Meet Mr. Livio Faverio – General Manager at the Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa, Kuwait. Mr. Livio brings with him an intensive 40 years of experience in the industry across Europe, Asia, the UK, and the Middle East.

Mr. Livio strides to establish a culture of value and empowerment in the pursuit of making each team member the best that he or she can be.

His passion for personalized customer service and dedication to excellence is reflected in the sincere care and attention afforded to his guests as well as in the creativity of the experiences, especially the culinary ones, on offer at the Hotel.

We really enjoyed sitting with Mr. Livio for this interview and personally experienced his passion for excellence.

Please introduce yourself to our readers.
Ciao a tutti! It is indeed a privilege to introduce myself to your readers. I am an Italian national, married to an amazing wife and proud father of one daughter and one son. My Family is my treasure. I enjoyed cooking, practicing sports, and listening to music.

Tell us about your education.
I have studied hotel management in different campuses within Italy, UK, and USA.

What motivated did you decide to work in hospitality industry?
As a child, I was very curious which is something that remains to these days. My love towards different cultures and meeting new people from all around the world are the main reasons why I developed a passion for hospitality in the first place.

Tell us about your journey so far?
My career started by covering line level positions in the F&B division in different hotels.
I then covered managerial roles in various department to finally become a General Manger. I have been very lucky to meet individuals who believed in me, empowered me to allow me to be the best I can be. I have an extensive and matured international luxury hotel experience with close to 40 years in the industry across Europe, Asia, the UK, and the Middle East.

What do think it takes to succeed in this industry?
Hospitality is a people-focused industry, whether they are our guests, our colleagues, our partners, or our owners. Therefore, you have to be very people’ focused. You have to be authentic and real to gain trust and inspire success. You also need to be very creative to push your product and services to the best level.

What do you enjoy the most about the hospitality industry?
The world of hospitality is vibrant, lively, and always interesting. It’s very dynamic and ever changing as it challenges you to be visionary and to work on your development. It remains one of the few industries where an individual can start as a line level employee to become CEO of a large company.

What is your biggest achievement so far?
My biggest achievement so far was the way I led the team during COVID-19 crisis.
As a leader, I have a team which follows and trusts me. Since people look to me for leadership, I must act as a role model, regardless of whether I am in a crisis or not.

Especially in times of crisis and when hotels must furlough or let go of staff, my main concern was to manage staff effectively and compassionately. After all, sending great team members into unemployment is the last thing any leader wants to do. My team and I have always found different ways to manage and maintain business profitable during the crisis without having to fire any of our colleagues.

What attracts you to Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa the most?
The stunning sandy beach, the magnificent outdoor areas, and landscapes, with many award-winning restaurants to dine in, I consider Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa one of the most beautiful properties I have managed so far.

What are the most challenging issues you are facing currently?
The biggest challenge we were facing like other businesses, is the ability to recruit new talents where visas were on hold for almost 18 months. We are now fully engaged in strengthening, and rebuilding our team to have the best service and to deliver even more memorable experiences to our guests in 2022.

If you had to describe the Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa experience in a sentence.
Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa is an Idyllic resort where pure luxury hospitality is delivered with generosity, flair, and glamour where you will be pampered and delighted.

At work, what puts smile on your face?
Basically, seeing the smiles on our guest’s faces, knowing that we have exceeded their expectations. Additionally, seeing my colleagues growing and achieving their career ambitions is something that makes me very happy.

What has been the effect of COVID-19 on business?
The COVID- 19 virus pandemic has affected the entire world economy, especially the industries where the service is the dominant segment. According to the latest business reviews, the hotel industry sector has lost 2 trillions during COVID pandemic. Therefore, we suffered an “economic blow” by the fact that all hotels in Kuwait were closed for a long period last year.

At Jumeirah, we were very keen to implement the safety precautions and approached the crisis not from a defence position but on an attack position bringing improvements to all our services and facilities, this allows us to whether the storm better than other hotels in the country.

