Power 50 top 10 revealed!
It has been a list of greats, but who has made their mark on the hospitality industry in 2010 by planting themselves in Hotelier Middle East's Top 10?
Do you agree with the choices or can you think of someone else? If so, let us know who you think should be there. However, we are standing by our very worthy Top 10 for 2010.
10
HE Saif Mohamed Al Hajeri
Chairman, Abu Dhabi National Hotels
Since taking the helm at Abu Dhabi National Hotels (ADNH) in May 2008, HE Saif Mohamed Al Hajeri has put the UAE-based owner and operator firmly on the map.
The company owns six hotels — Hilton Abu Dhabi, Hilton Al Ain, Sheraton Abu Dhabi, Le Méridien Abu Dhabi, Mercure Grand Hotel Jebel Hafeet and Sofitel Jumeirah Beach Dubai, which opened after several delays at the start of 2010.
Earlier this year, ADNH announced plans to double its assets in three years and open 1500 rooms in Abu Dhabi by 2012. And it is on track to do so — a year from now The Grand Canal Hotel will open in Abu Dhabi, operated by Ritz-Carlton as opposed to a previously signed deal with JW Marriott, and ADNH is also expected to be the first owner to open on Saadiyat Island with Park Hyatt opening in 2011. A third property is yet to be announced.
The developments are in line with the growth plans of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, with ADNH focused on being a major player in differentiating the emirate and delivering the vision of Abu Dhabi.
The company is also planning to consolidate its operated brand, Al Diar, with chief executive Richard Riley on board to support this.
And despite a 10% drop in occupancy to a still very respectable 80% in Q1 2010, ADNH reported net profit for Q1 of AED 170 million (US $46.2 million), an increase of 13% over the same period in 2009.
In addition to leading the success of ADNH, Al Hajeri is chief executive officer of the Offset Programme Bureau (OPB); chairman of Tadreeb, (National Training LLC); and a board member of Bedaya (the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Program for Small & Medium Enterprises), Horizon International Flight Academy, Caracal International, Abu Dhabi UAV Investments Company, Waha Capital and the German Emirati Company (BENA).
9
Sarmad N. Zok
CEO, Kingdom Hotel Investments
Sarmad N Zok, who has been Kingdom Hotels Investments (KHI) chief executive officer since 2001 and led the company’s Initial Public Offering in 2006, was promoted to the full board of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) at the end of June 2010.
With the promotion, he took responsibility for the strategic development of the parent company’s giant global portfolio, including iconic properties such as London’s Savoy Hotel, managed by Fairmont, as well as IFA Hotels and Resorts.
In total, KHI is invested in 27 hotels in 19 countries, with some of the most prestigious Middle East properties including Four Seasons hotels in Damascus, Syria, Amman, Jordan and Nile Plaza, Cairo, and Mövenpicks in Beirut, Lebanon and Bur Dubai in the UAE.
Three groups make up the majority of the company’s investments — Four Seasons, Mövenpick and Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI) — with an investment also in InterContinental in Zambia.
One of the most recent openings over the course of the past year was Four Seasons Beirut, while a Four Seasons in Marrakech, Morocco is due to open by the end of 2010.
In terms of financial results, diversification into markets such as Beirut and Kenya has helped lift portfolio performance. The firm increased reported net profits by 27% during 2009 to $21.8 million.
KHI made the headlines several times in 2010, with KHC buying up the rest of the shares it didn’t own in KHI in March and the sale of a 40% stake in FRHI from KHC to Qatari Diar and Voyager in April.
In addition, Zok has said that the time for divestment may be near for some of the hotels that KHI owns. For the rest of 2010, he said in a recent interview with Arabian Business that the focus was on consolidation.
“We will focus on streamlining our processes, investing in our systems and capabilities and rationalising the portfolio ahead of an expected increase in M&A activity sometime in 2011,” said Zok.
