Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts leader Jason Rodgers has been promoted to General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay after impressing in his previous role. Bahrain This Month sat down with him to find out more about his career and plans for the icon of the Kingdom’s hospitality scene.
Can you give our readers a short overview of your career to date?
Since I first left Australia, I’ve been with Four Seasons for 25 years! I’ve been fortunate enough to travel the world with them from Malaysia to Ireland to the UK, Mauritius, Qatar and now here in Bahrain and look forward to hopefully many years here.
From your own set of values and expertise, how do you think that Four Seasons will benefit from having you as a General Manager?
I think, especially in this part of the world, it’s about relationships. Having already been here in Bahrain for a number of years, it’s about nurturing those relationships and ensuring that we continue to deliver for our guests, for our employees and also for our stakeholders. Having that stability and having that understanding of how the market works and how our team operates is very beneficial for me to continue in the role.
What do you think is the major aspect or factor of the Four Seasons brand which makes it stand above the rest?
I think it’s about the culture that we create within our team in any location that we operate. If you treat your employees well, they’ll then treat the guests well. How we look after and motivate our employees goes a long way to them delivering on the promise to our guests.
What first excited you about the hotel industry as a career?
Growing up, I moved around quite a bit. Both my parents were in the army in Australia, which is where the travel bug started. This career allows me to travel the globe and experience the world and all the different cultures and countries.
In such a demanding job, how do you maintain a work-life balance?
It’s not the easiest thing to do when working in a 24-7 industry! With technology, the way it is, you’re contactable at all times of the day and night, but it’s important to try and spend as much time connecting and being involved with the family too. I am lucky that I’ve got a very supportive wife and three amazing kids who have got to travel the world with me.
What do you see as the trajectory of the Bahrain hospitality industry over the next coming years?
It’s exciting with the new hotels that have recently opened, along with Exhibition World in Sakhir, and of course the plethora of international artists who are now performing here. All of this obviously drives tourism and helps us to put Bahrain on the map.
Do you have any further professional ambitions for Four Seasons in Bahrain?
The next big thing coming is our private residences, with 112 being built just across the water from the hotel. What we’re finding globally is that people not only want to stay at the Four Seasons, whether for business or pleasure, but they want to be able to live at Four Seasons as well. They will have direct access to the hotel’s facilities and it’s an exciting step in our evolution.
