GM interview: Bill Keffer

JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai can be considered one of the emirate’s marquee hotels, and operating it cannot be an easy job. However, general manager Bill Keffer is up to the task.“I have been with the Marriott Group for roughly 23 years now. After opening the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, California, I took over as assistant F&B director at the New York Marriott Marquis,” says Keffer.

The JW Marriott Marquis nearly doubled its room keys over the last 12 months, from about 800-odd rooms to 1608. This is why Keffer says RevPAR has been hard to gauge, but adds that he is confident of the results. “We cannot give accurate statistics and details because we nearly doubled our rooms, but we are happy to state we maintained 2014’s RevPAR,” he states.

Keffer has steadily risen through the ranks ever since he began his journey with the Marriott Group. After his role at the New York Marriott Marquis, his next destination was the Far East as he took charge of the food and beverage at the Renaissance Hotel in Japan.

Then, with stints at the Marriott in Seoul, South Korea and the UK, Keffer arrived at the Marriott Harbour Hotel in Dubai to assume the position of general manager. In January 2012, Keffer moved to the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel as hotel manager, eventually taking over as general manager 18 months ago.

During this period, Keffer has been vested with the daunting task of not only achieving a positive RevPAR, but ensuring occupancy levels and hotel revenues keep moving upwards. He explains: “In 2014, we had a near 80% occupancy, after which we more than doubled the number of rooms at the hotel. But occupancy figures for H1 2015 have been positive as we have managed to maintain them at 80%, even with added rooms to fill.”

Keffer credits the impressive performance to several reasons. “Sales teams in different countries and continents work tirelessly to attract new business. I often tag along with them, which helps me understand different markets and what we need to do back in Dubai. Recently, I visited China and learnt that about seven million citizens have passports, from a population of 1.4 billion. Now, that is a staggering figure when you put their spending power into perspective, and how serious an impact it could have on the travel market — not just for the UAE, but the entire world.”

Keffer claims that China has about 200,000–300,000 million people in the middle class bracket, and predicts that the majority of them will travel the world.

“Our occupancy figures are high thanks to the staff that we hire; citizens from as many as 70 countries work at the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai.”

The tallest hotel in the world seems to be in a purple patch, as summer occupancy figures were particularly high.

“Traditionally, hotels in Dubai report a 35-40% occupancy during Ramadan, which has coincided with the summer months in recent years. As Ramadan split the months of June and July, we had just under 60% occupancy for June and slightly over 50% for the month of July,” Keffer adds.

If those figures are anything to go by, it is safe to conclude the hotel has had a successful summer season.

Keffer says: “It is down to the efforts of Dubai government and DTCM to boost the emirate’s image as a summer tourism destination, which it has not been traditionally. I think we (the hotel industry) will get there, but hotels need to play their part as well. While DTCM is more of a marketing agency, hotels have to take the onus of selling rooms.”

The JW Marriott Marquis registers an equal mix of business and leisure tourists. “Dubai ranks in the top five leisure destinations in the world. However, the emirate is ranked 40th when it comes to the MICE industry. DTCM is putting in painstaking efforts to boost Dubai’s image as a leading destination for the industry.”

Incidentally, Keffer is in charge of one of the few hotels in the emirate that can accommodate more than 1000 guests, while simultaneously taking care of food and beverage requirements. Keffer says, however, there is still a way to go to capitalise on the property’s potential.

“We are definitely not happy with our performance, and need to do a lot more on the MICE front. The hotel is designed for large numbers, and while we have hosted several events, it is nowhere as close to what we can actually cater to.

“Dubai was about the spectacular experience and some hotels have commanded high prices over the years; however, that trend is changing, and will continue to shift with the rise of mid-scale hotels in Dubai. We have to ensure affordable packages for large event groups to attract them to Dubai. I feel the days where hotels commanded a premium are numbered.”

Keffer also believes billion- dollar projects such as the Dubai Canal, Dubai Parks, and Citywalk will go a long way to not only attract tourists but business travellers to the MICE industry. “Hotels want be in a position where advance bookings are well in place. Our hotel has bookings for the next three years, which is an achievement of sorts,” he says.

The positive results extend to the F&B services of the hotel. “Our F&B outlets amount to 40-45% of the hotel’s revenue. The various teams working behind the scenes are to be credited with this, at a time when restaurants and hotels have admittedly found it difficult to churn out profits.”

To bolster the strongly performing restaurants, the JW Marriott Marquis will open two brand new= outlets.

“We have space in Tower B, which will soon be occupied by top brands. I cannot divulge which restaurant brands these will be, but I can say they are in line with our current offerings such as GQ Bar and VIP Room,” reveals Keffer.

Keffer is extremely honest when he talks about the hotel’s future, “In a word, we want to make more money,” he laughs.

“Jokes apart, we want to do well in the coming year. As mentioned before, the MICE industry is our target including boosting revenue through F&B,” concludes Keffer.