When Bani Haddad visited Hotelier Towers last month, he was his usual friendly, affable self — relaxed, chatty and visibly passionate about the growth potential of Wyndham Hotel Group, the company he heads up in the Middle East.
Only half-way through our conversation did I realise Haddad had just returned to Dubai after a 21-hour journey from Las Vegas, where he had been among 6000 WHG colleagues, owners and GMs atending the group’s global conference, and had merely a few days’ grace before flying out to Kenya for the Africa Hotel Investment Forum in Nairobi.
Despite admitting the jetlag means he doesn’t know what time it is, Haddad evidently relishes his role at the helm of the regional headquarters for the world’s largest hotel company (with 7380 hotels), regardless of the extensive travel it involves.
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Indeed, it was the opportunity to explore the world that lured Haddad into the hotel business, away from the more respectable careers of engineering, law or medicine favoured by his family.
“The reason why I wanted to join the hospitality industry is related to the fact that I wanted something, at that time when I was still in Lebanon, that was out of the ordinary and at that time the ordinary was being a lawyer or an engineer or a doctor,” he recalls. “I was excited to travel, learn languages, and meet people.”
Like many in the industry, he tested the waters, waiting tables and working in kitchens at a five-star hotel in Lebanon before heading off to hotel school in Paris for three years, then beginning his career as front desk clerk for Starwood in the French capital.
He then achieved his MBA in International Hospitality Management with Cornell and began a magical journey with Walt Disney Studios, under the tutorship of industry veteran Yann Caillère, who just recently left his role as CEO of Accor.
“I joined as special projects manager which means everything and nothing, but it was an amazing role,” laughs Haddad.
“I was working with him on a variety of development projects. It gave me an amazing overview of such a huge company from so many different aspects, whether HR, operational issues, or development issues — it was an unbelievable experience on such a diverse spectrum.”
Gaining a wealth of operational experience at Disney — arguably the hotel operator most obsessed with creating an unforgettable guest experience — Haddad moved into development, first introducing Holiday Inn Express in the Gulf with a company called Hospitality Management Services and then, in 2007, joining Wyndham Hotel Group in Dubai.
Of the change in career, he comments: “I quickly figured out that the key to being a successful development person is mastering the human relationship, which is very similar to what the general manager would do, and so that was how easy it was for me to transition from an operational role to a development role”.
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