Mohammed Sharaf, reservations manager at Makkah Clock Tower – A Fairmont Hotel, took the crown as Young Hotelier of the Year at the Hotelier Middle East Awards last night.
In his role, Sharaf has introduced a number of revenue-generating initiatives and has been a major ambassador of Saudisation for FRHI.
Under Sharaf’s supervision the hotel’s central reservations centre was launched and in just two years, this achieved a 300% increase in sales.
After receiving a youth perseverance award from the Saudi government, Mohammed gave a series of lectures in universities and colleges to share his experience of working his way up to a successful role, in an effort to motivate and mentor other young Saudis.
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Commenting on his win, Sharaf said: “I’m very proud to win this very valuable award. Having started my career at 17 it was very challenging and because I’m Saudi it’s very difficult to work in this industry so I’m very proud and very happy.
To other budding hoteliers, Sharaf had this message: “I can say to everyone especially for the GCC nationals, they have to start now. This industry is very important and one with very fast growth worldwide – there is a future in this sector.”
The Young Hotelier of the Year category was fiercely contested with more than 50 nominations put forward on behalf of the region’s most talented hoteliers under the age of 30.
The award celebrates a young hotelier from any hotel discipline who has progressed exceptionally well since entering the industry.
The Young Hotelier of the Year should be a bright individual striving for to fulfil their greatest potential and bring success to their property.
The Hotelier Middle East Awards 2014 took place at InterContinental Dubai Festival City and was attended by 600 guests.
The Awards were sponsored by Du, A. Ronai, Restonic, MLA, Diversey, Arecont Vision, Canon, MMI, TCL, Horeca, Patchi, Pulsar Foodstuff Trading, Amir, and Julius Meinl.
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