The case of Avani Palm View Dubai Hotel & Suites

Hygiene is the top priority for any hotel or food & beverage outlet. Customers consider it a matter of safety rather than aesthetics.

Avani Palm View Dubai Hotel & Suites found itself dealing with some of the challenges associated with increased and more stringent cleaning. Interestingly, they identified some of these challenges early on and successfully figured out how they can overcome them with their hygiene partners.

 For instance, one of the issues they identified was high traffic operational hours accessibility. where Karcher has a solution of providing soundproof batteryoperated equipment to complete the required tasks, with minimum disturbance for the customers.

Another example was the air quality of open kitchens, especially when you serve delicious barbeques. This was sorted out with the help of a mobile air purifying machine with HEPA filters from Karcher.

 It is also challenging to find experienced staff to operate different machinery. Avani’s hygiene partner again came to its rescue by providing user-friendly plug and play machines, in addition to complimentary maintenance and training.

Choosing the right hygiene partner

 As is evident in the examples above, hygiene challenges arise everywhere but choosing the right hygiene partner can make all the difference. Georges S. Farhat, General Manager, Avani Palm View Dubai Hotel & Suites based the critical decision of choosing a hygiene partner on factors like brand reputation, trust, after-sales support and maintenance, availability and affordability of consumables and spare parts. The range of solutions and technologies offered by the company for robust hygiene/ cleaning requirements was also taken into account. After careful consideration of all these factors, Karcher was chosen. “Karcher is a one-stop-shop solution not only for all hygiene and cleaning but also for other hospitality requirements such as air and water purification. Karcher’s innovative filters for the perfect, price-conscious and healthy drinking water are now used in all our outlets, including the back of the house. Thanks to them, we have eliminated around 100,000 single-use plastic bottles to save the planet as part of our company’s sustainability commitment. Not only we are saving the planet but these solutions have supported one of our main objectives to control costs,” adds Farhat.

The Karcher Experience Center Advantage

Farhat also explains how the location and proximity of the Karcher Regional Experience Center is an advantage to Avani Palm View Dubai Hotel & Suites. “Additionally, facilities and services provided in the centre, including but not limited to the availability of spare parts, consumables and tailor-made training ideally meet our needs and objectives,” he says.

 Like Avani Palm View Dubai Hotel & Suites, hundreds of Karcher clients in the region are hailing the benefits provided by the Karcher Experience Center. So what is it that makes the Karcher Regional Experience Center loved by its clients?

The Karcher regional experience centre is the first and largest of its kind in the Middle East. One look and you’ll realize that this unique regional experience centre brings together an array of Karcher products and the latest innovations (both home and professional), product demos, rentals, service and training. It provides detailed insights into the technical sophistication of the Kärcher products and adds in the element of after-sales service. This typically amounts to everything a facility owner would look for - under one roof. The idea behind its establishment is to give Karcher clients and partners the opportunity to experience ALL of Karcher’s innovations in cleaning technology.

For customers looking for cleaning equipment and technology, the Karcher Experience centre is definitely the place to be. It is made with customer convenience in mind. A customer can walk in any day of the week and acquaint himself with Karcher’s sophisticated technology. “The experience centre brings all facilities under one roof. We have the products exhibit, the training academy, demo centre and our service centre embedded here. The customer will live an entire experience from the minute he steps into this location,” says Joe Lahoud, Managing Director of Karcher Middle East.

The product section

 Kärcher is known for its robust products, and this continues to be one of the most expected deliverables from its customers. With the surge of the digital age, convenience is not only expected as a luxury anymore, it's become a necessity. Karcher’s R&D team across the world works round the clock to develop products that meet and exceed those expectations and be introduced to the Middle East market.

“We are known around the world for our hot and cold pressure washers, these products are the core of Kärcher's foundation back in 1935. Since then, however, we are now known for being a cleaning solution provider. Whatever the cleaning task is, we have a solution for it. Our sales team in the Middle East visits the customer on their premises, conducts a complete survey of all potential cleaning requirements, and reports to the customer a recommendation on how to hold their premises to the highest cleanliness standards,” says Joe.

The product section of the Karcher experience centre is home to these brilliant technologies and products. A customer can walk in and take a live demo of its home and professional products.

 They can experience the power of professional vacuum cleaners with the least power consumption. Another interesting product in the Karcher Experience Centre is the steam cleaner. Other than being a machine for disinfection and hygiene, it was a big help for clients during COVID-19 because it disinfects without any chemicals. Today, it can be used for multiple functionalities, for instance, as an iron board.

One can also find more professional and sophisticated equipment like the Karcher Disinfection System, a batteryoperated manoeuvrable mister that can provide effective sanitation and run for 8 hours straight! There is also a patented dry ice cleaning technology, particularly for the food and automotive sector. Not only this, Karcher’s huge focus on water and air technology is also on display at the experience centre. One can see it in its high-tech air purifier that even produces sparkling water and hot water!

However, one of the most spectacular sights in the product section is the municipal road sweepers that are known for their effectiveness and features.

“Kärcher products are always expanding to meet all needs its customers might have. The challenges are many, perhaps the biggest one yet is environmental control. The purification of large bodies of air and water is a target the R&D team keeps tackling in new and better ways. We are expecting the release of highly innovative air and water purifiers with all new exciting features.

At Kärcher we believe in plastic reduction, in that spirit, our products are over 80% recyclable and we produce products to help save plastic further. Our tap water purifiers help save plastic by eliminating the need for plastic bottles and plastic water containers, as well as water transportation which is a collateral footprint of the drinking water industry. 912.5 KG of plastic per capita is consumed in the UAE annually,” adds Joe.

 The demo and rental sections

 What facility owners and managers find most interesting is the demo section. This section is a large space that allows customers to experience Karcher’s large equipment. They can use the equipment and experience all their features.

 But just when you thought it couldn’t get better, there comes the rental section. The concept of renting cleaning equipment is growing in the region. A lot of customers do not want to invest in machines, but they just want to use them. Karcher allows them to rent a wide range of equipment and use it for a short period of time.

 Joe believes that there will always be a hybrid model when it comes to buying vs renting equipment. Some would prefer to buy, some would prefer to rent but most would be doing both.

 The service centre

The experience of a customer would be incomplete without the after-sales service. Karcher fully understands and recognizes that good after-sales service helps improve long-term brand image and loyalty. In fact, Karcher’s unique and transparent after-sales service helps customers to trust them and deepen their relationship with them.

 “The entire experience also includes an after-market operation. This after-sales service is critical for Karcher because we would like to provide our customers with the best service possible to ensure that their machines, which are their investment, are up and running all the time,” says Joe.

The service centre is integrated with the experience centre and is fully transparent. Customers who walk in can see it and they can see their machines being repaired.

The training academy

Karcher’s training academy gives a unique edge to its experience centre. It empowers and enhances the competence of the people associated with Karcher - distributors and customers alike. Online and offline training is provided to everyone who wishes to take it. Customers can take theoretical training in this academy and then experience the products in the experience centre. This equips them with better know-how of making the most of Karcher’s ground-breaking technology.

The training academy is ideal for the housekeepers to get themselves trained with the best practices and most efficient ways of using Karcher equipment.

The regional experience centre is truly designed keeping the customer’s convenience in mind. The whole concept behind it is to provide everything to the customer under one roof - whether it is the training, the after-sales service, rental, demo or the product itself. Kärcher is clearly here to make a difference.