I want to take a moment to thank the Kuwaiti community for the support and patronage they afforded us making Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa the preferred address for staycation in Kuwait.

Every crisis has its leanings for the industry. What are yours?
The most important lesson we have learnt out of this crisis is to remain focused on your unique competitive advantage and how to exceed our guests’ expectations. By continuing to improve what you are offering, you can better compete and surpass your competitors.

What are most of the trends you see impacting the hospitality industry?
The usage of smartphones applications is reshaping the hotel industry, as these applications are becoming central to hotel guests’ experiences. Prospective hotel guests want to make use of their own gadget for room reservation, check-in, and check-out, ordering for room service and keyless entry. To respond to these guests’ demand, technological innovation is the key to enable hotel operators to stand out from the competition. Learning about guests via digital interactions will also be a key to create bespoke service. No touch is not necessarily no service.

What are your favourite places in Kuwait that you would recommend your guests to visit?
I would suggest visiting Cornish to capture the best views of Kuwait skyline and the sea . Also, Souk Al Mubarakya, as one of the oldest Souqs in Kuwait as well as Shuwaikh Industrial Area where a lot of independent shops are there selling the best crafts and fashionable items.

If you have only one weekend in Kuwait as first- time visitor, in this limited time, what are the best things you suggest doing around the hotel?
I would suggest visiting Talise Spa, the most prestigious Spa in Kuwait, featuring female and male sections with 19 treatment rooms and a lot of relaxing facilities designed to create the perfect environment for a tranquil wellness experience. The hotel also offers guests an inimitable range of leisure activities. Whether for adults, teens or children, the hotel takes care of each guest’s desire to experience the gifts of sun, sand, and sea to the fullest. Our countless facilities include Tennis Court, outdoor pools, water sports activities as well as a wonderful sandy private beach and much more. For foodies, we are offering an array of dining options including but not limited to our award-winning Pepper Steakhouse and Olio Trattoria Italiana.

For guests to enjoy light shopping or attend to some personal grooming requirements, the hotel has many shops that offering exquisite jewellery, top brand perfumes and other attractive souvenir items as well as the finest hair grooming service for men.

Where else do you see the luxury hospitality sector venturing into the near future?
Today’s luxury explores crave places with a personality that embraces their surroundings or tell a story. As guests’ taste in design and art becomes more sophisticated, they seek out enclaves fashioned by celebrated designers or those with unique elements that truly push the needle when it comes to fusing comfort, space, and sense of place with a big dose of character.
Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts is known for their cutting-edge architecture and bold aesthetics, our properties around the world continue to be at the forefront of luxury hotel design. We are one of the luxury brands which is committed to really picking the right destinations. The new builds, strategic conversions, and adaptive reuses of historic buildings have helped fuel the brand’s growth. With each new property, Jumeirah’s goal is to always operate in the destinations where our guests want to be, in the very best locations.

What are the most looking forward as travel continuous to return?
We look forward to welcoming our international guests from around the world and continue to care for our local guests and to make Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa Kuwait’s most favourite destination.

Personally, what have been your learning from this crisis?
To be prepared and expect the unexpected and not to allow yourself to be worried by anything outside of your control. Appreciate what you have, recognize, and celebrate even the smallest gain or win, only worry about what you can influence, learn from your mistakes as much as you do from your wins, give your team a voice and be prepared to walk the walk.

What advice would you offer to those who aspire to become a GM in the hotel industry someday?
The key to succeeding in this industry is being patient and learning from the negatives as much as you do from the positives. Listen to your team members, remain humble and lead by example. Be passionate and enjoy what you do.

Your message for us at CP magazine.
I would like to thank you for such amazing interview and for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts with your readers. I am a new reader of your magazine but honestly, I am very happy with the quality and variety of content presented. Keep up the good work and I wish you and your team best of luck in your future endeavours.