00:00:01.197 –> 00:00:01.479
Anthony,

00:00:01.518 –> 00:00:03.540
I feel like today’s show is all

00:00:03.561 –> 00:00:04.843
about you making me feel.

00:00:06.165 –> 00:00:07.386
You didn’t use your pit bull today.

00:00:08.028 –> 00:00:08.428
I should have.

00:00:08.528 –> 00:00:09.048
I’m Anthony.

00:00:09.230 –> 00:00:10.531
Welcome to No Vacancy Lives.

00:00:10.871 –> 00:00:11.733
That’s my friend Glenn.

00:00:11.913 –> 00:00:12.654
You’re watching the number

00:00:12.755 –> 00:00:14.057
one show in hospitality.

00:00:27.725 –> 00:00:28.225
Hey, everybody.

00:00:28.265 –> 00:00:29.666
Welcome to No Vacancy Live.

00:00:29.686 –> 00:00:31.167
That is Anthony Melchiorri.

00:00:31.608 –> 00:00:32.768
I am Glenn Hausman,

00:00:32.829 –> 00:00:34.210
and this is a new shirt.

00:00:34.270 –> 00:00:35.070
How are you, Anthony?

00:00:35.631 –> 00:00:36.350
I like that.

00:00:36.451 –> 00:00:38.152
It’s a very Nordstrom-y looking shirt.

00:00:39.258 –> 00:00:40.378
Yeah, it is.

00:00:40.618 –> 00:00:41.018
Well, listen,

00:00:41.078 –> 00:00:42.658
I wanted to like elevate a

00:00:42.698 –> 00:00:43.819
little bit today because

00:00:43.878 –> 00:00:44.478
today’s going to be a

00:00:44.558 –> 00:00:47.439
really amazing show because, you know,

00:00:47.520 –> 00:00:48.679
I got a lot of bucket list

00:00:48.799 –> 00:00:50.140
items on places I want to see.

00:00:50.320 –> 00:00:53.140
And Dubai is one of those places, Anthony,

00:00:53.161 –> 00:00:54.000
because Dubai, you know,

00:00:54.021 –> 00:00:56.481
they really understand what luxury is.

00:00:56.740 –> 00:00:58.642
And I have a feeling what I

00:00:58.661 –> 00:00:59.421
think luxury is,

00:00:59.502 –> 00:01:00.822
is completely off the mark

00:01:00.841 –> 00:01:01.701
than what they think.

00:01:02.002 –> 00:01:02.281
Well,

00:01:02.762 –> 00:01:05.423
when in our lifetime outside of Vegas,

00:01:06.084 –> 00:01:07.585
Have you seen a town go from

00:01:07.885 –> 00:01:09.507
nothing to something?

00:01:09.906 –> 00:01:11.447
Vegas took 50 years.

00:01:11.548 –> 00:01:13.608
Dubai did it in 3.2 seconds.

00:01:14.489 –> 00:01:17.210
And it’s become the standard.

00:01:17.650 –> 00:01:19.311
And what Jerry is doing over

00:01:19.352 –> 00:01:20.433
in Saudi and stuff,

00:01:20.453 –> 00:01:21.933
they’re kind of doing what

00:01:22.793 –> 00:01:24.614
Dubai’s tried to do or has done.

00:01:25.254 –> 00:01:27.878
And one of my things I’m ashamed of,

00:01:28.418 –> 00:01:29.099
I’m ashamed of two things.

00:01:29.219 –> 00:01:29.359
One,

00:01:29.439 –> 00:01:30.962
I don’t speak Italian and I’m Italian.

00:01:31.403 –> 00:01:32.944
And two, I’ve never been to Dubai.

00:01:33.325 –> 00:01:34.227
So when people say, you,

00:01:34.246 –> 00:01:35.007
you’ve traveled everywhere.

00:01:35.028 –> 00:01:35.808
You’ve never been to Dubai?

00:01:36.069 –> 00:01:37.230
I’ve never been to Dubai.

00:01:37.290 –> 00:01:38.492
So we’re going to change

00:01:38.531 –> 00:01:40.234
that with an invite to his hotel.

00:01:40.614 –> 00:01:40.894
I know.

00:01:40.935 –> 00:01:44.656
Hopefully, we’ll be saying goodbye.

00:01:45.956 –> 00:01:48.576
Tom Rollins, Managing Director of Atlantis,

00:01:48.637 –> 00:01:49.456
the Royal.

00:01:49.856 –> 00:01:51.977
Beautiful new addition to

00:01:51.998 –> 00:01:53.578
the Atlantis Complex.

00:01:53.718 –> 00:01:54.397
Look at this beautiful

00:01:54.438 –> 00:01:55.558
picture here behind me.

00:01:55.599 –> 00:01:56.599
Opened just about a year now.

00:01:56.638 –> 00:01:57.459
Tom, welcome.

00:01:57.838 –> 00:01:58.319
How are you, man?

00:01:58.338 –> 00:01:59.019
Thank you so much.

00:01:59.179 –> 00:02:00.340
Wonderful to be on the show,

00:02:00.980 –> 00:02:01.599
Anthony and David.

00:02:01.640 –> 00:02:05.340
It was really a pleasure to connect today.

00:02:06.421 –> 00:02:07.102
Yeah, for sure.

00:02:07.441 –> 00:02:07.682
All right.

00:02:07.783 –> 00:02:08.663
So, Tom,

00:02:08.742 –> 00:02:11.284
I got to start off like right away

00:02:11.366 –> 00:02:13.948
by asking how on earth do

00:02:14.008 –> 00:02:17.150
you wind up in a place like this,

00:02:18.010 –> 00:02:19.973
the Royal in Atlantis?

00:02:21.229 –> 00:02:21.508
Well,

00:02:22.229 –> 00:02:23.588
it’s been an incredible journey

00:02:23.649 –> 00:02:24.830
really the last couple of years.

00:02:24.990 –> 00:02:26.409
And I’ve had the fortune of

00:02:27.150 –> 00:02:28.469
growing up in the industry

00:02:28.550 –> 00:02:29.871
and first starting up in

00:02:30.450 –> 00:02:31.550
fine dining restaurants

00:02:31.610 –> 00:02:33.850
back home in Belgium and France.

00:02:34.471 –> 00:02:36.072
And then having an amazing

00:02:36.151 –> 00:02:37.231
career around the world.

00:02:37.831 –> 00:02:39.012
Most of it actually opening

00:02:39.051 –> 00:02:42.032
hotels and reimagining

00:02:42.453 –> 00:02:43.812
hotels and destinations.

00:02:44.513 –> 00:02:46.032
So when the opportunity was

00:02:46.073 –> 00:02:47.794
presented to open Atlantis

00:02:47.813 –> 00:02:48.894
the Royal here in Dubai,

00:02:49.554 –> 00:02:50.993
It really was a dream come true.

00:02:51.093 –> 00:02:52.974
And it’s a project that

00:02:52.995 –> 00:02:54.854
really comes along once in

00:02:54.895 –> 00:02:56.314
a hotelier’s career.

00:02:56.335 –> 00:03:01.135
And probably a resort such

00:03:01.195 –> 00:03:03.015
as Atlantis the Royal maybe

00:03:03.036 –> 00:03:04.516
gets built once in a decade

00:03:04.616 –> 00:03:06.937
or even in a longer time

00:03:06.997 –> 00:03:08.736
frame somewhere in the world.

00:03:09.417 –> 00:03:11.397
And we’ve certainly had an

00:03:11.997 –> 00:03:14.337
incredible ride here at Atlantis in Dubai,

00:03:15.038 –> 00:03:18.118
whether it’s with the existing Atlantis,

00:03:18.199 –> 00:03:18.718
the Palm Hotel,

00:03:19.338 –> 00:03:20.118
whether it’s been with the

00:03:20.180 –> 00:03:22.881
expansion of Aquaventure, the water park,

00:03:22.920 –> 00:03:24.281
which is now the largest

00:03:24.320 –> 00:03:25.282
water park in the world,

00:03:25.301 –> 00:03:26.983
and then really the crown

00:03:27.022 –> 00:03:29.364
jewel in the last year,

00:03:30.044 –> 00:03:31.925
being able to open Atlantis

00:03:31.965 –> 00:03:34.485
the Royal to the world and

00:03:34.526 –> 00:03:36.366
showcase kind of the next

00:03:36.407 –> 00:03:39.668
generation of hospitality here in Dubai.

00:03:40.147 –> 00:03:40.407
You know,

00:03:40.427 –> 00:03:41.269
when you talk about next

00:03:41.288 –> 00:03:43.770
generation of hospitality,

00:03:43.870 –> 00:03:44.810
and you talk about it in

00:03:44.889 –> 00:03:46.550
terms of hotels and resorts,

00:03:46.931 –> 00:03:48.512
I want to talk about it in terms of

00:03:49.036 –> 00:03:50.157
One of the things that we’re

00:03:50.197 –> 00:03:51.217
trying to do is get people

00:03:51.276 –> 00:03:52.258
interested in hotel business.

00:03:52.298 –> 00:03:53.298
Now, I look at your job,

00:03:53.337 –> 00:03:54.838
and I’ve done everything, seen everything,

00:03:55.258 –> 00:03:56.539
and I’ve had an incredible career.

00:03:56.840 –> 00:03:57.820
But I haven’t had your career.

00:03:58.100 –> 00:03:59.320
And your career is something

00:03:59.540 –> 00:04:01.401
I am actually envious of

00:04:01.442 –> 00:04:03.502
because those jobs that you

00:04:03.562 –> 00:04:04.704
have are very select,

00:04:05.183 –> 00:04:06.305
and there’s a very select

00:04:07.284 –> 00:04:08.866
few people on earth that

00:04:08.925 –> 00:04:10.146
are asked to take those jobs.

00:04:10.266 –> 00:04:10.486
I mean,

00:04:10.507 –> 00:04:12.268
you’re one of the very few select

00:04:12.288 –> 00:04:14.248
people that are qualified for those jobs.

00:04:14.787 –> 00:04:16.968
So if you were talking to a

00:04:16.987 –> 00:04:18.548
14-year-old that wants to

00:04:18.588 –> 00:04:21.309
be a doctor or a lawyer or an accountant,

00:04:22.168 –> 00:04:24.689
why should they maybe take

00:04:24.709 –> 00:04:25.689
the track of a hotel?

00:04:26.129 –> 00:04:27.750
Because they see the busboy

00:04:28.110 –> 00:04:29.850
and the bellman and the front desk job,

00:04:30.230 –> 00:04:31.271
but they don’t see the big

00:04:31.310 –> 00:04:32.531
kahuna job that you have.

00:04:32.951 –> 00:04:34.951
They don’t see that far ahead.

00:04:35.012 –> 00:04:36.132
They’re like, oh, no, no,

00:04:36.172 –> 00:04:37.293
these jobs don’t pay that well,

00:04:37.432 –> 00:04:38.533
and I don’t want to be a

00:04:38.572 –> 00:04:40.192
busboy or a housekeeper or

00:04:40.213 –> 00:04:41.574
a front desk person or a manager.

00:04:42.113 –> 00:04:43.033
I want that guy’s job.

00:04:43.336 –> 00:04:44.257
But you can’t get that guy’s

00:04:44.276 –> 00:04:45.317
job unless you go through

00:04:45.358 –> 00:04:46.019
all the channels.

00:04:46.540 –> 00:04:47.800
And when you get that guy’s job,

00:04:48.081 –> 00:04:48.903
it’s a really good job.

