TIME Hotels hosted the soft opening of its much-anticipated TIME Asma Hotel in Dubai’s Al Barsha “retail” district. The new four-star hotel has a unique feature: the entire management team, including hotel manager Alexandra Kelner and 80 per cent of the hotel’s staff, is made up of women.
Commenting, TIME Hotels’ CEO Mohamed Awadalla, said: “It has always been
integral to our corporate strategy to diversify our workforce and offer equal
opportunities to all members of staff.“Under the leadership of Alexandra, all areas of the hotel operation will be managed
by women, from HR to sales, F&B, finance, front office and housekeeping – even our
executive chef is a woman.“I am sure that this talented all-female management team will provide inspiration to
all women who want to carve out a successful career in hospitality” added Awadalla.
The hotel, which will open in September, features 232 rooms spread across six floors, as well as a gym with special hours for women, a swimming pool, a jacuzzi, four conference rooms, a business center, and two restaurants for male and female guests. Zaytuna delivers Middle Eastern cuisine in a market-style environment with an open kitchen, while La Dolce Vita is a casual Italian-themed restaurant as the name suggests.
According to Catalyst, a global organization that promotes women in the workplace, the proportion of women in senior management roles worldwide increased to 29% in 2019, the highest number ever recorded, and 87 percent of global mid-market companies will have at least one woman in a senior management role in 2020.
Kelner, a French national, has risen through the ranks in a classic example of career progress. She held prominent positions in hotels in France and the UAE, heading teams in the housekeeping and rooms divisions, after graduating from the School of Management in Yvelines, near Paris.
“Once regional and international travel restrictions are relaxed, more women will be
travelling on business than ever before. Many women may well be travelling alone
and I believe it will be comforting for them to have the option of staying in a hotel
where 80% of the staff are women, with dedicated floors and in-room amenities,”
said Alexandra Kelner, Hotel Manager, TIME Asma Hotel.
The hotel is also only five minutes from the Mall of the Emirates, so it expects strong demand from local and regional guests looking for short getaways, especially women and families.
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