Dear Amicalists,
Once again a year has passed, and on the 30th of October we saw the newest Receptionist of the Year for Dubai awarded. A total of 13 candidates from 4 and 5 star Hotels around Dubai competed eagerly for the title of Receptionist of the Year, but of course only one could win and take home with them the trophy, AED 10 000.00 and the right to compete in the International Competition in Prague, all sponsored by our partners, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, DTCM.
The first round on the 14th October saw all candidates venture to the Media One Hotel in Dubai Media City to shine in front of a panel of 3 Judges. The questions were short and simple, but all Receptionists made the most of it and were able to impress the Judges with heartwarming stories of exceptional service delivered, of career ambitions and simply cold, hard business acumen. All Candidates were of course the best chosen by each hotel and represented their hotels with this pride in mind.
At the second Round the Room Setup and composition of the Judging panel were comparably creating the pressure and intimidation needed to push candidates to their limits. Set in the beautiful Ballroom of the Address Dubai Mall Hotel, grandeur and modern design created as much the atmosphere as the prestigious judging panel of seven.
This year the judging panel was represented by:
Ibrahim Yaqoot, Executive Director Corporate Support, DTCM
Sami Abdel Taha, Senior Specialist Training Solutions, DTCM
Cora De Conceicao-Stuart as the General Manager judge
Khaled Zaki, Rooms Division Manager Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi and founding member of the AICR Abu Dhabi
Evgeny Strokov, Receptionist of the Year 2010
Steven Mueller, AICR Dubai President
…and for the first time the silent 7th judge, a Videocamera to ease the final judging process.
Following 5 questions a Role play was conducted, depicting a realistic scenario any Receptionist could face at their Hotel’s Front Desk.
Weighing up the performance of candidates in the questions and the role play, the judges came to a unanimous decision that was announced on the M-DEK at the Media One Hotel in Dubai Media City. Set next to the pool, Media One pulled all stops to ensure that members and invited guests had a good time and after some networking the announcement was well received.
…and this Year’s winners were:
2nd Runner Up (3rd Place)
…and winner of a Cash Prize of AED 3000,-
Haikel Habouria - Grosvenor House
1st Runner Up
…and winner of a Cash Prize of AED 5000,-
Yvonne Chimbganda - The Address Dubai Mall
Winner and Receptionist of the Year 2010
Olga Velceva - Burj Al Arab
Olga, who won not only a Cash Prize of AED 10000,- and a wonderful Star trophy sponsored by the DTCM, partners of the AICR Dubai from Day One; but also will be fully sponsored to attend the International competition for the David Campbell Trophy in Prague, Czech Republic from the 18th to 22nd January 2012.
Once again congratulations to all candidates and this year we are really looking forward to take the David Campbell Trophy to Dubai! We all wish Olga a lot of success and a bit of luck in making this happen!
Amicalement
Steven
Steven Mueller
President AICR Dubai
Regional Vice President & Development – AICR International