00:04:49.403 –> 00:04:51.084
And even though you work your butt off.

00:04:51.425 –> 00:04:53.187
So what would you tell that 14-year-old?

00:04:54.189 –> 00:04:54.889
Well, Anthony,

00:04:55.069 –> 00:04:58.033
it’s funny how you were describing that.

00:04:58.093 –> 00:05:00.175
Because when I was 14,

00:05:00.175 –> 00:05:01.197
I actually had this…

00:05:01.920 –> 00:05:03.480
this grand vision of going

00:05:03.781 –> 00:05:05.000
into the hotel industry.

00:05:05.661 –> 00:05:07.201
And my parents thought it

00:05:07.242 –> 00:05:08.783
was a really bad idea at the time.

00:05:09.083 –> 00:05:10.122
And they said, well,

00:05:10.603 –> 00:05:11.843
every time everyone else is

00:05:11.923 –> 00:05:13.084
celebrating or sitting

00:05:13.105 –> 00:05:14.225
around the family table,

00:05:14.865 –> 00:05:16.045
whether it’s Christmas or

00:05:16.245 –> 00:05:17.586
whatever the holiday may be,

00:05:18.047 –> 00:05:19.107
you’re going to be working.

00:05:19.127 –> 00:05:19.427
You know,

00:05:21.528 –> 00:05:23.949
it’s an intense industry and not

00:05:24.009 –> 00:05:25.649
necessarily for everyone.

00:05:25.730 –> 00:05:26.949
But if you’re…

00:05:29.841 –> 00:05:31.161
happy to be of service.

00:05:31.302 –> 00:05:33.163
And if you really are eager

00:05:33.202 –> 00:05:34.463
to create memories and

00:05:34.504 –> 00:05:36.326
working with people for people,

00:05:36.446 –> 00:05:39.487
and if you are eager to see

00:05:39.507 –> 00:05:41.970
the world and really kind

00:05:42.050 –> 00:05:44.130
of be exposed to different

00:05:44.170 –> 00:05:45.331
cultures around the world,

00:05:45.798 –> 00:05:47.259
whether it’s traveling or

00:05:47.319 –> 00:05:48.641
working and so forth,

00:05:49.060 –> 00:05:49.942
there’s really no better

00:05:49.982 –> 00:05:51.783
industry than the hospitality industry.

00:05:52.403 –> 00:05:55.125
And I always am very eager

00:05:55.185 –> 00:05:56.826
to stand in front of these

00:05:57.266 –> 00:05:59.127
audiences because I always

00:05:59.187 –> 00:06:00.168
feel that there’s been

00:06:00.208 –> 00:06:01.369
somebody somewhere that

00:06:01.408 –> 00:06:03.771
gave me the opportunity to

00:06:03.810 –> 00:06:05.271
be of service and to…

00:06:06.225 –> 00:06:08.266
to be creating those memories.

00:06:08.987 –> 00:06:10.309
And at the same time,

00:06:11.509 –> 00:06:12.930
I’ve been given those opportunities.

00:06:13.009 –> 00:06:15.651
So I feel that if I can do it,

00:06:16.192 –> 00:06:16.932
anyone can do it,

00:06:17.112 –> 00:06:18.233
no matter where they’re from.

00:06:19.074 –> 00:06:21.735
But it’s a matter of being hungry,

00:06:21.776 –> 00:06:23.096
of being of service and

00:06:23.656 –> 00:06:25.057
really creating these

00:06:25.137 –> 00:06:26.038
extraordinary moments,

00:06:26.139 –> 00:06:28.360
no matter where you are or

00:06:28.399 –> 00:06:30.062
in which part of the world you’re based.

00:06:31.276 –> 00:06:31.476
Yeah.

00:06:31.617 –> 00:06:34.197
And, you know, you say of service,

00:06:34.218 –> 00:06:35.838
you know, Jerry Anzarello, our friend,

00:06:35.899 –> 00:06:37.939
says servant leader.

00:06:38.339 –> 00:06:39.220
What I like to say,

00:06:39.240 –> 00:06:41.021
and it’s taken me 40 years

00:06:41.060 –> 00:06:42.360
to figure out why I like

00:06:42.380 –> 00:06:43.161
this business so much.

00:06:43.701 –> 00:06:45.583
And I always say I don’t like everybody.

00:06:45.702 –> 00:06:47.122
I’m a person that, you know,

00:06:47.163 –> 00:06:48.264
I like being by myself and

00:06:48.283 –> 00:06:49.824
I don’t really I’m not

00:06:50.464 –> 00:06:51.105
everybody thinks I’m the

00:06:51.165 –> 00:06:51.725
social butterfly.

00:06:51.745 –> 00:06:52.324
I’m really not.

00:06:52.925 –> 00:06:54.165
But there’s one thing that I

00:06:54.206 –> 00:06:55.846
realized over a period of time.

00:06:55.906 –> 00:06:56.846
I probably realized it on

00:06:56.867 –> 00:06:58.947
this podcast is I like

00:06:59.187 –> 00:07:00.228
making people happy.

00:07:00.988 –> 00:07:01.168
Right.

00:07:01.648 –> 00:07:02.528
And that’s it.

00:07:02.767 –> 00:07:04.488
I just love making people happy.

00:07:04.569 –> 00:07:05.949
I don’t have to love you.

00:07:05.970 –> 00:07:07.370
I don’t have to be your best friend.

00:07:07.889 –> 00:07:09.550
But when you’re in my establishment,

00:07:09.711 –> 00:07:11.050
my number one job is to

00:07:11.091 –> 00:07:12.451
make sure you have everything you want.

00:07:12.531 –> 00:07:13.192
And I’ve never,

00:07:13.391 –> 00:07:16.072
ever been so upset or in a

00:07:16.153 –> 00:07:17.774
bad mood or things going on

00:07:17.793 –> 00:07:18.814
in my life or somebody’s

00:07:18.874 –> 00:07:20.495
upset me or guests that I

00:07:20.535 –> 00:07:21.834
did not want to make that guest happy.

00:07:21.894 –> 00:07:23.896
And so to me, if you have that,

00:07:23.956 –> 00:07:24.396
like you said,

00:07:24.435 –> 00:07:25.416
being a servant leader or

00:07:25.497 –> 00:07:26.156
being of service,

00:07:26.795 –> 00:07:28.117
making people happy and you

00:07:28.137 –> 00:07:29.357
have a few less brain cells

00:07:29.377 –> 00:07:30.677
than most people this is

00:07:30.697 –> 00:07:31.757
the industry for you

00:07:33.937 –> 00:07:34.778
because you have to be a

00:07:34.838 –> 00:07:36.399
little nuts when that

00:07:36.478 –> 00:07:37.600
flower behind you isn’t

00:07:37.620 –> 00:07:40.240
perfect or if that fork

00:07:40.300 –> 00:07:42.060
isn’t perfect or if that

00:07:42.141 –> 00:07:43.081
bedspread isn’t perfect

00:07:43.562 –> 00:07:44.762
people don’t understand

00:07:44.822 –> 00:07:45.581
what it does to us

00:07:45.661 –> 00:07:46.963
emotionally that it

00:07:47.062 –> 00:07:48.523
physically it physically

00:07:48.583 –> 00:07:50.004
stops us from being able to

00:07:50.103 –> 00:07:53.045
function and if you don’t have that trait

00:07:53.800 –> 00:07:54.961
This may not be the industry

00:07:54.980 –> 00:07:56.221
for you because that’s the

00:07:56.281 –> 00:07:57.541
level it takes that these

00:07:57.581 –> 00:07:59.442
things literally physically

00:07:59.663 –> 00:08:01.043
attack you that they’re not

00:08:01.084 –> 00:08:01.944
perfect because you know if

00:08:01.963 –> 00:08:02.665
they’re not perfect.

00:08:03.285 –> 00:08:04.925
I always say it’s not about the guest,

00:08:06.346 –> 00:08:07.387
this guest or that guest.

00:08:07.607 –> 00:08:09.788
You never know what upsets one guest.

00:08:09.908 –> 00:08:10.988
One guest might be upset by

00:08:11.009 –> 00:08:13.149
a dead petal on a flower.

00:08:13.490 –> 00:08:14.790
Another guest may be upset

00:08:14.831 –> 00:08:15.911
about a wrinkle on a sheet.

00:08:16.411 –> 00:08:17.031
It doesn’t matter.

00:08:17.091 –> 00:08:17.932
If everything’s perfect,

00:08:18.413 –> 00:08:19.192
everybody’s happy.

00:08:19.333 –> 00:08:19.793
Sorry, Glenn.

00:08:19.853 –> 00:08:21.053
I didn’t mean to hijack that.

00:08:21.416 –> 00:08:23.117
No, Tom, please respond.

00:08:23.137 –> 00:08:24.517
Then I got a question for you as well.

00:08:25.497 –> 00:08:28.038
No, it’s truly an honor.

00:08:28.278 –> 00:08:31.560
And I think those memories

00:08:31.620 –> 00:08:34.601
people are taking away from

00:08:34.741 –> 00:08:37.142
really us every day trying

00:08:37.182 –> 00:08:38.942
to achieve that perfection.

00:08:39.702 –> 00:08:40.744
And we may never achieve it,

00:08:40.943 –> 00:08:42.984
but I think it’s the effort

00:08:43.024 –> 00:08:45.865
that goes in into getting

00:08:45.946 –> 00:08:49.126
so close to that zero defect product,

00:08:49.206 –> 00:08:50.086
whether that is

00:08:50.523 –> 00:08:50.783
you know,

00:08:50.842 –> 00:08:53.284
the actual hard asset that we manage.

00:08:53.865 –> 00:08:56.046
Or really, I think more and more today,

00:08:56.566 –> 00:08:57.927
it’s about going above and

00:08:57.966 –> 00:08:59.947
beyond and finding, you know,

00:09:00.087 –> 00:09:01.068
what Forbes Travel Guide

00:09:01.089 –> 00:09:02.990
calls the golden nuggets, really,

00:09:03.009 –> 00:09:03.850
which is, you know,

00:09:04.071 –> 00:09:05.711
what do we know about this

00:09:05.751 –> 00:09:06.631
guest and what are they

00:09:06.672 –> 00:09:08.212
celebrating and why are they here?

00:09:08.613 –> 00:09:09.354
What do they like?

00:09:09.433 –> 00:09:10.333
What do they dislike?

00:09:10.374 –> 00:09:11.375
What are their preferences?

00:09:11.735 –> 00:09:12.855
And playing into that and

00:09:12.895 –> 00:09:14.056
going above and beyond and

00:09:14.437 –> 00:09:15.697
creating those surprise and

00:09:15.716 –> 00:09:16.498
delight moments

00:09:16.918 –> 00:09:18.320
there’s great fun in that, you know,

00:09:18.379 –> 00:09:19.461
but I think ultimately

00:09:19.923 –> 00:09:21.245
that’s what people remember.

00:09:21.605 –> 00:09:24.809
And to us, maybe that’s what we do.

00:09:24.909 –> 00:09:26.471
But oftentimes we hear of

00:09:26.532 –> 00:09:28.115
guests who come time and

00:09:28.154 –> 00:09:30.017
time again and say, wow,

00:09:30.057 –> 00:09:31.519
this just is incredible.

