Melia Hotels makes senior appointments regionally

Meliá Hotels International has appointed Nihad Kattan to the position of regional director of operations Middle East and Africa.

Kattan has been appointed to oversee operations across the brand’s set of Middle East hotels, including Meliá Dubai, Meliá Doha and the upcoming ME Dubai and Innside Doha properties in the GCC.

Jordanian Kattan has over 30 years of international hotel management experience for five-star deluxe, multi-location and multi-unit hotels and resorts.

Over the past five years he has worked at luxury properties in the Middle East, including Marriot International in Dubai, Marriott Hotels in Jordan, Hilton Resort in Fujairah and Cairo Ramses Hilton & Casino in Egypt.

He most recently worked in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as the general manager of the Fairmont Riyadh Hotel.

Kattan will work closely with Ahmad Shaban-Fernandez who was appointed as the area director of sales and marketing, Middle East & Africa in October 2016.

Shaban-Fernandez also hails from Jordan and has represented the likes of Rotana in the United Arab Emirates, Marriott International in Kuwait and Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Intercontinental Hotel Group in Jordan.

Meliá Hotels International CEO Gabriel Escarrer said: “The Middle East is a key region for our group and therefore we are thrilled to continually add qualified individuals such as Nihad and Ahmad to our growing regional office, as we continue to follow our highly successful global development strategy by furthering our ambitious expansion plans in the Middle East and North Africa.”