Guest Experience Manager

Raffles The Palm Dubai, part of the Accor family, is seeking a Guest Experience Manager to lead the Guest Relations and Butlers Teams and elevate the guest journey from pre-arrival to post-departure. This onsite, full-time role sits at a luxury resort on Palm Jumeirah, home to 340 rooms, suites and villas, panoramic views, a private beach and a range of signature restaurants and event spaces. The role will suit a proactive leader who thrives in a high-profile setting and loves crafting memorable moments for VIP guests while upholding the brand’s refined service standards.

The Guest Experience Manager reports to the Hotel Manager and is entrusted with shaping the guest experience in line with Raffles’ heritage of gracious service. The position is a gateway to influence the guest journey across multiple touchpoints, foster loyalty, and ensure every interaction reflects the elegance and warmth that define the brand.

This is a hands-on leadership post, ideal for someone who is comfortable working in a luxury environment, enjoys mentoring teams, and wants to help guests feel welcome, valued, and cared for at every stage of their stay.

Guiding guest journeys across a luxury resort

You’ll be the visible face of guest hospitality, taking charge of VIPs and returning guests while staying active in the lobby, dining outlets, recreation areas and events to spark memorable moments and gather real-time feedback. The role places you at the center of service delivery, ensuring the actions of the Guest Relations and Butlers teams are aligned with brand standards and guest expectations.

As a leader, you’ll set the tone by mentoring your teams, coordinating with Concierge and Raffles Club for events and special requests, and managing weekly rosters to keep operations smooth during peak times. You’ll consistently bring the Raffles brand to life through the Five Service Excellence pillars, look, smile, talk, listen, and thank, and you’ll champion the hotel-wide “We Are All Butlers” philosophy to unify service across departments.

You’ll develop and deliver one-of-a-kind guest touchpoints and collaborate with other departments to craft bespoke experiences that reflect the property’s signature style. Before arrival, you’ll verify VIP rooms to ensure allocations, amenities and special requests are perfectly in place, and you’ll ensure repeat guests and other high-value visitors receive elevated recognition and service.

Beyond guest-facing duties, you’ll identify opportunities for improvement, lead change initiatives and manage guest feedback with prompt resolutions. You’ll keep a steady lobby presence, maintain open lines of communication with related departments, and work closely with the Butler team to maximise opportunities across both departments while evolving SOPs to stay aligned with brand standards and global luxury benchmarks.

As the hotel’s brand ambassador, you’ll build relationships with repeat guests, influencers and partners to reinforce advocacy for the property, while safeguarding the integrity of the butler role and ensuring the guest journey remains central to every task. You’ll also take on additional responsibilities and special projects as needed by senior management, contributing to ongoing excellence in a high-visibility setting.

The essentials to bring to the role

• A bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management, Business Administration, or a related field is preferred
• At least five years in a guest-facing leadership role within luxury hospitality
• Experience in multicultural environments and working with high-profile clients

• Additional languages beyond English are a nice-to-have
• Experience mentoring and inspiring a team within a luxury setting

Pay, perks and practical details

Colleague benefits include upgrades and extended stays, discounted stays across Fairmont and Raffles properties, plus dining and wellness discounts and other luxuries designed to recognize and reward the team’s efforts.

This role is onsite in Dubai, with a schedule that requires flexibility to work evenings, weekends and holidays as the operation demands.

Advice for applicants

Lead your resume with a concise summary of your track record steering Guest Relations and Butlers teams in luxury hospitality, especially when serving VIPs and high-profile guests. Show how you’ve driven loyalty by personalising guest interactions and maintaining high standards across multicultural guests and events.

When you detail the must-have skills, back them up with concrete examples from your experience, how you supervised weekly rosters, addressed guest feedback, and partnered with other departments to deliver bespoke experiences while upholding brand standards and LQA criteria.

For interviews, prepare stories about designing and executing memorable guest moments, staying hands-on during peak periods, and living the brand personality, Charming, Graceful, Thoughtful and Welcoming. Be ready to discuss how you handle challenging guests with tact and poise while preserving the guest journey.

Ask a smart question about how success is measured in the first 6 to 12 months and how cross-department collaboration supports bespoke guest experiences, especially across Guest Relations, Concierge and Raffles Club.

How to apply

After you apply, you’ll receive an email from AssessFirst inviting you to create a profile and complete a questionnaire. This is a mandatory step for your candidacy to be considered as it helps assess compatibility with the role and the luxury culture.