00:09:31.600 –> 00:09:33.001
What, what the team did and,

00:09:33.662 –> 00:09:35.884
And it’s about inspiring the

00:09:35.924 –> 00:09:37.027
team in many ways and

00:09:37.067 –> 00:09:38.729
allowing them to create

00:09:38.749 –> 00:09:40.191
those surprise and delight moments.

00:09:40.991 –> 00:09:44.076
And oftentimes, we may consider it,

00:09:44.135 –> 00:09:45.057
this is what we do.

00:09:45.538 –> 00:09:47.139
But to our guests,

00:09:47.240 –> 00:09:48.261
this is the reason why they

00:09:48.282 –> 00:09:49.062
come back time and again.

00:09:49.533 –> 00:09:53.475
Now, Tom, you’ve got so many resources.

00:09:53.515 –> 00:09:54.996
You’ve got a great team there.

00:09:55.317 –> 00:09:56.356
You’re very, very fortunate.

00:09:56.376 –> 00:09:57.437
There’s a lot of hoteliers

00:09:57.577 –> 00:09:59.379
out there that don’t have

00:09:59.438 –> 00:10:01.620
the same resources that you do.

00:10:01.679 –> 00:10:02.519
But what I like what you’re

00:10:02.600 –> 00:10:04.461
saying is really just about

00:10:04.520 –> 00:10:05.522
listening to the guests and

00:10:05.562 –> 00:10:07.783
providing solutions that

00:10:07.842 –> 00:10:09.984
make them happy to surprise and delight.

00:10:10.864 –> 00:10:11.565
What would you say to

00:10:11.625 –> 00:10:12.566
hoteliers that are sitting

00:10:12.625 –> 00:10:13.986
out there going, well, Tom,

00:10:14.287 –> 00:10:16.568
I can’t do what you’re doing,

00:10:16.870 –> 00:10:18.471
but how can they do what

00:10:18.571 –> 00:10:20.913
you’re doing at a typical select server,

00:10:20.932 –> 00:10:23.174
full service hotel throughout the world?

00:10:24.716 –> 00:10:25.756
I think it’s about human

00:10:25.797 –> 00:10:27.077
connections in the end of the day.

00:10:27.158 –> 00:10:28.559
And I think it’s about

00:10:29.059 –> 00:10:32.102
having the innate hunger to

00:10:32.745 –> 00:10:34.667
to create special moments.

00:10:34.767 –> 00:10:36.929
And that doesn’t need to be complicated.

00:10:36.990 –> 00:10:38.150
That doesn’t need to be

00:10:38.230 –> 00:10:41.114
necessarily in an ultra

00:10:41.153 –> 00:10:42.836
luxury hotel environment.

00:10:42.936 –> 00:10:44.958
Some of the best service we

00:10:45.038 –> 00:10:47.461
all experience may be on a

00:10:47.501 –> 00:10:50.164
beach bar in a remote part of the world.

00:10:50.664 –> 00:10:51.666
And it may just be those

00:10:51.725 –> 00:10:52.687
moments where it is that

00:10:52.726 –> 00:10:54.129
human connection and there’s that

00:10:54.650 –> 00:10:56.292
those moments that are being

00:10:56.352 –> 00:10:57.432
created that many years

00:10:57.513 –> 00:10:59.215
later we remember.

00:10:59.575 –> 00:11:00.495
Or it may be a moment

00:11:00.535 –> 00:11:02.197
whereby someone is in trouble or,

00:11:02.518 –> 00:11:02.817
you know,

00:11:02.857 –> 00:11:04.219
they lost their passport and who

00:11:04.259 –> 00:11:05.720
helped them at that particular time.

00:11:05.740 –> 00:11:06.260
You know,

00:11:06.301 –> 00:11:08.221
I think there’s many different

00:11:08.261 –> 00:11:09.403
settings and thousands and

00:11:09.442 –> 00:11:10.864
thousands of interactions

00:11:10.904 –> 00:11:11.845
that happen on a daily

00:11:11.884 –> 00:11:14.047
basis in any hotel or

00:11:14.086 –> 00:11:15.908
hospitality or restaurant operation.

00:11:16.369 –> 00:11:17.750
But I think it’s how we

00:11:17.789 –> 00:11:19.971
connect with those guests

00:11:20.052 –> 00:11:21.854
and how we kind of play

00:11:21.913 –> 00:11:23.534
into that in that particular moment.

00:11:24.048 –> 00:11:25.347
It doesn’t necessarily need

00:11:25.368 –> 00:11:28.269
to be in a larger operation.

00:11:28.809 –> 00:11:32.230
Anybody can kind of have

00:11:32.270 –> 00:11:33.530
those moments of

00:11:33.610 –> 00:11:34.410
understanding what the

00:11:34.431 –> 00:11:35.951
guest is looking for or the

00:11:35.991 –> 00:11:37.672
situation they find themselves in,

00:11:38.293 –> 00:11:39.273
and then kind of take that

00:11:39.332 –> 00:11:40.994
moment and either do their

00:11:41.014 –> 00:11:42.793
job or go above and beyond.

00:11:43.033 –> 00:11:44.615
And I think that’s why we

00:11:44.634 –> 00:11:45.894
choose the hospitality

00:11:45.934 –> 00:11:48.316
industry to go above and beyond.

00:11:49.184 –> 00:11:50.407
And that’s the, you know,

00:11:50.586 –> 00:11:52.509
that’s the fallacy that most people think,

00:11:52.528 –> 00:11:53.710
well, I don’t have the resources.

00:11:53.791 –> 00:11:54.331
I don’t have this.

00:11:54.370 –> 00:11:54.812
I don’t have that.

00:11:54.831 –> 00:11:55.712
I don’t have the employees.

00:11:56.192 –> 00:11:59.836
It takes one employee to change a behavior,

00:12:00.018 –> 00:12:00.759
a guest behavior,

00:12:00.818 –> 00:12:02.480
change one employee to make

00:12:02.520 –> 00:12:03.741
a memory to last a lifetime.

00:12:04.442 –> 00:12:05.082
And it really,

00:12:05.104 –> 00:12:06.404
you have to start with what you have.

00:12:06.465 –> 00:12:06.664
Right.

00:12:06.784 –> 00:12:08.067
And the number one thing,

00:12:08.147 –> 00:12:09.148
and I’m sure that you

00:12:09.268 –> 00:12:09.889
interview organizations.

00:12:10.381 –> 00:12:11.884
most of your employees, if not all of them,

00:12:12.424 –> 00:12:13.125
that people say, well,

00:12:13.144 –> 00:12:15.087
I’m too busy to interview.

00:12:15.107 –> 00:12:16.929
I said, yeah, but what are you doing?

00:12:16.950 –> 00:12:17.090
Well,

00:12:17.110 –> 00:12:18.432
I’m in human resources terminating

00:12:18.471 –> 00:12:18.851
somebody.

00:12:18.871 –> 00:12:19.552
I was like,

00:12:19.572 –> 00:12:20.413
so you’re not too busy to

00:12:20.453 –> 00:12:21.195
terminate somebody,

00:12:21.235 –> 00:12:21.875
but you’re too busy to

00:12:21.895 –> 00:12:22.537
interview somebody.

00:12:22.995 –> 00:12:24.054
And Eric Long at the World

00:12:24.075 –> 00:12:25.096
of Historia taught me that.

00:12:25.456 –> 00:12:26.235
Eric Long- Hold on,

00:12:26.316 –> 00:12:28.056
Eric Long was a long-term

00:12:28.076 –> 00:12:29.797
managing director, general manager.

00:12:30.057 –> 00:12:30.937
I’m sure Tom knows.

00:12:31.136 –> 00:12:32.337
I remember Eric, yes.

00:12:32.437 –> 00:12:36.458
I remember meeting Eric many months ago.

00:12:36.519 –> 00:12:37.879
So I’ve never had any mentors,

00:12:37.918 –> 00:12:39.418
but I would consider Eric

00:12:40.159 –> 00:12:41.659
was my one and biggest

00:12:41.740 –> 00:12:43.841
mentor in this industry.

00:12:44.120 –> 00:12:46.181
And he was an acquired taste

00:12:46.400 –> 00:12:47.361
like a lot of people,

00:12:47.422 –> 00:12:50.241
but he understood that when

00:12:50.341 –> 00:12:52.383
you interviewed people

00:12:54.004 –> 00:12:55.644
It’s great to trust your employees,

00:12:56.024 –> 00:12:56.765
your managers,

00:12:56.826 –> 00:12:58.287
but you have to understand

00:12:58.567 –> 00:13:00.648
that your number one job in any hotel,

00:13:00.768 –> 00:13:01.989
big hotel or small hotel,

00:13:02.409 –> 00:13:04.410
is to know who’s coming onto your family.

00:13:04.990 –> 00:13:06.392
And once they come onto your family,

00:13:06.413 –> 00:13:07.033
and they don’t have to have

00:13:07.052 –> 00:13:07.572
a lot of experience.

00:13:07.613 –> 00:13:08.714
I just had an experience at

00:13:08.734 –> 00:13:10.975
a furniture store with a

00:13:11.035 –> 00:13:12.716
gentleman who was the most

00:13:12.797 –> 00:13:13.638
wonderful gentleman.

00:13:13.778 –> 00:13:16.139
And he goes, well, they train me well.

00:13:16.158 –> 00:13:16.700
I said, no, no, no, no, no.

00:13:17.498 –> 00:13:17.697
I said,

00:13:17.717 –> 00:13:18.499
this has nothing to do with

00:13:18.538 –> 00:13:19.078
training here.

00:13:19.099 –> 00:13:21.000
I said, you were taught that at home.

00:13:21.020 –> 00:13:22.902
I said, you had a strong mom, didn’t you?

00:13:22.961 –> 00:13:23.542
And he goes, yeah.

00:13:23.562 –> 00:13:24.783
I said, you had a strong foundation.

00:13:24.802 –> 00:13:25.264
He said, yeah.

00:13:25.683 –> 00:13:27.065
I said, if you didn’t take out the garbage,

00:13:27.105 –> 00:13:27.544
what happened?

00:13:27.565 –> 00:13:29.186
I got my butt kicked, right?

00:13:29.626 –> 00:13:31.408
So that foundation of

00:13:31.467 –> 00:13:32.369
wanting to make people happy,

00:13:32.428 –> 00:13:33.389
I found it in him.

00:13:33.830 –> 00:13:34.529
And he was wonderful.

00:13:34.549 –> 00:13:35.610
And I don’t like salespeople.

00:13:35.630 –> 00:13:37.371
So it was a wonderful experience.

00:13:37.432 –> 00:13:38.493
And that’s what I try to get

00:13:38.533 –> 00:13:39.192
through to everybody.

00:13:39.212 –> 00:13:39.953
And I’m sure you do, too.

00:13:40.427 –> 00:13:41.548
You don’t have to come from

00:13:41.607 –> 00:13:43.928
five-star to understand

00:13:44.188 –> 00:13:45.809
connection with people is

00:13:45.870 –> 00:13:47.910
what makes you five-star.

00:13:48.110 –> 00:13:49.471
I always say the architects build it,

00:13:49.490 –> 00:13:51.091
the designers build it.

00:13:51.152 –> 00:13:52.773
You walk into paradise.

00:13:52.793 –> 00:13:53.493
You walk into heaven.

00:13:53.552 –> 00:13:54.933
The reason I love this

00:13:54.974 –> 00:13:55.494
business is because when

00:13:55.514 –> 00:13:57.054
you go to these hotels, you’re in heaven.

