Millennium and Copthorne Hotels, Middle East & Africa (MEA), held its 2014 Annual General Manager's Meeting yesterday, with the theme for the event "The Road to Excellence". The meeting was hosted at the Grand Millennium Al Wahda hotel in Abu Dhabi and was attended by the Group's General Managers from properties across the Middle East and senior management from the Regional Office team.
Manchise Contracts have been adopted by Citymax Hotels as a new management concept for hotel owner/developers in the Middle East, offering flexible solutions as an alternative to traditional long term management agreements.
Al Habtoor Group, the Dubai conglomerate, said on Friday that it has promoted Henning Fries to managing director of the company's hospitality division, adding that he will be responsible for overseeing the opening of the $3bn Al Habtoor City project. The project, a multi-use development currently under construction, will incorporate three five star hotels - WESTIN, W Hotel, St Regis - as well as three high-residential towers.
Following on from the success of the previous 12 issues of the EMEA Hotels Monitor, we would like to welcome you to Issue 13. The aim of the Hotels Monitor is to provide our clients and contacts with a quick reference booklet listing those vital statistics which reflect the relative health of our exciting industry across the EMEA region. The monitor incorporates hotel performance statistics from STR Global, an up to date guide on development costs from Rider Levett Bucknall and a selection of interesting deals transacted in the previous six months, courtesy of Whitebridge Hospitality. For this edition's back-page feature we have invited ISG to pen a brief article on the ticking time bomb that is capex and the need to refurbish older properties in the Middle East in order to maintain performance levels.
Jones Lang LaSalle, the world's leading real estate investment and advisory firm, has today released its '2014 Top Trends for UAE Real Estate'. Now in its seventh year of publication, this highly anticipated research assesses and forecasts the major trends that JLL anticipate are likely to impact and shape the UAE real estate sector over the next 12 months.
Park Hyatt Dubai has appointed Roger Saad as the hotel’s new director of sales and marketing.
Roddy Gordon has been appointed director of sales and marketing for Grand Hyatt Dubai. In addition, he also takes on the mantle of area director of sales and marketing for Hyatt Hotels in Dubai. He brings with him over 24 years of experience in the hospitality industry with a strong focus on the luxury hotel and services sector. In his area role, Roddy will help with collective marketing planning and sales development of the Dubai portfolio (including Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Park)
With over 15 years’ experience in hospitality, Sayyora, from Uzbekistan returns to Jumeirah Group having previously worked in Burj Al Arab as Business Development Manager – leaving in 2007 to become the Associate Director of Business Development at a tourism company. Following this she spent four years at Atlantis, The Palm where she left as the Director of International Leisure Sales in 2013 to join Jumeirah Zabeel Saray in her current role.
Kerstin Pundt has over 24 years’ industry experience and has taken on the role of Director of Revenue Management. She is skilled in tactical and strategic revenue management, pricing analytics and is fully engaged in room and non-room revenues targets.
Hospitality Management Holdings has signed a new management contract to operate Corp Al Khoory Hotel in Al Barsha – Dubai. The announcement demonstrates the group's commitment to growing its presence in the emirate while reinforcing its position in the UAE where it has been operating for the last 10 years.
The Turkish native has enjoyed a long career in the hospitality industry and brings more than 27 years of international experience and leadership skills to his new role, where he will be responsible for the daily operations of both Ramada hotels.
Farhat takes over from the previous GM James Young, who has moved to the InterContinental Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Rejoining the TAJ Palace Hotel Dubai as Director of Sales & Marketing is Asser Samy, a 23-year veteran of the Dubai hospitality sector who previously worked at the hotel as Director of Sales.
An Egyptian national, with extensive work experience of over 25 years within Hyatt Hotels and UAE, Khogaly will now lead the way forward at the property, saia a statement from the hotel group.
Tapken joins the team in a bid to support the hotel group’s aggressive growth plans within the region.
Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Worldwide’s luxury brand, today announced the opening of Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah, continuing the brand’s global expansion. With breath-taking views of the Arabian Gulf coastline and some of Dubai’s famous landmarks, the 319-room Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah exudes the true luxury, world class amenities and sophistication for which the brand is known.
Andreas Jersabeck, currently serving as general manager at Hilton Doha in Qatar, has been appointed as the new general manager of the recently opened Conrad Dubai.
A Jordanian national, Abusbaitan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Hotel Management from the California Culinary Academy, San Francisco, USA and an Associate Degree in Accounts from the United States of America.
Tolga Lacin has been appointed complex general manager at the Westin Dubai and Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina. He brings with him over two decades of of knowledge in the hospitality industry. Lacin joined The Westin Dubai and Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina as complex executive assistant manager food & beverage in 2009.
Belgian born hotelier, Stephan Vanden Auweele holds over 20 years of experience in opening and managing hotels around the world. In his role as General Manager of Sheraton Dubai Creek, Vanden Auweele will overlook the re-opening and operations of the hotel and also introduce new Sheraton brand concepts within the property.