I think during my 14 years, one of the most memorable experience would be Reethi Rah and seeing how it became a truly world class resort. And then would be my Dubai experience. If considered Reethi Rah would still be in my view the most exclusive number one property resort in the Maldives. Their market itself is different, they have a lot of celebrities coming in. That was a challenging experience. Everything was a lesson there. The Dubai experience was fascinating because it was the training of around 3000 employees. Now I have this amazing opportunity to work with LUX* and create and experience some wonderful memories.

I always had interest in teaching people and passing on knowledge. I started from the basic operational posts and then I thought about the area I could work with everyone instead of a specific department. In training department, you touch the lives of everyone and you have to be a role model! If I ask my staff to do something, I have to show them that I will do the same thing myself too. 

Sometimes I would attend workshops and programs abroad, then come back and prepare my own material to teach my subordinates, who dont have that opportunity to go abroad. So even personally, training department is a challenge.

How does your day start and end? Could you tell us a bit about your daily routine?

I usually wake up early around 5.30 unless it is a day off for me. Ill be at the office by 7 and theres this routine I follow every day. I would take up a motivational quote and send it to all our staff. In my view it is quite important. Of course, not everyone replies but you never know who is going to pick up your quote. 

After that I will have breakfast and prepare for the daily staff briefing. I feel like I work an extra 2 hours before the briefing because usually my staff wont be at the office that time. This will have followed by my task of the day and somedays I will work out office all day, especially since we have a weekly audit. 

Lets say daily I would spend half of the time out of office. So in the evening after work I would hit the gym around 6 and get back to office after dinner at 8. And I never miss a staff event in between. 

What are the opportunities in the resorts for the people who want to join the tourism industry? 

There are a lot of opportunities in the resorts but a lot of people dont even know about these chances. In a lot of cases the opportunities and expectations dont meet. For example, there is a waiters job and there is a gap between expectations of the employer and employee. 

You see, to work in this industry you have be ready to fill that gap. You should be ready to learn to fill that gap and to fit into this culture. In addition, the employers, family and everyone has to be supportive on this. 

I think the solution for this is awareness. I am personally thinking of conducting awareness programs in Male or most populated cities and islands around Maldives. In the future, I think the industry has a bright future for the new comers. Specially since the hot topic of the latest tourism forums have been on how to develop locals for the tourism industry. So I am very optimistic at this point. 

We are a five-star deluxe premium resort! Our product is not to compete the most exclusive product in the Maldives. We always say, "We have a competitive product but we can guarantee you the best service!" Because every resort has white sandy beaches, good rooms but we offer them a better service. 

Which area do you emphasize the most when teaching the LUX* legacy? 

We have a lot of employees who have worked in other resorts as well. So as soon as we take them in, we teach them the culture of LUX*. And that is, if you want to make a guest happy, do whatever it takes. No one is going to stop you. Within boundaries of course. We give our staff that power. And then it is about personal development. Build the confidence for the staff to raise through the ranks. Do whatever it takes to learn the ways of a new job. 

I personally recommend my staff to go seek opportunities at other resorts if they think their opportunities here are limited. My assistant here when we started, got a job offer as manager at another resort. I encouraged him to make the move and take the opportunity. Today he is the Training Manager at Como Male fushi. This isnt about me. 

What do you miss most about your family? 

I call regularly to my mom! Mom knows the timings to call me. Shes smart like that!  And these days its not hard to reach out so you can reach them every day. But what I really try to do is to reach out to someone I havent called recently. I have a lot of friends working elsewhere. Colleagues and friends who helped me reach where I am. So I try to reach out to someone new every week. And these days theres a Viber group for every gathering so its not hard that way. 

I want LUX* to be a hub to develop individual talent in the industry. LUX* Male Atoll is going to open soon and next year there is a LUX* property opening in U.A.E too. So I think this will be a great opportunity for the locals as well. Amid this, our daily vision is to keep LUX* the number one service provider in this industry. If we lose focus on that, someone else might take our spot. For example, we are currently the 9^th  rated on Trip Advisor. Every single review is important for us.