For a hotel chain that has built its reputation as a luxury brand, staff selection is essential. Simon Cooper, the president and chief operating officer of Ritz-Carlton Hotels and Resorts, says it took six interviews to secure his appointment in 2001. "It was a long process," he recalls. "But everyone working at the hotel - from the housecleaning staff to senior managers - had to go through it. It's the cost of working at the Ritz-Carlton."
The international chain's staff are entrusted with preserving the high-end luxury standards set by its founder, Cesar Ritz. The chain opened its first US property in Boston in 1927. From hardwood floors to crystal chandeliers in its lounge, the Ritz-Carlton Dubai in Jumeirah aspires to replicate that air of classy sophistication in a region more familiar with glitter and dazzle.
Its fame and history notwithstanding, the Ritz-Carlton's management decided a few years ago that the brand needed a little less starch in its collar.
Changes were made to suit the tastes of younger guests who seek a less formal setting for their holidays and meetings. "About five years ago, we decided to shift our style from traditional to casual elegance, because we knew that the business could not be sustainable otherwise," says Mr Cooper. "But till this day, we have hotels that have lobbies that are just too grand to walk around in your shorts, while in some of our other properties you would feel comfortable doing that."
For most of the chain's history, that would have been unthinkable. When the Ritz-Carlton opened in Boston, it was regarded as a social club for the aristocracy, where the wealthy and powerful mingled. Until the 1960s, the hotel went so far as to examine the quality of the writing paper on which guests wrote to the hotel requesting reservations. If it was not of high enough quality, they were refused.
Mr Cooper compares the recent evolution of Ritz-Carlton to how the French designer, Louis Vuitton, mixed traditional with contemporary in his signature handbag designs.
"Louis Vuitton still manufactures the traditional beige on brown bag, but he also has one with a graffiti design, and they both sell equally well. It's the same in our business; many people still like the traditional, while the younger generations prefer the contemporary."
Asked which style he favours, Mr Cooper smiles. "I prefer the casual elegance, because when I'm on vacation I don't shave and I like having a relaxed setting. But my wife is not like that. She's really Mrs Ritz. When I get home after a long week, all I simply want is cheese and a glass of wine; she wants to go to all the places I've been during the work week."
Lately, Mr Cooper has been spending more time in the Middle East, where the Ritz-Carlton operates five hotels and is eyeing expansion. In June next year, it will add a sixth hotel. To be modelled on a contemporary style, the hotel will be located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). It has also signed contracts to manage two new hotels in Abu Dhabi and one in Riyadh. .
The expansion plan could be challenged by the global economic crisis, which has forced other hotel chains to scale back operations, but Mr Cooper is looking beyond the immediate situation.
"Your timing is never going to be perfect when deciding to develop a hotel," he says. "We had a hotel open in Bahrain just two months before Iraq got invaded and I was asked at the time if this was a good idea. I said the hotel is going to be around for 50 years, so we are looking at the long term."
But he concedes that the current economic situation is sending ripples through the luxury hotel business. "Even for people with old money, at a time like this there is a certain reluctance to be lavish in one's expenditure," he says.
The Ritz-Carlton's US holdings have already felt the repercussions. "It's tough," Mr Cooper admits. "October was a very poor month for our US hotels and it's not over yet."
The chain's hotels in the Middle East have so far been immune, recording their best results during the same period. "There is no doubt that the Middle East will be impacted... but to what extent we still don't know."
The Ritz-Carlton is owned by Marriott International, the world's largest hotel company. Last month, the Marriot said third-quarter profit fell 7.1 per cent on a drop in earnings from its timeshare division, Bloomberg reported.
Net income declined to US$131 million (Dh481m) from $141m a year earlier, the company said. Revenue increased 12 per cent to $3.04 billion.
North American revenue per available room, a measure of rates and occupancy known as revpar, increased 7.2 per cent, exceeding Marriott's target of 6 per cent to 7 per cent. The company expects revpar growth of 7 per cent to 8 per cent in the fourth quarter.
In an effort to counter dropping occupancy levels in the US, the Ritz-Carlton has introduced value-added packages to encourage guests to stay longer, a move Mr Cooper describes as more "efficient" than slashing room rates.
He regrets, however, that management was forced to lay off a number of US-based staff, although he declines to reveal how many. "We try to keep as many ladies and gentlemen employed as possible and make sure that they work a minimum of 30 hours so they don't lose their benefits," he says.
Yet knowing that the impact of the economic crisis is cyclical, Mr Cooper is confident that the good times will once again return.
Edward Wyner, the Boston real estate developer who built the chain's first hotel, also had high hopes. During the Great Depression, Wyner kept the lights on in vacant hotel rooms to portray an aura of success.
abakr@thenational.ae
Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
The%C2%A0specs%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5-litre%2C%20twin-turbo%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E410hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E495Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Estarts%20from%20Dh495%2C000%20(Dh610%2C000%20for%20the%20F-Sport%20launch%20edition%20tested)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
THREE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Nayla%20Al%20Khaja%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Jefferson%20Hall%2C%20Faten%20Ahmed%2C%20Noura%20Alabed%2C%20Saud%20Alzarooni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELeap%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ziad%20Toqan%20and%20Jamil%20Khammu%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Vines - In Miracle Land
Two stars
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
Upcoming games
SUNDAY
Brighton and Hove Albion v Southampton (5.30pm)
Leicester City v Everton (8pm)
MONDAY
Burnley v Newcastle United (midnight)
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MATCH INFO
Norwich 0
Watford 2 (Deulofeu 2', Gray 52')
Red card: Christian Kabasele (WatforD)
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Paderborn (11.30pm)
Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Schalke (6.30pm)
Union Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach (6.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldof v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Cologne (9.30pm)
Sunday
Augsburg v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Mainz (9pm)
Voy!%20Voy!%20Voy!
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Omar%20Hilal%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Muhammad%20Farrag%2C%20Bayoumi%20Fouad%2C%20Nelly%20Karim%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
