Sales boost for Arabian Park Hotel

HotelierMiddleEast.com speaks to Arabian Park Hotel's new recruit Tom Rhodes to find what he plans to bring to the property's growing sales team.

This is your first role in the hotel industry. Why did you want to enter this sector?
Since leaving university I have been lucky enough to gain valuable experience in the hospitality industry by participating in organising events at The British Open and British Grand Prix. The challenge of ensuring all operations are running smoothly, the personal interaction with the guest, ensuring all requirements are met, and the fact we can always improve, are some of the reasons that motivate me to continue to expand my experience and develop new skills in my latest challenge of working in the hotel industry.

What skills and experience will you bring from your previous role at Nuffield?
At Nuffield I combined a dual role of working in the sales team with shifts as duty manager and the experience I have gained from these roles I intend deploy here in Dubai. I particularly enjoy and thrive on personal relationships and dealing with clients on a one to one basis. This enables me to form strong, long lasting relationships with all accounts, which is an obvious help in driving sales.

I believe that one of the main characteristics required in order to succeed in a competitive sales environment is the ability to listen, and quickly establish what the exact client needs are to be able to provide them with exactly what they want, or to advise them on the options available. Failure to do this may result in not fully delivering on all of their requirements, leading to customer dissatisfaction which in turn runs the risk of losing future business.

What specific responsibilities will your role as sales manager entail?
Predominantly my role at Arabian Park Hotel will consist of building relationships with our existing corporate client base, and forming new accounts in the market.

I shall also be working with local travel agencies, and I look forward to being able to develop strong working relationships with all of my accounts. One particular area that I am looking forward to is working with the sports management companies in Dubai. With my experience of running a leisure complex, together with Arabian Park Hotel’s close proximity to many sports grounds and stadiums in Dubai, I hope to be able to encourage sporting teams to stay at Arabian Park Hotel.

There is a strong sales team here, led by Rohit Rattan, and with two sales managers recently appointed we relish the opportunity to expand our accounts in the market. I firmly believe we can further capitalize on the Arabian Park brand and continue to differentiate ourselves in the market as the premier three-star hotel in Dubai.

What in your opinion are the key selling points of Arabian Park Hotel that you will be focusing on?
Arabian Park Hotel is an affordable mid-market hotel offering full service facilities around the clock, that cater perfectly for both the business and leisure markets. We are centrally located, just 10 minutes away from Dubai International airport, 10 minutes away from the Dubai Exhibition Centre and just five minutes from the business district and WAFI.

We offer complimentary shuttle buses to the Dubai exhibition centre, Dubai International airport (Terminals 1 & 3), Dubai Museum, Jumeirah Open beach and regular trips to WAFI where guests can take full advantage of 250 international retail shops, the fantastic Khan Murjan, exclusive health and leisure facilities as well dining options at more than a dozen award winning restaurants and bars.

Once here, guests can take advantage of our 24-hour Business Centre, offering three conference rooms, internet access, and a secretary to assist with any administration requirements, unique lounge/library areas on each of the seven guest floors, a well equipped gymnasium and a temperature controlled outdoor swimming pool.

Other 24 hour facilities include room service, concierge and currency exchange as well as our very popular Deli, offering a selection of freshly made sandwiches, salads, juices and smoothies as well as guest amenities and souvenirs.

The outlook for 2010 is challenging, with very short lead times continuing and even more competition in Dubai. How will you tackle this challenge?
By continuing to ensure that we are benchmarking ourselves closely with our competitive set, being realistic with our pricing strategy to ensure we are offering great value for money stay, and through gaining important feedback from our guests to ensure that we are listening to their needs and requirements so that we are aware what it is that makes us the right choice for them.

We need to ensure we respond to all requests straightaway, as with the shortened lead times, clients will be agreeing to the first fair offer put to them. We need to make sure we are doing everything we can on a daily basis to make sure companies are aware of the Arabian Park Hotel – in terms of guest experience this relies on word of mouth as a way of promoting Arabian Park Hotel, from a sales team point of view this means that our relationships with our travel and corporate partners will be very important. We must ensure that we are informative by providing relevant information in accordance with their requirements, flexible and adaptable not only in terms of our of offering and price point but also in terms of the client service that we offer.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
This is the first time I have worked abroad, experiencing different parts of the world and different cultures, is something I wish to do more of. I am just starting out on my career path, and in 10 years time I don’t know where to see myself, but I hope to be happy and secure in my role, where ever it may take me.