Worldwide Hospitality Awards 2015

Michael Nugent Regional Director - Jordan

Best Hotelier

Personal Details and Introduction

Michael Nugent joined the Hospitality Industry at the age of 17 and has had an undiminished passion for hotels and the hotel business for the past 37 Years. With broad international experience, across multiple continents gaining exposure to all disciplines, he achieved his first General Manager role at the age of 29.

Michael considers that living in any international community, one should strive to put back more that you take out and to this end he has worked to deliver on that, by being an active committee member in both business and social organizations, wherever he has been.

Michael wants for all those who work with him in his role to start each day happy to come to work and to deliver excellent customer service from the heart. He also drives his team to deliver beyond the expectations of all the concerned stakeholders for a positive return on the investment. Michael Nugent Regional Director - Jordan Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts Career Main positions in Michael Nugent’s career

July 2015 – Present Mövenpick Hotels Jordan Regional Director - Jordan

Jan 2013 – Jun 2015 Mövenpick Hotel Ibn Battuta Gate and Oceana Beach Club General Manager

Dec 2009 – Dec 2012 Mövenpick Hotel Deira Pre/post opening General Manager

Jan 2006 – Dec 2009 Mövenpick Hotel & Apartments Bur Dubai General Manager

Nov 1999 – Dec 2005 Le Gulf Meridien Hotel General Manager

Sep 1996 – Nov 1999 Le Jeddah Meridien Resident Manager

May 1994 – Sep 1996 Le Meridien Hotel (formerly Forte Grand) Resident Manager Career Management Style

Michael has retained one simple business guideline throughout his career and has lived it each and every day, which is to ensure his teams are of the right caliber and mind set for the task in hand. He has also ensured that each and every team member understands their significance and value to the business. He learnt at an early age to surround himself with the right senior team, realizing that they would propel both him and the business, to success. His recruitment philosophy is equally consistent, in that he firmly believes we can all be coached and trained on the technical aspects of any role, however there has to be a spark of passion inside in the first instance, for us to deliver service excellence.

He often states that the most satisfying measure of his success, is to see those that have worked with him grow into successful leaders in their own right. He has also strived to ensure that in every Hotel he has worked at and subsequently moved on from, he is still remembered for his human qualities and his personal treatment of all the team as individuals, deserving of his full respect. Career Recognition by public and/or other professionals

Chairman of the British Business Association Saudi Arabia Eastern Province College Board of Governors Committee member Irish Business Network and Dubai Irish Society Charity fund raising - Various community projects DTCM Representative of Dubai 5 Star City Hoteliers

Hotel Description Category, Capacity, F&B Outlets and other facilities

The 14th century travels of the Arab explorer Ibn Battuta have inspired the authentic Arabian style of Mövenpick Hotel Ibn Battuta Gate Dubai. The 5 Star hotel features 396 rooms and suites, where intricate design details complement free Wi-Fi. Eight restaurants, bars and lounges invite guests to savour delicious cuisine from China, India, Arabia and the Mediterranean. Additional to gym, rooftop pool and spa the hotel guests enjoy complimentary beach access and transfers to Oceana Beach Club on The Palm Jumeirah. A ballroom, 11 meeting rooms, outdoor venues and a magnificent grand hall with its 88 giant lanterns offer the capacity to host unforgettable events or conferences. Business Performance Evaluation 2012-2015

• Global Turnover +21.07% • Gross operating profit +49.6% • Occupancy rates +9.11% • Average daily rate +12.24% • RevPar +21.42%

Business Performance What result(s) in recent years are you the most proud of?

• Adding over USD 4.35 million in revenue in my first year of tenure. • Delivering over 70% of the incremental revenue to AGOP. • Reducing employee turnover by 10%. • Increasing employee satisfaction by over 300%. • Driving RevPar by USD 30. Business Performance In the future, what are your objectives concerning both your personal career and the development of your hotel?

Michael considers that living in any international community, one should strive to put back more than you take out and to this end he has worked to deliver on that, by being an active committee member in both business and social organizations, wherever he has been. He has served as a Chairman of the British Business Group, Committee member of the Irish Business Network, Organizer of Inter Hotel culinary competitions and charity fund raiser by undertaking physical challenges such as adventure racing in the Himalayas and running the 2015 . He always states that whatever you do, do it 100% to the best of your ability or not at all and ensure that life is not taken too seriously.

Customer Satisfaction Evolution over the last 3 years

• Improved the company’s Guest Feedback Survey ‘email response program’ and this resulted in the highest survey response rate in the Middle East with 3349 responses in 2014 and 2378 in 2015 YTD. • Number one in Trust You score for Customer satisfaction, scoring 90% YTD in the Middle East and Asia region for Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts • Moved the Hotel from Rank 39 on Trip Advisor to be to be the ranked the Number 1 hotel in Dubai out of over 500 hundred hotels in a highly competitive hospitality environment. • Improved guest profile quality report from 91.3% to 97.1% 2013 VS 2014 and now in 2015 YTD 97.8%

Trip Advisor Ranking

2012 2013 2014 2015 YTD

52 39 12 1 Customer Satisfaction Have you set up a quality control programme in your hotel?

