Focusing on local market the way forward for hotels in Oman

Muscat: Focusing on the local market and going the extra mile for guests to make sure their needs are met is how one of Oman’s premium hotels aims to ensure they retain business during the pandemic.

Thomas Guss, the newly arrived General Manager of The Chedi Muscat, says the coronavirus pandemic has shown hotels in Oman and all over the world, just how fragile businesses can be, and has laid out his plans to help the hotel resume brisk business in the months to come.

With over 30 years’ experience in hospitality, Thomas comes from a family of hoteliers and brings with him an authentic luxury experience from around the world.He now leads the team at The Chedi Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman with the aim of overseeing the hotel’s vision and driving its continued success

Can you give me a little bit about your background?

I have over 30 years of experience in the hospitality business. I started my career as a chef and later moved into a management training programme which gave me the opportunity to learn and work in various departments across the industry for an all-rounded hospitality experience.

At the age of 32, I took up my first position as General Manager and since then have excelled in the role. I am now bringing my vast experience to The Chedi Muscat to oversee its vision and drive success.

Globally, what are the challenges being faced by the hotel industry?

We are in a challenging world, but I believe in the hotel industry, we see challenges as an opportunity, an opportunity to innovate, develop and grow. Traveller and guest behaviours are constantly evolving and due to this change, they have evolving expectations.

At The Chedi Muscat we see this as an opportunity to cater to our guests better than before and meet their expectations to ensure their stay is exceptional.

How do you think your experiences overseas will help you develop The Chedi in Oman?

The key to success depends on a few key factors such as service, emotional intelligence, engagement with guests and your colleagues.

The Chedi Muscat is an iconic hotel in the GCC, winning a range of awards in our industry year after year. My experience and market knowledge combined with the reputation of The Chedi Muscat will bring new horizons for myself and the team to explore.

What advice would you give to hoteliers in the country right now?

In this challenging time, every hotel must have their positioning statement right and targeted offerings to promote the destination to a wider audience.

What have been the biggest challenges faced by The Chedi and other hotels in Oman and the GCC?

From the current pandemic, I believe we have all learned just how fragile our business is and how easily it can be impacted. This has given way to a need for focusing on the local market and making sure that our guests at home are tended first.

How can these challenges be overcome? Can all of them be overcome, though?

Challenges always come with opportunities. Those who value these challenges, stay ahead in the crisis, and evolve with their customer’s needs will benefit the most and continue to be successful.

What does one learn from such challenging times?

I have learned that it is extremely important to stay true to your core value and company culture. Your guests and employees alike will remember the action you took during those time and this will be the stepping stone to success.

What does the future for the hospitality industry hold?

Most experts predict a full recovery by 2024 and 2025 where we will be able to reach the numbers we sought after at end of 2019. I strongly believe that the recovery will be much faster, and people will travel again very soon, and we see the pandemic become history.

We all need a break; some vacation time and we cannot stop people from continuing to discover and explore the world. In my opinion, we will see a great influx in weddings and events since most couples had to postpone their engagements to this year.

Consumer spending, as well as confidence has been hit by the pandemic. How long before it returns?

I believe travel will return to Oman faster than we think. Oman has one of the highest repeat guest ratios in the GCC and loyal guests are keen to come back to enjoy the authentic hospitality that Oman has to offer. Consumer power of spending has increased as many guests were unable to travel and enjoy incredible experiences and exceptional cuisine across the world. They were obliged to stay home for their safety and as wanderlust grows, we will see an influx of guests looking to travel to unique destinations such as Oman.

A great deal was lost as we were not able to interact with our families and friends or even take short-term travel breaks or organise any social events, therefore there will be a need to spend for that connect. Demand in many segments will rise faster than we think, and we need to be prepared.

What are the other factors that need to resolve themselves for tourists to visit again?

Oman’s positive track record of handling the pandemic is recognised to be one of the best in the GCC. This will play a great role when tourists and businesses will choose to first travel as they will look onto the countries that handled the pandemic with strong measures and positive track record. Increased confidence in these measures will attract the travellers back to Oman.

How do you see the hotel landscape in 2021 and beyond? How will this affect your day-to-day running?

The local market drives anywhere between 10 and 20 percent of the hotel’s occupancy at the moment, especially on the weekends. Most of the airlines have reduced their flight frequency or cancelled a few routes entirely, therefore it will take time for them to come back to 2019’s numbers.

I believe that consumers will look more and more for direct flight connections instead of stopover destinations and this will greatly impact their decision on where to go on vacation.

What are you planning for the future ? How do you find Oman?

At The Chedi Muscat, we are planning to offer more services than before. Above my love for Oman is the love for Omani people. Their humble nature, natural kindness and spirit to serve is unmatched. From the beautiful Royal Opera House to multiple museums and majestic mountains to a range of adventurous activities such as diving, and wadi hiking, Oman has a great deal to offer.