00:13:57.794 –> 00:14:02.236
But if you don’t use the human resources,

00:14:03.077 –> 00:14:03.837
then all you have is

00:14:03.857 –> 00:14:04.758
beautiful architecture.

00:14:05.578 –> 00:14:05.798
Correct.

00:14:07.096 –> 00:14:10.822
It all comes down to that human connection,

00:14:10.884 –> 00:14:11.083
right?

00:14:11.124 –> 00:14:12.186
And I think it doesn’t matter,

00:14:12.225 –> 00:14:12.625
like you say,

00:14:12.647 –> 00:14:13.807
it may be in the furniture store,

00:14:13.849 –> 00:14:16.131
it may be in the poke shop

00:14:16.813 –> 00:14:18.255
on the corner of a street in Honolulu,

00:14:18.296 –> 00:14:18.436
right?

00:14:19.500 –> 00:14:20.182
it’s about,

00:14:20.761 –> 00:14:23.304
it’s about kind of being of service.

00:14:23.325 –> 00:14:25.527
And to your point, I think it’s about your,

00:14:25.647 –> 00:14:27.568
your upbringing and it’s

00:14:27.649 –> 00:14:30.270
about service coming from the heart.

00:14:30.551 –> 00:14:34.394
We, we can teach and, and I’m certainly,

00:14:34.654 –> 00:14:37.157
you know, the recipient of, of, of great,

00:14:37.297 –> 00:14:38.597
you know, training and, and,

00:14:38.719 –> 00:14:40.840
and opportunities being given to me,

00:14:40.961 –> 00:14:42.361
you know, throughout my career.

00:14:42.402 –> 00:14:42.522
But,

00:14:43.527 –> 00:14:44.548
But we can teach anything.

00:14:44.727 –> 00:14:45.847
You can learn how to be the

00:14:45.888 –> 00:14:46.989
best sommelier in the world.

00:14:47.028 –> 00:14:49.629
You can learn how to check

00:14:49.649 –> 00:14:50.590
someone in at the front

00:14:50.610 –> 00:14:51.529
desk and so forth.

00:14:51.590 –> 00:14:53.030
But that innate sense of

00:14:53.091 –> 00:14:54.431
hospitality and wanting to

00:14:54.471 –> 00:14:56.011
be a service comes from right here,

00:14:56.091 –> 00:14:56.672
comes from the heart.

00:14:57.331 –> 00:14:58.232
I remember I did a show

00:14:58.253 –> 00:14:59.373
called Five Star Secrets at

00:14:59.493 –> 00:15:00.533
One and Only in Cabo,

00:15:00.714 –> 00:15:02.614
and they went like this from the heart.

00:15:03.134 –> 00:15:04.014
And I remember that

00:15:04.695 –> 00:15:05.635
emotionally and physically,

00:15:05.696 –> 00:15:06.355
it changed me.

00:15:07.755 –> 00:15:08.376
That moment,

00:15:08.476 –> 00:15:09.797
I’ve had moments in my career

00:15:09.817 –> 00:15:10.616
that’s changed me.

00:15:11.097 –> 00:15:12.258
That moment changed me.

00:15:12.730 –> 00:15:14.491
Because I realized when they

00:15:14.532 –> 00:15:15.211
did that first, I was like,

00:15:15.231 –> 00:15:15.831
this is corny.

00:15:16.192 –> 00:15:17.413
And then I was just like, oh,

00:15:17.452 –> 00:15:18.312
that’s what it’s about.

00:15:18.452 –> 00:15:19.854
So it’s those moments,

00:15:20.053 –> 00:15:21.654
those transformational

00:15:21.695 –> 00:15:22.715
moments that we all look for.

00:15:23.075 –> 00:15:24.035
And if you go to anybody’s

00:15:24.076 –> 00:15:25.596
home and you see pictures,

00:15:25.696 –> 00:15:26.576
the pictures are either

00:15:26.616 –> 00:15:28.057
baby pictures or they’re

00:15:28.096 –> 00:15:29.437
pictures of vacation.

00:15:30.238 –> 00:15:30.837
And, you know,

00:15:30.899 –> 00:15:32.019
we’re in charge of those

00:15:32.158 –> 00:15:33.379
pictures going on their walls.

00:15:33.919 –> 00:15:35.000
And those pictures better

00:15:35.019 –> 00:15:35.740
have great memories.

00:15:38.020 –> 00:15:38.581
Absolutely.

00:15:38.822 –> 00:15:39.282
Absolutely.

00:15:39.701 –> 00:15:41.482
What an incredible business we’re in.

00:15:42.145 –> 00:15:43.027
Yeah, for sure.

00:15:43.126 –> 00:15:44.547
And we really want to spread

00:15:44.567 –> 00:15:46.948
the love of hospitality out there.

00:15:47.129 –> 00:15:48.808
And one of the things you’re doing is,

00:15:48.990 –> 00:15:49.669
as we just talked about,

00:15:49.690 –> 00:15:50.971
you’re doing that every day

00:15:51.130 –> 00:15:53.072
for your incredible guests

00:15:53.152 –> 00:15:54.072
that are out there.

00:15:54.131 –> 00:15:55.893
So what’s kind of business

00:15:55.952 –> 00:15:57.254
like these days for you?

00:15:57.754 –> 00:15:58.553
Here in the United States,

00:15:58.594 –> 00:15:59.294
we’re starting to get the

00:15:59.335 –> 00:16:00.375
feeling that when it comes

00:16:00.414 –> 00:16:01.495
to leisure travel,

00:16:01.535 –> 00:16:03.157
we might be hitting kind of

00:16:03.876 –> 00:16:04.778
peak and it’s getting a

00:16:04.818 –> 00:16:06.160
little bit softer and

00:16:06.260 –> 00:16:07.222
business travel seems to be

00:16:07.243 –> 00:16:07.844
doing all right.

00:16:07.884 –> 00:16:09.908
But group business seems to be, you know,

00:16:09.988 –> 00:16:11.110
very powerful right now and

00:16:11.129 –> 00:16:12.732
increasing in this part of the world.

00:16:13.092 –> 00:16:14.255
How’s it going on your side

00:16:14.296 –> 00:16:14.775
of the universe?

00:16:15.528 –> 00:16:17.750
Well, certainly here in the UAE,

00:16:17.811 –> 00:16:19.371
the Middle East in general

00:16:19.412 –> 00:16:20.352
has seen quite a very

00:16:20.393 –> 00:16:22.414
strong post-pandemic rebound.

00:16:23.455 –> 00:16:25.136
Dubai certainly has been

00:16:25.596 –> 00:16:28.700
doing an exceptional job in recent years.

00:16:29.700 –> 00:16:31.761
I think there’s many factors to that,

00:16:31.841 –> 00:16:34.384
whether it’s the rebound of

00:16:34.403 –> 00:16:36.466
the flights with Emirates Airlines,

00:16:36.505 –> 00:16:37.246
which was really kind of

00:16:37.267 –> 00:16:41.409
the first airline out there post-COVID,

00:16:41.429 –> 00:16:42.110
whether it’s been the

00:16:42.171 –> 00:16:43.311
government of Dubai or

00:16:43.350 –> 00:16:44.532
whether it’s Dubai tourism,

00:16:44.591 –> 00:16:45.173
really kind of

00:16:45.572 –> 00:16:46.712
you know, telling the story.

00:16:46.773 –> 00:16:48.235
And it’s been, you know,

00:16:48.315 –> 00:16:49.836
I think 2024 really for us

00:16:49.856 –> 00:16:52.480
has been a transformative phase, really.

00:16:52.539 –> 00:16:54.381
I think the launch of

00:16:54.422 –> 00:16:55.863
Atlantis to Royal as an

00:16:55.962 –> 00:16:58.826
iconic new resort right

00:16:58.886 –> 00:17:00.889
here in Dubai is certainly

00:17:01.369 –> 00:17:04.232
making waves in the industry.

00:17:04.712 –> 00:17:05.994
I mean, we see very,

00:17:06.035 –> 00:17:07.175
very strong performance,

00:17:07.257 –> 00:17:08.597
really three years in a row now,

00:17:08.679 –> 00:17:10.780
and it’s been record month

00:17:10.902 –> 00:17:12.763
after record month that

00:17:12.824 –> 00:17:14.066
continues to be the case.

00:17:14.926 –> 00:17:15.989
We’ve had an extremely

00:17:16.048 –> 00:17:18.332
strong quarter at both our resorts here,

00:17:18.352 –> 00:17:20.034
whether it’s Atlantis the

00:17:20.054 –> 00:17:21.316
Palm or Atlantis the Royal.

00:17:23.269 –> 00:17:25.690
And really a phenomenal start of the year.

00:17:25.970 –> 00:17:30.530
And we certainly see that

00:17:30.590 –> 00:17:33.550
continuing throughout the year.

00:17:33.570 –> 00:17:38.892
And we do not see any slowdown at all.

00:17:39.771 –> 00:17:40.992
Even going into the summer

00:17:41.393 –> 00:17:44.012
where traditionally in the

00:17:44.032 –> 00:17:45.173
past you would see somewhat

00:17:45.252 –> 00:17:47.973
of a slowdown given the temperature here.

00:17:49.500 –> 00:17:50.881
Atlantis keeps going,

00:17:52.682 –> 00:17:53.682
which is quite incredible.

00:17:54.083 –> 00:17:55.723
So one of the things that

00:17:55.844 –> 00:17:56.805
everybody’s talking about,

00:17:56.845 –> 00:17:57.644
me and my friend Glenn will

00:17:57.664 –> 00:17:59.226
be talking about it at High Tech in June,

00:17:59.905 –> 00:18:00.787
is AI.

00:18:00.886 –> 00:18:02.107
How is AI,

00:18:02.347 –> 00:18:03.667
especially at a luxury property

00:18:03.688 –> 00:18:04.088
like yours,

00:18:04.568 –> 00:18:06.829
being incorporated to maintain

00:18:06.869 –> 00:18:07.871
that connection to people,

00:18:07.911 –> 00:18:09.050
but also make things a

00:18:09.090 –> 00:18:09.971
little bit more efficient

00:18:10.152 –> 00:18:11.873
for everyone concerned?

00:18:12.512 –> 00:18:14.554
Have you been integrating AI

00:18:14.634 –> 00:18:15.474
anywhere in your property?

00:18:16.846 –> 00:18:18.346
I think certainly when it comes to,

00:18:18.446 –> 00:18:20.407
you know, gaining the feedback and,

00:18:20.708 –> 00:18:20.948
you know,

00:18:22.088 –> 00:18:23.150
we’re only as good as the last

00:18:23.190 –> 00:18:24.170
breakfast served, right?

00:18:24.210 –> 00:18:25.290
And I think, you know,

00:18:25.330 –> 00:18:26.611
there certainly is

00:18:26.671 –> 00:18:29.192
opportunity continuously to improve.

00:18:30.393 –> 00:18:32.855
And I think this is where

00:18:32.894 –> 00:18:34.756
it’s important to be able

00:18:34.816 –> 00:18:35.977
to bundle all the

00:18:36.017 –> 00:18:37.017
information that’s out

00:18:37.076 –> 00:18:38.998
there and continuously

00:18:39.878 –> 00:18:41.199
improve and listen to the

00:18:41.239 –> 00:18:43.701
feedback and continuously

00:18:43.740 –> 00:18:45.561
challenge the team to ever get better.

