A wonderful journey with the Four Seasons brand, his plans for the Bahrain property and his ideal vacation are some of the things Jason Rodgers, the new General Manager at Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, shares.

You started your career in 1998 with the Four Seasons brand and have worked with them for all these years. In a way, you’ve grown with the brand. What about its culture and ethos has kept you connected to it?
At Four Seasons, we put our people at the centre of everything we do and this has not changed or waivered over the past 60 years. We try to create the same wonderful experiences for our staff behind the scenes that we do for our guests each and every day. Attitude is the key ingredient for a successful Four Seasons employee and we want them to bring their own culture and uniqueness to our guest experience and not be robots.

It’s only been a few months since you stepped into your role as the General Manager? You must have a vision for the property. Tell us about it and how do you intend to realise it?
As a brand, we are about quality, intuitive service and creating lasting memories for our guests, all curated by an inspired and dedicated team made up of more than 40 nationalities, and this will not change. We work with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, and the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority to continue to promote our destination to the world, find new markets to visit Bahrain and increase the market diversity. We also continue to add product enhancements at our hotel. Our upcoming project, 180 at the Beach, will provide our guests with year-round Arabic cuisine. And, we keep investing in service excellence to offer our guests a more memorable experience with us every time.

Do you have a routine when it comes to day-to-day operations at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay?
The thing I love about my job is that every day is different and you need to be flexible and adaptable to change due to the lastminute nature of the hotel business. The best part about my day is being on the floor, meeting with the team members all over the hotel and interacting with our guests from breakfast time through to dinner time. The hours can be long and unsocial sometimes but are truly rewarding when you receive great feedback from guests about their experience and the positive comments about the wonderful team we have.

As a tourism professional, how would your ideal vacation be and where would you spend it?
My ideal vacation would be spent with the family and enjoying the outdoors, which has to include playing golf for me and my two boys, experiencing the culture of the destination and, most importantly, enjoying the food! We always like to travel to new places, enjoy new experiences and try as much of the local food as possible.

Hospitality can be a demanding field especially with the long hours. How do you balance this with quality time for family and yourself?
It is hard sometimes as this is a 24-hours-a-day, seven-daysa-week, 365-days-a-year business, which never closes or stops and neither does my phone! I am blessed to have a very supportive wife and kids who have explored the world with me during the course of my Four Seasons career, which started when I left Australia 25 years ago. The key is to make time for important events and make the most of the times you do have together as a family. I am also truly lucky to have such a wonderful and supportive team that I work with on a daily basis and I know the hotel is in great hands even when I am not here. ✤