Behind every successful business is a great vision, mission and leadership that steer the enterprise to its place of glory. Mr Frank Normann Eikeland, General Manager, the Domain Hotel & Spa is certainly one such leader who is at the helm of a premier and an increasingly popular Hotel in Bahrain. The Domain Hotel & Spa just completed its 3rd successful year in the kingdom having received several prestigious awards over the last three years. BTW speaks to Mr Eikeland to know more about his illustrious life and his plans for an exciting global alliance that Domain Hotel & Spa is now about to enter with ‘Preferred Hotels & Resorts’.
Give us a brief overview about yourself: your place of birth, education, professional background.
I am a Norwegian nationality, born in the capital of the Norwegian Fjords, Bergen, an old Hansatic Port City surrounded by 7 huge mountains, that makes the city the city of umbrellas.
Did you aim to be a hotelier right from the beginning?
My first job was as a bellboy at my uncle’s hotel in my home town. I was absolutely part of that hotels DNA from day one, and as of that time my plan was to continue educating myself within hospitality. My next move was joining the number one hotel in the city, and did my ground work in the kitchen and restaurant before I entered the Hotel Management School and came back as my previous trainer’s boss. I worked within many hotel brands and throughout F&B and Sales and Marketing before I ended up as General Manager.
Tell us about your association with the Domain Hotel & Spa.
Who cannot love the Domain? From my first visit to Bahrain 2 years back and I entered this hotel, till I signed up with this hotel, I am totally connected to the Hotel and to the Team.
The spectacular view overlooking the city from any guestroom, the mesmerizing design and eye for details the designers have had, to the Staff who is so dedicated to the hotel and to their job are all part of my beautiful experience here at the Domain.
Give us a brief history of the Domain Hotel & Spa.
The Domain Hotel & Spa just turned 3 years in operation August 8. The concept of this hotel as well as its design and work related to establishing it was mostly done by Bahraini companies and workers. The hotel was raised during the tough times in Bahrain, and the owner, Faisal Matrook was crystal clear in his decision to make sure all work and interior of the hotel was made and done in Bahrain, to support the city and country during challenging times. To make sure parking is no issue, the first nine floors of the Domain is dedicated to parking. Two full floors are dedicated to our award winning Spa, where one floor is dedicated to ladies only. The portion from Floor No 17 to Floor No 33 is dedicated to rooms and suites in order to give the guest the best view overlooking the city. And the 3 top floors are dedicated to our award winning Japanese restaurant Imari and the Steak house Sauvage, and the top view Bar Lounge Txoko.
In this Hotel, view overlooking the city is given first priority while luxury design and comfort is guaranteed.
What have been the initial challenges that you encountered as the GM of the Hotel? How did you overcome them?
It is amazing to me that I still meet people in Bahrain who have not yet been to the Domain. It is one of the highrises that can be seen all over the city. To overcome that we hosted an Art exhibition named “ Summer Art @ the Domain” which became a great success. We invited 10 European artists together with 3 local artists and did a good work with marketing and PR in due time before we opened. We had great coverage and a massive interest from the Bahrain community, that also resulted in us selling almost 80% of the art works exhibited. Many of the visitors were new to us, and that was our ultimate goal as well. We introduced Stand Up comedy Show in Txoko that attracted a new audience to us, and which we would like to continue later this autumn. Furthermore we introduced “classics @the Domain, classic old movies shown in Domain Privé at 36th floor, where a maximum of 30 people can watch the old classics at a delectably lofty height, enjoying private butler service along with the movie. All the above initiatives is giving us the new audience that we love to see in the Domain, and helping us reach out to new guest groups.
How has the Domain grown over the years in Bahrain?
Year on year the Domain Hotel & Spa has grown occupancy and ultimately revenue from our many restaurant outlets and Spa memberships. We are taking more or less our fair market share of the market, and are aiming for more with the good help and focus from our target-oriented and dedicated sales and marketing team. After 3 years, we see we have a good grip on the leisure market, driven with the good help from KSA, and our corporate segment is steadily growing during the middle of the week.
Any awards/recognitions achieved by the hotel since its establishment?
A true destination for food culture, the Domain is inspired by the very best ingredients and our Master Chefs are utterly dedicated to their art.
In the past, the Domain has won numerous awards both locally and globally, incuding the best Japanese Restaurant- —Imari, Best Lounge—Txoko, Best Steakhouse—Le Sauvage, Best High Tea and Highly Commended European Restaurant—Le Domain.
This year, the Domain Hotel & Spa has also been nominated in the upcoming Food and Travel awards in various categories; Our Guests can log on to food and travel awards website to cast their valuable votes.
What are the Hotel’s future plans of expansion and collaboration?
From Local to Global!
During the first 3 years the Domain Hotel & Spa has been operated as a local stand-alone hotel. With the tougher and hardening competition in the market, with the expected opening of another two great hotel brands soon, we are proud to announce that we signed up an agreement with Preferred Hotels & Resorts. With this agreement we enter a global alliance of more than 600 luxury hotels around the world. Preferred Hotels & Resorts have a strong grip on Sales & Marketing and distribution, which will benefit the Domain Hotel & Spa significantly in the future. For our present and future guests it means also that you enter the “I Prefer” loyalty program, meaning you can accumulate bonus point at all our restaurants, spa or checking into any of our suites and rooms, and you can redeem these point either with us or at any of the Preferred Hotels & Resorts worldwide on your next vacation or weekend travel.