Viktorija Paplauskiene
High -End propert Management
Viktorija Paplauskiene
Clients, Projects & Collaborations
The Guild
Hospitality CX | F&B Operations | Service Standards
The Guild is one of Dubai's leading licensed F&B destinations.
Operational and guest experience lead — service culture, team structure, guest journey, wine and bar standards, events, reception, SOPs, and commercial hospitality performance.
Redesigned the guest journey: average check +AED 30, Google rating +1 star within months.
Focus:
Hospitality CX · Restaurant Operations · Service Standards · Events · Wine & Bar · Guest Experience
Global Hospitality Direction
Sporting Events Hospitality | Corporate & Executive Hospitality | F&B & Creative Direction
A confidential hospitality engagements, delivered through George P. Johnson (GPJ), for a global sporting and corporate brand. The client can't be named under contract — the scope speaks for itself.
At the sporting end: hospitality direction and F&B leadership across chalets, VIP lounges, and guest programmes at major international golf, F1 and cricket tournaments and large-scale events.
At the corporate end: boardrooms, leadership retreats, private dinners, and executive housing — hospitality that performs without showing the effort, for meetings where discretion matters as much as the standard.
Full F&B and creative direction ran through both: cocktail lists, wine pairing, cigar selection, and beverage programs built for multi-day events, not single nights. Table-scaping, florals, and styling for every space — down to ice sculptures built as drink vessels, not decoration. Flair bartender world champions, Michelin-background chefs, and mixologists brought in from legendary venues across continents, briefed precisely enough to execute at speed, every night, under pressure.
I authored the operating playbooks and toolkits used to run VIP housing and hospitality across the program during the engagements.
Focus:
Sporting Events Hospitality · Corporate & Executive Hospitality · F&B Direction · Creative & Styling · Executive Housing · Confidential Client Engagements
General Manager
AlUla is one of Saudi Arabia's most significant heritage sites — an ancient oasis city on the historic incense trade route, home to a centuries-old Old Town of mudbrick architecture. Dar Tantora The House Hotel occupies 30 individually restored "Dars" within that Old Town, developed under the Royal Commission for AlUla as part of the destination's wider heritage tourism strategy.
I served as General Manager, leading operations across the property — guest experience, service standards, team leadership, and day-to-day performance for a destination built around heritage rather than a conventional hotel format.
During my tenure, Dar Tantora was named to TIME Magazine's World's Greatest Places in 2024.
Focus:
General Management · Guest Experience · Heritage Hospitality · Team Leadership · Operational Standards
COP 28
F&B & Hospitality
COP28, the UN Climate Change Conference, was held in Dubai in 2023 at Expo City Dubai, hosting over 600,000 attendees across 136 F&B locations.
As part of the core team, I helped shape F&B and hospitality strategy for the event with TGP International:: menus that were two-thirds vegan and vegetarian, over 1 million meals served across restaurants, food halls, carts, kiosks, and the world's first vegan food truck park. Every partner operated within Expo City Dubai's sustainability standards, including a 1.5°C carbon footprint threshold across all menus — underpinned by TGP's Inclusive Hospitality initiative and its focus on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
Focus:
F&B Strategy · Sustainability · Large-Scale Events · Vendor Curation · Menu Development
Daikan Izakaya
Service & Operations Consultant
Daikan Izakaya is the fully licensed sister concept to Daikan Ramen, the Japanese ramen specialist that began as a small pop-up in 2017, founded by two brothers from Germany, and has since grown into four venues across the UAE — Daikan Ramen in Dubai's JLT and Nakheel Mall, and Daikan Izakaya at Yas Bay, Abu Dhabi, later followed by a second Izakaya location at City Walk, Dubai.
I worked on service curation, team restructuring, and operational improvement strategy as the concept expanded — refining how front and back of house worked together across a growing footprint.
Focus:
Service Curation · Team Restructuring · Operational Strategy · F&B Concepts
Al Mamlaka Social Dining
Pre-Opening & Operations Consultant
Al Mamlaka Social Dining is Saudi Arabia's first large-scale social dining destination — a 2,400 sqm food hall inside Riyadh's Kingdom Centre, bringing 21 independently run kitchens together under one roof, from Saudi culinary talent to international names. It's a concept Riyadh hadn't seen before, and the response proved it: since opening in September 2023, it's drawn over 7,000 visitors a day.
As part of the pre-opening team, I built staff training programs and service standards across all 21 kitchens, supported launch operations, and worked on the operational improvements that got the concept running at the scale it sees today. The engagement was extended past its original scope after launch — a pattern that's held with every client since.
Focus:
Pre-Opening Strategy · Staff Training · Service Standards · Launch Operations · Operational Improvement
The Byron Bathers Club
Operations & CX Consultant
The Byron Bathers Club is a sustainable seafood concept from EATX, the Dubai hospitality group founded by Tom Arnel in 2013. Since launching with Tom & Serg, EATX has grown into 10 brands across 19 venues, including The Guild, winner of Michelin's Opening of the Year 2024.
I worked as an operations and CX consultant across daily operations, event execution, and service improvement — evaluating the guest experience, making the adjustments that moved it forward, and maintaining quality control across the venue.
The relationship built here led directly to further opportunities within EATX, and ultimately to my role at The Guild.
Focus:
Operations Consulting · Service Improvement · CX Evaluation ·
Quality Control · Events
RAW Coffee Company
CX Training & Team Restructure Consultant
RAW Coffee Company is a UAE-founded specialty coffee roaster, started in 2007 by Kim Thompson and grown alongside co-owner Matt Toogood — both holders of the first SCA Diploma qualification in the MENA region.
RAW operates from a 13,500 sqft roastery, café, and training campus, sourcing and roasting premium coffee for B2B and B2C markets across the region.
I delivered CX training and an emotional intelligence course for the front-of-house team, alongside advisory work on team restructuring.
Focus:
CX Training · Team Restructuring · FOH Development · Advisory