YoungHotelier.com makes the cover of Weekend Magazine

We’re very proud to announce that YoungHotelier.com has been featured on Khaleej Time’s WEEKEND Magazine as a cover feature story! The story was released in the Friday 26th September, 2008 issue and can be downloaded in PDF format here (2MB): YoungHotelier.com Cover Story

Here is the text content of the story, re-produced from it’s original source on Khaleej Time’s website:

To serve with love

Pratibha Umashankar (Cover Story) – 26 September 2008

THE HOSPITALITY industry is based on the philosophy of making the stay of guests a great experience. It is a service industry. Behind the glitz and glamour and the clockwork precision of a hotel is an army of men and women — often unseen and unheard — who keep the machinery well-oiled.

From the cheerful voice that greets you with the wake-up call to the smartly dressed receptionist in the front office, from the chef who concocts culinary delights to those who change the bed linen, they strive hard to provide service with a smile.

Be it Iftar, Eid or New Year, they make sure others have a good time. And what’s more, they clean up the mess after you leave.

But who cares for those who serve  others? So Erin O’Neill and Jitendra Jain, two young industry insiders have taken the initiative to get hoteliers together under one roof, albeit a cyber one. YoungHotelier.com, started in 2007 and Hothoteliers.Com in 2008, are their brain children. The two founders enthusiastically talk about the concept behind the websites.

“YoungHotelier.com is still an online entity. Hothoteliers.com is the sister concept that takes the connections beyond the electronic world. Both are still very much a product of our free time,” explain Erin and Jitendra. Erin is Senior Sales Manager, Corporate, and Jitendra is E-Commerce Manager. They work for the Westin and Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Complex.

YoungHotelier.com was started to harness the power of hospitality connections and enable professionals in the industry to realise their full potential. Hothoteliers.com is a platform that offers diverse opportunities through networking and building relationships.

“The vision of YoungHotelier.com is ‘to be a home to hoteliers everywhere’. It is fuelled by the passion for people and a need to reach out to those looking to make a career in hospitality as well as to provide support to those who are already climbing the corporate ladder. On the other hand, Hothoteliers.com’s vision is to connect hoteliers everywhere. The websites are not affiliated to any particular brand, group or hotel company, say Erin and Jitendra.”

Talking of what made them take the initiative, they say, “The world of hospitality is different from most, comprising the most beautiful places, experiences, designs and gastronomic delights, all driven by the dynamic and passionate people who define the industry. However, while you hear about the business, the people are often left out of the limelight. YoungHotelier.com was created to steal some of this limelight from the hospitality industry for itself and focus it on the people that actually define it.”

The concept makes use of tools like video interviews with hoteliers and those associated with the industry who can be defined as being truly “young at heart”.

“Industry insights, key industry concerns and best practices are made available on the www.YoungHotelier.com website,” says Erin.

“The aim is to offer an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the industry, new ways of thinking, the people, their roles and how successful hoteliers have navigated their way to the top. Hoteliers can also discuss these issues on the exclusive discussion forum called the “Tea Lounge”, enjoy our dedicated YouTube channel and even network on a fast-growing Facebook Group!”

“It’s a unique platform that captures the fun element which is so vital in hospitality and brings hoteliers from diverse companies and backgrounds to bond together,” says Jitendra, more popularly known as JJ.

Hot Hoteliers has now moved beyond the cyber realm. It has conducted various successful networking evenings for hoteliers in the UAE.

“The evenings provide the perfect forum for meeting friends, old and new, sharing experiences, knowledge and best practices,” say the founders.

“The events are hosted at different hotels on a bi-monthly basis and feature selected speakers and facilitators to make the networking process more exciting and meaningful.

“Hotels may volunteer to host the event as this offers a fantastic opportunity to reach out to industry colleagues and showcase their properties. Key elements of the evenings are sponsored by partners such as A&E to make the events a cost-free affair for attending hoteliers.”

The beauty of the two concepts is that they balance their presence in the online and offline worlds, believe Erin and JJ.

“YoungHotelier.com was mainly about electronic, global reach through social networks, YouTube … all supplemented with a healthy dose of word-of-mouth referrals. Hothoteliers, on the other hand was all about the “buzz” created by hoteliers.”

It was spurred by both the eagerness to meet hospitality fraternity as well as the sharing of information about the events with their own professional networks, supported by electronic communication. Thus the websites provide not only a space to meet and greet people from the fraternity, but also share rich and diverse experience from industry insiders. What’s more, it’s veritable goldmine to be tapped by those aspiring to break into the industry.

