Neumann is currently focused on an in-depth handover with Kurt Ritter, before becoming Rezidor CEO on January 1, 2013.
Middle East growth
Commercial and branding exercises aside, what are Neumann’s plans to develop the portfolio in the Middle East, an area dear to predecessor Ritter’s heart following an early tenure as GM of the SAS Kuwait hotel in 1979?
“It’s very much focused on UAE and Saudi Arabia, those are the two main countries,” he says. We have 10 hotels in UAE and six in Saudi Arabia. We just extended an agreement for five of the six Saudi hotels.”
Neumann still sees “enormous potential” in the UAE, but is cautious with regards to growth in Abu Dhabi.
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“I think we are all getting to the point where we are concerned about Abu Dhabi; one has to ask himself [when] the saturation point in terms of additional hotels [is] reached? I think Abu Dhabi’s not far from that.
The government in Abu Dhabi has a responsibility to now really do what they said, to boost demand, to be more active, to deliver the Louvre and Guggenheim and all that because all these additional hotels in Abu Dhabi, they need to be filled.”
Following in Ritter’s footsteps, Neumann says he is already making plans to come and see Rezidor’s Middle Eastern hotel owners “in the next couple of months”.
“It’s critical, we cannot run this company from Brussels, we need to be out there, as I frequently say, whoever hits the road at hotel level, that’s where the music plays and it’s all about the hotels, it’s all about our guests and our owners and we need to be engaged so that our team members are inspired and motivated to deliver that service and so that our general managers feel supported with guests and owners,” he asserts.
This reflects his approach to a number of Rezidor’s initiatives, including the new Think Planet campaign, which targets an energy consumption reduction of 25% by 2016 in all EMEA hotels.
“It challenges all our team members to think about how they can contribute to this journey,” says Neumann. “It’s good for the bottom line, it’s good for the soul and the heart.”
Like Ritter before him, Neumann is clearly keen to lead a dynamic, involved and entrepreneurial team.
As he says: “It’s a fun business, it’s a fantastic business, we have a great company, yes it might be a bit challenging at the moment in terms of uncertainties in external environments, but when the going gets tough, the tough get going, that’s what it is.”
Career Highlights
1982: Graduated from the Institute for Hotel & Tourism Management Klessheim
1989: First job as assistant director of management development, Hilton Corporate Headquarters
1992: Executive assistant manager, Hilton Brussels
1996: First GM position, Hilton Paris
2003: Became president Hilton UK & Ireland, and 2005 president, Hilton Europe & Africa
2009: Chief executive officer for Arabella Hospitality Group
2011: Joined Rezidor as the executive vice president and chief operating officer January 1, 2013: Becomes president and CEO for The Rezidor Hotel Group, replacing Kurt Ritter, who has held the position since 1989.
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