Ruwaida Abela Reflects On The Highs And Lows Of Being A Luxury Hotelier
White Lotus has nothing on Bazaar Arabia columnist, Ruwaida Abela Northern’s secret triumphs and tribulations doing PR for the world’s best hotels
If I had a dirham for every time someone said, “Your job must be so glamorous!” I could retire and sip bubbly just for fun. When people hear “luxury hospitality PR,” they picture exclusive parties, private-jet travel, and toasts with A-listers. And sure, there’s some of that – okay, maybe quite a bit! I’ve managed high-profile guests, met presidents and royalty, thrown fashion weeks with after-parties that went until dawn, and spent a surreal week with the Italian football squad during their training camp in Malta back in 2007.
Alessandro Del Piero in his prime even borrowed my phone once, and for a fleeting moment, I thought, ‘Well, I’ll never wash my hand again!’ But luxury PR isn’t just glitz and glamour; it’s a full-time, no-days-off grind filled with crises, chaotic surprises, and those “I can’t believe this is happening” moments.
Then there’s the endless crisis management – something no one ever sees (if you do the job right that is). I have been through it all, from actual terror attacks to an Interpol sting operation. Once, I had to clear an entire event space and somehow keep everyone upbeat, all while looking calm and running in heels. And then there was the seaplane incident. Imagine a serene luxury property with a perfect lagoon, the ultimate peaceful escape. Then, out of nowhere, a seaplane crash-lands right in the water. Forget tranquillity; I was managing first responders, calming guests, and ensuring the incident didn’t make the morning papers. And if that weren’t enough, we once had a special forces raid because some ‘enterprising’ staff decided to cultivate a certain crop on hotel grounds. No one told me ‘hotel PR’ was code for undercover chaos wrangler!
Then there was the time I hosted Nelson Mandela in Libya. Meeting him was an honour, and one of the things that stood out were his dining preferences. His team had very specific instructions to avoid food waste, requesting exactly a certain number of spoonfuls of rice on his plate. It was humbling to see someone of his stature caring about something so basic yet meaningful.
And, of course, there are those iconic celebrity moments. Meryl Streep once visited one of my hotels, and she was as lovely as you’d expect. That’s all. Then there was Robert De Niro, who was somehow even more impressive in real life. I handled the grand opening of a luxury hotel with a private Mariah Carey concert to set the stage – all while eight months pregnant. I’ve also rubbed shoulders with Lady Gaga before she was the icon we know today. Oh, and not to forget flying to the Maldives with Georgina Rodríguez for her 30th birthday, with Netflix there too!
Working in hospitality, you pick up secrets. Within seconds of entering a lobby, I can tell if it’s up to standard. I know what goes on behind the front desk. There are also trade secrets: never trust a hotel kettle (you really don’t want to know what some people boil in there). I also know to run the espresso machine with water a few times before trusting it with coffee. And for the truly bizarre? Once, I was on a duty manager shift and, after a guest checkout, discovered a small herd of baby chicks running wild in their room. They’d left these little feathered friends behind as some quirky souvenir. That day, I was more zookeeper than PR manager, figuring out how to rehome our unregistered guests.
One particular year, I took 117 flights – press trips, monthly property reviews, you name it. I’ve had flights diverted, watched media pass out from too much red, navigated conflicts and missed connections, and somehow kept my sanity. It’s a world of contradictions: one minute, you’re toasting the opening of a boutique hotel in Europe, influencers tagging you as “glamour personified.” The next, you’re scrambling to contain a minor PR emergency before it becomes a major headline.
At the end of the day, it’s worth it. There’s nothing like the thrill of seeing an event come together and knowing you pulled it all off. It’s taken two decades of relentless hustle, late nights, and managing chaos to reach the polished moments they see now – and to somehow look fabulous through it all.
From Haper’s Bazaar Arabia December 2024