F&B interview: St Regis Doha

Giuseppe Losciale has built his career in the luxury segment of the hospitality industry, in Europe, Asia, South America and now the Middle East. Now EAM i/c F&B at St Regis Doha, he and his hotel are facing what he calls a ‘soft crisis’ in the regional economy.

Occupancy rates and RevPAR are falling across the city due to a supply/demand imbalance — despite a reported resurgence in intra GCC-tourism — and St Regis is not immune.

But while the instinct of some hoteliers facing falling revenues is to cut costs and discount, Losciale says St Regis is investing its way out of trouble.

“The trend in this city is discounts and vouchers — it is really going down the ‘happy hour’ and ‘ladies’ night’ route. But we are trying to add value, not decrease prices. You can’t turn back from the discount route. So it is better to invest to drive revenue. And our GM and our owner are very supportive of that view.”

Losciale points out that St Regis has not reduced its staffing levels, and has not cut back on the all-important element of entertainment that characterises many of the hotel’s 12 F&B venues.

“We have two exciting customer segments — locals and expats. The local market is always willing to experience something new — they are always here and they have money.

“Expats are currently more price sensitive,” he concedes, “but give them a good atmosphere and quality entertainment then you can attract the right niche.”

“We are the only hotel in Doha with such a huge live entertainment budget, instead of just doing F&B. And we are always considering what new things we can bring to the market to attract guests,” he says, adding that the overall customer mix for St Regis’ F&B outlets is 60% outside guests: 40% in-house.

Losciale is particularly excited about a brand new concept he is working on – Raw Bar. “It’s a kind of Japanese-style counter, but not only sushi sashimi. We will serve oysters, caviar, carpaccio of fish and meat, ceviche, as well as sushi sashimi rolls…

“Nowadays the trend is for serving fresh food that is simple and healthy and not heavy. People are focused on quality, not quantity.”

Raw Bar will be housed in a small conservatory-style structure next to Opal by Gordon Ramsay and open all day. The chef will work in an open kitchen area behind a 360-degree circular marble counter and serve a total of 16 guests seated on bar stools.

“It’s very chic and high end,” says Losciale. “We took our inspiration from London and New York, it’s an alternative concept from cosmopolitan cities. It’s casual, but with no compromise on quality.”

The food will be accompanied by sparkling, white and rosé wines and light cocktails, though Losciale adds: “Smoked fish can pair with a lighter red, like pinot noir.”

Although it is a small unit, food from Raw Bar will also be available on the menus of other St Regis F&B outlets, and as a room-service option for in-house guests. The cross promotion of St Regis outlets will also be evident at the hotel’s Grand Brunch.

The concept — using 18 live cooking stations and 10 bars outdoors — was launched in March and immediately doubled the number of brunch covers from 300 to 600.

“The Grand Brunch is an opportunity for us to create a big buzz for our F&B outlets. It has become a great success. You don’t sit in your chair — you go around the area and experience everything.”

Ambiance is enhanced with a five-piece band set up in the middle of the lawn, one of a number of live acts employed by St Regis Dubai across its F&B venues.

“Oyster Bay is our venue on the beach. We had a reggae band twice a week on Thursdays and Fridays for three years. But we started to notice a decline, so we wanted to bring a new vibe. We’re flying in a new band from Cuba, who will be performing Wednesday to Saturday.

Meanwhile, The Club — St Regis’ half-moon shaped cabaret-style bar — has enjoyed a long-term collaboration with the New York-based Jazz at Lincoln Centre. “Over four years they taught us about quality music and we have learnt what our clientele want.

“Ultimately the jazz niche wasn’t big in Doha. So we will now be bringing live entertainment with a different genre of music — soul, bossa nova, blues… We won’t compromise the quality of the sound, and will use good artists who deliver, booked for up to two months maximum. We didn’t change the layout — it looks the same but now has a different music repertoire.”

The Club promises “a little bit of something for everyone”, in a true dinner show setting. Guests can enjoy a wide variety of food that includes small bites, tapas, à la carte dining as well as set menus. “The dinner show menu is becoming very popular,” says Losciale. “You can dine, and then it becomes uptempo and people start dancing. The vibe goes up, and we also attract a post-dinner crowd. It is very romantic.”

Losciale talks about the two elements that combine to delight St Regis customers — the food and the overall experience. Both are equally important. And his passion for quality food is evident when he talks excitedly about the produce.

“We now dry age our own meat [at Astor Grill],” he enthuses. “We bought a dry-age fridge in May and age our meat for a minimum of 21 days. We used to buy it dry aged for 15-20 days. But now we do it ourselves and the meat is so much more tender.”

Which brings him back to the topic of discounts. “We don’t want to do promotions — we want to bring something new on board based on quality products,” says Losciale.

St Regis’ competition – Marsa Malaz Kempinski, The Four Seasons, Shangri-La and sister hotel The W are “raising the bar”.

“It’s healthy competition,” he insists, adding that St Regis is rising to the challenge. “This soft crisis is impacting on rooms, but not F&B at this property. We’re sustaining that business with quality and entertainment.”