00:18:46.192 –> 00:18:47.332
We’ve had an incredible,

00:18:47.372 –> 00:18:49.972
incredible start at Atlantis the Royal,

00:18:50.893 –> 00:18:53.313
but we have to continue

00:18:53.713 –> 00:18:55.453
kind of understanding what

00:18:55.513 –> 00:18:57.594
is the audience out there looking for?

00:18:57.733 –> 00:18:59.694
What is that guest looking

00:18:59.734 –> 00:19:02.375
for in an ultra luxury environment?

00:19:03.154 –> 00:19:04.855
And when it comes to experiences,

00:19:06.655 –> 00:19:08.876
what is next and what is

00:19:08.916 –> 00:19:10.676
the guest looking for?

00:19:10.717 –> 00:19:13.798
And I think these are areas

00:19:13.837 –> 00:19:15.698
where we certainly can learn a lot from.

00:19:17.077 –> 00:19:18.858
and take that technology,

00:19:18.898 –> 00:19:20.419
but then really kind of put

00:19:20.479 –> 00:19:22.679
it to work with the team

00:19:22.858 –> 00:19:25.259
and learn from it and take that forward.

00:19:25.680 –> 00:19:29.039
So what’s the one thing that

00:19:29.420 –> 00:19:31.580
you’re starting to see that

00:19:31.641 –> 00:19:32.520
maybe you didn’t see five

00:19:32.560 –> 00:19:33.881
years ago that people are looking for?

00:19:33.901 –> 00:19:35.481
I know everybody’s looking

00:19:35.582 –> 00:19:37.201
for experiential travel.

00:19:37.221 –> 00:19:39.162
Everybody’s looking for a spot.

00:19:39.461 –> 00:19:40.701
But is there one specific

00:19:40.761 –> 00:19:42.202
thing that is like, oh,

00:19:42.442 –> 00:19:43.682
nobody asked for that five years ago?

00:19:47.386 –> 00:19:47.886
For us,

00:19:48.847 –> 00:19:52.269
and we pride ourselves to be the

00:19:52.288 –> 00:19:54.049
world’s most ultra-luxury,

00:19:54.410 –> 00:19:55.810
most experiential resort,

00:19:56.230 –> 00:19:58.571
which is a big task, right?

00:19:58.751 –> 00:20:01.794
As we go out there and we

00:20:01.854 –> 00:20:04.015
identify that’s who we are.

00:20:04.095 –> 00:20:04.755
But I think it’s a

00:20:04.815 –> 00:20:07.115
combination of multiple elements.

00:20:07.215 –> 00:20:08.997
It’s really, I think,

00:20:09.037 –> 00:20:11.538
the expectation of having

00:20:11.597 –> 00:20:12.558
exceptional suites

00:20:12.999 –> 00:20:14.980
exceptional room product is

00:20:15.020 –> 00:20:15.820
certainly there.

00:20:15.861 –> 00:20:16.501
But I think the

00:20:16.662 –> 00:20:19.163
entertainment component is very,

00:20:19.202 –> 00:20:21.025
very important for us.

00:20:21.464 –> 00:20:24.227
That manifests itself in the

00:20:24.267 –> 00:20:25.728
fountain shows where we have

00:20:26.198 –> 00:20:29.759
introduce the element of fire, for example,

00:20:30.538 –> 00:20:31.739
that it manifests itself

00:20:31.900 –> 00:20:33.660
with the entertainment we

00:20:33.700 –> 00:20:35.661
do in terms of concerts.

00:20:35.740 –> 00:20:38.840
We continuously have an

00:20:38.901 –> 00:20:39.801
excellent entertainment

00:20:39.862 –> 00:20:41.942
program that’s being laid out.

00:20:42.402 –> 00:20:43.942
It’s food and beverage and restaurants.

00:20:45.252 –> 00:20:47.094
We have a total of 50

00:20:47.094 –> 00:20:49.194
restaurants here now at Atlantis Dubai,

00:20:49.654 –> 00:20:51.375
of which 17 at Atlantis the

00:20:51.415 –> 00:20:52.855
Royal and the largest

00:20:52.895 –> 00:20:53.737
collection of celebrity

00:20:53.757 –> 00:20:55.597
chef restaurants anywhere on the planet.

00:20:56.077 –> 00:20:57.558
And really what that means

00:20:57.838 –> 00:20:59.219
is for our guests to be

00:20:59.318 –> 00:21:00.859
able to have those choices

00:21:01.559 –> 00:21:05.162
and to be engaged and

00:21:05.442 –> 00:21:06.603
having these opportunities

00:21:06.663 –> 00:21:09.544
to learn and experience these cuisines.

00:21:10.361 –> 00:21:11.442
All around the property.

00:21:11.903 –> 00:21:12.683
It’s about wellness.

00:21:12.963 –> 00:21:16.789
And so it’s about having the

00:21:16.890 –> 00:21:19.272
opportunity of kind of

00:21:19.353 –> 00:21:20.654
combining all of this and

00:21:20.694 –> 00:21:22.337
having the luxury of choice.

00:21:23.038 –> 00:21:24.259
But I think also more and

00:21:24.299 –> 00:21:26.042
more the luxury of time.

00:21:26.722 –> 00:21:28.523
whereby our guests are able

00:21:28.604 –> 00:21:31.904
to enjoy it in one place.

00:21:31.924 –> 00:21:34.705
And really,

00:21:35.605 –> 00:21:38.146
I think it’s about having all

00:21:38.166 –> 00:21:39.207
of this at your fingertips

00:21:39.267 –> 00:21:40.948
at any given time and

00:21:40.988 –> 00:21:43.028
benefiting from the energy

00:21:43.127 –> 00:21:45.368
that the resort can provide

00:21:46.269 –> 00:21:47.410
whether it’s the retail,

00:21:47.470 –> 00:21:49.250
whether it’s the restaurant scene,

00:21:49.270 –> 00:21:50.372
whether it’s the bar scene,

00:21:50.791 –> 00:21:52.153
at the same time being able

00:21:52.192 –> 00:21:55.294
to retreat to your sky pool

00:21:55.314 –> 00:21:59.477
villa and really enjoy your

00:21:59.656 –> 00:22:00.576
leisure time with the family.

00:22:02.557 –> 00:22:02.717
Yeah.

00:22:02.916 –> 00:22:03.136
All right.

00:22:03.217 –> 00:22:04.637
So I think you kind of

00:22:04.738 –> 00:22:06.759
answer my question in there

00:22:06.798 –> 00:22:07.719
about competing against

00:22:07.739 –> 00:22:10.440
other luxury hotels in the area,

00:22:10.480 –> 00:22:12.161
because I think I’m just

00:22:12.181 –> 00:22:12.961
saying this anecdotally.

00:22:13.020 –> 00:22:14.142
It feels like you might have

00:22:14.162 –> 00:22:15.342
the highest concentration

00:22:15.602 –> 00:22:17.502
of really high quality

00:22:17.542 –> 00:22:18.823
properties of anywhere that

00:22:18.863 –> 00:22:20.723
I’m familiar with in the world.

00:22:20.784 –> 00:22:22.605
And in tracking the global

00:22:22.625 –> 00:22:23.585
hospitality industry,

00:22:24.026 –> 00:22:24.865
it feels like everybody

00:22:25.026 –> 00:22:27.507
must have their best property there.

00:22:28.047 –> 00:22:29.268
So how does that change your

00:22:29.347 –> 00:22:30.808
mindset about thinking

00:22:30.888 –> 00:22:32.809
about luxury experiences and stuff?

00:22:32.869 –> 00:22:34.371
Is it what you just told me,

00:22:34.671 –> 00:22:36.751
or is there something more

00:22:36.912 –> 00:22:38.252
to it that helps you get

00:22:38.292 –> 00:22:39.614
into the right place in

00:22:39.634 –> 00:22:41.174
order to create that differentiation?

00:22:42.516 –> 00:22:43.236
Well, I think, you know,

00:22:43.296 –> 00:22:44.336
in the end of the day,

00:22:44.497 –> 00:22:46.438
you can have the most wonderful asset,

00:22:46.478 –> 00:22:46.999
but it comes,

00:22:47.138 –> 00:22:48.118
it still comes down to

00:22:48.159 –> 00:22:49.960
service and it still comes

00:22:50.019 –> 00:22:52.362
down to every guest

00:22:52.521 –> 00:22:54.982
interaction that we have.

00:22:55.022 –> 00:22:55.804
And imagine the,

00:22:56.294 –> 00:22:57.417
the thousands of

00:22:57.458 –> 00:22:58.722
interactions that occur

00:22:58.803 –> 00:23:00.008
every single day from

00:23:00.434 –> 00:23:01.296
from the moment you make

00:23:01.336 –> 00:23:02.457
your reservation to the

00:23:02.497 –> 00:23:03.857
moment you arrive at the airport,

00:23:03.897 –> 00:23:06.039
to the moment you arrive at the hotel.

00:23:06.500 –> 00:23:08.981
And we certainly can create

00:23:09.041 –> 00:23:10.202
these very unique

00:23:10.242 –> 00:23:11.203
experiences with the

00:23:11.263 –> 00:23:13.144
fountain shows or the

00:23:13.305 –> 00:23:15.186
artwork or the retail

00:23:15.227 –> 00:23:18.128
experience that we have and so forth.

00:23:18.189 –> 00:23:20.250
But it does come down to

00:23:20.431 –> 00:23:22.893
taking these moments and

00:23:23.153 –> 00:23:24.094
listening to what your

00:23:24.114 –> 00:23:27.096
guests are here for and

00:23:27.676 –> 00:23:29.357
really being of service.

00:23:31.500 –> 00:23:33.061
because every interaction

00:23:33.123 –> 00:23:36.606
counts as we relate to the

00:23:36.626 –> 00:23:37.428
guest experience.

00:23:38.048 –> 00:23:40.291
And with 2,400 guest rooms

00:23:40.673 –> 00:23:42.894
and 50 restaurants and over

00:23:42.894 –> 00:23:44.057
100 slides and attractions

00:23:44.096 –> 00:23:45.759
in the water park, I think it’s

00:23:46.509 –> 00:23:48.632
It’s important for us that

00:23:48.872 –> 00:23:50.012
our team is being given the

00:23:50.053 –> 00:23:52.575
leverage to really be of

00:23:52.615 –> 00:23:54.476
service and to really

00:23:54.557 –> 00:23:56.298
understand what they can do

00:23:56.377 –> 00:23:57.818
to improve that guest

00:23:57.878 –> 00:24:00.922
experience as they create

00:24:00.942 –> 00:24:02.643
the experience around the results.

00:24:03.564 –> 00:24:04.724
So changing it up a little bit,

00:24:04.765 –> 00:24:06.046
I’m going to ask you a question.

00:24:06.465 –> 00:24:08.948
What is your morning look like?

00:24:09.348 –> 00:24:10.690
A typical morning for you,

00:24:10.730 –> 00:24:11.710
which in the hotel business,

00:24:11.730 –> 00:24:12.750
especially a property like that,

00:24:12.770 –> 00:24:13.531
there’s nothing typical.

00:24:13.951 –> 00:24:14.691
But what time does your

00:24:14.711 –> 00:24:16.031
morning start and what are

00:24:16.051 –> 00:24:17.093
the one or two or three

00:24:17.133 –> 00:24:18.753
things that you do every single day,

00:24:18.773 –> 00:24:22.175
you know, as you’re starting your job?

