Mr. Suman Bose. Mr. Suman Bose.

ATN chats to Suman Bose, newly appointed sales manager at Mercure Grand Jebel Hafeet Hotel to hear about his role.

ATN: What is your travel industry experience?
I have been in the hotel and tourism industry for more than 12 years. I started my career with Accor in Oman in 1998 and worked for a short period with Lotus Hospitality in Dubai, but it’s great to be back with the Accor family again.

ATN: What was your job before you joined this property?
I worked for a Destination Management Company in Dubai promoting the destination to the UK and Indian markets. It helped me to learn about travel agents and I also came to know what kind of rates other hotel chains were offering.

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ATN: What attracted you to this role at Mercure Grand Jebel Hafeet Hotel?
Since my hotel management college days I have been interested in sales and marketing. The Mercure Grand Jebel Hafeet Hotel is a unique hotel, close to Dubai, and this is what attracted me to the role.

ATN: What do you hope to achieve in this new role?
Given the current market scenario, my priority will be to look for new clients to boost sales to the hotel. Product information about this beautiful property has to be passed on to the corporate world.

ATN: What do you think will be the biggest challenges you will face in this role?
Dubai is still currently going through a financial crisis. This means the market is not quite ready to spend yet and is always asking us for the cheapest deals. That’s a challenge as far as I see it, as our service standards are very high.

The other challenge is that Mercure Grand Jebel Hafeet was a five-star hotel a few months back and now we are trying to get those stars back again.