The Middle East will not be neglected. Dubai will see more openings, as well Abu Dhabi, Doha, Manama and Saudi Arabia. Africa is also a cash cow to be milked.

Iran is a market that Rotana was considering even before the sanctions were lifted. Now it has four hotels signed in Iran — two in Tehran and two in Mashhad — and the company is well set to take advantage of what will definitely be a new lucrative market.

“People are talking to us more and more about more hotels [in Iran]. We’re talking to some owners about Esfahan now. The opportunities are going to be tremendous, not just for our company but for every hotel chain on the planet.

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Before the revolution, the chains were there, and I’m sure in the years to come, they will return.

“Is there opportunity? Yes. Are we going to take advantage of that opportunity? Yes we are already there. Can we also contribute to the hospitality platform in Iran? I’m sure we can too. There is going to be a lot of young Iranians who don’t know anything about the hospitality industry, and who need to learn. We can help, we can develop training at a basic level,” says Kaddouri.

The business has done well, by all accounts, in the two years since Kaddouri took over the reins. He spent much of the initial period meeting with the owners and explaining that the vision of the company stayed the same as it was under his predecessor El Zyr.

“If it wasn’t for these guys giving us opportunities 15-20 years ago to manage their properties, we wouldn’t be where we are today. I knew a lot of them already, because don’t forget I’m starting my 18th year with Rotana,” he says with pride.

“A successful hotel chain has to not only interact with its colleagues and customers but, more importantly, with its owners because the owners are giving us the opportunities.”

Those opportunities have been gratefully taken by Rotana, which now has five brands. But in a market where demarcation and catering to different segments of hte population seems to be the latest trend, will Rotana add more to its portfolio?

Kaddouri is candid: “We’ve got our five brands that are pretty well embedded now. The latest brand was Residences by Rotana. Are we going to introduce another brand to the portfolio over the next couple of years? I’d say ‘watch that space’.

“Because we do feel the need for something to happen to the company. It’s because we’re being asked; it’s because there is a space somewhere. And it should be pretty soon if we do.”