00:24:22.195 –> 00:24:24.497
Is it, you know, walking the property,

00:24:24.517 –> 00:24:25.057
whatever it is,

00:24:25.897 –> 00:24:27.057
what’s your routine early

00:24:27.077 –> 00:24:27.679
in the morning and what

00:24:27.719 –> 00:24:28.278
time do you start?

00:24:30.913 –> 00:24:32.114
Well, early in the morning,

00:24:32.835 –> 00:24:35.916
I typically like to get up early,

00:24:36.037 –> 00:24:37.798
do some exercise, be out there.

00:24:37.818 –> 00:24:39.460
I would have cleared my

00:24:39.539 –> 00:24:41.521
inbox already from the

00:24:41.622 –> 00:24:42.643
overnight with maybe

00:24:43.282 –> 00:24:45.345
overnight reservations that

00:24:45.404 –> 00:24:47.686
came in or inquiries or

00:24:47.747 –> 00:24:49.969
last-minute updates and so forth.

00:24:50.028 –> 00:24:51.589
So I would have done all

00:24:51.609 –> 00:24:53.592
that before 7 a.m.,

00:24:58.679 –> 00:25:00.040
I literally put my hand up.

00:25:00.181 –> 00:25:01.763
I was like, before you said it, I was like,

00:25:01.804 –> 00:25:02.403
before 7 a.m.

00:25:02.424 –> 00:25:02.765
Go ahead.

00:25:04.857 –> 00:25:08.058
And then you kind of look at the day ahead,

00:25:08.098 –> 00:25:09.640
the days ahead, who’s coming.

00:25:10.019 –> 00:25:10.299
You know,

00:25:10.339 –> 00:25:13.000
there’s really no single day is

00:25:13.040 –> 00:25:13.820
really the same.

00:25:14.681 –> 00:25:15.981
But then we typically

00:25:16.021 –> 00:25:18.762
prepare for the morning briefing, right?

00:25:18.823 –> 00:25:21.463
And I think ultimately, I mean, for me,

00:25:22.723 –> 00:25:23.064
running,

00:25:23.584 –> 00:25:25.505
I was used to running hotels that

00:25:25.545 –> 00:25:26.164
were 200, 400 guest rooms large.

00:25:28.205 –> 00:25:29.166
And at some point found

00:25:29.207 –> 00:25:30.387
myself running Atlanta’s

00:25:30.407 –> 00:25:33.509
The Palm with 1,600 guest rooms.

00:25:34.109 –> 00:25:36.471
And really that sense of

00:25:36.531 –> 00:25:38.232
hospitality does not change.

00:25:38.713 –> 00:25:40.734
I think the key is, and Anthony,

00:25:40.835 –> 00:25:42.276
you were mentioning it before,

00:25:42.717 –> 00:25:43.297
is the people.

00:25:43.738 –> 00:25:45.298
And it’s who are the people in place.

00:25:45.739 –> 00:25:48.260
And as we interview team

00:25:48.320 –> 00:25:49.382
members and so forth,

00:25:49.741 –> 00:25:50.542
we’re really looking for

00:25:50.563 –> 00:25:51.462
the best in the business.

00:25:51.583 –> 00:25:53.704
And we’re really looking for them to own

00:25:54.271 –> 00:25:55.612
each of their business units.

00:25:55.872 –> 00:25:57.772
And really, I think, you know,

00:25:57.873 –> 00:25:59.772
as we have the morning briefings,

00:26:00.874 –> 00:26:01.953
the morning briefing here

00:26:02.013 –> 00:26:04.654
does not vary too much, you know,

00:26:04.674 –> 00:26:06.355
of what we do here versus

00:26:06.394 –> 00:26:07.335
maybe the morning briefing

00:26:07.355 –> 00:26:08.714
I was doing in a hotel that was 100,

00:26:08.714 –> 00:26:09.675
you know,

00:26:09.736 –> 00:26:12.957
villa bungalows out in the

00:26:12.997 –> 00:26:15.416
Indian Ocean or on a

00:26:15.457 –> 00:26:16.757
private island in Hawaii.

00:26:17.157 –> 00:26:19.678
And I think it’s about

00:26:19.718 –> 00:26:20.798
preparing for the day.

00:26:20.877 –> 00:26:23.298
It’s about highlighting very specifically

00:26:24.160 –> 00:26:25.842
points that may be occurring.

00:26:26.602 –> 00:26:28.323
Maybe there may be special

00:26:28.363 –> 00:26:29.604
events taking place around

00:26:29.644 –> 00:26:31.025
the hotel and so forth.

00:26:31.645 –> 00:26:35.407
And then really, I think, in my role,

00:26:35.567 –> 00:26:36.509
it’s certainly much more

00:26:36.528 –> 00:26:40.991
strategic today than traditionally.

00:26:41.412 –> 00:26:43.574
And my role here is maybe

00:26:44.815 –> 00:26:48.497
one step very much deep

00:26:48.557 –> 00:26:50.719
into operations and into operations

00:26:51.199 –> 00:26:53.122
uh day-to-day experiences of

00:26:53.222 –> 00:26:54.865
our colleagues uh and our

00:26:54.904 –> 00:26:56.807
guests uh but the other uh

00:26:57.449 –> 00:26:59.451
the other leg is is is

00:26:59.511 –> 00:27:02.537
really into uh into running

00:27:02.576 –> 00:27:03.538
a relatively large

00:27:03.959 –> 00:27:06.123
relatively large team uh and uh

00:27:06.502 –> 00:27:08.424
We today have over 7000

00:27:08.424 –> 00:27:10.006
colleagues here in Atlantis, Dubai.

00:27:10.787 –> 00:27:14.529
And it’s not just taking

00:27:14.589 –> 00:27:18.153
care of our guests and our colleagues,

00:27:18.212 –> 00:27:19.834
but it’s also we house

00:27:19.894 –> 00:27:21.035
everyone here in Dubai.

00:27:21.115 –> 00:27:23.017
So we also have an

00:27:23.057 –> 00:27:24.278
exceptional team taking

00:27:24.337 –> 00:27:27.820
care of our own team where

00:27:27.861 –> 00:27:29.923
we have our own dining

00:27:29.942 –> 00:27:32.064
spaces and entertainment

00:27:32.104 –> 00:27:34.266
programs and so forth for our colleagues.

00:27:35.868 –> 00:27:36.608
That’s interesting.

00:27:37.250 –> 00:27:38.930
Why don’t we go back to the

00:27:39.049 –> 00:27:40.230
morning stand-up huddle,

00:27:40.250 –> 00:27:41.550
whatever you want to call it, briefing.

00:27:42.431 –> 00:27:44.271
Because in our industry,

00:27:45.192 –> 00:27:45.952
I can tell you the

00:27:45.992 –> 00:27:46.833
difference between a

00:27:46.853 –> 00:27:48.553
well-run hotel and not a

00:27:48.593 –> 00:27:49.534
well-run hotel by the

00:27:50.413 –> 00:27:51.673
quality of the morning stand-up.

00:27:51.814 –> 00:27:53.535
I was asked a couple of

00:27:53.555 –> 00:27:54.734
times when I was on

00:27:54.755 –> 00:27:55.955
vacation to go to morning

00:27:55.996 –> 00:27:57.856
stand-ups of hotels and

00:27:57.916 –> 00:27:58.957
just give a few words.

00:27:59.156 –> 00:27:59.856
And there was one,

00:27:59.876 –> 00:28:02.218
it was a holiday weekend.

00:28:03.049 –> 00:28:05.251
And the hotel, it was a beautiful hotel.

00:28:05.832 –> 00:28:07.212
You know, I knew people that ran it,

00:28:07.553 –> 00:28:09.694
but it just wasn’t exceptional.

00:28:09.875 –> 00:28:11.135
And I was not really overly

00:28:11.175 –> 00:28:12.856
happy with the hotel.

00:28:13.396 –> 00:28:14.637
And when I went into the

00:28:14.657 –> 00:28:16.579
morning briefing and I came out of it,

00:28:16.779 –> 00:28:17.380
I told my wife,

00:28:17.420 –> 00:28:18.280
now I know why the hotel is

00:28:18.300 –> 00:28:18.881
not running well.

00:28:19.602 –> 00:28:21.063
And because you can tell by

00:28:21.083 –> 00:28:22.344
the morning briefing.

00:28:22.804 –> 00:28:24.164
So how many people in your

00:28:24.204 –> 00:28:25.885
morning briefing and how

00:28:25.925 –> 00:28:26.906
long is your morning briefing?

00:28:28.048 –> 00:28:29.588
So we try to keep our

00:28:29.608 –> 00:28:31.190
morning briefing to about 15, 20 minutes.

00:28:33.048 –> 00:28:34.068
And on average,

00:28:34.189 –> 00:28:37.333
we have about 35 to 45

00:28:37.333 –> 00:28:41.497
people on the morning briefing.

00:28:42.278 –> 00:28:44.319
Traditionally, pre-COVID,

00:28:45.160 –> 00:28:47.742
we would all gather in a

00:28:47.823 –> 00:28:49.183
relatively large boardroom.

00:28:49.924 –> 00:28:51.467
But today, geographically,

00:28:51.507 –> 00:28:53.107
given the size of our operation,

00:28:53.788 –> 00:28:54.569
and one of the things we

00:28:54.630 –> 00:28:56.731
actually changed during the COVID days,

00:28:57.583 –> 00:28:58.685
Are we doing Teams calls?

00:28:59.106 –> 00:29:00.529
And so everyone is on the call.

00:29:01.653 –> 00:29:06.242
We go through all the events of the day,

00:29:06.303 –> 00:29:06.904
we go through

00:29:07.317 –> 00:29:09.419
the upcoming revenues we go through.

00:29:10.199 –> 00:29:12.180
Where are we month to date?

00:29:12.880 –> 00:29:14.359
Who are the VIPs coming in?

00:29:14.700 –> 00:29:16.300
What are the ins and outs of the day?

00:29:17.621 –> 00:29:18.942
Is there things we can improve?

00:29:20.021 –> 00:29:21.502
And really zooming in on

00:29:21.563 –> 00:29:23.403
particular opportunities we

00:29:23.442 –> 00:29:25.183
may have in-house.

00:29:26.023 –> 00:29:29.845
And I think it’s really quite detailed,

00:29:29.884 –> 00:29:30.905
but we have

00:29:32.190 –> 00:29:33.471
on multiple times have we

00:29:33.571 –> 00:29:35.314
actually changed some of

00:29:35.374 –> 00:29:38.517
the format in terms of how

00:29:38.557 –> 00:29:40.159
do we keep it concise,

00:29:40.239 –> 00:29:41.380
keep everyone engaged,

00:29:41.740 –> 00:29:42.842
have information that’s

00:29:42.902 –> 00:29:44.763
important for everyone

00:29:44.804 –> 00:29:48.007
who’s on the call and

00:29:48.047 –> 00:29:49.009
information that’s very

00:29:49.048 –> 00:29:51.171
important to the guest experience.

00:29:51.895 –> 00:29:52.955
And then ultimately,

00:29:53.135 –> 00:29:54.576
if there is very specific

00:29:54.636 –> 00:29:57.218
points that we need to take offline,

00:29:57.538 –> 00:29:58.718
we will do that immediately

00:29:58.837 –> 00:30:00.098
after that call.

00:30:00.358 –> 00:30:03.309
And so we always keep that extra 10,

00:30:03.309 –> 00:30:04.140
20 minutes afterwards.

