The Cristal Group (Cristal Hotels & Resorts Management L.L.C.) is headquartered in Abu Dhabi and delivers world-class hospitality consultancy, technical services, asset management & brand management services. As Cristal Hotels & Resorts, it currently operates hotels in the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Lebanon, and the Comores.

As an interim hotel general manager, I'm currently tasked with taking over and turning around a 79 rooms & suites boutique property in 'new' Dubai. Reporting directly to the Cristal Group's COO, I am overall responsible for all hotel operations and overseeing the reflagging process.

I’ll be on-site for 4 – 8 months; long enough to define the problem, establish the solution and strategy, launch it and assist with a permanent replacement for myself. I bring knowledge and expertise to a problem or situation where there is neither time nor suitable personnel in-house.

For more information about the Cristal Group, please visit http://www.cristalhospitality.com/ or check out http://iconsulthotels.com/interim-management/ for more details about Iconsulthotels' interim management services.

Synergy University is Russia’s leading private university with over 35000 registered students possessing an unparalleled network of campuses across Moscow, 11 Russian cities, the CIS, UK, Singapore, and Dubai.
Synergy University is an innovative institution for higher education aimed at combining traditional academic teaching with fundamental knowledge and practical orientation. Licensed by The Federal Education and Science Supervision Agency (Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation), Synergy University’s MA & MBA Programs are internationally accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA, UK).

I currently lecture in the Bachelor of Arts in Hotel & Restaurant Management Program and the Masters of Arts in Hotel & Restaurant Management Program. The undergraduate program has been developed for graduates of schools and colleges who are planning to work in the hospitality and food & beverage industries as well as for specialists who are already working in the industries and would like to improve their qualifications.
The postgraduate program has been specifically designed to improve the professional skills of middle and senior managers working in the Hospitality and Food & Beverage Industry.

Courses covered:-
BA: Technology & Service Standards in the Hospitality Industry
MA: Design & Setting Up of Hotel and Restaurant Business Enterprises; Design and Starting Companies in HORECA

For further information about Synergy University Dubai, please visit http://synergydubai.ae/

DM3 Institute is the Digital Marketing Institute’s regional partner for program delivery in the Middle East.

I currently lecture in the Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing. The course is fully accredited by the Digital Marketing Institute and mapped to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). I also lecture in the recently launched Social Media Marketing Certificate Program.

Members of DM3 Institute's regional panel of lecturers are passionate professionals who are eager to share their knowledge and train others to get the most out of the opportunities the digital world has to offer.

I have also assisted DM3 Institute with launching their first industry-specific digital marketing course: Digital Marketing for Hospitality. I created the entire syllabus and I am the senior lecturer for the Institute's hospitality programs.

For further information about DM3 Institute, please visit http://dm3institute.com/

Purveyors of fine PR, social/digital media, and operations management solutions to the international hospitality & service industries since 2011.

Iconsulthotels is an ultra-boutique consulting firm specialising in assisting small & medium hospitality & service industries companies to achieve their business goals through innovative use of PR, social/digital media, and customised business strategies.

Specialities: Sales Representation, Social Media & Online Communications, Public Relations, Online Guest Engagement, Interim Management, Revenue Optimization, Customer Relationship Management, Personal Branding, Online Reputation Management, Training Programs & Workshops, Boundless Creativity, Speaking Engagements, Graphic Design, Brand Communication.

For further information about Iconsulthotels, please visit www.iconsulthotels.com, or check out www.facebook.com/iconsulthotels.

A five-star hotel and hotel apartments property (member of “Worldhotels Deluxe Collection”) with 208 hotel rooms and suites and 272 hotel apartments, seven F&B outlets and C&B facilities for up to 60 pax. The property is Dubai’s first 100% European family-owned and operated five-star hotel.