8
HE Khalid Ahmed bin Sulayem
Director General, Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing
For continuing to promote Dubai’s hospitality sector and offering support to hoteliers, against a back drop of the economic downturn and negative media in some key feeder markets, the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) director general HE Khalid Ahmed Bin Sulayem steps up to eighth place in the Power 50.
The DTCM has come a long way since its establishment in 1997, replacing the Dubai Commerce and Tourism Promotion Board (DCTPB), and Sulayem has been there since the start.
In that time he has led the principal authority for the planning, supervision and development of tourism in Dubai. Bin Sulayem also directly oversees all of the planning and implementation of Dubai’s international promotion and marketing programmes.
The department currently has a network of 18 overseas representative offices, serving all the geographical regions of the world, and Bin Sulayem has been instrumental in chairing meetings with all stakeholders to examine ways to further boost tourist inflow to Dubai.
The approach seems to be working — Dubai recorded a 10.4% year-to-date occupancy increase in Q1, according to Deloitte analysis of selected STR Global hotel performance data for the Middle East.
Deloitte cited the city’s “promotional strategies” as a major factor in the positive figures that bucked the overall downward trend for the Middle East region. Occupancy figures rose from 71.6% to 79% in the year-to-date March comparison, and even in July, occupancy was up from 68.4% to 72.2% in the year-to-date comparison.
RevPAR and ADR have fallen in Dubai but only marginally — year to date June 2010 revPAR was US $166.16, a decline of 3.5%. Overall, Dubai produces some of the world’s highest revPAR figures.
And in addition to growing visitor numbers, Bin Sulayem has been involved in revamping Dubai’s hotel classification system — to be announced by the end of 2010 .
7
Michel Noblet
CEO, Hospitality Management Holdings (hmh)
Hospitality Management Holdings (HMH) has made almost monthly announcements during 2010, from new openings to new signings, earning CEO Michel Noblet a leap forward in this year’s Power 50.
Particularly notable is the company’s progress in Saudi Arabia, where it already operates more than 18 of its 34 hotels. Of the 10 hotels HMH is committed to opening within the next 12 months, six will be in Saudi Arabia. For example, only in May, Noblet announced that five properties had been signed for KSA — two Coral hotels in Jeddah and Dhahran and three Corp-branded properties in Riyadh.
Commenting on the growth in Saudi Arabia, Noblet said: “In addition to the projects under development, we have another 10 under negotiation which is incredible given the fact that our industry has been under severe pressure due to the financial crisis. Most of our projects are well advanced with several expected to reach completion by the end of 2010 or mid 2011, adding nearly 2000 keys to our existing portfolio”.
Elsewhere, the first Coral hotel opened in Beirut in May 2010, and two hotels are planned to open in Doha this year — Coral International, Doha and Corp Doha, Suites. And extending the company’s reach abroad, Coral International Capetown opened in 2010 and two properties have been signed for Sudan.
Meanwhile, in Dubai, Coral Deira recently underwent an AED 10 million renovation to upgrade its guestrooms, suites, corridors, dining outlets and prayer rooms.
Overall growth has been steady despite some hotels in the UAE being cancelled or on hold (as reported by Hotelier in February). In total, HMH has already signed 57 hotels and has a target of 100 hotels by 2012.
Noblet was a founding member of Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts and opened 55 hotels across Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific, Australia and the Middle East during his tenure.
6
Guido De Wilde
Vice president, regional director, Middle East Starwood Hotels & Resorts
With responsibility for the operation of all Starwood properties in the Middle East, currently numbering 50 hotels and resorts, Guido De Wilde moves up one position in the Power 50.
At the helm of one of the region’s oldest operators — Sheraton Kuwait opened in 1966 — De Wilde’s power lies in the fact that the brands operating in the region (The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, Le Méridien, Westin, W and most recently Aloft) have largely contributed to the quality of the Middle East hospitality industry as it is today.
Following the success of W Doha, which opened in Qatar in 2009, Starwood will next open W Amman, and also has W Hotels signed in Marrakech and Abu Dhabi.
