Rakesh Kumar
Dubai,UAE
Summary
Results-driven Director of Front Office with over 12 years of progressive hospitality leadership experience in luxury and upscale hotels. Proven track record of leading high-performing teams, driving operational excellence, enhancing guest satisfaction, and delivering strong commercial results. Experienced in Front Office operations, revenue optimization, budgeting, P&L management, workforce planning, and service excellence. Passionate about developing people, improving operational efficiencies, and fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and exceptional guest experiences while ensuring compliance with brand standards and regulatory requirements.
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
Work history
Director of Front Office
Millennium Place Dubai Marina
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2025.08 - Current
- Lead and inspire team of 30 associates across front desk, concierge, and telephone operations.
- Direct front office operations using brand standards and SOPs for consistent service.
- Resolve complex guest concerns to raise guest satisfaction and improve experiences.
- Manage departmental budgets, labour costs, staffing levels, and operational expenses.
- Coordinate with revenue, housekeeping, engineering, F&B, and sales to optimise hotel performance.
- Coach and develop team members through performance management, training, and succession planning.
- Run departmental meetings and share operational priorities, KPIs, and business objectives.
- Monitor guest feedback from online reviews and service metrics for continuous improvements.
- Identify upselling actions and revenue opportunities to maximise departmental profitability.
- Complete regular audits and quality checks to maintain safety and compliance.
- Prepare management reports, forecasts, and operational analysis to support strategic decisions.
- Build a culture of accountability, teamwork, recognition, and exceptional guest service.
Assistant Front Office Manager - 568 Keys
Millennium Plaza Downtown Dubai
Dubai
2022.01 - 2025.07
- Led a team of 43 associates, overseeing the daily operations and performance of the Front Office department.
- Managed the MyMillennium Loyalty Program, driving member enrollments and guest engagement.
- Delivered exceptional guest experiences by maintaining a strong lobby presence, welcoming VIPs, and promptly resolving guest concerns.
- Maximized room revenue through effective occupancy management, upselling, and promotion of hotel services and loyalty programs.
- Established departmental objectives, budgets, work schedules, policies, and operational procedures.
- Recruited, trained, coached, and developed Front Office colleagues while fostering a culture of teamwork and recognition.
- Monitored staffing levels, productivity, and service standards to meet operational and business demands.
- Managed departmental CapEx, OpEx, and P&L, ensuring cost control and financial performance.
- Collaborated with all hotel departments to deliver seamless operations and consistently high guest satisfaction.
- Ensured compliance with brand standards, company policies, health & safety regulations, and operational procedures.
Acting Assistant Front Office Manager
Holiday Inn Bur Dubai - Embassy District
Dubai
2019.01 - 2022.01
Duty Manager
Holiday Inn Bur Dubai - Embassy District
Dubai
2016.12 - 2019.01
Assistant Manager - Front Office
Hyatt Regency Gurgaon
Gurgaon
2015.04 - 2016.11
Front Office Team Leader
Hyatt Regency Gurgaon
Gurgaon
2013.10 - 2015.03
Guest Service Officer
Hyatt Regency Pune
Pune
2011.11 - 2013.10
Front Office Agent
The Westin Pune Koregaon Park
Pune
2009.10 - 2011.04
Education
CTH Level 4 Diploma - Hospitality Leadership
IHG Leading Others
Bachelor of Arts - English Literature, Sociology and Education
Diploma - Hospitality, Aviation, Travel
Frankfinn Institute
Skills
Core Competencies
- Front Office Operations
- Hotel Operations Management
- Guest Experience & Service Excellence
- Revenue & Yield Optimization
- Budgeting, P&L & Cost Control
- Team Leadership & People Development
- Performance & Talent Management
- Recruitment & Workforce Planning
- Training & Coaching
- Quality Assurance & Brand Compliance
- SOP Development & Process Improvement
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Strategic Planning & Decision Making
- Problem Solving & Conflict Resolution
- VIP & Guest Relations
- Regulatory Compliance & Audit Management
- Opera PMS
- Medallia
- Revinate
- TSA FPG (Upselling)
- Bayan
- FutureLog
- MyMillennium Loyalty Program
- Microsoft Office Suite
Languages
English
Fluent
Hindi
Native
Affiliations
- Travelling • Fitness • Leadership Development • Reading • Exploring Diverse Cultures
Accomplishments
Current Role (Millennium Place Dubai Marina)
- Generated AED 5 million in upselling revenue during 2025, including AED 1.5 million in Q4.
- Achieved the hotel's NPS target of 70%.
- Improved TripAdvisor ranking from 170 to 130. (If applicable.)
- Achieved a Revinate rating of 4.53 against a target of 4.51.
- Introduced Front Office initiatives that improved guest satisfaction and operational performance.
- Played a key role in achieving the Bronze Award under the Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST) Programme at Millennium Place Dubai Marina, championing sustainability initiatives across hotel operations.
- Won Manager of the Year (2018).
- Increased Guest Loyalty Recognition from 69.57% to 82%.
- Improved Medallia "Guest Love" from 40% to 87.67%.
- Maintained Quality Evaluation Audit scores above 90%.
- Improved TripAdvisor ranking from 227 to 177.
References
References available upon request.
Timeline
Director of Front Office
Millennium Place Dubai Marina
2025.08 - Current
Assistant Front Office Manager - 568 Keys
Millennium Plaza Downtown Dubai
2022.01 - 2025.07
Acting Assistant Front Office Manager
Holiday Inn Bur Dubai - Embassy District
2019.01 - 2022.01
Duty Manager
Holiday Inn Bur Dubai - Embassy District
2016.12 - 2019.01
Assistant Manager - Front Office
Hyatt Regency Gurgaon
2015.04 - 2016.11
Front Office Team Leader
Hyatt Regency Gurgaon
2013.10 - 2015.03
Guest Service Officer
Hyatt Regency Pune
2011.11 - 2013.10
Front Office Agent
The Westin Pune Koregaon Park
2009.10 - 2011.04
Diploma - Hospitality, Aviation, Travel
Frankfinn Institute
Bachelor of Arts - English Literature, Sociology and Education
CTH Level 4 Diploma - Hospitality Leadership
IHG Leading Others