Now for the necessary cliché: Mission statement and mantra.

“Both concepts share five common core values: Connect, Learn and Grow, Belong, Be Different and Have Fun and Keep it Real,” say Erin and JJ.

Talking of the industry’s response they say, “When YoungHotelier.com was announced late last year, we had a flood of enthusiastic and encouraging responses from hoteliers across the globe, commending our efforts and volunteering to contribute to the effort.

“Some of our interviewees were also pleasantly surprised to receive messages from other hoteliers (and some hoteliers to be!) seeking advice on Facebook and on the site and telling them how much their insights had helped and inspired them.”

The duo says that the phenomenal interest and surprisingly strong attendance at the Hothotelier evenings is also a true attestation to the need for such a hotelier support and networking base.

“Our initial expectation of getting 30 to 40 hoteliers together was surpassed at the first event with 97 attendees and then we were blown away by the third, with over 300 attendees!” they gush.

At the time of the interview, the websites had a combined total of over 1,200 supporters registered for the YoungHotelier.com and Hothoteliers mailing lists.

Of these, approximately 650 are hoteliers currently working in Dubai. YoungHotelier.com draws a more international base and their Facebook groups are also home to over a 1,000 fans.

“On the last count, our modest collection of 49 YouTube videos had 57,668 total views to-date! Not bad for a spare-time devotion!” say Erin and JJ.

Why did they feel the need to start something like this? “We strongly believe in the power of people and ideas, supplemented with a healthy dose of passion … all garnished with a sprinkling of fun,” says Erin.

“These concepts were created in our free time to fill certain human needs that we believe were not being quenched in the hotel industry — personal recognition, sharing, connections, guidance and support,” adds JJ.

“While hoteliers are often surrounded by people and serve many masters and brands, it can be a lonely career. We wanted to create a hospitality family.”

When asked what the sites owe their success to, “Sleepless nights!” they quip.

“Jokes aside, we believe it’s true success lies with the recognition by the hospitality fraternity that these are much needed initiatives,” they add. “The most positive feedback we’ve received is how touched people are that someone has taken the time and effort to think about the hoteliers who have devoted their lives to serving others. 

“The Hothoteliers events got hospitality professionals from a variety of backgrounds, roles and over 95 hotels (from Dubai to the rest of the UAE) together in an informal setting to connect, have fun, learn from each other and feel like they belonged to something bigger — even when in a foreign land! All these elements are firmly embodied by our core values.”

Interestingly, all three Hothoteliers events that have happened so far were cost-free to attending hoteliers. But why the “going Dutch” concept of pay-for-your-own-food-and-drink, one wonders.

Erin and JJ respond, “The great support by the host hotels, namely Le Meridien Mina Seyahi, The Westin Dubai and The Raffles Dubai, and key hospitality suppliers enabled us to keep these events focused on the fun (versus the cost). Our endeavour will always be to serve the needs of hoteliers at minimal or no cost, circumstances permitting.”

The two admit that their employers have greatly encouraged both ventures.

“We wouldn’t have achieved what we have without the continued support of our employers,” they say. “In fact, one of our first interviews for YoungHotelier.com was with our General Manager, Michael Scully.

“We’ve also received very encouraging feedback on our initiatives from across the Starwood Hotels associate network as well as other international hotel chains, brands and industry leaders.”

In simple terms, when Dubai is poised to be the hospitality hub, what Erin and JJ have started provides an opportunity for the hospitality industry to do a bit of introspecting and soul-searching.

Commenting on this they say, “We believe life is not a dress rehearsal and a little soul-searching is definitely required to make the difficult life choices that hoteliers face. Our platforms are about people looking inside themselves — and at others like them — to learn, grow and to replenish the gap that sometimes evolves due to the sacrifices they make.

“We hope we will be successful in facilitating solutions and overcoming  challenges.”

Devoting time and energy to keep two websites running with demanding jobs is a challenge.

Erin and JJ keep the engines of the sites going by devoting every moment of their spare time to what has now grown beyond a pastime.

The “serious fun” they have running the sites itself is a big high they say.”
What if their initiative snowballs into something too big to handle?

“Who knows? We love challenges! At this point we’ll just leave you with a dose of John Lennon — ‘Imagine’,” they grin. Yes, just imagine!

You can read the entire article online, accompanied by photos & sound bites from hotel industry leaders or download the PDF version of the article.

A big thank you to everyone who contributed to the article and to our hotelier community for making all this possible!

Warmest personal regards,
JJ

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2. Welcome to YoungHotelier.com – Concept Video
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