Owner-operator model
As the chairman of the hotel company, Audeh says he looks after the bottom line of the business while Campbell Gray focuses more on the design and creative element for the projects.
When asked how the collaboration between the two hoteliers works, Audeh lightheartedly quips that it emulates the dynamics of a marriage of sorts.
“It’s like a husband and wife, we have good days and we have bad days. But we both know what we want and we are both adamant. We like to get things done,” he asserts.
To drive the point home, he explains the dynamic further: “When you usually sit in with an operator, you usually sit with an employee and spend time setting guidelines and standards. But when Gordon and I sit down, we can tailor-make and can get things done. From an investor’s point of view, I know it has to be the bottom line — that’s where I come from. It’s always about the bottom line, return of investment, how soon, how quick, and when… And Gordon creates something very beautiful in a city - it’s a win-win.
“Important people are talking to us now because we are showing that it’s not just about hospitality, but also about thinking. We wear the owner hat, but we also wear the hotel operator hat,” he notes.
The future
With the Campbell Gray Living mixed-use project, Audeh is keen on developing and contributing to help shape Jordan’s image as the next hospitality and tourism hub in the Middle East, while also citing stability compared to its neighbours as a key feature.
“Jordan, for example, as a country, to be honest, it’s a missed treasure. Because it has so many natural resources. It has natural history that nobody had to pay for,” Audeh points out, referring to attractions such as Petra, Wadi Rum and other sites.
As for what the company’s future holds, Audeh makes no bones about the fact that Campbell Gray Hotels is just trying to be different from what’s already in the market. This, he says, means putting effort and focus into bringing an eco-conscious hotel brand into the portfolio.
“We’ve created a new [eco] brand where we have incorporated another sister company. It is literally bringing anything related to eco-construction — not just managing the hotel or running it — but actually building it. This way, we are reducing the carbon footprint of the hotel’s operations, and so on. And the nice thing about that is that in our part of the world, everything is a greenfield site; so it is easy to operate as well,” he points out.
In terms of exploring new markets, Audeh reveals that the company is currently in talks to expand to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. “And there is room for more…” he concludes.
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