1. You spent several years in luxury hospitality before entering real estate. What principles or habits from that world have stayed with you and shaped how you approach property sales today?
First and foremost, providing proactive five-star service actually gives me goosebumps. Working in management for the Ritz-Carlton, you are guided by the constant status of caring for your valued guests, and this is how I treat my clients now as well – as guests. Just as important as interpersonal relationships, is to listen and value what buyers and sellers are saying and what they truly desire, even if it comes at your expense. It’s important to understand monetary gain does not come first. You must also be hard working, constantly go the extra mile for your guests.
2. Working at The Ritz-Carlton is often seen as the gold standard for service. How has that experience influenced the way you deal with clients, particularly high-net-worth individuals?
People remember how you make them feel, not what you say. Genuine service comes from the heart and is purposeful. Key to it is to know your guests or clients, know what makes them tick, how they like to communicate and anticipate their unspoken needs. Also, ensure you create real trust, honesty and integrity as these values are sometimes hard to find in my current field of real estate. I also always ensure to provide genuine, honest advice. As the famous Ritz-Carlton service ethic motto goes: “We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen.”
3. Luxury hospitality places enormous emphasis on anticipating guests’ needs. Do you use a similar approach when guiding clients through the property search or negotiation process?
When it comes to finding the right property, it’s important to listen to what the client actually needs. Couples, for example, might often want different things to each other, but have not truly spoken about it. Anticipating needs comes, I believe, in the details and at a later stage of the process, providing the after sales service and connecting to the right people to assist.
4. In a competitive market like Dubai, where there’s no shortage of agents, what service touchpoints do you focus on to ensure your clients feel seen, valued, and respected?
From the first moment someone steps into our office, or I respond to a lead coming in, I alter my message to be as personal as possible, a person’s name is his/her most valuable asset, so I ensure to use it correctly.
You must make sure to be patient and understand the different struggles people have when buying or selling a property. Equally important is after sales service – this is where you can set yourself apart and create raving fans.
5. Can you share an example where your hospitality mindset directly influenced the outcome of a sale – perhaps in a moment where service, discretion, or attention to detail made all the difference?
Around a year ago, I was on a family visit back home and I got a client request to view a property. These clients and I had been in contact for a long time, and them coming back to me meant they were now serious about buying. So, I did not take it lightly and cut my holiday short, going straight from the airport to the viewing.
Even after the sale was complete and the buyers were on holiday in Europe in the summer, I visited their apartment (which was yet to be handed over) weekly for two months to ensure the property condition remained high, and shared video calls with them so they could see the property.
6. Many high-end buyers expect a turnkey experience. How do you ensure your clients receive a seamless journey – from first viewing to final signatures – that feels more like a concierge service than a transaction?
There are significant sums involved in these transactions. There are moments to speak about finances, and there are moments to speak about value and personal issues. Try to keep these separate. Where I operate, most of my clients buy to live, so there is a huge emotional aspect involved. In these cases, I focus on how the property or area would make them feel living there. Money is important, for sure, but not the most important factor, not for me nor for the buyers. My aim is to always ensure 100% client satisfaction, from beginning to end.
7. Your success with boutique waterfront properties, such as Sur La Mer, suggests you understand not just the value of a property but the lifestyle it offers. Do you use your hospitality background to help clients emotionally connect with a space?
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what skills I use to encourage enthusiasm in potential buyers about an area. I think it comes from an authentic love for the place. There is nothing more difficult than selling something you don’t believe in. Yes, prices are high and it’s not always everyone’s cup of tea. But if clients do vibe with a particular neighborhood, I’ll make sure to pinpoint all the good and bad issues of any property we view, to help them make an informed decision.
8. What similarities do you see between a five-star hotel guest and a luxury homebuyer?
I am not the first, nor will I be the last person with a hospitality background to gain reasonable success in this market. With so many agents out there, it’s imperative you set yourself apart through outstanding service. Sure, you make errors, but
people can feel your genuine efforts. And I believe that is where we see the similarities between five-star hotel guests and luxury home buyers: genuine effort, combined with value creation.
9. You’ve spoken before about transparency and availability as central to building trust. Do you think your hospitality training helped you internalise those values early on, and how do they play out in day-to-day real estate interactions?
Availability is something that is ingrained in hospitality people. We always joke about needing to have the bug to be crazy enough to work in hospitality, because you work a lot and make yourself available 24/7. Hospitality professionals are also addicted to joy and will only work where they can find it. That is why if they have found success in real estate, it must mean they enjoy doing it, and they’ll go all the way to ensure the guest and client is happy.
10. Looking ahead, as Dubai’s real estate market continues to evolve, do you think the industry will move closer to a hospitality-style model of service – and if so, what should agents be doing to prepare?
Like any other evolving industry, when maturity kicks in, the most innovative and most customer-centric service providers will be the last ones standing.
To stay competitive, I believe agents should first and foremost work on themselves. As Jim Rohn famously said: “Work harder on yourself, then on your job. Ensure you speak proper English (or any other major language needed for your niche), read books and study people and communication.”