00:30:04.460 –> 00:30:06.980
Could you imagine running this hotel,

00:30:07.641 –> 00:30:09.580
this resort, this nation?

00:30:09.701 –> 00:30:12.362
I always call these hotels little nations,

00:30:12.422 –> 00:30:12.622
right?

00:30:13.522 –> 00:30:14.502
Could you ever imagine

00:30:14.563 –> 00:30:16.022
running that and going

00:30:16.202 –> 00:30:16.983
three weeks without a

00:30:17.003 –> 00:30:18.743
stand-up or a morning briefing?

00:30:20.045 –> 00:30:20.765
Absolutely not.

00:30:21.144 –> 00:30:21.285
Right.

00:30:22.713 –> 00:30:24.134
And I just emphasize that

00:30:24.154 –> 00:30:25.115
because too many people run

00:30:25.155 –> 00:30:26.155
hotels and don’t have one.

00:30:27.196 –> 00:30:27.297
Right,

00:30:27.317 –> 00:30:28.438
because they don’t think they need them.

00:30:29.657 –> 00:30:30.259
And for us,

00:30:30.318 –> 00:30:33.460
it’s not just the stand-up for

00:30:33.480 –> 00:30:34.280
the entire team.

00:30:35.740 –> 00:30:37.142
It’s for the entire hotel.

00:30:37.201 –> 00:30:39.523
We have that bi-department,

00:30:40.403 –> 00:30:42.684
and we really go through

00:30:43.526 –> 00:30:44.385
all of these moments

00:30:46.209 –> 00:30:48.269
together multiple times and

00:30:48.289 –> 00:30:49.170
we do it twice a day.

00:30:49.671 –> 00:30:50.651
We’ll have one in the

00:30:50.691 –> 00:30:52.311
morning and we have another

00:30:52.372 –> 00:30:54.373
catch up at five o’clock in

00:30:54.413 –> 00:30:56.114
the afternoon really to zoom in

00:30:56.983 –> 00:30:59.025
to the experiences of the day,

00:30:59.384 –> 00:31:00.484
very specifically

00:31:01.846 –> 00:31:04.826
guest-directed is that afternoon meeting.

00:31:05.547 –> 00:31:06.787
And then very specifically

00:31:06.866 –> 00:31:09.087
also looking at the dinner experience.

00:31:09.928 –> 00:31:11.588
We have our guests at the

00:31:11.648 –> 00:31:12.489
restaurants here.

00:31:13.230 –> 00:31:15.951
Given the size of our food and beverage,

00:31:16.651 –> 00:31:19.332
we import the vast majority

00:31:19.412 –> 00:31:21.132
of our guests in the

00:31:21.172 –> 00:31:23.292
restaurants for lunch and dinner.

00:31:24.108 –> 00:31:25.710
And with that also,

00:31:26.069 –> 00:31:28.851
we go through that same kind of process,

00:31:29.631 –> 00:31:31.152
not just from a hotel point of view,

00:31:31.551 –> 00:31:33.112
but also for each of the

00:31:33.172 –> 00:31:35.393
restaurants and at each of

00:31:35.413 –> 00:31:37.233
the banquet events that may

00:31:37.273 –> 00:31:39.555
be taking place around the resorts.

00:31:40.055 –> 00:31:41.575
Or it could also be in the

00:31:41.615 –> 00:31:42.715
water park at Aquaventure.

00:31:43.455 –> 00:31:44.756
Glenn, if I can ask one question,

00:31:45.136 –> 00:31:45.977
and before you wrap up.

00:31:47.257 –> 00:31:48.498
I got another topic to talk about,

00:31:48.518 –> 00:31:49.057
but go ahead.

00:31:49.178 –> 00:31:50.097
I’m going to ask you an

00:31:50.178 –> 00:31:51.219
impossible question,

00:31:51.259 –> 00:31:52.118
but you have to answer it.

00:31:53.567 –> 00:31:54.928
Or Suzanne, our producer,

00:31:54.968 –> 00:31:57.289
clicks you out off the show.

00:31:58.971 –> 00:32:00.311
In your incredible career,

00:32:00.372 –> 00:32:02.333
and you have a legendary career,

00:32:03.855 –> 00:32:05.736
is there one moment that

00:32:05.796 –> 00:32:08.637
stands out where you’re like, wow?

00:32:09.298 –> 00:32:11.760
I have a moment that I talk about a lot,

00:32:11.820 –> 00:32:13.362
but is there a moment that

00:32:13.501 –> 00:32:15.403
you have that was like, wow,

00:32:15.462 –> 00:32:16.903
that was an incredible experience,

00:32:16.923 –> 00:32:18.605
incredible moment, how did I get here?

00:32:19.006 –> 00:32:20.267
Is there one thing that stands out?

00:32:21.657 –> 00:32:22.898
I would certainly say that

00:32:22.939 –> 00:32:24.740
would be the grand reveal

00:32:25.000 –> 00:32:26.982
of the opening of, of Atlantis,

00:32:27.202 –> 00:32:27.683
the Royal.

00:32:27.703 –> 00:32:31.666
Uh, it was, uh, one of these moments, uh,

00:32:31.727 –> 00:32:34.089
that, uh, that really you, uh,

00:32:34.369 –> 00:32:36.090
afterwards realize, uh,

00:32:36.211 –> 00:32:38.373
what the team has just accomplished.

00:32:39.173 –> 00:32:41.096
Um, there was, you know,

00:32:41.096 –> 00:32:43.498
1500 of the who’s who in the world, uh,

00:32:43.597 –> 00:32:45.519
who was, uh, who was invited to,

00:32:45.700 –> 00:32:47.461
to be part of, of that experience.

00:32:48.201 –> 00:32:50.223
You have Beyonce and Swedish

00:32:50.263 –> 00:32:51.845
House Mafia that are

00:32:52.305 –> 00:32:53.925
headlining the experience.

00:32:54.326 –> 00:32:55.047
But literally,

00:32:55.067 –> 00:32:57.709
it was not just that performance.

00:32:57.769 –> 00:32:59.829
It was literally going from

00:33:00.269 –> 00:33:01.830
zero to 200 miles an hour.

00:33:03.858 –> 00:33:06.099
As you open the resort fully

00:33:06.660 –> 00:33:10.402
and have a full occupancy of guests,

00:33:10.662 –> 00:33:11.821
all restaurants are going

00:33:11.902 –> 00:33:13.202
live at the same time.

00:33:13.942 –> 00:33:15.723
You have guests checking in

00:33:15.824 –> 00:33:17.824
on Thursday and leaving the

00:33:17.864 –> 00:33:18.884
following Tuesday.

00:33:18.904 –> 00:33:22.266
And really, it’s about in one go.

00:33:22.796 –> 00:33:25.416
creating a brand that didn’t exist before.

00:33:26.676 –> 00:33:28.057
And that’s quite an

00:33:28.097 –> 00:33:31.318
incredible undertaking that

00:33:31.358 –> 00:33:33.440
this team has been able to

00:33:33.680 –> 00:33:35.240
pull off in great fashion.

00:33:35.560 –> 00:33:36.921
I’ve never opened a hotel.

00:33:37.020 –> 00:33:37.842
I’m an emotional guy.

00:33:37.862 –> 00:33:38.801
I’ve never opened a hotel

00:33:38.821 –> 00:33:39.481
where I didn’t cry.

00:33:39.821 –> 00:33:41.903
I don’t know what it’s like at your birth,

00:33:41.942 –> 00:33:43.923
obviously, but I’d imagine…

00:33:44.539 –> 00:33:46.299
that I’m not saying it’s as

00:33:46.339 –> 00:33:47.421
painful and I’m not saying

00:33:47.461 –> 00:33:48.961
it’s as glorious,

00:33:48.980 –> 00:33:50.260
but that’s the closest I’ve

00:33:50.320 –> 00:33:53.041
ever given birth is opening

00:33:53.061 –> 00:33:54.781
a hotel because like you said,

00:33:54.801 –> 00:33:57.502
it goes from zero to 200 miles an hour.

00:33:57.663 –> 00:33:59.003
And then if you’re not

00:33:59.903 –> 00:34:02.604
prepared and if you’re truly not prepared,

00:34:03.105 –> 00:34:04.365
if your systems aren’t working,

00:34:04.384 –> 00:34:05.585
your team isn’t right,

00:34:06.285 –> 00:34:07.144
uniforms aren’t right,

00:34:07.226 –> 00:34:08.146
everything’s not right,

00:34:08.826 –> 00:34:10.405
you can never put that

00:34:10.465 –> 00:34:11.407
genie back in the bottle.

00:34:11.867 –> 00:34:13.206
If you open correctly,

00:34:13.862 –> 00:34:14.543
It’s smooth.

00:34:14.943 –> 00:34:17.166
But if you open incorrectly,

00:34:17.186 –> 00:34:18.929
that first week will

00:34:19.010 –> 00:34:21.793
literally take 10 years to recover from.

00:34:23.094 –> 00:34:23.594
Absolutely.

00:34:23.635 –> 00:34:24.836
It’s the one moment of truth.

00:34:25.429 –> 00:34:26.831
And it’s really what we prepare for,

00:34:26.871 –> 00:34:27.291
right?

00:34:27.471 –> 00:34:29.092
It’s all in the preparation.

00:34:29.871 –> 00:34:32.034
But it’s also in all the

00:34:32.094 –> 00:34:33.514
simulations that take place

00:34:33.994 –> 00:34:34.974
ahead of time and really

00:34:35.034 –> 00:34:37.577
bringing your team along on that journey.

00:34:38.396 –> 00:34:40.338
The number of times we

00:34:40.418 –> 00:34:43.639
ourselves stayed in every room, snagged,

00:34:44.679 –> 00:34:45.920
re-snagged, de-snagged.

00:34:47.134 –> 00:34:48.253
went back into the same

00:34:48.313 –> 00:34:51.175
rooms with multiple, multiple times,

00:34:51.574 –> 00:34:52.916
just from a room point of view,

00:34:53.275 –> 00:34:54.376
but then at the same time

00:34:54.456 –> 00:34:57.237
doing that exercise in each

00:34:57.297 –> 00:34:59.157
of the 17 restaurants,

00:34:59.556 –> 00:35:00.876
doing the simulation out by

00:35:00.896 –> 00:35:01.697
the pool and beach.

00:35:02.077 –> 00:35:03.378
And by the time you are

00:35:03.478 –> 00:35:06.119
comfortable with the

00:35:06.179 –> 00:35:08.338
experience and you’re ready to test it,

00:35:08.378 –> 00:35:11.579
then maybe broaden that experience to

00:35:12.079 –> 00:35:13.340
friends and family, right,

00:35:13.380 –> 00:35:15.860
whereby you actually have

00:35:15.900 –> 00:35:19.282
maybe peers and hoteliers

00:35:19.382 –> 00:35:20.822
and our colleagues from the

00:35:20.862 –> 00:35:22.063
corporate office come over,

00:35:23.384 –> 00:35:25.005
owners and asset managers

00:35:25.065 –> 00:35:26.525
come over and really kind

00:35:26.606 –> 00:35:28.726
of take that experience one

00:35:28.746 –> 00:35:30.507
step further until

00:35:30.916 –> 00:35:32.135
you really kind of get into

00:35:32.315 –> 00:35:33.856
that moment of the truth

00:35:33.956 –> 00:35:35.657
and are ready to open the doors.

