The GM of Downtown Rotana – Manama takes five minutes to chat with us about career goals, family feelings and the celebration of an important milestone for the hotel.

What made you choose a career in hospitality and how did you get started?

I’ve always been fascinated with discovering the world and travelling to places far from home. When I was a kid, I would look at my Earth globe and pin the Far East as my favourite destination, furthest away from France [his home country]. During family summer holidays, I used to enjoy looking at the sports and luxury cars parked at a five-star hotel located close by and was fascinated by all the activities which always seemed to be happening inside. I wanted to be part of it. Later, the natural choice was to go to a hotel management school before I applied for my first job abroad, where I have worked my entire career. [The 25-year hospitality veteran has held posts from the United Kingdom to the USA, Macau, South Korea, Hong Kong and the UAE.]

You have worked at five-star properties across the world, what distinguishes Downtown Rotana – Manama from the others?

A real sense of belonging to a bigger family has always been felt amongst colleagues and guests, and this has been enhanced over the last year amidst the challenges and fears everyone faced. The genuine care and generosity displayed by everyone to support each other, especially to people who needed it the most, was noticed on many occasions. I could give numerous moving examples of times I saw colleagues supporting each other operationally or in their personal lives. This sincere care, and sense of belonging also extends to our guests and partners, which I think distinguishes Downtown Rotana from others.

The property is marking its fifth anniversary this year. What would you say has been the greatest achievement in that time?

Since the opening of Downtown Rotana, the team and the hotel have received many accolades. The greatest tribute must be the fantastic recognition we receive daily from our guests, and this is reflected in our extraordinarily high ratio of returning guests which increases year on year.

What is your favourite part of your job?

As any hotelier will tell you, guests’ and colleagues’ satisfaction is hugely rewarding. I find the competitive environment very exciting and I really enjoy seeing the team being creative and taking risks to be competitive. Ultimately, it is all about making guests happy by exceeding their expectations and by keeping staff highly motivated, which is extremely rewarding. Life in a hotel is incredibly rich, incredibly exciting and never boring. No day is like any other.

What are your plans for the future at Downtown Rotana – Manama, are there any new deals, refurbishments, dining offers etc. on the horizon?

We are about to celebrate our five-year anniversary. Although the restrictions in place may not allow us to offer the same variety of promotions as last year, we will still reward our guests with exciting offers. One of them will be the launch of our five new themed set lunches at Teatro Downtown. At the same time, we will continue to revamp our well recognised themed Friday Brunch and offer customised room packages for local, regional and international markets, catering to both business and leisure needs. ✤