Reporting to the Managing Director (Bonnington Group Middle East), I was overall responsible for all hotel operations.
Other responsibilities included consolidating the hotel's positioning and increasing the brand's visibility in the local market following the grand opening of the property in May 2010, building and maintaining market share in a highly competitive market place characterised by an oversupply of hotel rooms and recessive demand, assisting the hotel owners in implementing and managing strata law regulations and fractional ownership concepts for the hotel apartments, and regular liaison with local authorities and government offices.

Achievements included attaining "Top 30” ranking on TripAdvisor for Dubai overall and “Top 10” ranking for business hotels within six months of commencing soft-opening operations, successfully positioning the hotel as Worldhotel’s highest ranked Deluxe Collection property in Dubai, and achieving “Runner-Up – Best Serviced Residences” in the 2010 Business Traveller Middle East Awards. I was also actively involved in opening Dubai's first Irish Gastro-Pub (McGettigan's).

A five-star hotel and hotel apartments property (member of “Worldhotels Deluxe Collection”) with 208 hotel rooms and suites and 272 hotel apartments, seven F&B outlets and C&B facilities for up to 60 pax. The property is Dubai’s first 100% European family-owned and operated five-star hotel.

Reporting to the General Manager (Pre-Opening), I was responsible for all operations departments and actively involved in all other departments, e.g. Finance, Human Resources.
Other responsibilities included, setting up policies & procedures for all departments, direct & indirect procurement of operating supplies for all departments, putting together operating budgets and forecasts, recruitment of pre- and post-opening senior management team-members and devising, implementing and monitoring service recovery and consistent service delivery procedures.

Achievements included successfully covering the responsibilities of various department heads during the pre- and post-opening when the positions were vacant (e.g. Human Resources, Sales & Marketing, IT), managing a diverse pre- and post-opening team under difficult financial and operational circumstances with minimum supervision and guidance by the hotel owners and extended periods without key department heads, conceptualisation and implementation of @bonningtontower social media marketing strategy across Facebook, Twitter, Plaxo and the company blog, and putting in place five-star policies, procedures and service standards for the Bonnington Group’s first ever five-star and non-UK based property.

A flagship four-star deluxe hotel with 584 rooms, suites and penthouses, 21 F&B outlets and C&B facilities for up to 600 pax. At the time, the property was the largest Ramada hotel outside the United States of America. (The property was reflagged in 2012 and is now a Radisson Blu hotel).

Reporting to the Resident Manager, I was overall responsible for Front Office, Housekeeping, Business Centre, Laundry and Leisure Club departments and in charge of 250 employees from more than 15 different countries.
Other responsibilities included setting up and monitoring departmental budgets and compiling yearly departmental CAPEX requirements, monitoring and increasing guest satisfaction & brand standard scores, supervision the post-installation set-up and customisation process for OperaFS PMS, selecting and procuring SOE/FFE items for the suites and penthouses in the hotel’s new four-star deluxe “East Wing” and attending site meetings, liaising with contractors and managing the snagging process during the pre- and soft-opening of the hotel’s new wing.

Achievements included playing an important role in the successful pre-, soft- and post-opening of the hotel’s four-star deluxe “East Wing” (259 rooms, suites and penthouses) and in the upgrading and rebranding of the hotel from four-star to four-star deluxe (“Ramada” to “Ramada Plaza”), introducing various guest service initiatives and Doha’s first “executive female travellers” rooms & suites.

A flagship four-star hotel with 412 rooms and suites, four F&B outlets and C&B facilities for up to 300 pax. Together with the Ibis World Trade Centre, the hotel forms part of the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre complex and was the first Novotel to open in Dubai.

Reporting to the Director of Operations, I was overall responsible for Front Office, Business Centre and Health Club departments and in charge of 70 employees from more than 25 different countries.
Other responsibilities included setting up and monitoring departmental budgets, monthly P&L reporting, compiling yearly departmental CAPEX requirements, monitoring and increasing guest satisfaction & brand standard scores, managing the transition of the department from post-opening to regular operations (this included considerable changes in the department’s culture, restructuring and (re)training/coaching), and carrying out duty management shift across the Accor World Trade Centre complex(Novotel & Ibis, combined 622 rooms).

