Dalia Amer is Radisson Blu Alexandria General Manager. She is a young, successful mother who proves everyday that women are capable of handling tough jobs and family at the same time. Running a hotel isn’t a common job for Egyptian women. We always see women who work at hotels in the front desk or in the sales and marketing departments. But climbing the ladder to this step isn’t a walk in the park. Hospitality has been Dalia’s passion since college, when she first started training in the front desk, she was 19 years old. 2 years later she moved to the sales Department and got promoted to the Director of Sales and Marketing until she became a General Manager.We talked with Dalia about the men she leads, her career dreams and her family.
Being a female GM at a young age is great, but what are the challenges?
The challenges would be too much if you don’t like the job but because I Love My Job, I can be precise about the challenges, especially in the Middle East where ladies in leading posts are not so common, so the expectations from female managers are not as high as they have been proven to be.
Do you ever have moments when you wish you were a man so things would’ve been easier?
No, I love being a woman but also I like sometimes to think like a man because men enjoy a practical and profound vision in some situations while women are more observant and precise , so when you need to put on the man’s hat it helps in some cases in taking a better decision. While I don’t think that men GMs enjoy more benefits and freedom, this is mainly based on an old vision of the society and abused tradition.
Do you think employees treat you differently because you are a female GM?
Well actually I think it is more courteous and decent not more. Female GMs have a better understanding and grasp of HR concepts because they appreciate the human side more and treat employees accordingly. While female GMs who try to act as males in the use of linguistics and way, I don’t think this is acceptable because it doesn’t give a sense of respect.
Tell us about your moments of success ever since you became Radisson Blu GM. How did you help in putting the hotel on a new level?
Every time I come in contact with a happy guest or colleague is a moment of success. In Rezidor we have a very dear to our heart slogan and it represents us as a company and make us stand out also, It is “ Yes I Can “ . So every time I feel that “yes I made a difference by making someone happy “, this is my glorious moment of success, it will reflect on business at the end of the day, of course.
In your opinion, can a successful, strong and independent woman find Mr Right or it’s very hard?
It is quit hard actually, but with the evolution we witness now in the Egyptian Society, it could become easier. it just needs that men change their vision and accept more sharing and understanding and this is because finally it adds to her mental dimensions in handling any issue and helps her in bringing up her children in a mature and practical way . They have to be looking at the benefits rather than the disadvantages.
Do you receive work related emails, calls…etc after working hours or you just focus on your family?
I try not to , but the nature of our industry is a 24/7 operation , so it is very hard to totally reject any calls or emails when you are not in the operation but I keep it to the minimum as I delegate and trust my team.