We chat with the GM of Hilton Salwa Beach Resort & Villas to discover the man behind the luxury resort.

How did your career in hospitality start?
I always knew I wanted to be a hotelier or restaurateur from an early age. My father and grandfather were passionate about food and took me around Europe to experience new products from traditional to Michelin-starred restaurants. My first stint in hospitality was at the age of 17. I worked as a room service waiter at Sheraton in Brussels and moved on to Sea Grill which was managed by Le Divellec. I joined Hilton subsequently, and worked in several food and beverage (F&B) roles across three continents. I worked as a Banquet Manager, Food and Beverage Manager, Director of Operations in Egypt, General Manager in Madagascar, Regional Director of Food and Beverage in Dubai and Country Manager in Nigeria.

Did the recent restrictions and decrease in travel help you discover parts of Qatar that you had never explored previously?
With the travel restrictions, everyone has focused more on local tourism, discovering museums and cultural sites. Myself and my family went on a deep dive and visited some cultural sites up to three times, based on our desire to learn more about the Qatari culture. I really enjoyed visiting the Fire Station and loved their Picasso exhibition. I visited for the first time with my wife and went back a second time with my children. We also visited the Museum of Islamic Arts twice, particularly to see the astronaut collection. During all our visits, it was interesting to see that Qatar is deeply rooted in culture, customs and tradition.

What wisdom do you believe has helped you navigate your business during the pandemic?
We are navigating through this pandemic with a lot of agility and resilience. Our focus remains to spread the light and warmth of hospitality to our key stakeholders. We ensure we are always a step ahead of the competition by innovating and adding guest touch points that help us retain our position as Qatar’s leading destination hub. Another important factor that has helped us during this period is flexibility. The Government’s policies change frequently based on new Covid-19 discoveries. As such, we remain on alert to ensure we continually reimagine our product offerings and the way we interact with our guests. Additionally, we have implemented Hilton CleanStay – Hilton’s industry-leading standard of cleanliness and disinfection – to provide our guests with assurance and peace of mind.

As the GM, what is the most important thing you will do to ensure the hotel is a success?
Guests are at the heart of everything we do. My focus is to ensure that we think differently, adapt to the changing business environment and enhance the way we interact with guests by curating new touch points. It is important that we ask ourselves key questions around streamlining processes that are timeconsuming and error-prone due to manual ways of doing things. There is a need to develop talents that help us retain our position as the leading employer within the region. I reiterate to my team the importance of prioritising our key stakeholders – the guests and owners. For our guests, we explore and implement innovative, industry-leading concepts to drive guest satisfaction in these changing times. For our owners, my goal is to deliver solutions that drive bottom-line results, increase guest stays and create improved hotel operations for an unrivalled competitive advantage. I also want to reduce costs and ensure we are as optimised as we possibly can be so that we get better returns. In addition, my focus for Hilton Salwa Beach Resort & Villas is to track waste, ensure more accurate forecasts, leverage data and apply analytics effectively to reach our target audience.

What made you decide to pursue a career in the hospitality industry?
I have always had a passion for hospitality since i was young. I enjoy interacting with guests and putting a smile on their faces. Every day in this industry is memorable, fast-paced and ever changing. One of my fondest memories was when I worked on a special project as a Food and Beverage Director for Yas Island and Yas Central Markets in Abu Dhabi. I opened 32 restaurants in the space of 24 months, which was challenging but worth it. Working with a brand like Hilton that encourages young people to take on big projects like this, makes it worthwhile. When i worked as the General Manager for Transcorp Hilton in Abuja also, we had several heads of state from across the world visit. It was interesting to see that world leaders’ preference was to convene at Hilton. If i had to choose another career path, it would still be hospitality. ✤