Guy Hutchinson is the chief operating officer of the UAE hotels group Rotana. Born to a British father and French/South African mother in Venezuela, he has lived in Brazil, Peru, France and the UK, attended high school and university in South Africa and worked in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Tokyo, Australia, Shanghai, Beijing and New Delhi. The 49-year-old joined Rotana in January 2014 from a senior role with Hilton Worldwide. A Star Wars fan, he lives in Mangrove Village, Abu Dhabi, with his wife, Kinga.
5.55am
My wife and I have no kids but we have a Siberian husky called Saba and a golden retriever, Jedi. We start our day by cycling with them for 30 minutes. We also have a gym at home where I work out for half an hour.
7.20am
My wife is a fitness freak so breakfast is extremely healthy, normally a protein shake and fruit or yoghurt, maybe some eggs. The drive to work takes nine minutes in good traffic – the office is in Capital Centre – and I’m in just before 8am.
7.55am
The first thing I do is go through financial results of the hotels for the previous day. We have 58 trading. We opened in Kinshasa (in the Democratic Republic of Congo) in December, beginning our sub-Saharan expansion. Rotana has gone from initial start-up as a UAE-based company to a leading hotel chain in the Middle East. I was brought in because I have experience across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Australia, and our direction is to position Rotana as a global hotel company.
9am
I sit with one of our vice presidents. We have one responsible for revenue management and distribution, and I go through with him how hotels are evolving, from a revenue perspective, over the next three months.
10am
Different things happen across the week, but after that meeting I meet another VP. We are looking at summer in Abu Dhabi, what we’re doing with our loyalty programme. From an operational perspective our hotels are divided across four regions and I have four operational VPs who manage regions.
1pm
Lunch tends to be a 10-minute affair, just salad and a protein. I try to make a habit of being in our hotels at critical meal times in the week; I’ll drop in for breakfast, for lunch, pass through at dinner times. We’re very much a hands-on organisation. I see what it looks like, get a feel for the quality, see how customers are being served.
1.30pm
I kick off a meeting with our general managers in Abu Dhabi to go through current issues in the market. Earlier this week there was one in Dubai, so I was in Dubai for that. We deliberately move it around. I manufacture as many opportunities as possible to see as many hotels as often as I can. You’re testing the product. It’s also opportunity to interact with teams, speak to staff. Our business is a people business. It’s about driving that culture of hospitality.
3pm
Back to the office. Generally, every day, I have an hour with our president. We’re going through planning our annual conference; setting content, guest speakers, structure, what we want to achieve. Half an hour is spent talking about our operations in Turkey. We’re opening a third and fourth hotel in Istanbul.
4pm
I meet one of our biggest partners in the UAE, a large travel supplier that deals a lot with government and corporate clients. This one will do probably 10,000-15,000 room nights with us a year. I have direct relationships with the principals of these companies to make sure our hotels are servicing them properly, iron out any hiccups. I meet a lot of key customers. I build open relationships so they can pick up a phone to me.
5pm
Every day there’s a certain amount of contractual and procurement documentation that requires my authorisation, which is how I finish my day in the office.
6.30pm
I’m home. Generally there’s something on. My wife teaches fitness classes so we might pass each other in the hallway for 10 minutes. I’m a keen golfer so I go to the driving range at Abu Dhabi Golf Club to spend 45 minutes honing the game.
8.30pm
My wife and I connect at home. We’ll cook dinner; salad and grilled proteins, fillet of fish, breast of chicken or a steak. We keep it as healthy as possible. I’m very strict during the week so on the weekend we can relax. During the week we’re flat-out. A couple of evenings we’ll be out, to entertain and meet customers.
9.45pm
I relax and watch TV. I’m really enjoying Westworld. I read only on weekends, but I’m reading Trevor Noah’s autobiography. Because I have a bit of history in South Africa I can relate to it. I go to bed at 11pm.
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How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
ARSENAL IN 1977
Feb 05 Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland
Feb 12 Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal
Feb 15 Middlesbrough 3-0 Arsenal
Feb 19 Arsenal 2-3 West Ham
Feb 26 Middlesbrough 4-1 Arsenal (FA Cup)
Mar 01 Everton 2-1 Arsenal
Mar 05 Arsenal 1-4 ipswich
March 08 Arsenal 1-2 West Brom
Mar 12 QPR 2-1 Arsenal
Mar 23 Stoke 1-1 Arsenal
Apr 02 Arsenal 3-0 Leicester
Points to remember
- Debate the issue, don't attack the person
- Build the relationship and dialogue by seeking to find common ground
- Express passion for the issue but be aware of when you're losing control or when there's anger. If there is, pause and take some time out.
- Listen actively without interrupting
- Avoid assumptions, seek understanding, ask questions
The%20specs
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Abu Dhabi card
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 2,400m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 2,200m
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
The National selections:
5pm: Valcartier
5.30pm: AF Taraha
6pm: Dhafra
6.30pm: Maqam
7pm: AF Mekhbat
7.30pm: Ezz Al Rawasi
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Yabi%20by%20Souqalmal%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMay%202022%2C%20launched%20June%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAmbareen%20Musa%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20u%3C%2Fstrong%3Endisclosed%20but%20soon%20to%20be%20announced%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E12%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eseed%C2%A0%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EShuaa%20Capital%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
RESULT
West Brom 2 Liverpool 2
West Brom: Livermore (79'), Rondón (88' )
Liverpool: Ings (4'), Salah (72')
