The Metropolitan Palace Hotel was recently awarded the ISO 9002 standards award for quality systems. Alex Phillips found out more.

Beneath the outwardly smooth exterior of a luxury hotel is a largely unseen but well-oiled machine geared solely to the achievement of one thing - the satisfaction of the guest! Everything else pales into insignificance if the guest leaves disappointed because almost certainly he or she won't return again and that business is lost forever.

Many people could be excused from thinking that one hotel is just like any other - but in the case of the splendid luxury Metropolitan Palace Hotel that is patently not true. For a start the hotel really is good - any hotel patronised by the likes of top Hollywood stars like Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis has got to be good because these guys have travelled widely and stayed in the world's top hotels - and they know a great joint when they see one!

And secondly the hotel really is good because a team of industry experts said so by awarding it the coveted ISO 9002 - the internationally recognised standards award for quality systems - and the Metropolitan Palace, in the heart of downtown Dubai, is only the second hotel throughout the entire Middle East to receive the much sought after award.

It's a source of pride to general manager Guy Snelling that the hotel staff have all helped achieve the award because, as he says: "We really are like one big family here. Everyone pulls together."

To receive the award the management were assessed by a team of experts from International Certification Ltd and were found to comply with the necessary requirements. The hotel has worked closely with its consultants Texas Management in improving management control and customer satisfaction, increasing productivity and efficiency and reducing wastage.

And in addition to the external assessment Snelling has established the hotel's own internal audit team which constantly monitors the quality and standards throughout the hotel, through from front of house to the back of the house where guests don't usually see. "Many people assume that it's only the front of house that management should be concerned about because the staff there are the first people the guests see. But if the person in the kitchen isn't doing a good job and a cup arrives which hasn't been cleaned properly that is just as important to the guest in his view of the hotel as anything else that might happen."

Snelling has a way of surprising his guests by telling them that he doesn't want to satisfy their needs. "I like to watch their expressions for a couple of seconds before I tell them I want to exceed their expectations!" he laughs.

History

Suave and elegant and immaculately turned out Snelling has a long history in the hotel business throughout the world: "I have managed five star luxury hotels for the majority of my career throughout the world."

He came to Dubai for a second time in October of last year to open the Metropolitan Palace Hotel from managing a major hotel in Pakistan: "It quite simply amazes me how much Dubai has changed and still is changing every day. There are new projects, new ideas all the time and lots of excitement."

Finding out what guests really think of their stay Snelling and his management team carefully log and discuss all the comments left on the guest questionnaires in bedrooms the night before they leave and also from the hotel's four restaurants.

"Very often a guest won't want to say anything to the staff but will leave a comment on the questionnaire which we can then follow up and do something about. We also reply to all guests comments whether they are good or bad." But Snelling rightly argues that a good sign of whether guests are truly happy and satisfied with their visit is when they return time and time again. One guest has booked a room in the hotel on 19 occasions! Even some of the top Hollywood and Bollywood stars have indicated that they would like to make private return visits to Dubai and stay at the hotel again.

One way of keeping track of what's happening in the hotel are the daily meetings of the internal executive committee consisting of Snelling, the executive housekeeper, the chief engineer, director of human resources, director of food and beverages, the financial controller, the director of sales and marketing and the front office manager. Every day they meet in Snelling's office to discuss the day's business, checking on what's happened during the day and planning for the future. One to one meetings can often result in order to iron out particular problems.

Because of the sumptuous quality of the hotel many people appear to be put off because they think it will be expensive. But, says Snelling, hotel executives regularly check on the opposition. "We consider ourselves a luxury five star property and we feel we have the service to match. We have a happy staff and we really are like one big family and I think that this comes across to the guests," said Snelling.

It's that devotion to the quality and training of the staff and the high standards of service that helped the hotel achieve the coveted ISO 9002 standards rating. And the self-assessment goes on even when the outside assessors have long left.

The hotel management and staff hold regular meetings and workshops to plot their progress and to keep morale high. It was in one such workshop that one member of staff came up with the hotel's motto - "Nothing But The Best."

Now the hotel has the ISO 9002 award under its belt staff are not resting on their laurels - their next target is to achieve the ISO 14000 Environmental Award: "Once we get to the end of the season we will really start to address this," says Snelling with the merest hint of a gleam in his eye.

If a hotel consistently attracts Hollywood stars, big names from Indian cinema, foreign royalty and heads of state, then the hotel must have something that other establishments don't possess.

During the star-studded opening of Planet Hollywood Sylvester Stallone headed the galaxy of top names who all stayed at the Metropolitan Palace Hotel. Bruce Willis, who played at the opening with his band and his brother were also guests.

Wesley Snipes, who wrote in the VIP Golden Book: "My home away from home" and Patrick Swayze also appreciated the luxury of the hotel and promised to return on their next visits to Dubai. Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, Tia Carrera and Egyptian actor Omar Sharif and Cindy Crawford have also enjoyed their stay.