Uniting disruptive technology and world
class service
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Where luxury hospitality and innovative entertainment meets disruptive technology
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or as long as he can remember, Holland
native Willem Both has been fascinated
by the hospitality industry. “When I was
a teenager, I think my mum tried to dissuade me from
the industry by finding me a job washing dishes
at a Dutch pancake house,” he jokes. “If anything,
it had the exact opposite effect – I loved it. I love
the energy and the comradery and I’ve been
in the hospitality industry ever since.”
A few years later, Both earned a Hotel Management
degree from an esteemed hotel management school
and began working across the globe for some of the
industry’s most prestigious hotel brands like Marriott,
Sheraton and Starwood. He worked his way from hotel
operations towards hotel IT and corporate IT project
management, and in doing so has carved a unique
career path as a life-long hospitality professional.
Then, Both was ready for a new challenge and,
when an opportunity came knocking, Kerzner
International seemed to be a perfect fit. Kerzner
sought a way to digitally transform its operations and,
with an impressive 26 years of hospitality experience,
Both had the necessary know-how to take on the
challenge as Executive Vice President of Information
Technology, leading IT for Kerzner globally.
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Willem Both, EVP, Information Technology, describes how digital transformation is supporting the luxury hospitality Company
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“Kerzner is a pioneering luxury
hospitality business and we’re con-
stantly redefining what ultra-luxury and
entertainment mean,” Both explains.
“Our guests and colleagues are using
technology every day. Whether it’s
mobiles, laptops or smart appliances,
technology has permeated throughout
society. Our guest experience is at the
centre of everything we do and we want
to support their needs into the future.
With the creation of my role over two
and a half years ago, we realised that
we needed a global head of IT to focus
on the group’s strategy and direction.”
With 11 resorts under its umbrella
and more in the pipeline, Kerzner
International has a portfolio that packs
a punch. It’s responsible for renowned
brands like One&Only Resorts, Atlantis
and Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort,
with properties spanning Mexico,
Mauritius, the Maldives, South Africa,
Rwanda, Dubai and Australia. Regard-
less of the location, one thing is certain:
creating a world-class guest experience,
detail by detail, is in the company’s
DNA. Technology and data have been
valuable tools in making this vision a
reality and perhaps this can be best
CLICK TO WATCH: ‘ATLANTIS SANYA GRAND OPENING – #WHEREWATERMEETSWONDER’
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seen by the company’s innovative guest
service system. Currently under develop-
ment, Both says this bespoke application
will use a wealth of data “to allow our
colleagues to optimally serve our guests”.
“Our guests consistently have an
incredible experience at our resorts
and we want to make sure that we
extend that experience beyond any
single resort , so that if a guest were to
visit another one of our properties,
then we would know how best to serve
them,” he explains. This data may allow
the team to know how guests prefer
their coffee or if they would like to read
a newspaper on a Sunday, for example.
“A lot of it is based on relationships that
we’ve built over the years and guests
feel comfortable. We are actually in the
process of building a custom application
rather than using an off the shelf one,
because we want to make sure we
translate all these personal relationships
that have been solidified and that we
are able to capture that information
properly and securely.”
Yet, Both doesn’t take the task of
handling data lightly. “With data comes
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EXECUTIVE PROFILE
“ With data comes responsibility”
Willem Both, Executive Vice President, Global Information Technology Willem Both is responsible for the company’s Information
Technology strategy and works with the other Excom team
members and IT leaders of Kerzner on adoption and
implementation of the best practice Information
Technology initiatives that support the vision of the
company. This key role is critical to delivering that vision –
amazing experiences and everlasting memories.
In his position, Both ensures the delivery of an integrated
guest experience for all brands in Kerzner International
and is responsible for the entire IT team at the Global Office
in Dubai. He is focused on enhancing the Information
Technology strategy and technology at all Kerzner
properties, including Atlantis resorts, Mazagan Beach
& Golf Resort as well as all One&Only resorts worldwide,
and new properties as the Company continues to grow
and expand into new destinations.
