She moves to the hotel from the Jebel Ali International Hotels where she spent over five years working for the corporate office. Amira held an Assistant Director of Marketing position, which enabled her to combine her twin passions for the hospitality industry and marketing communications.
• New Director of Sales at the Holiday Inn Dubai – Al Barsha is Rouxshin Vajifdar, who has been promoted from her former role as Assistant Director of Sales. Since joining the hotel in March 2010, Rouxshin has been responsible for the Sales, Revenue and Reservations Department, as well as assisting with food and beverage promotions. Rouxshin has been in charge of these departments for the past one year. Her previous associations have been with Habtoor Hospitality, Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts and Hyatt International.
Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates as appointed Jardine Ong as its new training manager within the hotel's Human Resources team. With a career in human resources training and consultancy spanning seven years, Ong is expected to play an important role in fostering a healthy and productive employee culture as well as boosting effective performance within the organisation, a statement said. Ong moves to Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates from Azadea Group ‒ one of the leading retail franchise groups in the UAE ‒ where she served as a training manager since 2009. Ong holds a Bachelors degree in science in Human Resource Development and several specialist trainer certifications including an internationally recognised DiSC Certification in Psychometric Behavioural Profiling.
The newly built DoubleTree by Hilton Resort will be one of the first hotels to open on the prestigious Marjan Island, an area covering over 2.7 million sq metres of premium offshore tourism development land. Once completed, Marjan Island will feature luxury waterfront homes, floating villas, resorts, sporting facilities and numerous beaches.
Kingsgate Hotel Abu Dhabi, part of the Millennium & Copthorne hotel group, has appointed Mashhour Al Refai as its new general manager. Al Refai brings with him more than 19 years of experience in the industry. “I think there is huge potential both for the brand and for the hotel. Kingsgate Abu Dhabi is in a great downtown location within walking distance to the Central Business District, Abu Dhabi Mall, and a large number of restaurants, making it the ideal great value city hotel,” said Al Refai.
As the sun sets over the iconic Jumeirah Beach skyline on January 23rd, Burj Al Arab's exterior 'sail' will be illuminated in fiery red with a massive golden dragon in its centre, which can be seen from miles away. Chinese dignitaries will gather for a VIP reception to mark the lighting of the lion's eyes, setting in motion two series of authentic Chinese lion dances accompanied by drums and gongs, a thousand-year-old tradition which wards off misfortune and brings luck to new year revellers.
She comes from Dusit Princess City Centre where she held the position of sales manager.
InterContinental Dubai Festival City has appointed Yannis Anagnostakis as its new area general manager, replacing Tom Meyer who has relocated to Bali with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). Anagnostakis is moving from his position as general manager for Emirates Towers, having previously worked for Hilton in Athens, Cairo, London and Durban. He has also worked extensively for IHG, the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms, before, in Miami, San Francisco and Toronto.
After winning his first US Open title in June 2011, Rory has continued to celebrate victories in numerous golf tournaments throughout the year. Jumeirah Group joins Rory in celebrating his achievements in 2011 and looks forward to another year of exhilarating accomplishments in 2012. Rory commented on this event stating "we did a photo shoot in Dubai last week up on the helipad of Burj Al Arab and it was a lot of fun! I enjoy my activities with Jumeirah as we always do something different and exciting!"
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) and Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) today announced the opening of Hyatt Capital Gate Abu Dhabi – located at the city's premium business address on the top floors of the iconic Capital Gate building, which leans a record-breaking 18 degrees. The hotel is strategically located adjacent to the thriving Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, within walking distance of the upmarket Embassy District and only 15 minutes from the international airport.
Prior to joining Concorde Hotel Fujairah, Fekry worked as hotel manager at City Seasons Suites Dubai. His main responsibilities there were to attain high occupancy rate and increase the hotel's revenues.