00:35:35.838 –> 00:35:37.998
And that timeframe of

00:35:38.077 –> 00:35:39.398
everything I just described

00:35:39.759 –> 00:35:41.018
typically is very, very short.

00:35:41.099 –> 00:35:44.681
So you have to be prepared, you know,

00:35:44.760 –> 00:35:46.081
and it’s all in the

00:35:46.380 –> 00:35:49.081
preparation of years of

00:35:49.181 –> 00:35:51.242
preparation and training and

00:35:51.876 –> 00:35:53.336
writing down the guest

00:35:53.376 –> 00:35:55.297
journey and rehearsing and

00:35:55.697 –> 00:35:57.099
simulating that time and

00:35:57.119 –> 00:35:59.079
time again until such

00:35:59.139 –> 00:36:00.420
moment that you feel comfortable with it.

00:36:00.840 –> 00:36:02.181
Because once you’re there,

00:36:02.722 –> 00:36:05.184
there is no way back.

00:36:05.923 –> 00:36:06.844
It’s the moment of the truth

00:36:06.905 –> 00:36:07.405
at that moment.

00:36:08.188 –> 00:36:09.128
Yeah, absolutely.

00:36:09.148 –> 00:36:10.748
All right, so before we wrap up,

00:36:10.809 –> 00:36:11.329
I’m curious.

00:36:11.349 –> 00:36:13.530
You’ve got this iconic

00:36:13.949 –> 00:36:16.289
property there with the Atlantis,

00:36:16.349 –> 00:36:17.170
the Palms.

00:36:17.911 –> 00:36:18.851
You’re going ahead and

00:36:18.871 –> 00:36:20.572
you’re going to build something else.

00:36:20.592 –> 00:36:22.351
You’ve got to top this thing,

00:36:23.152 –> 00:36:24.972
but you’ve already got such an icon.

00:36:25.492 –> 00:36:26.773
How do you think about

00:36:26.833 –> 00:36:28.373
developing that next

00:36:28.434 –> 00:36:29.733
generation of product

00:36:30.155 –> 00:36:30.735
that’s going to be

00:36:30.795 –> 00:36:32.534
contemporary and really wow

00:36:32.574 –> 00:36:34.036
today’s guests without

00:36:35.155 –> 00:36:37.817
destroying the essence of the original?

00:36:39.346 –> 00:36:40.847
Well, that’s a great question.

00:36:41.027 –> 00:36:41.867
And ultimately,

00:36:41.967 –> 00:36:43.829
we actually have seen very

00:36:43.889 –> 00:36:47.172
little dilution of our

00:36:47.192 –> 00:36:49.353
business from the existing

00:36:49.393 –> 00:36:50.954
Atlantis the Palm as we

00:36:51.034 –> 00:36:52.755
opened Atlantis the Royal.

00:36:52.775 –> 00:36:55.177
So we have created an

00:36:55.778 –> 00:36:57.059
entirely new audience.

00:36:57.119 –> 00:36:58.900
There’s really only about 4%

00:36:58.900 –> 00:37:00.943
of the guests at Atlantis the Royal.

00:37:01.382 –> 00:37:02.664
who may have already visited

00:37:03.003 –> 00:37:04.824
the original Atlantis, the Palm.

00:37:05.385 –> 00:37:06.885
And so what’s been important

00:37:06.945 –> 00:37:09.186
for us is to create

00:37:09.326 –> 00:37:10.606
different experiences.

00:37:11.547 –> 00:37:12.688
And so we have an

00:37:12.768 –> 00:37:13.907
extraordinary property

00:37:13.967 –> 00:37:17.048
that’s been going for 15

00:37:17.048 –> 00:37:19.989
years with really a

00:37:20.110 –> 00:37:21.590
fascinating aqua venture.

00:37:22.331 –> 00:37:22.731
I mean,

00:37:22.891 –> 00:37:24.632
it’s over 100 slides and attractions.

00:37:24.672 –> 00:37:26.853
We care for 65,000 marine

00:37:26.913 –> 00:37:28.713
animals at the water park.

00:37:29.204 –> 00:37:31.086
It’s really, you know,

00:37:31.288 –> 00:37:32.630
quite the experience.

00:37:32.670 –> 00:37:34.853
And to your point, how do you top that?

00:37:35.014 –> 00:37:35.795
And I think for us,

00:37:36.275 –> 00:37:38.059
it was about adding on

00:37:38.119 –> 00:37:41.786
experiences rather than kind of creating

00:37:42.150 –> 00:37:43.190
different experiences.

00:37:43.831 –> 00:37:46.672
And I think it was in the various elements,

00:37:47.052 –> 00:37:48.074
whether it was the iconic

00:37:48.173 –> 00:37:49.355
architecture of the building,

00:37:50.114 –> 00:37:51.775
which truly is stunning and

00:37:52.016 –> 00:37:56.219
cannot be missed from anywhere in Dubai,

00:37:56.619 –> 00:37:58.061
whether it’s the restaurant

00:37:58.181 –> 00:37:59.661
offerings and really

00:37:59.782 –> 00:38:02.003
building on a very strong basis.

00:38:02.543 –> 00:38:04.425
We already had great brands

00:38:04.465 –> 00:38:06.146
such as Nobu and Gordon

00:38:06.206 –> 00:38:07.606
Ramsay and Hakkasan,

00:38:08.007 –> 00:38:09.708
our own home-grown brands

00:38:09.748 –> 00:38:10.909
such as Oceano and the

00:38:10.949 –> 00:38:11.929
Underwater Restaurant.

00:38:12.469 –> 00:38:14.271
and Seafire, the Steakhouse.

00:38:14.692 –> 00:38:16.152
But now it was adding on to

00:38:16.193 –> 00:38:17.173
those experiences.

00:38:18.014 –> 00:38:19.916
And that was really kind of the key.

00:38:19.976 –> 00:38:24.099
So by adding on, whether it was Milos,

00:38:24.219 –> 00:38:27.702
by creating Lamar with Gaston Acurio,

00:38:27.742 –> 00:38:29.583
Dinaba Heston Blumenthal, and so forth,

00:38:29.963 –> 00:38:31.465
it was offering new cuisines.

00:38:32.425 –> 00:38:33.706
But it goes beyond that.

00:38:33.746 –> 00:38:35.347
It was also about offering

00:38:35.788 –> 00:38:37.989
different wellness experience.

00:38:38.009 –> 00:38:40.070
It was also about creating different

00:38:40.449 –> 00:38:41.851
entertainment and

00:38:42.471 –> 00:38:44.070
experiences around the

00:38:44.110 –> 00:38:45.532
resort that ultimately

00:38:45.572 –> 00:38:46.431
complement each other.

00:38:47.092 –> 00:38:47.693
And today,

00:38:47.713 –> 00:38:50.733
we certainly are the beneficiary

00:38:51.534 –> 00:38:53.974
of all of these experiences

00:38:54.014 –> 00:38:54.735
for our guests kind of

00:38:54.775 –> 00:38:56.516
culminating in something

00:38:56.576 –> 00:38:59.157
that is really unheard of

00:38:59.657 –> 00:39:00.338
anywhere in the world.

00:39:01.601 –> 00:39:01.780
Wow.

00:39:02.041 –> 00:39:03.322
That is unbelievable.

00:39:04.061 –> 00:39:05.103
I’ve never made it to Dubai,

00:39:05.143 –> 00:39:06.222
as we said in our opening,

00:39:06.262 –> 00:39:08.284
but I have been to Atlantis and Bahamas.

00:39:08.324 –> 00:39:09.585
And I remember how that kind

00:39:09.644 –> 00:39:10.525
of changed everything and

00:39:10.585 –> 00:39:13.106
how gorgeous it is and the

00:39:13.146 –> 00:39:14.067
way that everyone cares for

00:39:14.086 –> 00:39:14.726
the marine life.

00:39:14.766 –> 00:39:16.748
So I’m picturing that and

00:39:16.768 –> 00:39:19.188
then time to get by like 10,000.

00:39:19.188 –> 00:39:21.289
So I’d really love to see

00:39:21.309 –> 00:39:22.130
your place one day.

00:39:22.190 –> 00:39:24.231
Thank you so much for everything.

00:39:24.271 –> 00:39:24.490
Anthony,

00:39:24.530 –> 00:39:25.992
any final things for our amazing

00:39:26.032 –> 00:39:26.431
guest today?

00:39:26.612 –> 00:39:26.891
No,

00:39:27.072 –> 00:39:28.632
it was a pleasure and I’m sure I’ll see

00:39:28.652 –> 00:39:29.152
you soon.

00:39:29.373 –> 00:39:30.653
And thank you for everything you do.

00:39:31.789 –> 00:39:32.849
Thank you so much, Anthony,

00:39:33.130 –> 00:39:35.389
and really keep inspiring all of us.

00:39:35.891 –> 00:39:39.172
We’re truly having an

00:39:39.492 –> 00:39:40.371
exciting journey in the

00:39:40.391 –> 00:39:41.652
hospitality industry,

00:39:42.032 –> 00:39:43.454
and the best is yet to come.

00:39:43.893 –> 00:39:45.014
Yeah, and I will say,

00:39:45.034 –> 00:39:46.394
let me top you and say

00:39:46.414 –> 00:39:48.155
thank you for inspiring us

00:39:48.335 –> 00:39:49.815
and our audience today.

00:39:49.896 –> 00:39:51.817
Tom, you are amazing.

00:39:51.936 –> 00:39:53.778
And so all of you out there, listen,

00:39:53.898 –> 00:39:54.639
this show, Anthony,

00:39:54.659 –> 00:39:56.240
was so chock-a-block full of information.

00:39:56.681 –> 00:39:57.442
I think everybody should

00:39:57.461 –> 00:39:59.282
take a moment and download

00:39:59.302 –> 00:40:00.443
the audio version of our show.

00:40:00.485 –> 00:40:01.585
If you’re watching this on video,

00:40:01.605 –> 00:40:03.387
get that wherever you get your podcasts,

00:40:03.746 –> 00:40:05.068
or if you’re listening to us,

00:40:05.148 –> 00:40:06.570
why not watch this one?

00:40:06.909 –> 00:40:08.030
You’re not going to want to miss it.

00:40:08.070 –> 00:40:10.472
Check us out on Facebook, Instagram,

00:40:10.793 –> 00:40:11.855
LinkedIn, of course,

00:40:11.914 –> 00:40:14.777
the No Vacancy news page on YouTube,

00:40:14.856 –> 00:40:15.958
and all of our No Vacancy

00:40:15.998 –> 00:40:17.139
properties and Anthony’s

00:40:17.159 –> 00:40:18.800
personal page all over the place.

00:40:18.900 –> 00:40:19.240
And No

00:40:19.260 –> 00:40:19.840
We can see news.com.

00:40:19.860 –> 00:40:20.121
All right,

00:40:20.161 –> 00:40:21.481
everyone be back tomorrow with

00:40:21.521 –> 00:40:23.163
another great show live.

00:40:23.182 –> 00:40:24.643
Happy birthday, Daniel.

00:40:25.103 –> 00:40:26.224
Thank you so much for tuning

00:40:26.344 –> 00:40:27.945
in and remember you’ve got one life.

00:40:27.965 –> 00:40:30.086
So blaze on and be kind to yourself.

00:40:30.347 –> 00:40:30.867
See you tomorrow.

00:40:31.487 –> 00:40:31.887
Goodbye.