a rendering of the rooftop bar at Kimpton ’ s new gray , chicago .
Nabil Moubayed runs for exercise at 5 a . m . to help fire up his brain as early as possible . Because he is increasing his responsibility to eight hotels from five , the Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants ’ Midwest director of operations in the U . S . and general manager of the soonto-open Gray Hotel in Chicago , as well as the husband and father of two young children , says he does some of his best thinking during those early morning runs .
The 13-year Kimpton veteran ’ s thoughts today are mostly focused on The Gray ( about to become the fifth Chicago hotel ), as well the oversight of the Schofield Hotel in Cleveland slated to open this winter and a new project in Milwaukee that will open in the summer . Compared to when he first began to manage Kimpton ’ s Palomar in Chicago six years ago , the challenge has ramped up significantly and how he manages his time and energy is evolving .
“ Now I have to be more thoughtful about how I ’ m able to spend not only time on the phone and on conference calls but actually physically being at a
property ,” says the native of Canada and a graduate of Cornell ’ s hotel school who has lived and worked in Cyprus , Nigeria , Singapore and Germany .
“ I ’ m most Impactful If people don ’ t need me , really .”
– Nabil Moubayed , iN respoNse to developiNg his teaM aNd hopiNg for a KiMptoN sabbatical Next year
It ’ s also a change in mindset for Moubayed – from wanting to give more personal attention to his team and being in on every meeting to someone who clears paths to help his team get things done . “ I ’ m stretched more , and the hardest part is not being truly available to the people that need you at all times . Now I am more the advisor , the facilitator , motivator
– someone who can help put together teams of good people that then will make that property successful .”
Moubayed ’ s new challenge has also forced him to delegate more , such as relinquishing recruiting responsibilities to one of his more senior property GMs in Chicago . “ Kimpton is all about self-leadership , so making sure that we have the people who actually want to do that kind of work is part of their growth process ,” he says . “ You can tell some GMs are more hungry and they know that ’ s sort of the price of admission to the next tier .”
Perhaps the biggest surprise since he has increased his responsibility : “ You don ’ t really understand how much people actually value your opinion or experience ,” Moubayed says . “ It ’ s a pleasant surprise that I ’ ve been able to have such a positive impact on other people ’ s careers and goals .”
But not to worry as Moubayed is opening The Gray wearing a GM ’ s hat and will relish the daily interactions . “ There is something grounding about being home based in a property ,” he says .
May 2016 hotelsmag . com 17