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 soon-to-open Gray Hotel in Chicago, as well as the husband and father of two young children, said 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,” said the native of Canada and a graduate of Cornell’s hotel school who has lived and worked in Cyprus, Nigeria, Singapore and Germany.
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 said. “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 said. “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 said.