World Class At Home
Located a short drive south of Auckland, DoubleTree by Hilton Karaka might as well be a world away from CBD hotels. Located next to the New Zealand Bloodstock Sales Centre, auditorium, and stables, it has some of the excitement of the world of thoroughbred horse world, but at the same time it also has a relaxing Fiji resort-like feel to it. And regardless if you are looking to buy a racehorse or just escape the hustle and bustle, DoubleTree by Hilton Karaka focuses on creating a comfortable at home experience. General Manager, Fabian Dewelle shares some of his vast international experience and the importance of leaning in to local.
Before we get into the specifics of building an international hotel in Karaka, can we talk a little bit about your journey and how you came to this point?
I have always had a passion to travel and meet different people which probably comes from a very young age as my parents were working internationally as expatriates.
Throughout my career, I have had the good fortune to have worked in eight different countries and after doing this for 28 years, I live and breathe hospitality!
I joined the Hilton family eight years ago and have been based in Bora Bora and Bangalore, then to Hilton in Brisbane. The opportunity to open DoubleTree by Hilton Karaka was one I couldn’t give up. I had never been to New Zealand and with so many unknowns and in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, I was up for the challenge.
The responsibilities with pre-opening a hotel include (but are not limited to!) liaising with the project management team of the build, to ensure we are on target for deadlines and building on that relationship with our owners. However, I think one of the important elements of any hotel opening is recruitment. It is crucial for any business and any leadership role to surround yourself with capable people to assist manage day-to-day operations well.
Speaking of recruitment. That seems a tough one for many sectors at the moment. How has it been for you?
I was very lucky to find great talent right here in New Zealand. As always, our first priority is to seek out local talent as locals have more knowledge of the culture and hospitality industry here.
The community have been very supportive and responsive, being the only large hotel chain in the area, the attraction not to commute has been a common factor amongst our team members.
But we have also had our fair of challenges with finding recruits, especially qualified skilled positions, and with travel restrictions in place when we officially opened, there were times when we had to think strategically about our capabilities. Trying to entice people back into hospitality has been tough as a lot of people left the industry to find work and may still have an uneasy feeling about coming back. But with the easing of holiday working visas, we hope to find ways to spark that interest in hospitality.
You have travelled the world doing this for 28 years, do you sometimes stand back and think about what it is about the industry that has really attracted you?
I love that you hear success stories of team members starting from the bottom and with drive and passion they reach the top! All you need to do is to prove yourself and exhibit your desire, work hard and anything is achievable.
I love that hospitality allows team members to grow but what is rewarding is having satisfying guests, guests who tell you how wonderful their stay was, or how good their meal experience was. When you see comments on travel sites, especially when they mention a team member by name, it makes you feel proud.
There are also the perks of visiting a different country and staying in a glamorous hotel as you attend different conferences or as mentioned before the industry has allowed me to move around every two years which allows you and your family to experience new things together.
When you have that family situation, and all of these amazing experiences around the world, do you have to balance that with creating some form of consistency?
Unconditionally! That is a very important aspect to consider when you get an offer to go somewhere, understanding what is going to be surrounding my family, what is the schooling like, will my partner be able to work? These questions are definitely things to consider. They are questions that relate to anyone who decides to expatriate themselves, they need to understand the sacrifice because if your family isn’t happy, you won’t be happy either. In saying that, I took a gamble because we didn’t have the chance to come and visit the place, but it all went well in the end.
But it’s not a life for everyone. My wife and son used to live in the hotel with me and I always joke that my son is the real General Manager, because that’s all he knows. He spent all his life in a hotel. For him, a concierge and room service is normal. When we moved here, of course, the hotel was not open and he looked at the phone and said, ‘but where is the room service menu?’
I feel very privileged because my wife also has a hospitality background, she has worked in hotels so she understands what it is like and is very supportive.
Something that’s changed a bit with the pandemic is that everyone was working 12 hours, six days a week, but now I think we have evolved to be more conscious of a work-life balance, providing more benefits to the team and more mental health help if needed.
So many industries have been really impacted over the last couple of years, but I can’t think that many have been as impacted as hospitality and the hotel industry. Are you optimistic that the industry will be able to build up again?
Absolutely, people have all these pent-up travel bugs and want to have weekends away and travel abroad, we will also start seeing businesses start to travel and sporting tournaments coming back.
After the unprecedented drop of 2020 and 2021, international tourism is expected to continue its gradual recovery in 2022 worldwide, I think this year may be challenging for New Zealand for obvious reasons but we are moving in the right direction and we will remain optimistic.
As much as we can connect digitally, there’s still this inherent human drive to travel and connect in person. Do you get the sense that people are looking for a different experience, such as something world-class in Karaka?
One of the aims of our designers was to make the hotel feel like a home, so you get a very residential feeling making it your home away from home.
From the lobby, to the restaurant and to the rooms, the tones and textures are very welcoming. Take the restaurant for example, you can celebrate a special occasion or have lunch with your colleagues, or your mum, or a friend. A place you can come for coffee and a sandwich but also a five-course meal. We try to cater to everyone, with a focus on accessibility.
We have signature touchpoints, for example, when you arrive you are welcomed with a DoubleTree’s world-famous freshly baked warm chocolate chip cookie, representing home and warmth, which extends over everything.
Our location also makes us unique and sets us apart from the rest, we are only 30 minutes from the CBD – so you can enjoy a staycation without having to travel too far! Or if you coming from out of town, we are the perfect spot to base yourselves, check out the city sights but come back and relax in a country-style property where parking is free and you don’t feel like you’re actually in a city.
Book a room with DoubleTree by Hilton Karaka here.