Video Interview with Elaine Nettleton, Hotel Director of Communications for the Middle East

We had the chance to catch up with Elaine Nettleton, who was named PR / Marketing person of the year 2007 at the Hotelier ME Awards. Elaine is the dynamic Director of Communications (Public Relations and Marketing) for Movenpick Hotels and Resorts in the Middle East. Elaine tells us about her career, education, what drives her and her advice for young as well as seasoned professionals making their mark in the industry.

Video 1: Elaine began her hospitality journey in the sales team at the Hilton Group in Abu Dhabi before getting her hands into the field of public relations with the Rotana Group. With a wealth of hospitality experience, but just over one years experience in PR before moving across to Dubai, this proved no barrier to this dynamic driver as she progressed the corporate ladder.

In her spare time Elaine had committed some of her dogged determination to completing a degree in psychology. In the final stages and nearing completion of this personal goal, Elaine felt that her full dedication was a challenging task (while maintaining a full time job in the hotel) and hence took a year out to conquer this quest! Having experienced a taste of the ‘good life’ or just ‘a life’ Elaine felt she was not quite ready to dive back into hotels and took on her next role within a marketing consultancy agency based in Dubai but she worked remotely from Florida, traveling whenever and wherever the role dictated. Business Development was Elaine’s focus – seeking new clients and putting together pitches and proposals.

On her next move to Vegas Elaine was expecting what probably both you and I alike would expect… CASINO’S!! On the contrary it was a fascinating destination with stunning hotels that offered a wealth of food for thought! The lobby of the MGM 5000 key hotel hosting a lion enclosure is just one example of this mesmerizing and fun industry that captivated Elaine once again and fuelled that passion to return to hotels! Returning to Dubai three years later Elaine was still with the marketing agency before joining the Movenpick cluster office which catered for 4 hotels in the United Arab Emirates region. Fortunately for Elaine the projects were a little behind schedule and rather than waste her talents and allow her to become idle, the group utilized her talents and expertise in the Movenpick Regional Office. Hence the natural transition came about for Elaine to her current role as the Director of Communications (Public Relations & Marketing) for Movenpick Hotels and Resorts Middle East! Elaine’s new role requires a more strategic working approach, thinking about 17 hotels right now and a phenomenal 30 in two year’s time!

Elaine’s training and initial qualifications for this role were in fact from the London School of Journalism and she is confident that one acquires the necessary hotel experience as they navigate the organization and learn from the experiences that present themselves as each exciting day unfolds! She loves the autonomy of her role, deciding what happens, when it happens and how it happens! She is so energized about going to work on a daily basis to see what new and exciting emails await her discovery! Starting 10 years ago as a sales executive Elaine reflects on the exciting journey that has allowed her arrive to her current role as the Director of Communications and she is confident that her time with the agency was one of her most invaluable experiences that enhanced her creative skills and allowed her to stay ahead of the game! Elaine is in a very fortunate position as YoungHotelier.com learned that her most influential mentor to date is in fact, Susan Finess of Strategic Solutions, a PR Guru who is a riveting role model and PR expert, what she has achieved and how she has gone about achieving that inspires Elaine.

Video 2: According to Elaine, enthusiasm is a must to truly perform in a PR role as you are continuously seeking for new media vehicles, new ideas and new ways of getting the message across. More importantly, PASSION is the number one! Passion for the job, passion the industry, passion for PR and what it is all about! The greatest challenge Elaine encounters is trying to get people to understand what PR is all about and how exactly it adds value to the company. PR is a cost centre as opposed to a revenue centre and ultimately it does impact upon the bottom line. When asked to sum up PR, Elaine very proficiently explains that it is about establishing a rapport with your public and fostering that relationship through forms of editorial media that inform the end user, our customers about who you are, what you are all about and what you stand for. A very apt description I feel Elaine shared with us to sum it up was “Advertising sells and PR tells”!

Arriving to this esteemed role of autonomy is one of Elaine’s greatest achievements to date. She has discovered what YoungHotelier.com believes to be a key ingredient in achieving success and self actualization! LEARNING! Continuously learning and developing to better one self! Elaine believes that the management training programmes offered within hotels is often one of the best means of helping you to discover what role exactly you would like to pursue as a career path in hospitality. The future in the hospitality industry in the Middle East according to Elaine will prove challenging but hugely exciting as a market not just for people coming into the UAE but the region overall. Each destination is offering new and stimulating things that they simply did not have in years gone by. Finding the talent who define this industry is not necessarily the problem; the challenge is in keeping them! Given the mind blowing rate of growth in the region, with that comes incredible growth opportunities for the hoteliers, the individuals who have devoted their lives to serving others! Learn more pearls of wisdom from Elaine, what she feels is unique about work for Movenpick and more…

Related posts:

1. Video Interview with Craig Cochran, Hotel Director of HR for Middle East and Asia
2. Video Interview with Dubai Hotel Director of Sales & Marketing, Stefan Friedl
3. Video Interview with Annie Buckley, Hotel Public Relations Manager
4. Video: So you want to be a hotelier? Funny Movie about the Hotel Industry
5. Middle East Hotelier Awards 2007 – Exclusive Interview with Organizers