Kyp Charalambous

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Each month, we shine our Spotlight on Hoteliers to understand how 2020 has impacted industry and what’s on the horizon for the future. In this month’s Hotelier Spotlight Interview, we catch up with Kyp Charalambous, Vice President of Sales at Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai. 

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At the start of the pandemic, the message was very much,  “We’re ready when you are”, evolving to “Come and live your story in Dubai” today. 

What is the current status of your hotel today, as well as the wider industry in your region?

From flights to hotels and resorts, one of the benefits about Dubai as a destination is that the status is currently open.  This morning I attended a Visit Dubai Tourism conference, and it’s been very interesting to see how the industry’s tourism strategies to promote our destination have evolved through various stages this year. At the start of the pandemic, the message was very much,  “We’re ready when you are”, evolving to “Come and live your story in Dubai” today.  It’s very positive to see this evolution of the message to market, and how it may continue to evolve over time. 

Since Dubai reopened to international travel in July 2020, flight capacity has also been a major contributor to the recovery of tourism and the hotel industry. Emirates is currently flying in visitors from over 160 destinations in over 80 countries globally. It’s important to remember just how much of a global hub Dubai is, with just 8-hour flight access from many countries. All of this has contributed significantly to international tourism and hotels during this time. We see this upturn continuing, which will in turn continue to have a positive impact on the industry. The reality, however, remains to be seen, but we remain optimistic.

Over the past 6 months, we’ve seen a drastic reduction in booking pace and a major increase in domestic travel across Europe and the US. Would you say this is the case in the UAE?

Although international travel has been open since July, we have continued to rely strongly on the local market. Domestic travellers continue to engage with local resorts and hotels during this time. Over the national holidays, we continue to see huge spikes in occupancy from local visitors, similar to the demand we saw over the summer. Looking ahead, we’re likely to see peaks and troughs in the short-term demand, and not just from local tourists but international markets as well. All it takes is a new headline announcing that a restriction has been lifted or a certain airline is flying to a destination, and instantly we see a pick up in demand, particularly in an iconic resort like Atlantis, The Palm. 

In addition to short-term demand, we’re also generating bookings for September and November 2021. This could be due to numerous reasons, but it indicates that consumers are booking something special to look forward to in the long-term as well.

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About Kyp Charalambous
V-P of Sales at Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai With more than 23 years of experience in luxury hospitality sales, Kyp Charalambous joined Atlantis, The Palm post resort opening in 2009 as Director, Sales. After eight years of delivering outstanding commercial results, Charalambous was promoted to Vice President, Sales in 2017. The appointment places Charalambous, at the helm of the Sales department of Dubai’s leading entertainment resort, where he leads an engaged team of Sales Managers and Directors to drive the overall sales strategy for the resort. 

In recent editions of The Hotelier PULSE Report, we’ve seen an increase in Hotels redefining sales and marketing strategies to tackle new markets. What is your hotel doing in this regard?

Given how Dubai predominantly attracts international leisure tourism, one of our key sales and marketing strategies from the onset has been to engage with the local market, not only for staycations but also for food and beverage outlets. Here at Atlantis, The Palm, we have over 27 restaurants, bars, and lounges, so that’s a lot of seats to fill - even with social distancing in place. To tackle this, we launched a loyalty program called Atlantis Circle, directed exclusively to the local market. Upon signing up to the loyalty program, consumers benefit from an instant 15% discount across all our food & beverage outlets and resorts. The discount percentage increases the more consumers spend. This loyalty program also offers us the opportunity to host private events and invite our loyalty guests. In just a few months, the membership has increased to tens of thousands.

During the peak of the crisis, did you ever close down any of the resorts to implement deep cleaning or refurbishment projects?

Although we never closed any of our resorts, we certainly used the quieter period to really redefine our product and refurbish our properties, restaurants, and conference centers. All in preparation to welcome back our guests in Q1 of next year.  Some refurbishment projects were pending in the pipeline for some time, so the downtime was a good opportunity for us to work on those. 

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Given how Dubai predominantly attracts international leisure tourism, one of our key sales and marketing strategies from the onset has been to engage with the local market, not only for staycations but also for food and beverage outlets.

In short, I firmly believe hotels should hold the line on price whilst striving to be unique with the products offered.

In what ways has the industry and the local government collaborated to bolster tourism during this time?

Our government recently launched the ‘Stay to Work’ initiative that incentivises remote workers to relocate to, and work from Dubai. Many hotels, including ours, have become involved in this initiative to offer longer-term stay rates for relocating professionals along with other benefits. It’s a great opportunity to welcome those guests.

In what ways are you engaging the Staycation Market?

First off, we instantly enroll these guests to our Atlantis Circle loyalty program. We also have dedicated office space available in our resorts as well as up to 30% discounts on laundry in-house. We also offer car hire deals with up to 40% discounts.

Our primary aim is to make the transition as easy and comfortable as possible for our guests, especially if they are bringing their families. On that score, we have an incredible water park which we provide access to as well.

We’re seeing an increase in Hotels expecting to decrease ADR in the coming months. In your view, what will be the impact of this trend on recovery?

I am proud to say that at Atlantis, The Palm price integrity is extremely important to our brand. Instead of compromising the price, we have used the periods of lower occupancy to upskill our workforce of over 3,000 individuals and prioritize their wellbeing, redefine our offers and services, and enhance our resorts and hotels. In short, I firmly believe hotels should hold the line on price whilst striving to be unique with the products offered.

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