The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal director of spa Paris Kounoudis has swept away the competition and taken the title of Fitness/Spa Person of the Year at the Hotelier Middle East Awards 2016.
The category was sponsored and presented by Matrix managing director Nasser Obeid.
Kounoudis was recognised by the judges for implementing a number of new initiatives in the last year including a new marketing strategy targeting the local market which has resulted in an increase in the number of guests, as well as retaining more than 90% of the team.
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He explained his decision: "It was important to focus on the local market because the spa is quite big, it’s a standalone building at the resort.
"When I joined, we had a private beach around 100m that was not utilised. So we thought it was a nice idea to have an additional facility for the spa guests, especially when they have day packages and they want to relax. So we closed all the entrances and you can enter only from the spa.
"It was received really well by the public."
Revealing the latest trends in the market, Kounoudis added: "The latest trends are to offer treatments that cover face and body in just one hour - but trends keep changing. What I firmly believe is that spa treatments are all about standards – if you have a very good treatments, trained therapists who interact with the guest, then you are always going to be successful."
he Highly Commended nominee in this category is Osama Soliman, the director of spa of the Marriott Marquis City Center Doha. The judges commended his efforts in driving new revenue streams for the property.
The shortlisted nominees in the Fitness/Spa Person of the Year category included: Jacques Reynders, director of recreation, Amwaj Rotana Jumeirah Beach - Dubai; Maria Rusiana Cerchi, director of recreation and spa, Al Ghurair Rayhaan by Rotana and Arjaan by Rotana; Mithun Mohanan, masseur, Crowne Plaza Dubai - Deira; Mohamed Sadek, health club manager, Al Ahsa InterContinental.
The Hotelier Middle East Awards 2016 took place on Wednesday, October 26 at The Ritz-Carlton DIFC, and was resplendent in its Old Hollywood Glamour theme.
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