Last week I wrote about my top hotel hates, which chimed with many other regular guests. For them, like me, the excitement of staying in hotels has long worn off, and attention inevitably turns to niggles such as on-off air-con, limp pillows, poor lighting, noise and difficult shower controls – all regular complaints in an industry which is supposed, more than any other, to cater to people’s needs. More than ever nowadays, the challenge many hotels face is how to recreate the comforts of home. When you live in the comfort of the UAE, it’s not hard to find hotels that are sub-standard.
This week though, we’re going to look at things from the other side of the reception desk. What does being a hotelier tell us about human nature? Unfortunately, the short answer is that we are slobs.
Industry insiders, including hotel managers, have told me they are amazed how quickly guests can turn a room upside down. While towels on the floor, stains on sheets and underwear hanging from light fittings is de rigueur, one hotelier reserved their worst criticism for a female sports team, which, almost inexplicably, checked out leaving dirty items on the bathroom floor rather than in the bin, the toilets unflushed and furniture broken.
At another property, an unclothed man had to be “rescued” from the corridor after being kicked out by his companion in the middle of the night. The woman refused to open her door while the man demanded to be let back in. On a similar note, a hotel manager in India told me that “one of his worst guests” included a Japanese businessman who, when the hotel refused to write off some charges that he disputed, calmly stripped off and sat on the reception counter.
Of course what’s most important in all of these situations is how the hotel deals with the problem and minimises the impact on other guests. A high degree of emotional intelligence combined with professional detachment and a warmth of spirit – let’s call it “people skills” – really comes into play here. Often, it’s about defusing a situation without anyone losing face, but above all it’s about responding appropriately.
In the beautifully ornate lounge of a luxury hotel in Cambodia recently, I was chatting with the hotel manager when a rowdy businessman started shouting. He used the sudden brief power cut that followed to escalate his ramblings, which culminated in him smashing a glass angrily on the floor. While the manager could have called the police, he realised the guest was drunk and looking for attention and so mollified him by sitting down and engaging in conversation. Shortly afterwards, the man politely went to bed and that was the end of the matter.
At a motel in the United States last year however, I was disturbed as soon as I went to bed by the sound of partying next door. Some men had invited what sounded like 10 of their friends to join them in a mini-frat party. Before I even had time to complain, there was a sharp knock at their door. “The rules state no guests. All of you, out.” The manager knew he had to nip this in the bud, and he knew exactly what language to use.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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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
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More Expo 2020 Dubai pavilions:
Racecard
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The specs
Engine 60kwh FWD
Battery Rimac 120kwh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power 204hp Torque 360Nm
Price, base / as tested Dh174,500
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Baniyas Group 2 (PA) Dh 97,500 (Dirt) 1,400m.
7.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,400m
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,400m
8.50pm Rated Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh 95,000 (D) 1,200m
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh 85,000 (D) 2,000m
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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
Griselda
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