“It is a time when people know they can let their hair down and enjoy a feel-good ambience. We tend to feature cabaret or circus types of acts, to enhance an atmosphere of ‘joie de vivre’.”
Another property with a tough previous event to beat is Mövenpick Hotel and Residence Bur Dubai.
“The ATM party last year was a great success, with foie gras stations, a human fruit dress, ice stations for live cooking and of course fondue galore,” commented the property’s executive chef Marcus Gregs.
“It was the first ATM party I did with the group, so it was my chance to impress — but now I have set the bar high,” he admitted.
“We are renowned for our food and that is why people come to our party, so that will not change at this year’s event,” he revealed.
“We tend to source our ingredients and specialties from across the globe, so I started ordering and finding products as early as February.
“We are teaming up with different suppliers so have been working on creating a synergy between our night and their products,” he added.
“The rest of the party details will remain a secret; ‘chocolate’ is all I will say, but trust me it will be one heck of an indulgent evening!”
Gregs is not alone in placing great emphasis on food and drink for the event, as The Address’ Yeung explains.
“We have been having weekly meetings since January 2009 with our F&B, operations and culinary teams to plan the special event,” she said.
“Together we have defined the logistics, critical path, menu, manpower and equipment required to host such an important party in a flawless way.”
However food preparation does not involve such military precision for all hosts.
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“As our party is considered more of a late party, we are not too challenged by a menu selection,” explained One&Only’s Louis.
Despite all the fun once the party is underway, there are undoubtedly challenges that come with organising such a high-profile event, he added.
“It has been an ever-growing event, even oversubscribed, you might say — and in our world of hospitality, it is very difficult to turn anybody away,” he said.
“However for safety reasons, we are forced to limit the guest list to 800 and keep it as an ‘invitation only’ event.”
The Address’ Yeung said that any issues which cropped up were overshadowed by the team’s excitement at hosting the property’s first ATM event.
“It is extremely exciting for us as a new hotel brand to have the opportunity to host such a fantastic and well-known event,” she said.
But Mövenpick’s Gregs pointed out that an ATM party was a pressure-filled occasion for the organisers, albeit an exciting one.
“Everybody expects a ‘wow’ event and of course you have to top the previous year’s offerings, so it is always a challenge to push the boundaries,” he said.
“This year as well there is the challenge of having a tighter budget, but still wanting to deliver quality and impress attendees.
“It’s also [a challenge] trying to outshine the other hotels in the city, because there is fierce competition over the three days of ATM,” he added.
But Gregs said despite this “element of rivalry between the hotels for attendees”, there was no antagonism between hotels holding parties on the same night.
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