The glass cube is 15m by 15m, and is flanked on either side by the hotel rooms and the ‘staircase’ residences.
The Dubai hotel will be a flagship for the brand on several counts. “It’s not about the size of the hotel or the fact that it is a huge part of the brand being in Dubai. But, also from how we are developing the brand globally, and being able to use Viceroy Dubai as a platform for initiatives, whether they are technological initiatives of how we take bookings or interact with guests.
“But, also how we are going to be conceptually different or deliver service differently,” adds Svensson.
He continues to say: “We’re going to be something different. We’re bringing an LA or Miami vibe, we’re not going to define it but it’s going to be different.” So different, in fact that the hotel has banned fruit bowls from its rooms. The hotel will even have a lifestyle team with a lifestyle relations manager to forward plan their guests’ visit and surprise them with what they need.
The hiring process, however, wasn’t easy. “We didn’t just want to hire people from the hospitality industry. Of course that is important but we wanted to hire staff that also had the same personality as the hotel. Someone fun, energetic, lively and attentive. We did a tremendous amount of training in the pre-opening phase and we went out and recruited really strong managers and supervisors right down to the lowest rung,” adds Svensson.
Agreeing with Svensspn, Director of F&B David Hirber also believes that staff is of the utmost importance when running a hotel.
“Our motto when it comes to staff is that we need to be with them and part of them. We spend day and night with our teams as we establish together, train and work over and over again. It is very important to us to highlight everyone’s personality, guided by our Viceroy ideology and make them feel part of our special team and Viceroy community,” he says.
Tasked with delivering this massive recruitment drive was director of learning & development Marcelo De Paula, who reveals that the team was handpicked from scratch.
The process began with the “We Will Find You” campaign, which saw over 5,000 CVs, of which 2,000 were selected for a recruitment event. During this stage, candidates were challenged to a three round sequence.
Starting with the vibe room, applicants were asked to interact with each other and either build a balloon sculpture or use props to take the ultimate selfie.
From here, the conversation room asked a selection of ‘you’ questions from ‘who are you’ to ‘what stops you’ before applicants moved onto the speed dating room, where candidates answered six questions based on the hotel’s competency framework. These questions were structured to check ability and attitude in line with the hotel’s ideology and the area of expertise they want to work in.
Svensson notes that “following the rigorous recruitment, a team with an intuitive, genuine and knowledgeable approach to service were selected, chosen due to their ability to build a rapport with guests and deliver friendly, attentive and welcoming service”.
On this front, Walshe reveals that Svensson hired a theatre improv company to manage the recruitment and training, “and that helped our colleagues to develop this spontaneity, the ability to react to the unexpected, to engage with people, to inject humour in the conversation”.
“It’s the staff that make or break the hotel. You can have the best architecture, design, room, and amenities but if you don’t focus on your staff, people will not come back to your hotel. They keep me young and millennial-minded,” reflects Svensson, showcasing that that’s exactly how he wants guests to see the property.
MEET THE TEAM: Viceroy Palm Jumeirah Dubai
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