FITNESS/SPA PERSON OF THE YEAR
Philip Bartle, director of recreation, Fairmont The Palm
What company / hotel are you currently with?
I am still with Fairmont The Palm.
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Has winning a Hotelier Award impacted your career in any way and if so how?
The award has provided direct recognition for the wellness and leisure team here at Fairmont The Palm. It recognises the passion, hard work and expertise that the team displays with our guests, members and colleagues every day. Their performance is amazing. As a result, they were awarded the ‘Time Out Kids” Best Family Beach Club in 2014. Sanduni Colambage, one of our lifeguards was awarded the Global FRHI Colleague of the Year, and our lifeguards achieved thir place and 6th place (out of 28 teams) in the UAE Lifeguards Championships in 2014.The award recognition also has allowed me to participate in various initiatives, such as being a panellist at the Hotelier Safety & Security Conference this year.
Are you hoping to be nominated this year for an award?
It’s always nice to win, but I would also like to see my colleagues being honoured with this prestigious award as I believe that there is no greater pride than seeing your colleagues being recognised for their hard work.
What is the best piece of advice you can give other hoteliers who want to win a Hotelier Award?
My advice for up-and-coming hoteliers would be to work hard at your job, enjoy what you are doing, lead with passion, and the rest will follow. Budding hoteliers need to build and leverage their relationships with the members of their team. At the end of the day, you are evaluated on how successfully you can lead your team into achieving the impossible. I try to work with my team every day, and I’m certain it’s their commitment that has made me successful.
Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
My passion is in managing, supporting and inspiring teams to deliver memorable experiences for guests. I am very happy to have the opportunity to do this every day, and would hope to be still doing so in five years’ time.
What are you doing to achieve your goals and dreams?
I continually look at ways to develop and implement new ideas and initiatives for the team and the guests.
What’s your dream position?
I am in my dream position right now. I am able to plan, develop and deliver wellness and leisure with an amazing team at a great hotel for very nice guests and members. It is a dream to be part of the wellness and recreation team at Fairmont The Palm.
Who is the one person that inspires you most?
I am very fortunate to have known and worked with so many great individuals, and therefore cannot choose only one. From a hospitality perspective it would be Mark Sawkins (our general manager at Fairmont The Palm), Pam Wilby and Patrick Antaki. From a wellness and leisure perspective it would be Peter Whittall, Jack Thomas and Frank O’Sullivan. All of these amazing individuals are accomplished leaders, and all have amazing team development and leadership skills.
What is your life ambition outside of work?
To ensure that those close to me are happy and healthy.
Nominations for the Hotelier Middle East Awards 2015 are still open, with a deadline of August 31, 2015. All of the information you need on how to nominate a colleague is available here: www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/awards.
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