Other Women's Jobs // A Day In The Life & Career Of Susi Russell-Park

NAME: Susi Russell-Park (also known as Susi Q or Siobhan Russell-Park)

AGE: Approaching 50…yikes

INSTAGRAM HANDLE: @GoTo_DXB

JOB TITLE: Founder & CEO, GoToDXB

MOVED TO THE UAE IN: 2013

Susi's real name is Siobhan Russell-Park, though most people know me as Susi, since unless you’re Irish, “Siobhan” often ends up with a very creative pronunciation (and even more creative spellings!). Susi is the Founder and CEO of GoToDXB, a Dubai-based luxury concierge and bespoke experiences company. Having built a career around creating extraordinary travel and lifestyle moments, Susi has carved out a niche within Dubai’s competitive hospitality and events scene.

GoToDXB was born out of what started as a side passion while Susi was still working full time. Friends, colleagues, and clients constantly turned to her for advice on where to go, what to see, and where to be seen in Dubai, and over time she became known as “Dubai’s Go-To Girl.” However, when translated into Arabic, that phrase unfortunately carried an unintended negative connotation, so Susi rebranded as GoToDXB. In 2020, during the Covid era, she took the leap and made the business her full-time focus — a decision that shaped everything she's built since.

GoToDXB is Susi's second business, the first being a fitness studio 20yrs ago in Canary Wharf, London! However her qualifications are firmly rooted in international travel and aviation, having worked extensively in private aviation and lifestyle management before establishing GoToDXB. That experience gave her an understanding of high-net-worth clients, the demands of corporate travel, and the importance of anticipating needs before they are even voiced. This foundation, combined with my passion for hospitality and attention to detail, allows Susi to deliver highly personalised services for both private clients and corporate organisations.

At GoToDXB, Susi describes no two days are ever identical. Luxury concierge is, by its very nature, dynamic and unpredictable - one moment she may be securing a last-minute yacht charter, the next arranging a desert corporate event or sourcing tables at Dubai’s most in-demand venues. They thrive in this fast-paced environment by remaining adaptable, proactive, and relentlessly committed to delivering excellence.

Today Susi runs the company alongside her husband, Alastair. Working together as a couple is both rewarding and challenging - there are inevitable differences in working styles, but they complement each other remarkably well. Susi is detail-focused and client-facing, while Alastair brings operational strength and logistical expertise. Together, they form a balanced partnership that allows GoToDXB to continually exceed expectations.

Susi and Alastair's philosophy is that luxury is not simply about extravagance - it’s about creating meaningful, seamless experiences that feel effortless for our clients. From yachts to desert adventures, private transport to corporate launches, every request is treated with the same care, discretion, and creativity.

The duo also structure their lives around the demands of this business. They work seven days a week, often sixteen-hour days, because the concierge world never sleeps. Clients may call, WhatsApp, or email at any hour, and they take pride in being responsive, reliable, and always ahead of the curve. To achieve this, they rise early to prepare before the influx of messages begins. Mondays, however, are reserved for what they fondly call “Manic Mondays” -  a day they intentionally keep free of meetings so they can regroup, strategise, and reset before the week unfolds.

Let's discover a day in the life and career of Susi:

5.30am

My day begins early, usually around 5:30, starting with an early walk with our dog, Bo, followed by time set aside for F45 or a refreshing swim to energise both body and mind. By 7:00am I am firmly into work mode. I dedicate this first hour to reviewing emails and WhatsApps that may have come in overnight from international clients in different time zones. This is also when I take a quiet moment with my coffee to scan through my task lists and the schedules we’ve set up on Monday.com. By tackling the most pressing tasks early, I gain a head start before Dubai properly wakes up. It’s the calm before the storm, and it sets the tone for the rest of the day.

9.30am

At 9.30am, enquiries begin to come in thick and fast. This is when the real flow of the day starts. Yacht charters, event proposals, and bespoke travel itineraries all land in my inbox. Some clients may need a desert experience confirmed within hours, while others require a corporate activation tailored to their brand vision. Every request is different, but what unites them is the expectation of seamless execution. Here, my years of experience and strong relationships with partners are invaluable. I pride myself on being able to say “yes” where others might falter.

12 noon

By 12:00, my focus shifts to ongoing projects. Currently, we might be coordinating corporate activations for international brands, finalising logistics, or arranging large-scale yacht parties - all of which involve close communication with our long-standing trusted partners. This period is often about coordination. It requires diplomacy and precision, because managing multiple vendors is as much about relationships as it is about logistics. Working with Alastair really comes into play here - while I handle client communications and creative concepts, he ensures that operations run like clockwork. It is one of the ways we balance each other’s strengths.

2pm

2:00pm is often dedicated to site visits or supplier meetings. This could mean heading to a new venue at Dubai Harbour to view and film a new yacht, visiting a corporate client to review venue options, or walking through a desert event setup to check the finer details. These in-person moments are crucial — clients trust us to deliver excellence, and that trust is built on us personally verifying quality. In between meetings, I’ll be fielding calls and messages. Even while on the go, the phone rarely leaves my hand, because responsiveness is everything in concierge.

4pm

At 6:00pm, we often hold our weekly marketing review meeting with our marketing manager Yash. This is when we look over planned socials for the coming week, review performance, and brainstorm fresh ideas to ensure GoToDXB’s online presence continues to inspire. Outside of this meeting, evenings are usually when clients begin their experiences - dinner cruises, private events, or corporate launches. My role shifts into real-time monitoring — staying connected with drivers, hosts, and venue managers to ensure everything flows seamlessly. When clients are happy and relaxed, it means the systems we’ve put in place are working.

6pm

By 6pm, my focus often turns to the more mundane side of the business - the essential but less glamorous tasks that keep everything running smoothly. This may involve preparing invoices, managing supplier payments, renewing visas or medical insurance. It’s also the time I catch up on contracts, compliance documents, and ensure everything is in order behind the scenes. While it lacks the excitement of events, this work is just as important, as it ensures our business remains strong, structured, and able to deliver seamlessly for our clients.

8pm

At 8:00PM, the social side of concierge takes over. We may personally host clients at venues, ensuring they are welcomed and well looked after, or be finalising details for a yacht party scheduled to depart from Dubai Harbour. Sometimes, we’ll also take a moment to connect with partners - networking is an essential part of keeping GoToDXB ahead of the curve. New venues,  or performers are constantly emerging, and it’s my job to know what’s trending before clients ask for it.

10pm

By 10:00pm, many people are winding down for the night, but in concierge, this is when the next wave of demands often begins. Clients may need last-minute bookings, late-night transfers, or urgent changes. Some of our most memorable requests have come through at this hour. These are the moments where being available 24/7 truly pays off. We also try to find time to eat during the day; structured healthy eating is very important to us, though it can easily go astray once the busy season begins in September. While the work is demanding, it’s also deeply rewarding to know we’ve created extraordinary memories that clients will treasure forever.

FINAL NOTE

Running GoToDXB is not just a business; it is a lifestyle. The long hours, constant demands, and ever-changing challenges require energy, adaptability, and absolute dedication. Yet, it is also incredibly rewarding. Working with Alastair means sharing both the pressures and the triumphs, and together we have built something that allows us to deliver magic to our clients every day.

No two days are ever the same, and that’s what makes this world so exciting. From dawn until late into the night, we are immersed in creating extraordinary experiences — because for us, luxury isn’t just a service, it’s a promise.