And Aloft Abu Dhabi, which also opened in 2009, will be followed by the Aloft Hotel in Riyadh in 2013. The recent conversion of Grosvenor House to The Luxury Collection status will be followed by another property in Ajman.
Under de Wilde’s leadership, the next two years will see the entrance of Starwood’s two remaining brands to the region, with various St Regis and Element properties signed up. The Middle East will therefore soon become the first region outside of North America to offer all nine Starwood brands.
Environmentally-friendly, LEED-certified brand Element will launch in Abu Dhabi next to the Aloft in 2012, while Starwood is scheduled to deliver five of its St Regis hotels over the next three years – one in Bahrain, Doha and Dubai and two hotels in Abu Dhabi.
And not forgetting the existing brands, Sheraton Oman is set to reopen in autumn 2010 following a multi-million dollar refurbishment — part of a US $1.5 billion investment in renovating and enhancing the brand in Europe, Africa and the Middle East by 2012.
Commenting on the development plans, de Wilde said: “As we open new hotels we will create employment opportunities for the economy at a time when the world needs them most. A major focus for our Middle East expansion will be hiring talent from local markets to give people the opportunity to grow in this dynamic industry”.
In total, Starwood plans to open nearly 20 hotels in the next five years in the Middle East.
De Wilde joined Starwood in 1983 and took up his current role in 2006 when the regional office was set up.
5
Gerald Lawless
Executive chairman, Jumeirah Group
No ranking of the Middle East’s top hoteliers would be complete without Jumeirah Group’s executive chairman Gerald Lawless. While some hotels in Jumeirah’s pipeline may be slow in coming to fruition – the Al Fattan resort on the Palm and the Healthcare City hotels for example – two recent takeovers have reaffirmed Jumeirah’s position as Dubai’s leader in luxury.
In March, Jumeirah took over operations of The Meydan hotel ahead of its opening in time for the Dubai World Cup, hailed as a great success. An LOU with Meydan for the management of the property was announced in June and since then, the hotel has been promoted alongside Jumeirah favourites Burj Al Arab and Bab Al Shams.
And in August, Hotelier Middle East exclusively revealed that the Zabeel Saray hotel on the Palm Jumeirah would be managed by Jumeirah Group as opposed to being managed by original operator Rixos Hotels (although Jumeirah has not yet made a statement on this matter). The hotel is believed to be opening on October 1.
Meanwhile, Jumeirah Group reported high occupancies at its existing Dubai beachfront properties earlier this year, with Jumeirah Beach Hotel and Madinat Jumeirah registering occupancies of 92.5% during April 2010.
Home-grown brand Jumeirah is also continuing to expand its influence outside of Dubai, with more than 32 management agreements in place to run hotels in a variety of key locations across the world.
As of May this year, the company expected to open 10 hotels in the next 18 months, reaffirming its strategy of having 30 hotels open by 2013 and 60 hotels signed up.
Forthcoming openings in the region are Messilah Beach in Kuwait and Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi by the end of 2011, while the group has recently signed its first hotel in Egypt.
The big announcement from Lawless this year, however, was the launch of a new brand, Venu Hotels, which will see Jumeirah explore the “contemporary lifestyle” sector.
The first Venu has been signed for Shanghai, with many others expected to follow.
Lawless commented: “It opens up to new investors and new locations. Jumeirah Stay Different, which is our name brand at the very top end of the scale, will always find itself in key letterhead cities as we like to call them and in key resorts worldwide, whereas there are many other cities that we could take an operation and brand like Venu into that we may be a bit slower or reluctant to take Jumeirah into because room rates might be higher and so on.
“We have looked at this and we certainly feel that there are some really interesting cities that in the first wave you wouldn’t take Jumeirah into, but that you could take Venu. And then there are also cities in which we already have Jumeirah but we could have Venu Hotels there as well.”
And as well as growing the company, Lawless has also had to defend it against reports that parent company Dubai Holding was considering selling the hotel arm. Back in May, he told Arabian Business that the hotel operator was “certainly not” for sale and that the hospitality company was “an integral part of Dubai Holding”.
