Hotelier Awards 2018 shortlist: Concierge/ Guest Services Person of the Year

There are eight shortlisted candidates within the Concierge/ Guest Services Person of the Year category for the 2018 edition of the Hotelier Middle East Awards. Find out who they are!

Click through to find out who has been shortlisted this year...

Ali Riaz, concierge supervisor, Nikki Beach Resort & Spa Dubai

Ali Riaz has been a valuable asset at Nikki Beach Resort & Spa Dubai especially when he handled concierge area & on the move (bell desk) in the absence of a chief concierge for three months. Riaz’s contribution to the guest experience team has generated numerous positive comments from guests for his dedication and professionalism at work.

Amr AbdelAziz Baragith, front office manager, Mövenpick Hotel & Apartments Bur Dubai

One of the first achievements for Amr AbdelAziz Baragith was related to guest segmentation and scores. With the hotel mainly being a business-related facility, the property has witness a rise in German tourists. With the hotel sometimes receiving more than 150 German tourists, Baragith worked to smoothen the front office operations to match all German guests’ needs by allocating German speaking receptionists during the check-in process in order to ease the communication, offering welcome drinks and cold towels personally so he could introduce himself and also arranged additional shuttle buses to mall and beach.

Ephraim Varel, rooms division manager, Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham JBR

Ephraim Varel worked on exceeding the incremental target through upselling and late check out. He also improved guest sentiment scores especially through check-ins. Varel also demonstrated exemplary dedication to his job through guest relations on many occasions. On one such occasion, an old couple, who were visiting Dubai for the first time, were short-changed with a low currency exchange rate, Varel took up the issue to personally rectify the problem which the guests greatly appreciated.  

Janice Soro, leasing manager, Fairmont Dubai

Janice Soro joined Fairmont Dubai in 2006 as a front desk agent, and was promoted to a front office coordinator’s role two years later and in 2010, showed interest to join the finance department as an accounting administrative assistant. In 2011, she was promoted to residences’ clerk role and two years later became an assistant leasing manager, overseeing eight colleagues and manning the residences reception desk. Through her work, Soro has successfully maintained a 95% occupancy year-on-year across the residences and office units, which resulted in an all-time highest score of 98% in the year-end guest satisfaction survey.

Manasi Patkar, assistant front office manager, Hilton Garden Inn Dubai Al Muraqabat

Manasi Patkar, through her role, takes initiative to provide training to her team on guest service skills, which is one of the biggest factors that helped her maintain a consistently high SALT score since the time she has joined the property.

Nashon Mwamba, guest service manager, The H Dubai

Nashon Mwamba joined Movenpick Hotel Deira in 2011 as a doorman after visiting a friend who worked in the same hotel. A year later, he moved up the ranks as a concierge. Mwamba managed to create a triple win situation for all stakeholders by marketing Dubai Parks & Resorts tickets to the hotel guests. As a project leader, he built special room packages including discounted passes for families that not only increased leisure guests' satisfaction and loyalty but also helped to sustain revenue growth. Earlier this year, his efforts allowed the hotel to achieve the highest score in the LQA audit since the hotel's opening.

Sahan Sameera, concierge manager, Raffles Dubai

Sahan Sameera was recently awarded the prestigious “Les Clefs d’Or” membership and received his golden keys in an official ceremony at the hotel. The service provided by him and his team reflects in a very high guest satisfaction score for 2017 and Sameera personally scored a clean 100% in the 2017 Leading Quality Assurance Inspections. The high quality services has generated a large number of recognition for him and his team on social media and guest back.

Vinay Govande, front office manager, Taj Dubai

Vinay Govande strives to meet the hotel’s arrival standards for all guests which has resulted in a very high year-to-date arrival experience score and same can be said about the departure scores. This has also been highlighted on many guest feedback forums and has helped to drive the overall ratings of the hotel.