CREATING a team that gels is one of the biggest challenges facing hoteliers today, according to Pam Wilby, general manager of the upcoming Grosvenor House West Marina Beach by Le Meridien.
Wilby, who is also at the helm of Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort & Spa, said, “We have bypassed many of the biggest challenges – creating a team that gels. In contrast, this is probably one of the most well-oiled pre-opening teams that the region has seen – and the operative word here is ‘team’, as they have worked together for years.”
Her pre-opening team is made of 22 key senior managers of Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort & Spa, including Wilby as general manager of both properties. The team has had decades of experience and was extensively involved in doubling the inventory of rooms at Le Royal Meridien from 242 to the current 500 as well increasing the number of restaurants and bars to 13.
Wilby explained: “We have been lucky in that the groundwork of team-building has already been in place, which has meant other processes have run far smoother. Contacts with suppliers in the market are long-standing, as are sales, marketing and recruitment channels. Now, our most pressing task will be trying to map out the future of a location – Dubai Marina – and our service offering. We see it as anticipating a lifestyle, and creating lifestyle support. It is this out-of-the-box – yet realistic – thinking that will see the team’s vision come to fruition.
“Creating new benchmarks will also be challenging: levels of hospitality in Dubai are already extremely high already, so the team has to scale considerable heights to justify the grand-deluxe positioning we believe will fit the property.”