airline crew… the airport is 15 minutes away. So when the corporate club rooms are not used anymore and the group business is not there anymore from the World Trade Centre, our focus goes more on using the apartments, using the rooms for leisure guests on a stopover. We are making arrangements with some of the operators who do the pre- and the post-date bookings for cruise ships here as well,” he says.
To hire staff for the hotel, Grub explains the team had to use a recruitment strategy adapted to the large size of the operation.
“It’s a 654-room hotel, which is different from a 350-room hotel. So you need different skill sets and that is how we picked the team — based on the concept and the skill set needed,” he says.
Grub reveals 90% of the executive team came from within Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and once on board, the team moved on to hiring the remaining 420 associates, a number that will increase to 580 when the hotel is fully open.
While 25-30% of the staff came from the UAE from within Starwood or other hotels in the country, the rest were hired via Skype interviews and some during international recruitment trips.
Candidates were then required to run through tests to assess their skills and attitudes before signing an employment contract.
Once associates began arriving at the hotel, they went through a three-day ‘on-boarding’ process, where they were taught the hotel’s philosophy and what the management expects from them. Associates also received social ‘on-boarding’ on life in the UAE, and its culture and laws. Training then moved on to job-specific issues and testing.
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