Interview with: Brian Rafferty, Vice President - Engineering & Projects, Jumeirah Group, a speaker at the marcus evans EMEA Hospitality Summit 2013, on refurbishing hotels.

1. Interview with: Brian Rafferty, Vice
President - Engineering & Projects,
Jumeirah Group
“Refurbishing a hotel is completely
different from building a new one,
especially if done in a live environment,”
according to Brian Rafferty, Vice
President - Engineering & Projects,
Jumeirah Group. Hotel operators have
to take sufficient time to plan a project,
otherwise they could drive customers
away and damage their reputation, he
adds.
Rafferty is a speaker at the marcus
evans EMEA Hospitality Summit
2013, in Montreux, Switzerland, 11 - 13
November.
How should hotel operators decide
when to refurbish?
Generally, companies should do a soft
hotel refurbishment every seven years
and a full refurbishment every 10 - 12
years. Of course it also depends on the
quality of the build and materials used -
high quality always lasts much longer.
Hotels must be kept modern, current
and fresh-looking. Many companies try
to get every last penny or value out of
their property, taking too long before
they decide to refurbish. So timing and
keeping the customer experience at the
centre of every decision is critical.
What mistakes do they make when
refurbishing properties?
They underestimate the impact that the
works can have on an operating hotel.
They do not always consider how the
building will be accessed, the noise
level, and dust and disturbance in
general. They think of it as just a
regular building site, when people will
be on holiday and spending thousands
of dollars to stay in the hotel. It takes a
unique skill to understand these issues
and organise around them so that
disruption is kept to a minimum.
How should they plan such works?
They have to take sufficient time to plan
the project and not jump into it without
understanding the implications and
opportunities, good and bad, because
they impact customer satisfaction and
loyalty. If they plan it right and consider
the needs of hotel guests, they will buy
themselves some brand loyalty. If not,
they will drive customers away and do
their reputation a lot of damage.
Refurbishing a hotel is completely
different from building a new one,
especially if done in a live environment.
What service and experience are
guests looking for?
People are looking for a comfortable,
clean room, with IT services that are
easy to use without the need to call a
technician or wait an hour. They want to
open their laptop or iPad and get
connected instantly. I am a firm believer
in keeping technology as simple as
possible. They also want a good quality
TV experience and a broad range of
channels. The bathroom experience is
also important. These are some of the
areas we consider when designing or
refurbishing rooms. Our overriding
concern is to deliver what we call the
STAY DIFFERENT experience, which is
our brand promise.
The Burj al Arab, which is part of
the Jumeirah group, has come to
symbolise Dubai. What is your
“magic formula” and how can it be
replicated?
The Burj al Arab has become an icon. It
is a 202 all-suite hotel with extremely
high quality build. The product is so
superior that some call it a seven-star
hotel. The combination of product,
experience and iconic building means
many people aspire to stay there.
However, you can have a high quality
product but you have to work hard to
ensure a consistently excellent service
experience. That is the basis of
Jumeirah’s existence. We try to treat
guests individually, better than any
other hotel can.
It is hard to teach in college how
someone can be intuitive and impulsive
when it comes to service and satisfying
guest needs, but we have given staff
the authority and confidence to resolve
guest situations. Instead of going
through multiple layers of management,
they are empowered to make the
decision to satisfy the guest there and
then.
What differentiates properties from each
another is the guest experience and
service.
Refurbishing
a hotel is
completely
different
from building
a new one
Refurbishing Hotels Successfully

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About the EMEA Hospitality Summit 2013
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Switzerland, 11 - 13 November 2013. Offering much more than any conference,
exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed
industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive
networking event. The Summit includes presentations on crafting a distinctive guest
experience, driving ROI, adopting the latest design trends and integrating green
building strategies.
www.hospitalitysummit.com
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To view the web version of this interview, please click here: www.hospitalitysummit.com/BrianRafferty