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AHIC Staff Accommodation Awards

The second annual Arabian Hotel Investment Conference Staff Accommodation Awards judge staff accommodation on a set of established criteria including leisure facilities and activities, food and beverage facilities, international communication and transport.

The shortlisted nominees were 2009 winners Hyatt Hotels for Sahari Village, Dubai; Gulf Hotel management company for Fairmont Dubai; Emaar Hospitality Group (EHG) for the Address Hotels and Resorts Dubai; and Jumeirah Group, which took home the coveted 2010 award for its staff accommodation complex Oasis Village in Al Quoz, Dubai.

Staff Accommodation Award Judges chairman Wahid Attala said: “The ability to create a home away from home, with sports activities, environmental concerns — all of these were things we were looking for. Most of the staff are from overseas and go on holiday every other year so it’s important to make sure that they are living in a good environment because this will reflect on the service provided in the hotels. If they are not happy or they are tired, it will impact on them as human beings and of course on the performance of work and how happy they are making the clients.”

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Outsourcing or in-house?

As staff housing plays such an important role in the hotel business, it is no surprise that there is much discussion around whether to outsource the management of such accommodation or to manage it in-house. Here’s what the experts had to say…

”Staff housing is well managed in-house. It allows us to better take care of housing facilities, furnishings and maintenance. It also gives us the flexibility to modify furnishing and fittings to the advantage of the staff members who are living in the staff accommodation.”
Pasquale Baiguera, general manager Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Media City

“We believe it is better to manage staff housing ourselves. We have good knowledge of our staff needs and, while we could communicate these to an external organisation, we know that a flexible approach is required because these needs can obviously evolve over time. We believe an outside-operator cannot provide this level of flexibility, simply because they are bound by contractual agreements.”
Amro Hussein, organisational development manager, Rosewood Corniche

“In the current financial situation, operators are reluctant to outsource the management of the staff housing, as outsourcing considerably increases the cost of operation and offers less control over the quality. On the contrary, in-house operation gives them more flexibility and provides more opportunity to utilise in-house resources and keep good quality control.”
Ehtisham Waris director of operations, Asia and the Middle East

Best Western International

“It is definitely better to outsource because in this case you get the benefit of economy of scales, flexibility, consistency in terms of product and service.”
Adline Batal, human resources and training manager, Coral Deira, Dubai

“I think it is really a choice that you make. I am aware that the guys who do the outsource business do a great job and certainly I wouldn’t say that they can’t do it or even that we do a better job, but personally I prefer to keep it in-house. I like the team spirit, having ownership and being responsible for it because it makes it more personal.”
Tom Meyer, director of operations, IHG, Dubai and area general manager, IHG Dubai Festival City

What can staff expect?

With so many staff living away from home, many hotels have concentrated on creating a community feeling by providing staff activities as well as facilities.

“We have created a special cricket pitch which is a big attraction. We also have a special emphasis on art, creativity and individual expressions which is a big plus for our staff,” says Adline Batal, human resources and training manager, Coral Deira, Dubai.

Tom Meyer, director of operations, IHG, Dubai and area general manager, IHG Dubai Festival City, spoke about the need to make people feel at home in staff accommodation, a nod towards the more personal touch which many hotels are adopting in order to ensure staff feel looked after within the company.

“In the recruitment process we will already be talking about who your colleague is who you’ll be living with, we will get you in contact with them by email. We deal with so many people who are travelling for the first time so the faster we can make them feel at home the better it is,” says Meyer.

And of course, facilities such as swimming pools, pool rooms and gyms will remain a major draw, and hotels have by no means abandoned the provision of quality staff facilities.

Abdulbasit Al-Hai, general manager of wasl Hospitality, says: “We have included a great number of amenities in Sahari Village including swimming pools, tennis courts, soccer field, gym, barbeque area, supermarket, clinic, terrace coffee shop, prayer rooms and a bakery. Effectively, these amenities create a true community feel and experience.”