ROUND TABLE: Guest relations

Asmae El Haddad

What originally attracted you to work in guest relations?

Yvonne Boots: The University where I studied International Hospitality Management, CHN University in the Netherlands, constantly taught me the importance of guest satisfaction.

Besides all the theory they basically teach you in four years a way of thinking: make sure that every one leaves the hotel with a smile on his or her face.

During my internship at Courtyard by Marriott I realised how passionate I was about Guest Relations. Working as Guest Relations supervisor means that I have a freedom to go beyond expectations via innovative and creative “signature touches”.

Mary Lou Ortega: It is really nice to know that colleagues from previous hotels had enough confidence in me to recommend me for the job and I have found that I love what I am doing and it is now deeply ingrained in me to be of service to others. When I see a satisfied guest, it just means double the satisfaction for me as well.

Oscar Van Der Veen: Working in guest relations seemed like a natural progression. I originally started my career in luxury retail in London and Sydney, and then moved into the airline industry. Hotels encompass a lot of similarities to the retail and airline industry and with my passion for the luxury industry; Jumeirah Beach Hotel was an obvious choice.

Wojtek Orlewicz: I like challenges and people too. You have to have these two characteristics to even want to apply for this job. Additionally working in guest relations gives one a sense of freedom as you are not stuck behind the desk all day and have a great sense of responsibility. What can I say; I like to have a new challenge and everyday. Dan Benzaquen: I have always been attracted to the guest relations, I was born in the hospitality and was educated in serving and pampering people.

Esra’ Omari: Communicating with the guest face to face to be able to get to know about various personalities and cultures.

Asmae El Haddad: I’ve always wanted to be in direct contacts with guests and that was the reason I joined the cabin crew institute back home four years ago, even though I am not flying now but still I am in the place where am interacting with different guests on a daily basis and I am really enjoying the day to day tasks which are never getting boring as you have to deal with so many different tasks and this makes it interesting.

Story continues below

How did you get into the job?

Yvonne: As mentioned before I started at Courtyard by Marriott as trainee, about a year and half ago. During my traineeship at the front office, I set up the complete “Pre-arrival experience” and “Virtual Concierge” but also I started getting guest relations agent responsibilities. Directly after my traineeship Courtyard by Marriott asked me to stay and they offered me full-time employment as guest relations supervisor.

Mary: I started my career in Dubai as a telephone operator. The position helped me first to become confident in talking to people, listening to their requests and complaints carefully. This is where I started to understand the flow of the hotel industry, and I do believe that being a telephone operator is the first and, in my case, the best avenue to learning everything about a hotel, about the area where the hotel is located and getting to learn about guests and guest service. It inspired me to continue asking questions and learning more and more and filing all the information away for the future.

I became so enthusiastic to learn the job of front office receptionist/cashier and reservations that I began my cross training during my free time. It all eventually paid off because one morning as I reached my job, I was offered the position of a reservations supervisor by my department head and I jumped on it. As time progressed and I was fortunate to learn more and more about my chosen profession and industry, I had the opportunity to move into my present position here at the Radisson SAS Resort in Sharjah and I was honoured to become part of such a prestigious family of hotels.

Oscar: I started my hotel career as business development manager, where I made sure that all my guests and partners received VIP treatment, looking after their preferred room allocations as well as amenities. After several years my passion for service drove me to work within operations as I wanted to be closer to the guest.

Wojtek: It was autumn in Poland during where I was a young smiling, energetic, completely in love with “Faulty Towers” student, and I met Sanne Emborg. She held the post of director of rooms at the time and I was filling in for the front office manager during my interview at the Marriott Executive Apartments Dubai Creek. I got the job and fell in love head over heels with the atmosphere, the wonderful guests and fellow colleagues.

Dan: In my previous assignments, I always was involved in the guest relations department therefore when I joined the Mövenpick Hotel Bur Dubai I made it my next step, I wanted to become the guest relations manager of this property to continue caring about our regular guests and nurture them as much as a 5 star can and improve the quality of our services.

Esra’: I was promoted from guest service agent into guest relation after showing interest and potential for this position.

Asmae: After my graduation my young age did not allow me to be a cabin crew so following recruitment trip of Jumeirah group to Morocco I have decided to take this challenge till the time where I will be able to fly. However, later on I totally changed my mind and decided to stay on the ground where I can have a normal life.