Hotelier Middle East highlights some of the key facts and figures from this year’s Power 50 results.

The Hotelier Middle East Power 50 list this year features 21 new entries – 13 more new entries than the Power 50 list released in 2013.

Rudi Jagersbacher takes the number one spot for the second year in a row, and the Power 50 number one accolade comes during his 40th year in the hotel industry.

There is one female on the list this year, Basak Erel, senior vice president of Rixos hotels & Resorts. The company this year introduced Ras Al Khaimah’s largest property, and the first major all-inclusive development in the UAE - the 655-room Rixos Bab al Bahr.

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Top 10 has one new entry, Omer Kaddouri who took fifth place, replacing his predecessor Selim El Zyr on the list, despite having only been appointed nine months ago. El Zyr stepped down from his role as president and CEO of Rotana, passing the reins to Kaddouri, who has been with Rotana for 16 years.

The hoteliers in the top 10 between them have 480 operating properties under their remits, 319 in the pipeline, and combining those figures, the top 10 have a total of 819 Middle East hotels under contract.

A total of 29 hoteliers maintain a place on the list in 2014, with some moving up or down a substantial number of places.

Darroch Crawford, managing director of Premier Inn takes the lead when it came to jumping up places. He moved up by 18 rankings to number 18 due to the company’s dedication to increasing the Middle East’s mid-market offering, something governments across the region are driving.

Additionally, Hussein Ali Hatata, vice president - hotels division, Al Khozama moved from 37th place in last year’s list to number 29 this year as a result of the company’s shift in focus from hotel ownership to operations.