Both’s passion is guiding open team collaboration
to achieve optimal performance through
improved processes and sharing best practices.
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— Willem Both, Executive Vice President, Information Technology Kerzner International
“Kerzner is a pioneering luxury hospitality business and we’re constantly redefining what ultraluxury and entertainment mean”
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With the travel & hospitality industry being redefined, Hexaware aims to create a visually pleasing and personalized experience to help our clients achieve “customer centricity”, making dream destinations a reality!
Learn More
E-mail: [email protected]: hexaware.com
With the travel & hospitality industry being redefined, Hexaware aims to create a visually pleasing and personalized experience to help our clients achieve “customer centricity”, making dream destinations a reality!
Learn More
E-mail: [email protected]: hexaware.com
responsibility,” he asserts. “Security is
on our minds 24 hours a day.” As such,
Kerzner International has put its weight
behind security investment, whether
it’s in the areas of central infrastructure,
communications or at the hotels.
Additionally, the company is also
planning migrations to cloud in a bid to
bolster security while creating disaster
recovery and meet the peaks and
troughs of demand on its website. All of
this has culminated in a robust security
footprint, however Both also highlights
that education has been an important
linchpin in the company’s security
strategy. “It’s really about creating
layers of defense to prevent and
mitigate attacks and a lot of that comes
with education,” he adds.
On top of this, Kerzner International
has recently introduced a new intranet,
is currently completely rewriting its
central reservation systems, and
revamping its websites and content
management systems. This root-and-
branch transformation has not only
had an impact on the guest experience,
it’s revolutionised the employee
CLICK TO WATCH: ‘ONE&ONLY RESORTS LE SAINT GÉRAN – SHE’S BACK!’
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experience too. For instance, Both
outlines how Kerzner has reorganised
its team and increasingly adopted
collaboration tools which allow the
business to better communicate
with its global properties, shortening
geographical distances and driving
efficiency. “There are no more regular
telephones; instead everyone uses
collaboration tools,” notes Both.
“Our properties are all around the globe
–these tools have been invaluable.”
Any technology professional will tell
you that forging the right partnerships
is critical to any successful business
transformation. This rings true at
Kerzner too; the company has worked
shoulder to shoulder with several
technology businesses such as
Hexaware, which Both describes as
a “critical partnership”. “Having trusted
partners like Hexaware is very impor-
tant, especially for a company like us
which isn’t a cookie cutter business,”
he says. “We’ve worked very closely
with companies like Hexaware to
develop and maintain our customer
applications. It’s been an incredible
journey so far and we couldn’t have
done it without them.”
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Whilst the journey may be far from
over, Both says Kerzner is already
beginning to reap the fruits of its labor.
“We strongly feel that we’ve been
providing much better service to our
internal customers, our resorts, and our
guests,” he says. “We’ve drawn insights
from our data and empowered col-
leagues by giving them the information
that they need to deliver an incredible
experience whereby guests immedi-
ately feel like they’re coming home.”
Personalisation in the hospitality
industry is nothing new, but the data
10,000+
1993
HQ
Approximate number of employees
Year founded
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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age has taken the idea to new heights.
Both predicts that this trend will continue,
but while technology will become more
pervasive in the hospitality industry it
won’t be able to replace that human
touch. “I think guests are going to
continue to expect more and more
personalisation and automation, but
Kerzner will still focus on delivering a
personal guest service through people
as well as technology. I feel my role
is to enable our colleagues as much
as possible to provide the most amazing
customised service to our guests.”
Having just opened two more resorts
– One&Only Nyungwe House in Rwanda,
and Atlantis in Sanya – it seems Kerzner
International is set to continue on its
upward trajectory, powered by both
people and technology. The business
has been selective when choosing
resort locations, technologies and even
partners, and it’s clear that this
thoughtful, guest-centric approach
has distinguished it from the pack.
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Kerzner International
One Central The Offices Building 2
9th Floor World Trade Centre
PO Box 9571 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
www.kerzner.com