Yakob Abu Bakar is the General Manager of the newly established Le Grand Plaza Tashkent, a landmark building in the downtown area. His profession is his passion and his motto is "we don't wait, we do". A hotelier with all his heart he is among those who are dedicated to making Uzbekistan an even greater destination to travel to.
Q:The property once known as the Le Meridien, the Tatar, the Bumi, the Quality Inn is getting a face lift and a new identity. What can you tell us about the new Le Grand Plaza Tashkent?
A: Our owner, our company strongly believes in the great potential of Uzbekistan as a tourism destination. They see the future, they believe in growth here and in local human resources, who can be developed to grow with the property. We have a very strong brand throughout Asia and the Middle East and here inTashkent we are re-branding the existing property. We are creating new standards, we streamline; we invest. The lobby, the rooms, the Mezzanine area with its restaurants is and will be undergoing renovations. The shop owners were in for a shock when we told them they would have to change their signage, spruce up their selling area, we want a more upscale look throughout the entire hotel.
Q: What makes Le Grand Plaza Tashkent unique in comparison to other international downdown hotels?
A: We just started to establish ourselves and have a lot of catching up to do. But we are confident that we can bypass some of the othere properties, who are currently stronger than we are in terms of occupancy for example. We concentrate on people - product - service, staff training is a main priority at present, we spend considerable money for promotion throughout Asia and the Middle East and are in the midst of a huge promotional campaign wherever we have Plaza properties. 18'000 travel agents book our properties online. We have an office in Jakarta and an office in Moscow. Our customer base of regulars is vast and their interest in a new destination is big, once they have been to Cairo, to Istanbul, our faithful customers are looking for new destinations, Uzbekistan could be the next place they visit, the country has so much to offer.
Q: Can you remember what your impressions were the first time you arrived to Uzbekistan?
A: I came here four years ago to train them management. Then last year I was approached to take over the new Le Grand Plaza Tashkent. At the time I was managing 7 hotels in Bali, Bali is heavenly, I had a good life I was the group's Area Manager, so I contemplated and they convinced me to move. I said: "if you want me to come back, I need to upgrade the existing property" and now I have a free hand.
Q: Food & Beverage is an area Le Grand Plaza Tashkent focuses on. What is your favorite dish in the world?
A: I am adventurous, like to try every type of food, my background is F&B, I am a stickler for presentation, I am detail oriented, I believe you must appeal to the 5 senses to create wonderful food, you need passion and passion turns into love. We are planning a French bistro style Caf? and a Seafood Paradies and we are going to introduce Asian Fusion style food.
Q: They say "home is where the heart is". When you think of home, where is that?
A:My heart is where my work is, my responsibility is to my working place, my family is in Singapore, the hotels are everything to me. Whatever I do I want to do well;
...a knock on the door, Mr. Abu Bakar begs his pardon and turns to members of his staff who are waiting in front of his office. There is a lot of hugging and warm handshakes, beautifully wrapped presents are offered, it turns out this is the General Manager's birthday... Happy Birthday Mr. Abu Bakar.
...returning to his desk, we continue our conversation.
I have about 200 staff members so if the hotel collapses, they will lose their jobs and their income; I have to think of my staff, they are part of my family. I am still in charge of the properties we are currently opening in the Middle East, a gorgeous bungalo property near Ubud on Bali, so I travel a constantly back and forth.