Achievements included lowering staff turnover between 1.5% and 27% YTY across different areas of the department, coaching team-members to win “Hotelier Middle East - Hoteliers’ Hotelier of the Year Award 2005” and “Discover Dubai – Concierge of the Month Award – May 2006”, and regularly managing occupancies in excess of 95% with more than 200 check- ins/outs per hour and high-profile/high-security events, e.g. World Travel Market and royal weddings.

A four-star, family-owned, city-centre hotel with 247 rooms and suites, Waterfalls Restaurant, Malt Bar, Internet Café and 14 meeting rooms with banqueting for up to 250 guests. (The property was sold by Bonnington in 2008 and is now a Hilton hotel).

Reporting to the Owners’ Representative, I was initially responsible for all Front Office operations and, later on, also for the Revenue & Reservations department.
Other responsibilities included setting up and monitoring departmental budgets, compiling yearly departmental CAPEX requirements, monitoring and increasing guest satisfaction, monitoring the workflow in all areas to ensure it is used to the benefit of the business and that expected standards are maintained at all times, and overseeing housekeeping operations during the Executive Housekeeper’s holidays.

Achievements included successfully changing the hotel’s PMS from Aremis/Portfolio to FidelioExpress (including initial feasibility studies, system configuration/installation and data-migration/live-load) , actively participating in the planning and opening of the hotel’s four-star deluxe townhouse-style extension (45 executive rooms, suites and penthouses), effectively restructuring the Reception and Reservation departments to introduce cross-exposure and multi-skilling, and streamlining the hotel’s e-distribution and web-marketing initiatives (e.g. first London hotel to regularly sell rooms on eBay).

A small deluxe city-centre hotel with a country house like atmosphere catering to business and leisure guests alike with 54 rooms and suites, Whites Restaurant with AA & RAC merit awards, Lounge Bar and 3 meeting rooms with banqueting for up to 25 guests.

Reporting to the Front Office Manager, I was jointly responsible for all Front Office areas.
Other responsibilities included implementing and monitoring monthly departmental training plans, tracking guest satisfaction, mystery guest and brand standard scores and implementing strategies for increasing service quality.

Achievements included increasing the number of guest comments collected in the hotel and implementing strategies for increasing the number of return guests.

A four-star, attractive period style hotel with 390 rooms and suites, Park Brasserie, bar, lounge, shop and extensive C&B facilities with 10 meeting rooms with banqueting for up to 120 guests. (The property was sold by Thistle in 2006 and is no longer a hotel).

Reporting to the Front Office Manager, I was responsible for all hotel operations between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Other responsibilities included liaising with airline crew operation centres in regards to crew accommodation, check-in/out, flight delays, etc., and controlling overbooking and co-ordinating book-outs.

Achievements included introducing a training plan and cross-training/multi-skilling for night staff and considerably increasing security for staff & guests by implementing changes in hotel access at night.

Business School research group specialising in research relating to the hospitality and leisure industries. Activities included pure and applied research and consultancy for a variety of clients in the UK and abroad, and postgraduate teaching and supervision. The Group later merged with the International Institute for Culture, Tourism and Development (IICTD).

Responsibilities included collecting data by administering surveys, interviews, or running research protocols, conducting general library research including literature searches and carrying out field studies in hotels and restaurants.

Achievements included co-authoring the article “The failure of ‘control’ in the hospitality industry”, published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management and publishing a thesis about the role of trade unions within the British hospitality industry.

A five-star traditional family-owned property (member of “Leading Hotels of the World”) with 352 rooms and 47 suites, 35 banquet and conference suites for up to 1200 guests and multiplex business centre. Garden Restaurant serving international cuisine, Trader Vic's for Polynesian specialties and cocktails, Palais Keller for Bavarian specialties, 7 bars, night club and piano bar.

I trained in the following departments: Reception, Concierge, Stewarding, Kitchen, F&B Service, C&B Service, Sales & Marketing, Finance, Housekeeping, Engineering, Purchasing/Stores, and Recreation/Leisure.