Industry leaders took to the stage to discuss the major issues of the moment in front of a roomful of operators.
The fourth annual Caterer Middle East Bar & Nightlife Forum took place on October 5, 2015 at the Grosvenor House Dubai, with a room full of operators in attendance, eager to learn about the best-practice initiatives being implemented by business leaders in the F&B market.
PANEL 1: 12.05PM
Managing the Owner-Manager Relationship
The first session dealt with the relationship between outlet managers and their owners and investors. Moderated by Kroma managing director Nicholas Couvaras, the discussion involved a lot of audience participation.
Relationships between owners and operators are of paramount importance, and Three Dots general manager Hayan Abou Assali said the first step towards success is to “first understand what the owner’s vision is”.
He continued: “To see what a successful venue is, you need to understand what he means by a successful venue. Is it just his ROI, or is it to make a statement in Dubai? You need to make sure you’re managing owner expectations.”
Also understanding what freedoms the outlet manager has is essential from the outset. Zero Gravity general manager Peter Skudutis advised: “As a manager, before you jump into it, you need to understand how much freedom, how much leeway you have to lead the business.”
Fling Bar Services operations director Andrew Mullins added: “Some places exist where owners let the managers do their job, and at others you get owners who want to change things every two weeks. In my experience, owners can be flighty. If it doesn’t work immediately, they change their mind and try to change the whole thing again.
“On the flip side, the manager has to manage that process by understanding the owner’s vision. The manager can do himself a lot of favours by recognising that vision and trying to help achieve it.”
| Advertisement |
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