And if that wasn’t enough, Lawless has put his 23 years of industry experience to good use in his additional roles as a member of the executive committee of the World Travel and Tourism Council, a fellow member of the Institute of Hospitality and a member of the board of directors of DIFX.
He is also on the board of directors of Tatweer, a member of the Dubai Holding Executive Committee and a member of board of ENDP, as well as chairman on the board of governors of The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management.
4
Edwin D. Fuller
President and managing director of international lodging, Marriott International
The highest new entrant in this year’s Power 50 is Marriott International’s Ed Fuller, coming straight in at number four.
Although he holds a global role, Fuller has always shown a strong personal commitment to the Middle East and Africa, with an affinity for places such as Libya, Morocco and Oman.
On August 15, Marriott International president and chief operating officer Arne Sorenson announced that, as part of the company’s strategy to establish a continental division in the Middle East and Africa, Fuller would lead operations and growth in the region in his continued position as president and MD of lodging.
“Ed is highly respected throughout the industry and brings considerable expertise and contacts to our global operations,” said Sorenson. “As a 38-year Marriott veteran, he was a principle leader in growing the Marriott portfolio from 16 international hotels to more than 400 in 68 countries outside North America and expanding our brands into new markets.”
Fuller’s appointment follows the opening of Marriott’s regional headquarters in Dubai on January 1, 2010.
“We are positioning ourselves to take full advantage of the unprecedented growth in tourism that the region is predicted to attract over the next decade,” Fuller said at the time, estimating that some 68 million arrivals would be expected in the Middle East by 2020.
According to Dubai-based consulting firm Viability, Marriott currently tops the GCC hotel development pipeline in terms of both hotels and rooms, with 29 properties and 9572 rooms planned.
Overall, across the total MEA region, Marriott plans to open 43 hotels over the next three years in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Ghana, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia and UAE, adding to its portfolio of 28 hotels, including five Ritz-Carltons.
Achievements over the past 12 months include the opening of Marriott’s first hotel in Oman, the Salalah Marriott Beach Resort at the end of 2009, the signing of the first JW Marriott branded property in Aqaba in March, adding to its three existing hotels in Jordan, and an agreement for a 370-room JW Marriott hotel to open in Tripoli in 2011.
“We are very excited to be operating one of the first internationally-branded hotels in Tripoli,” commented Fuller.
More recently, he announced agreements for hotels in Algeria and Rwanda, and said upcoming properties in Qatar and Dubai were progressing well.
Fuller said: “We plan to open three hotels later this year in Qatar. As we move forward into next year, we expect to experience gathering strength when we open a stunning Renaissance hotel in Tlemcen and a beautiful, luxurious JW Marriott hotel in Tripoli. Both will be our first properties in their respective countries. We’re also delighted that construction on the landmark JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai is coming along right on schedule with its first 807 rooms due to open in 2012”.
In total, the Marquis hotel, owned by Emirates Group, will have 1614 rooms, while other major projects underway include the 318-room Renaissance Bahrain Amwaj Island Hotel opening in 2010 and nine hotels in Saudi Arabia, including JW Marriott Hotel Riyadh.
Although Fuller is a new entrant, Marriott was represented last year in the Power 50 by area VP MEA Nihad Kattan, who has moved on to head up the group’s hotels in Jordan.
3
Selim El Zyr
president and CEO, Rotana
The head of regional powerhouse Rotana, Selim El Zyr, bags third place in the Power 50 2010. Although it is a drop from last year’s top spot, 2010 has been another very strong year for Rotana.
Under El Zyr’s leadership, the company has achieved several new milestones over the past 12 months: the launch of its first ‘essential-service’ business-focused Centro brand, first in Abu Dhabi at Yas Island and then in Al Barsha, Dubai; the opening of the world’s tallest hotel, Rose Rayhaan by Rotana in Dubai; and the opening of Oryx Rotana, the firm’s first in Doha.
