Interview with Mahmoud ElKeiy, General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence

The tourism sector of Egypt is one of those areas that have been directly affected by the political turmoil. Different sources talk of a rather long-term damage for the industry as figures contracted in 2013. The latest government data (April 2014) show that tourism revenue dropped 43% to $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2014.
What is the role of tourism in Egypt and to what extent, in your opinion, has this role been impacted due to the ongoing political unrest?

Tourism is one of the major sources of income for our country and it has been deeply affected since 2011. If you look at the figures for occupancy rates and revenues all over the industry, you can see the negative effect. However, we are starting to see some positive indicators again, particularly now that we achieved political stability.

What is your tourism outlook for 2014, especially the second half of the year?

In 2014, slowly but surely we are going to start to see more positive results. I expect to see this happen quickly on a regional level, i.e. from the GCC market and then later on from the international market, i.e. Europe and the Americas. We are now looking towards and focusing on the summer season of 2015.
At Four Seasons, we are also planning to develop the emerging markets of Latin America, China and India.

What is your outlook regarding MICE tourism in Egypt?

MICE tourism is a very sensitive market with a booking window that is very long. You have to plan at least 18 to 24 months ahead. With our current stability, I would say that this might come back within the next six months but I do not think it will be properly in place before the end of 2015.

With regard to the hotel industry in Cairo, what is your current assessment of the sector?

Let's analyse what we have right now; most of the business that we have now is from the government. Corporate business has started to pick up slowly, as lots of investment is coming in. We are expecting the leisure market to develop after Ramadan.

Occupancy is slow, it is in the mid-30s and this has affected the average rate. However, our forecast for the second half of the year looks more positive with the new trend coming from leisure and corporate business.

Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence ranks as the leading hotel in Cairo and tripadvisor's guest reviews include "Best Hotel Ever", “Exceptional service” and many others. The hotel also won the Travelers' Choice 2014.
Please tell us the story of Four Seasons at The First Residence. What is your actual position within the market?

Four Seasons at The First Residence opened in 2000. It was the first time the brand was introduced in the Middle East.

It has the same framework of any hotel. What makes it different is the staff. The most important asset for a hotel are the staff that serve the guests. Four Seasons at The First Residence and our sister hotel in the city are the leaders in luxury hotels in Cairo and in Egypt. We are positioned as number one in the market in terms of quality of service and in terms of our brand. We always look for quality; it is something that we must never compromise. The Four Seasons brand has introduced a new level of quality to the city. When you just mention the name, it immediately adds a lot of quality.

How would you describe your comparative advantage vis-à-vis your competitors? What makes Four Seasons at The First Residence unique? What special services do you offer?

What makes us unique in the market is our service. We deliver a personalised service to our guests during their stay. Our hotels were designed by Yves Rochon and they are of the best quality in terms of physical product. However, what really makes them different is the quality of service that we deliver. 

Apart from the Trip Advisor award, has the hotel recently received any particular awards?

We also rank in the Condé Nast 2014 Gold List of top hotels in the Middle East and Egypt.

As the general manager of the leading hotel in the city, what challenges do you face on a daily basis?

A big challenge is that the volatile political situation leaves the booking window very short. We don’t know what is going to happen next week; it is hard to forecast the future. This is a daily challenge.

Many other companies that we have had the opportunity to interview have also mentioned workforce as being a key challenge. Do you agree?

It is a challenge, but it is a Four Seasons directive to develop from within. One of the key factors for success in our company is that when we hire at entry level we actually prefer someone with no experience, so that we can mould them and “Four Seasonise” them!

What about corporate social responsibility? Are you running any campaigns or programs?

In terms of community outreach, we focus on two programs: we are one of the main sponsors for the Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357 and the Food Bank. We sponsor the Food Bank on a weekly basis.

What is your personal vision for the hotel moving forward?

I would like to maintain our position as the leading hotel in the luxury market, together with our sister property. We also have a new project that will start by the end of the year; it will be the first boat with six restaurant and entertainment outlets in the city. We want to be the venue of choice for the local market in terms of food and beverage activities.

Can you tell us about the facilities in the hotel?

The hotel is part of The First Residence complex that includes a mall with many top brand stores. The hotel has 269 rooms and there are a variety of outlets including an Italian restaurant and a Syrian-Lebanese restaurant. There is a poolside lounge and we have a tearoom, which is one of our signature outlets. In the mall, there is La Gourmandise, a French brasserie. We also have five signature suites, including the presidential, royal and ambassador suites. As I mentioned we are soon going to have the first boat with several outlets that will dock right in front of us on the Nile.

Can you tell us a bit more about this boat?

This will be the first Four Seasons boat and it will have six outlets that will include an Egyptian restaurant, a Brazilian restaurant, an American restaurant, a lounge and Club 35, which is a very well-known club in the city. It will be docking right in front of us by the end of this year and it will be managed by the Four Seasons at The First Residence management team.

What is your personal vision for Egypt?

After the presidential election, we will have more stability in Egypt. Stability brings safety and safety in turn brings business. This is the formula that we are looking for. My personal opinion is that the economy will slowly develop as a result of this stability.

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