"We are proud to open this new hotel in Abu Dhabi, where we offer a respite from the rigors of travel with the help of our signature brand amenities, designed to send travelers home feeling better than when they arrived."
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) today announced that it will hold its 13th Global Summit in Abu Dhabi in April/May 2013. Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) and Etihad Airways will be official hosts of the biggest annual gathering of Travel & Tourism leaders.
Hotel occupancy performance in Abu Dhabi following the Formula 1 Grand Prix that took place last weekend (11th-13th November) was up compared to 2010, but remained lower than the first race weekend in 2009, according to STR Global, the leading provider of market data to the world's hotel industry.
Martínez joins the Park Regis from the Gul Hotel in Bahrain, where he held the position of Restaurant Manager for the property’s 120-seat Margarita Mexicana restaurant.
The City Seasons Group of hotels has appointed Syed Mehdi to head up the sales and marketing for its Dubai properties. Mehdi has spent the last four years with Samaya Hotels & Resorts overseeing the group's Dubai and Sharjah hotels where he was promoted from sales manager to director of sales and marketing.
Wolfgang Maier has been appointed as the General Manager of the Hilton Abu Dhabi, bringing with a wealth of 40 years Hilton experience. With an international career spanning 40 years at Hilton, Maier has extensive hotel management experience in Europe, Australia, Philippines, China and the Middle East. Prior to taking on his new role at Hilton Abu Dhabi, he held the position of Cluster General Manager at the Jeddah Hilton and Qasr Al Sharq in Saudi Arabia.
Ruprecht Schmitz has been appointed as general manager of Millennium Hotel Abu Dhabi, taking over from Moine Kandil who has been promoted to director of operations for MEA at Millannium and Copthorne Hotels & Resorts. German-born Schmitz has worked for Millennium & Copthorne Hotels for the past 10 years in Europe and Asia, most recently in Singapore as the general manager of the 656-room, five-star Orchard Hotel Singapore. With more than 20 years of international experience in the hospitality industry, trilingual Schmitz has worked in management positions with various international chains in Europe and joined Millennium Hotel Paris Opera in 1999. Trained in hotel management in Germany and with a business economics educational background, Schmitz has a wealth of experience in his capacity.
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, a luxury brand known for its award-winning restaurants and skilled culinary talents, has announced the appointment of Jean Michel Offe as vice-president, food & beverage. Most recently group director, food & beverage for Shangri-La Asia, Offe’s past experience includes a range of food & beverage and operation management related positions with Shangri-La Hotels and executive chef posts with InterContinental Hotels in Dubai, Oman and Indonesia. His detailed understanding of the food & beverage industry, in particular restaurant repositioning and reconcepting, combined with his international exposure will help Fairmont continue to deliver exceptional service as it grows the brand in global markets. As well, his food and beverage philosophy mirrors that of Fairmont, which is to offer local and authentic cuisine that provides a true reflection of the destination. “Whether it’s local flavours, sustainability or fresh and healthy cuisine, diners today are much more knowledgeable and discerning when it comes to the nuances of a fine dining experience. Moreover, whichever country we are in, we have to respect the cultural heritage of the locale and the culinary experience plays a very important role in that,” says Offe. Offe will be based in Dubai and brings over 25 years of experience to the new role.
Paul Hawco recently joined Jumeirah Zabeel Saray as the Spa Director of Talise Ottoman Spa from the Willow Stream Spa at the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver (Canada). Graduating with honours from Canadian College of Massage and Hydrotherapy in 2000, Paul started his career at New World Fitness Health and Wellness in Canada before joining Mount Pearl Chiropractic and Massage Clinic as an Operator and Massage Therapist. Paul has 16 years of experience in the spa and wellness industry complemented by his nine-year tenure with Fairmont Resorts primarily in Canada. Paul is also currently studying for his Executive Leadership Certificate with ECornell. In his role Paul will lead the day-to-day operations of the spa and build on the considerable reputation of the Talise brand.