Other new openings have included the long-awaited Amwaj Rotana at Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai, and the Park Rotana complex in Abu Dhabi, while due to open imminently are Centro Sharjah Airport and the 443-room Khalidiya Palace Rayhaan by Rotana. By the end of the year Rotana will also open the Nour Ajaan by Rotana in Fujairah; its second hotel in Doha, City Centre Rotana; and its first in Iraq, the Erbil Rotana, while just last month Rotana signed the first two Centro hotels in Saudi Arabia in partnership with the Elegant Hotels Group.
Speaking to Hotelier back in May, El Zyr said business was sustainable and that Rotana was “still very profitable as a company”. He said that in Dubai, despite the downturn, occupancy for the first four months of 2010 was up on the same period in 2009, and that its hotels in markets such as Lebanon, Syria and Egypt had proved extremely resilient.
The company has stayed true to scheduled opening dates and now operates more than 42 properties in 18 cities in 10 countries, including managing more hotels in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the northern emirates than any other operator.
By the end of 2014, Rotana will operate 70 properties across the Middle East and North Africa with the number of rooms totalling 19,288.
Upcoming plans pursue the growth of the Centro and Rayhaan brands, as well as a joint venture with Orascom and Shuaa to manage five Centro by Rotana properties in Egypt. Another agreement, with Shuaa Capital Saudi Arabia, will see the company develop 17 hotels across Saudi Arabia.
The upturn of all of this is that Rotana is well on its way to achieving El Zyr’s strategic aim to have a property in every key city in the Middle East.
“Rotana is working towards the opening of 25 ‘Centro Hotels by Rotana’ properties across the MENA Region by 2014, introducing a unique out-of-the-box solution for the mid-tier market”, concluded El Zyr.
On a personal note, El Zyr received an honorary doctorate of Business Administration in Hospitality Management from Johnson & Wales University.
2
Marc Dardenne
CEO, Emaar Hospitality Group LLC
CEO, The Address Hotels + Resorts
CEO, Armani Hotels + Resorts
His role in the opening of the world’s first Armani Hotel in the iconic Burj Khalifa, Dubai, brings Marc Dardenne one step nearer to the top spot in the Hotelier Middle East Power 50 2010.
Ranked third last year, when he was recognised for developing a new home-grown luxury lifestyle brand, The Address Hotel + Resorts, Dardenne continues to drive growth in the company when many other new chains have deferred development.
Over the past 12 months, The Address has opened two more properties — The Address Dubai Mall and The Address Dubai Marina — and rebranded The Address Montgomerie in Dubai. The brand’s hotel cluster in Downtown Dubai has reported improved business in 2010, with The Palace — the Old Town claiming a 25-30% growth in occupancy on last year.
And the Downtown domination by Emaar Hospitality Group was cemented with the opening of Armani Hotel Dubai at the end of April, a few months later than expected, but well worth the wait.
Thanks to the smart collaboration between Giorgio Armani and parent company Emaar Properties, Emaar Hospitality has shown that Dubai hotels do not have to be gold and glitzy but rather stylish and sophisticated.
The hotel is now the model for up to 10 other Armani properties worldwide, the next being in Milan, and also sets the standard for what a partnership with a global fashion icon can achieve. Being in charge of the flagship Armani Hotel has once again put Emaar Hospitality at the forefront of the hotel industry in Dubai, and helped reaffirm the emirate’s worthy position on the international hotel stage.
But how does Dardenne, who was voted CEO of the Year, Hospitality and Tourism, in the 2009 CEO Middle East Awards, plan to top such stellar achievements over the next year? His focus is on further establishing The Address Hotels + Resorts brand — already a favourite among GCC nationals — and expanding its reach worldwide.
His plans are ambitious — in interviews with Hotelier this year, Dardenne said that the ultimate target was to be one of the world’s leading hotel chains within the next 10 years, with the “pipeline for global expansion clearly in its sights”.
“The first two hotels that will open in 2012 will be the France project in the Languedoc and Marrakech,” Dardenne said at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference 2010. “We are also just about to sign a location in Budapest and are finalising another deal in Istanbul.
