Wyndham Hotel Group president and CEO Eric Danziger told Hotelier Middle East he has no regrets in focusing the company’s expansion plans on the Middle East, despite the recent turmoil in many states in the region.
While he emphasised he didn’t have a political view on the situation, he added that opportunities often arose from change.
“The United States had a revolution 200 years ago and some countries are born from change and over the long term things might happen,” he said.
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“Some countries like Egypt may end up being greater, better business opportunities over the long term because of what’s gone on.”
Danziger also asserted it was important for people to remember the size of the region when assessing risks.
“The Middle East is a big place, it’s not one state with a lot of cities, so places like Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha and others are somewhat sheltered, they are not the same. One of the challenges is to communicate to both tourists and commercial users that it is not the same, to communicate that what is going on in Tunisia is not going on in Dubai,” he said.
The CEO oversees 15 brands within the Wyndham Hotel Group portfolio, but still travels to the Middle East at least three to four times a year.
“It’s [The Middle East] that important — we are in 65 countries, but each time I come here I get more enthusiastic about what’s next, how we can continue to add to that.”
Wyndham last week announced the launch of a Planet Hollywood Hotel in Doha as well as a Wyndham Grand, also in Qatar.
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