GOING FORWARD
So after a year, Casson says the future is positive. “When I said we’re around 70% [occupancy], I would imagine our competitors are all 80-85% and that’s not necessarily because they’re better at what they do. It’s because they have an existing pipeline of business in different parts of the market.”
Casson is confident that business volumes will increase organically through word-of-mouth and return guests.
“There is a flow that gets established with a hotel that reaches maturity, and maturity takes three or four years. What will naturally happen in year two is that everyone that has been here and thinks it’s an amazing place is going to start coming back.”
What Casson thinks will also improve business volumes is market reputation. “I really do think that we’re garnering a reputation for service excellence. I won’t pretend that we still don’t have some ways to go, but from what I hear from our guests, they’re seeing something different. I get letters and emails from people who say, ‘Finally, a hotel in Dubai where we can rely on the service’, or ‘This is what’s been missing’. Those give me the confidence that the team is doing some things right.”
He also believes the F&B and banqueting is garnering repute; the property hosted 40 weddings in the last year. “Part of the attraction for me for living in Dubai is that there’s such a vibrant restaurant scene — and we’ve added something to it.” He credits the hotel’s in-house brands, but also says the Restaurant Village has created its own sense of attraction. “These are some of the hottest restaurants in Dubai at the moment. They’re generally packed all the time. And that says to us, as the landlords of that business, that we made the right choice in terms of bringing the right brands,” he says.
We arrive full circle — not only are the restaurants high-end, but the whole experience is. “The guest that pays several hundred dollars per night has many choices. But no matter how much they’re paying, they know they can’t pay someone to care. They can’t pay someone to genuinely go out of their way to do something special. They can’t pay someone to anticipate their needs. Those human qualities that are highly complex to deliver because they involve how you attract, recruit, and retain staff.
“As a hotelier you have to stay connected to your product — no different than if you’re producing a luxury car. You have to stay very close to what your guests are experiencing,” concludes Casson.
As I leave the property, I spot him in Shai Salon talking to guests. And it is obvious that he practises exactly what he preaches.
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