“We have about another 10 potential opportunities in the Middle East region and in north Africa,” added Dardenne. “Our next move is to look at more European based hotels and I’m also going to see opportunities in Asia.”
The plan has always been to take the brand global, he said, using both strategic and opportunistic approaches to do it.
“We are looking at potentially London as a strategic location, where we would probably partner up with the developer and invest equity, otherwise it’s fairly opportunistic in terms of our development, since we really want to have an asset light strategy of management contracts,” explained Dardenne.
However, The Address has certainly not ruled out having further properties in Dubai, with Dardenne revealing to Hotelier that a beach resort on The Palm, Jumeirah was also on his wishlist.
1
HE Mubarak Hamad Al Muhairi
Director general, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority
Managing Director, Tourism Development and Investment Company
This year’s coveted top spot in the Hotelier Middle East Power 50 is awarded to HE Mubarak Hamad Al Muhairi, a UAE national who over the past 12 months has demonstrated an unreserved commitment to the development and promotion of Abu Dhabi’s tourism and hospitality sectors.
As director general of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) since its inception in 2004, and managing director of Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) since 2005, Al Muhairi has been instrumental in growing the emirate’s tourism infrastructure, including the creation of the highly anticipated Cultural District on Saadiyat Island, which will include the world’s largest single concentration of premier cultural institutions, such as the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi museum and Louvre Abu Dhabi.
And while the hotel market in Abu Dhabi has faced possibly its most challenging period to date over the past 12 months, Al Muhairi — who celebrated his 40th birthday this year — has continued to innovate and has ensured that ADTA and TDIC are never out of the global spotlight.
As a result, Abu Dhabi has already beaten its target to increase guest stays by 10% to 1.65 million in 2010. The emirate reported a 16% rise in its hotel guest performance in the first half of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009. Figures released in July showed that 936,579 guests stayed in Abu Dhabi’s 116 hotels and hotel apartments from January to June this year, with guest nights rising 11% compared to the first half of 2009 to stand at 2.47 million in 2010.
“We are now well above our targeted annual growth of 10% and have seen double-digit monthly growth since last November’s staging of Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix,” commented Al Muhairi.
There was a 20% rise in the domestic market, while the UK was the most productive overseas market with an 18% rise on 2009. Overall, the international market grew by 13% — a reversal of last year’s scenario — and guest arrivals from the GGC increased by 30%.
This is not to say that the ADTA hasn’t faced challenges as a result of increased supply, however, and the dynamics of the market have changed — over the past six months, occupancy levels have fallen by 18% but are still a relatively healthy 64% and revenue dropped by 5% to AED 2.1 billion (approx. US $572 million).
But Al Muhairi says that the competition is assisting in building Abu Dhabi’s proposition within the international trade arena and the new hotels have also improved Abu Dhabi’s culinary scene, with food and beverage revenue now accounting for 39% of all hotel revenues — compared to 33% this time last year.
The target for Al Muhairi now is to increase the average length of stay of hotel guests to three nights, from 2.6.
“We believe that this issue will be positively impacted with a further spur to our leisure tourism proposition when Ferrari World Abu Dhabi — the world’s biggest indoor theme park — opens this October 28,” explained Al Muhairi. “In addition the destination is attracting more tourism service providers with new watersports companies entering the market and developers planning dedicated overnight-stay desert camps.”
“At the same time, we will expand our overseas outreach with plans for an ADTA office in Moscow to nurture the Russia and CIS markets.”
And in addition to increasing visitor numbers, the ADTA has taken the opportunity to use the downtown as a way to pursue a variety of new avenues, specifically the promotion of sustainable tourism. The tourism authority is backing the first ever World Green Tourism Abu Dhabi conference, introducing Green Hotel Building Guidelines into its hotel classification system, and has become only the second tourism board in the world, after the Korean National Tourism Board, to achieve the Global Reporting Initiative (B grade) for a sustainability report.