Site Visit: Ibis Styles Jumeira

Transforming a long-term abandoned office block into a reputable mid-scale hotel is by no means an easy task. Not one to shy away from a challenge, Ibis Styles Jumeira hotel manager Muhammad Mujtaba Haider is the type of man that thrives on such an opportunity.

“Converting an office building into a hotel will of course produce a number of challenges, plus this building had been empty for eight years, and when we got the handover from the previous owner we realised many important documents were missing, so there was a great deal of work to be done.” Thanks to strong team of public relations officers (PROs) Haider got the missing documents and municipality approvals, but these administrative delays were all happening in parallel with his construction and design teams getting the property ready to launch.

“Having received the title deed of the building in June 2014, the approval to convert the building from an office space to a hotel was received in September 2014 after gaining approval from Dubai Municipality. From there we started to check the requirements for the conversion, including the contract bidding, sourcing suppliers, and securing other government approvals,” says Haider. “The actual renovation phase was expedited to February 2015, and the hotel officially opened on 1 September 2015,” he adds.

Located on Al Mina Road in Jumeirah, Dubai, the now fully-operational three-star hotel features 191 rooms and suites, an all-day dining restaurant, two speciality restaurants, gym, meeting rooms and a business centre. The hotel aims to cater to both the leisure and corporate travellers who are looking for a cost-effective accommodation at the heart of the city.

Teamwork

“The entire Ibis Style Jumeira team was hired four to five months before pre-opening, so they also worked on the project phase, which is very different to the operational phase.” Haider says. “Our team was working directly with the contractors, so they had gone through a great diversity of tasks before the soft launch. Our staff were taking ownership of the pre-opening process; they knew the challenges and the timelines and they took important decisions – they are empowered to do this: to get the job done.” Haider openly admits that staffing the property was difficult, given the competition in the region. He took the decision to personally select each head of department and entrusted them to hire their own team members. “I gave my orders and allowed them to make hiring decisions, but I insisted that attitude is key; of course skills are essential, but skills can be learned – a good attitude is far more important.”

In the day-to-day operations of the newly launched hotel, Haider acknowledges and even welcomes the fact that mistakes will be made among his team. “From the beginning, our people had a sense of ownership, from the bellboy to the room attendant – there is a sense of belonging present throughout this team – and I even want them to make mistakes, this is a part of learning.” He adds: “Rather than calling me or their department manager, I let them make their own judgements, this lets them grow in confidence.”

Suppliers

Sourcing suppliers for the Ibis Styles Jumeira hotel required following three simple rules: they must be responsible, local and sustainable. “Of course we prefer to source locally; this is very cost-effective; furthermore approximately 90% of our suppliers are repeat suppliers, this helps ensure our quality standards are routinely met.” Haider works with a cluster procurement team that selects the suppliers for the cluster of hotels in this region: “They really know the product and the supplier, so we can be sure of responsible, local and sustainable suppliers – they know us and we know them: it’s a great working relationship.” He adds: “Locally sourcing materials for a new hotel is also cost-effective, we need quality that is not expensive; local suppliers help us achieve this.”

On the subject of price versus quality, Haider notes: “This region is known for a lack of loyalty; business comes first, so for a new hotel, if there is a lower rate to be found – well, everyone has their own interests. There are deals to be had; you have to balance out a healthy mix when it comes to business here.”

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Design

Fitting out the Ibis Styles Jumeira was clearly a focus of great attention. The interiors are noticeably bright, vibrant and enticing. Haider is pleased to acknowledge all design aspects came with approval from the hotel owner, who was very much “hands on and proactive.”

The interior design of the hotel was handled by Draw Link Group; it was inspired by the hotel’s close location to Al Meena Port, therefore the main theme was chosen to be maritime. To help realise this theme in the hotel, Draw Link Group collected more than 60 photographs with all the iconic buildings in the UAE and applied them full-scale from various angles on every room-door of the hotel. Walking through the hotel, it is easy to see from the guest perspective, Draw Link aimed and succeeded in creating an ambiance which would combine comfort, fun and conviviality.

People

“In launching this hotel, we replaced our human resources department with the ‘talent and culture department’ – this change came from Accor, and it occurred in both name and concept. We wanted it to become less harsh, and ‘talent and culture’ is friendly by name,” says Haider. “It’s a perception change, and this is now a department that focuses on interacting with our people.”

The talent and culture department is heavily involved with training and retaining employees, says Haider: “For example, just within our housekeeping team, we hired a Kenyan girl. But only after meeting with our talent and culture department team did we realise she had a hidden talent – in her home country she had been a research assistant with United Nations World Food Programme.”

From the day the hotel opened, the talent and culture department has helped Ibis Styles Jumeira bring out skills that its people already have acquired in addition to offering new skills. Haider continues: “We have another lady in the kitchen here, she has a master’s degree in social sciences.

Of course her real passion is in the kitchen – but now that we recognise the hidden talents of our people, we actively find ways to utilise their skills even better.”

Competition

“Honestly speaking, when I look at the new competition – and it is all competition for us, I just have to stay positive,” says Haider speaking of the growing mid-market sector in the UAE. “Hats off to my sales and operations teams for achieving the occupancy levels we currently enjoy – but new hotels are coming to this region all the time; you have to be confident about your own product. Ultimately it is healthy competition and it will bring out the best everyone. We have strong rivalry in the region, but compared to the market we are proud of our product, now it’s just a matter of hard work as we aim for more success.”

Contemplating his journey over the past 24 months, Haider concludes: “If I could go back in time to the pre-launch phase I don’t think I would do anything differently – but I must say that what we have accomplished here was a fantastic team effort, it’s not only me; it’s the entire team. If anything, I would show more appreciation to my team. We were all under pressure and sometimes we forget to give praise where praise is due.”