SCOTT Grant has now lived in Mackay for about six weeks after being transferred north from the Mercure Olims Canberra.

Mr Grant has been with Accor on-and-off since December 2004 and he was the food and beverage manager at the Mercure Inn Continental Broome.

>>Ibis Mackay on schedule for its June 1 official opening

He has since worked at Great Keppel Island, Alice Springs, Sydney and Newcastle.

Mr Grant said he was looking forward to being part of his first hotel launch team and was happy to be back in his home state of Queensland.

How are you feeling about the opening of the hotel?

Really good. I've been really happy with the people we've been interviewing and the people looking for jobs and as far as a hotel goes. A three-star hotel is a three-star hotel and they are all very much the same.

I think what makes the difference is the people within the hotels.

We will be rolling out "Peopleology" and it's really about customer service and I think that we've got a really good base of people that are really passionate and give really good, genuine, Australian customer service.

I feel really good about that. Timing-wise it's really good, we're opening at the right time of the year so it's all positives.

What are the feelings around the fact the hotel missed the mining boom?

It was obviously a bit busier a few years ago, so it is what it is.

I think we make the most out of what it is at the moment and the main thing I would like to focus on is that we just have to be pushing for that above-market performance and I think it's a good hotel to be offering and we will be successful.

What occupancy rate are you aiming for at the hotel?

As far as Accor goes we like to provide above-market performance, so that's our target here as well.

How do you hope to keep people out at the airport rather than heading into town?

It's really about having quality food and beverage offerings, so it's that they are comfortable with the offerings that they get once they're here.

So staying at a fantastic hotel, great customer service, international branded hotel, fantastic loyalty program, great food and beverage, so it's basically a one-stop-shop.

How are you working at promoting the hotel?

We've got a very active sales and marketing campaign that is out there, a lot of digital marketing... to make sure we can make as much noise as possible and let people know we are here and open for business.