Other challenges he describes are related to the infrastructure, which he says is “still very far behind.”
Despite the added costs, Haj Hassan says that the the profit margin of hotel owners’ in Iraq is 50%.
“None [hotel owners] in the region are now making 50% profit,” he says.
When asked what will drive people into his hotel over the competition, Haj Hassan is clear. “Security,” he says. “It is the hotel’s most important feature. It is the most secure hotel in Baghdad, with a highly trained team and extreme precaution measures taken when entering the hotel, not to mention the hotel being fully fenced by a concrete wall.”
There are additional factors helping drive footfall, too. Haj Hassan describes the 280-room hotel as a destination in itself. “It is in Baghdad’s most desirable districts, with an incredible array of dining, recreation, relaxation and entertainment options,” he adds.
The property features four dining venues, serving a range of regional and international cuisines, recreation and leisure facilities including tennis courts, Bodylines Fitness & Wellness Club and temperature-controlled indoor and outdoor Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Onsite, there are also extensive business facilities, including more than 1300 sqm of flexible event spaces such as multiple meeting rooms and a ballroom that can host up to 600 guests. The hotel also includes an executive lounge and business centre.
Today, refurbishment is underway at the hotel whose current average room rate is USD $200. The completion date for the refurbishment is two years.
Clearly, Haj Hasan and his team have their work cut out. That said, Haj Hassan’s experience in the hotel sector spans more than two decades, with a stint as general manager of the five-star Al Salam Rotana in Khartoum, where he spent two years.
Haj Hassan, who holds a BA in Business Administration and an MBA from the University of Hampshire in the UK, and has completed the General Managers Program at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, not to mention holding positions world wide. Despite such accolades, Haj Hassan is adamant that it will be “Rotana’s company culture’ that will be behind the success of the Babylon Rotana Baghdad.
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