Nora Imeli to discuss emotional intelligence and guest experience at Hotelier Maldives GM Forum 2026

# What the session will cover

Nora Imeli will deliver a presentation titled "The Human Side of Hospitality: How Emotional Intelligence Shapes the Guest Experience" at the Hotelier Maldives General Managers (GM) Forum 2026 on 5 October at CROSSROADS Maldives. Her talk will examine the connection between how leaders manage themselves—especially under pressure—and the emotional and operational climate within their teams.

Imeli's agenda centers on three practical leadership elements: self-awareness, emotional regulation and behaviour under pressure. She will describe how these leader attributes influence everyday team interactions—trust, communication, and decision-making—and trace those team dynamics to the actual service guests experience.

# Why this matters for resort leaders

Resort general managers and senior leaders operate in complex, high-pressure environments where consistent guest service depends on front-line staff engagement and clear decision-making. Imeli's presentation links individual leader behaviour to organisational outcomes. That link is relevant for leaders tasked with sustaining service standards, staff retention and operational resilience while adapting to new technologies and market changes.

# Imeli's background and approach

Imeli is a Leadership and Human Capacity Consultant with a psychology degree and international corporate experience across Europe, the Gulf Cooperation Council and Asia. Her work focuses on applied psychology, emotional intelligence and behavioural approaches to leadership development.

She has delivered more than 1,000 hours of one-to-one and corporate programmes with C-suite executives, founders and teams across sectors including hospitality, law and healthcare. Before consulting, she worked for over a decade in sales, business development and leadership roles in the UK, UAE, Hungary and Sri Lanka, including commercial roles in Dubai's luxury hospitality segment. She is trained in Rapid Transformational Therapy and is a certified life coach.

# How the session fits the GM Forum theme

The 2026 GM Forum theme—"Resilience and Reinvention: Talent, Technology & Transformation"—frames industry discussions around how resorts should adapt their people, processes and systems. Imeli's session brings the human factor into that conversation: rather than focusing strictly on systems or service standards, she will show how leadership behaviour affects the emotional climate staff work in, which in turn affects guest-facing interactions.

# Event context and partners

Forum began in 2016 and gathers resort general managers, owners, senior executives, government representatives and industry partners. The 2026 edition is the forum's 10th year.

# Practical takeaways attendees can expect

• Behavioral levers leaders can use to improve team trust and communication.
• Concrete links between leader stress management and frontline service consistency.
• Guidance on decision-making under pressure that supports accountability and sustainable performance.
• Approaches to build self-awareness in leadership teams without overhauling existing systems.

# Who should attend

Resort general managers, HR and talent leads, department heads, owners and senior executives interested in the people-side of service delivery and organisational resilience will find the session most relevant.

# Timing and location

The presentation is scheduled for the Hotelier Maldives GM Forum on 5 October 2026 at CROSSROADS Maldives as part of the forum programme focused on talent and transformation.