Could you give us a general overview of the services and the characteristics of the Grand Hyatt Amman?
First of all, it is a brand new hotel established as part of the Hyatt International. Hyatt International has created a few brand hotels, like the Hyatt Regency, the Resorts, the Park and the Grand. The Grand Hyatt hotels are mostly big, with a theatrical, dramatic look and excellent restaurants, located in top destinations.
We are a "Grand Hyatt", and we opened a year ago, with 316 rooms and suites, 5 restaurants, a night club, a health club, as well as indoor and outdoor swimming pools. All this creates a new way of approaching the tourist industry. We have a young, motivated staff that is very dynamic. I think it is a different generation of hotels in Amman.
Are you hosting many conferences and events here at the hotel?
Yes. We have been fortunate this year to have many heads of delegations, like Mrs. Clinton, for example. We are aiming at the corporate market. We are also the base for "France Telecom", who signed a big agreement with the Jordan Telecommunications Company.
We are also opening the Hyatt Tower next month, opposite our hotel. The Hyatt Tower will consist of 44 apartments, brand new, furnished and serviced by Hyatt. We are also opening an exhibition center, with 3 200 square meters of exhibition space, we have just opened a new auditorium with 300 seats, fully equipped, as well as a new Arabic restaurant, next door to us. We believe we have a market niche for this.
How do you attract international delegations? Are you working with the Ministry of Trade or different organizations in order to get the attention from international businessmen to come to the Hyatt?
We have been very fortunate with our top restaurants, like "L'Incontro", our new Italian restaurant, "Indochine", a high class Asian restaurant, and "JJ's", our newly renovated night club. They are the talk of the town. People want to be seen, and we are also happy to have a lot of customers. But it is mostly due to the staff. The average age of the staff is 22-23, 99% Jordanian, young, smiling, professional. We provide a lot of training, but they understand that the tourism is "the" industry for the future in Jordan, so they try to do their job well. And they do. I see the guests' comments, and 99% of them praise the staff.
Jordan was not a top destination and Amman is a very small city. We have a great potential but we are a small country. Nevertheless, this is a new and dynamic hotel. Everybody wants to be at the Hyatt.
If we look at the skyline of Amman, there are new hotels everywhere, there is a Sheraton being built, the Four Seasons, Le Royal Hotel. Why is everyone building hotels?
It all started with the 1994 peace agreement. In my opinion, too many hotels are being built at the same time. There may be years when we will face some difficulties of oversupply, maybe already in 2001 and 2002, when the country may need a big increase in demand to cover this increase of supply. However, this new hotel infrastructure in Jordan could also attract world conferences, exhibitions and Pan-Arabic meetings.
What is the result of that oversupply? Some people talk about a price war between hotels. Is that effecting the Hyatt at all?
We are leading the market in town for the moment. In terms of occupancy, in the months of January and February we were running on 65% to 70% on a daily basis. We are one of the most expensive hotels in Amman, but, we still have a reasonable rate, compared to Europe and other parts of the world, so many people want to stay at the Hyatt. There is a price war going on between hotels, but we do not get involved too much in it. Our hotel has a premium rate, a premium location, it is a premium hotel and you may have to pay a little extra to stay with us, but it will be worth it. | Just recently, the Jordan Hotels Association sent a memorandum to the Prime Minister asking the government to revive the tourism economy. Now we have the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB)that is being set up. Do you believe that JTB is going to increase tourism, and help the hotel industry and the infrastructure to develop?
The Minister of Tourism is quite aggressive in terms of promoting the country. JTB as well. I think they are doing quite well, considering the amount of funds that they have. It is a very limited budget compared to Israel, Egypt or Turkey. But I must say that they are very aggressive, they are very willing to listen, and are very cooperative and we are quite happy with them and with the way tourism is being promoted. Jordan has a lot to offer, it is still an unknown destination, it is still to be discovered. The people are nice, they are extremely friendly, and this will make a difference in a tourist industry.
You have mentioned the Hyatt Tower Apartments, but there are also hotels that are expanding out of Amman. There is the Radisson SAS in Aqaba and the Movenpick in Petra... Is the Hyatt looking to expand outside?
Yes, we are. We have 2 locations in mind. One on the South Beach of Aqaba, which would be a village-type of resort, nicely located, outside the city and the port. The South Beach is a nicely preserved beach, near the border with Saudi Arabia, after the Royal Diving Club. We also have a location in the Dead Sea, which is a very nice project because it is in a shape of a fort, so it looks like a desert castle.
The hotel industry in general is very demanding. You have to look and pay attention to every single little detail. What is your secret to managing a hotel?
To be present, to be in view, to be known, to support your staff, to pamper your staff, because they are the ones who are on the front line, to make sure their uniforms are the latest style. I believe you should take care of your staff first, then they will take care of the customers. We also distribute service charges equally to all the staff to reward everyone's work.
As you mentioned earlier, Hillary Rodham Clinton was here. Who are some of the exciting personalities that have stayed at the Grand Hyatt Amman?
We have only opened in January of last year, and a few weeks later King Hussein passed away. So we had the most important personalities in the world passing through this hotel, even though only two floors were opened. But we were bombarded, from ABC to French, German and Japanese televisions and various delegations, during the 4 days of the funeral of the late King. After that, the French President was passing through Amman, Mrs. Clinton stayed with us, and at the end of March we will have the Prime Minister of Canada coming here with a big delegation.
Do you have a final message for our readers, or anything that you think would be important for our readers, who are businessmen, and why they should stay here instead of any other hotel?
As I said, we are aiming for the corporate market. We ARE a corporate hotel, and 70% of our customers are corporate. First of all, it is a state-of-the-art hotel. There are two direct lines in rooms, a direct 120K Internet access, an Internet café with 6 stations, 24 hour Internet link, and a full-service business centre. The location is very good, we have a variety of restaurants, such as the "Indochine" restaurant with a Vietnamese, a Thai and a Filipino chef, our Italian restaurant, and we also have the best night club in Amman, the "JJ's Night Club", for which all guests of the hotel automatically get a VIP entry pass. We also have a deli shop, we have an Arabic restaurant, Piano bar, 15 meeting rooms, a ball room, and we are opening a congress centre next door... It is all quite new and exclusive, and we look forward to welcoming your readers to the Grand Hyatt Amman.
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Grand Hyatt Amman