Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai

Olivia Mcleod grew up in country Victoria and was attracted to the hospitality industry for “the opportunity it offered for travel and work anywhere in the world”.

In 1996 she enrolled at the Blue Mountains Hotel School. “I wanted a reputable school that was able to give me exposure to both Australian and international standards in the hospitality industry,” says Olivia. She did her placements as an F&B attendant at the Park Royal at Darling Harbour and as a room attendant at the Windsor Hotel in Melbourne where she was involved in writing up the training requirements for the housekeeping department

On graduation in 1998, Olivia rounded out her hotel experience with the positions of porter, customer service agent and receptionist at the Grand Hyatt and Le Meridien at Rialto in Melbourne. She was then promoted to the position of Business Development Executive at Le Meridien where she developed her sales and marketing experience.

In 2001 she took up a challenging position as the Sales Manager for the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai, one of the world’s most modern hotels in the United Arab Emirates. The hotel boasts 618 magnificent rooms and suites in a unique building architecturally inspired by the crest of a wave. Olivia’s main responsibility was looking after the business traveller accommodation needs of large corporations.

“The broad range of topics that we covered at BMHS gave me a comprehensive understanding of how the industry works,” she says. “This has earned me the respect of my colleagues as I understand both their responsibilities and constraints.”

In 2002 Olivia was promoted to Key Account Manager (Corporate) with the Jumeirah International’s head office in Dubai for the company’s five (soon to be six) properties. “It is great to be so close to the centre of such an exciting, emerging company,” says Olivia.