KUWAIT: The Regency Hotel, Kuwait's foremost luxury hotel has developed a large network of fans across social media, establishing a personal rapport with each of them over the last six months, said its General Manager Aurelio P Giraudo.
"By engaging with fans personally on social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Foursquare, we want to turn this relationship into brand loyalty," Giraudo said in an interview with Kuwait times.
Giraudo, giving a detailed profile of the Regency, which is the country's only member of the Preferred Hotel Group, also spoke about how the hotel has evolved into a leading property in Kuwait for corporate and leisure travelers. He explained how The Regency Hotel represents Kuwait as the country's own luxury hotel, symbolizing its culture and heritage.
New trend
"The numbers of Facebook and Twitter users in Kuwait are some of the highest in the region. It is the new technology and trend. Today, the Kuwaiti population is active across all social media. If people don't know you, they won't come to you. If you are not online, then you are not communicating with your customers. So for companies to truly develop brand loyalty, they must be interacting with their customers online as well," he explained the rationale behind the hotel's engagement and interaction with its guests, customers and fans online.
"Today, the reality of social media is that businesses no longer drive the brand's message, customers do," he elaborated.
Giving the statistics of the growth of online followers of The Regency over social media networks, he said less than six months ago, the hotel had only 3,421 fans on Facebook, 128 on Twitter, 145 followers on Instagram and had no followers on Foursquare.
Currently, it has more than 4,278 followers on Instagram, an increase of 2,950 percent, 33,233 fans on Facebook, an increase of 971 percent, 242 followers on Twitter, an increase of 189 percent and over 4,224 Foursquare checks.
"For many years, the hotel remained without a window. Now, the hotel not only gets a unique perspective into what exactly customers want, but the hotel is also able to transfer their renowned excellent five-star services across their social media platforms," Giraudo added.
Tradition
Family-owned since its founding in 1981, the Regency Hotel is located in Al-Bida'a, Salmiya on the shores of the Arabian Gulf. Though it shut down during the Gulf War, it reopened after 11 years of renovation following Liberation.
"As a luxury and boutique hotel with a rich Kuwaiti tradition, we are slowly, but surely penetrating into the market. Guest satisfaction is our priority number one," he said giving an overview of his market strategy.
"We target primarily the luxury market. Our service is top-notch so we don't discount our services. We try to stand out as a good luxury hotel with top quality services providing good environment and ambience," he said.
"We have 203 rooms, including 53 suites with butler service, offering breathtaking views over the hotel's elegantly landscaped gardens," he said.
All rooms and suites feature elegant furniture, rich fabrics and the highest quality of imported amenities as well as complimentary Wi-Fi. The guestrooms are equipped with the latest technology including large LCD TVs with international satellite channels. Lighting and temperature are individually adjusted. Some rooms boast balconies, private patios or sun terraces.
The hotel's stunning oceanic backdrop offers two secluded beaches-one ladies-only -, five swimming pools, one of which is reserved for children. The women-only Ladies' Lounge is where female guests can dine, swim and sunbathe in perfect seclusion, wearing any attire they like. The main pools require guests to follow rules of modest over-the-knee swimwear according to the principles of sharia.
"We want to show the world that The Regency is truly a Kuwaiti Hotel, run by International management. It must be like what is Dolchester Hotel for London, Hotel Duomo for Milano Italy, and Hotel De Paris for Paris France," he remarked.
Gastronomy
Giving a brief overview of the exotic cuisines being offered at its restaurants, he said, "Our cuisines mostly follow the trend of the hotel guests. Fifty percent of the food here is Middle Eastern or Arabic and Indian while the rest is European. We have a 48-seat expensive Italian restaurant where we serve authentic and fresh Italian food. I personally take care of this restaurant. We don't serve any frozen food and pastas are homemade. I taste each item before it is added to the day's menu," Giraudo said.
The hotel's 'Silk Road Restaurant' boasts a large sun terrace overlooking the gardens and swimming pools offering sumptuous buffets and seasonal festive suppers, brunch and barbeques. Menus combine flavors of the Middle East, Far East and there are myriad Mediterranean delicacies as well. Together with the hotel's signature service, breakfast, lunch and dinner is a highly pleasurable dining experience.
"Our lobby 'Al-Liwan' is probably the icon of the hotel and the best in Kuwait. For dining and relaxing whether indoors or outdoors, guests can enjoy 'Al-Liwan,' the white Italian marble lobby with its 22-metre high glass atrium offers unrivalled ocean panoramas. Its huge windows offer stunning views of the Gulf," he said.
The Regency Hotel is one of the few luxury beach hotels in the region. It has some of the largest conference facilities in the Middle East. Its purpose-built Conference Centre provides an ergonomic wedding, meeting and conference venue with ten conference halls and four ballrooms. Ample outdoor parking and the capacity for erecting outdoor marquees frequently attracts high-level international forums to The Regency. A shaded open air recreation area provides a perfect seaside venue for barbecues and parties.
"We hold barbecue nights on every Wednesday on beach, in addition to weekly Lebanese nights and Maharaja nights. We are one of the few hotels in the region to have barbecue by the beach," Giraudo concluded.
© Kuwait Times 2013