• The Quality assurance committee meet monthly to review and address customers satisfaction short fall trends. • Daily management review of all guest feedback from internal and public forums. • Each and every guest feedback acknowledged and personally responded to. • Twice yearly mystery external guest audits. • Monthly internal self-audits by quality assurance team. • Online questionnaires sent by external company to a daily random sample of guests • Monthly mystery call program for reservations and also Meetings and Events • Operational Audits covering all departments. • Courtesy calls to in house guests to ensure customer satisfaction • Face to face guest feedback. • Hotel is a certified Member of Green Globe (global certification for sustainable tourism)

Customer Satisfaction Percentage of overall costumer satisfaction

Active participation in social media, websites, hotel surveys and review sites helped us to learn from our guests. Based on these results and our internal message ‘Natural Enjoyment’, Michael has lead his team to achieve very high results in the Overall Satisfaction Index.

Below results indicate the percentage of survey responders who rated high on the overall satisfaction index.

Overall Satisfaction Index results

2012 2013 2014 2015 YTD

87.2% 86% 89.8% 90.8% Customer Satisfaction What is your personal implication in this quality process?

• Encouraged all the team to focus on the guests in a proactive, positive manner and ensured they felt trusted to make the decisions that were best for the guest and the needs of the business. • Created an additional separate seated check-in area for our guests to speed up the check- in and check-out process. • Enhanced the food and beverage quality and offering • Implemented high speed internet up to 8 GB to all our in house guests. • Reduced the number of smoking rooms to be 2 smoking floors instead of 3. • Included shuttle bus service to the malls during weekends. • Improved the guest satisfaction over all in the hotel by identifying key dissatisfaction points and eliminating them. • Added new hotel luxury cars for our guests use.

Staff Management What are the tools used to ensure employee training?

• Orientation training ensuring new team members understand the crucial importance of ensuring customer satisfaction from Day one • On job training done by departmental trainers • “Lobster Ink” training for operational areas (housekeeping, front office and F&B) • E-Cornell trainings available to all management levels • Behavioral trainings to improve and maintain the guest service standards • Cross training opportunities as part of development plans of Team Members • E-learning center trainings, mainly the branding training, to reinforce engagement • “Lessons in leadership” multi module program to improve supervisory and management levels • Mövenpick Business Academy corporate programs run twice yearly with multiple management programs for selected Team members Staff Management What are the tools needed to increase employee motivation and satisfaction?

• Celebration of Employee of the month award in recognition of consistent high job performance. • Employee of the year; winner get to travel to for a 5 day leisure trip. • Natural Enjoyment Heroes; Recognition of employees who demonstrated behavior at work in line with the company’s service ingredients. • Annual employee party. • Bonus scheme for all job levels. • Cross training opportunities for all job roles. • Employee committees, e.g. Housing • Regular team building events • Interdepartmental sports activities • Yearly Employee Satisfaction Survey • Birthday celebrations • Long service recognition • Team support for those in need in cases of natural disasters or bereavement etc in the team members home countries.

Staff Management Can you sum up your corporate vision about team management?

• Reinforcement of on job training as well as corporate training, in order to give the team members confidence in themselves to provide a high level of guest satisfaction, on their own initiative. • Fully open and transparent communications with the team on a monthly basis. General Manager and team members direct interaction without other management present to ensure an uninhibited exchange of views and ideas. • Reinforcement of product knowledge training • Reinforcement of Thank you cards and recognition initiatives for a job well done. • Regular team buildings and outings organized for the team, to improve the overall morale and well being. • Quality housing and accommodation provided. • Quality food served and the team consulted regularly to ensure satisfaction. Marketing and Communication Actions, campaigns, events to promote your hotel and increase its revenue.

• As part of his management activities at Mövenpick Hotel Ibn Battuta Gate, Michael, set about recruiting the right people in the roles as this was vital to drive the revenue and improve the flow through resulting in a $4.35 million increase in revenue and a $3.26 million increase in profit in the first year of his tenure. The marketing and advertising spend was revised and retargeted to ensure the return on investment materialised

• He understood the need to drive customer service to new levels and to raise the profile of the hotel, given its position on the periphery of the business and leisure districts. He embarked on a drive to deliver service that would encourage positive feedback on the many online forums available to consumers. The drive resulted in the hotel rising to Number one on Trip Advisor as the most preferred hotel in Dubai, in the face of high end top quality luxury competition from local and global brands. He also focused on the many aspects of social media with campaigns to keep the hotel relevant and in the mind of the tech savvy consumer. Marketing and Communication Do you participate in the local or national community life, and how?

• Michael has been active in local organizations, in every community that he has been in, both in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, however also the . He follows a simple belief that he should put in more that he takes out to from the local community. He has not only joined professional organizations, however has sat also stepped up for many years, on the relevant committees to play an active role in different portfolios. Michael has ensured that his participation is not just work related but also contributes to the social fabric of the local community, via charity initiatives and also organizing social events.

• Michael is a member of a number of running communities in Dubai. He is an active member that takes part in regular half-, marathons and triathlons taking place throughout the year. He also engages in running activities that help him raise awareness and funds for charity organizations. He has taken part in the Race the Planet challenge in the Himalayas raising funds for the Child Welfare Society in Nepal and also recently ran the 2015 raising funds to support research into Crohns disease. Marketing and Communication Are you a member of any professional association?

• Committee member of The Irish Business Network, a professional body representing the Irish business community in the UAE • Committee member of the Dubai Irish Society meeting the social needs of the Irish Community in Dubai • Member of the British Business Group • Member of the Russian, French, and American Business Groups • Committee member of the annual Green Box Culinary Competition supporting the promotion of Irish food products in the Middle East • Former Chairman of the British Business Group Saudi Arabia Eastern Province • Former Board of Governors for a local educational institution in the UK