 |
Kempinski Doha welcomes Suleiman
Kempinski Hotels have appointed Wissam Suleiman as general manager of the Kempinski Residences & Suites, Doha. Suleiman has worked at some of Kempinski’s most high-profile properties including the Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea and Kempinski Hotel Aqaba in Jordan.
 |
Jumeirah Group appoints Clayton
Jumeirah Group has appointed Nicholas Clayton as its new chief operating officer. Clayton joins Jumeirah Group from the Viceroy Hotel Group where he was president and later CEO. He previously spent 14 years with Ritz-Carlton in the US, Australia and Singapore before joining Mandarin Oriental as senior vice president operations in Hong Kong.
 |
New GM at Corinthia Budapest
Corinthia Hotels has appointed Thomas Fischer as general manager of the Corinthia Hotel Budapest in Hungary, from his previous role as general manager at the Kempinski Hotel Gravenbruch in Frankfurt, Germany. Prior to joining Corinthia Hotels, Fischer was with the Kempinski Group, where he held executive positions in China, Germany and Russia.
 |
Fritz joins Sharq Village & Spa
Carsten Fritz has been appointed general manager of the Sharq Village and Spa in Doha. Fritz has worked with The Ritz-Carlton during the past ten years in various functions and across several countries. Prior to this appointment, he held the position of general manager at the Ritz-Carlton Abama.
 |
Banyan Tree appoints new CEO
Banyan Tree Holdings announced Abid Butt as chief executive officer of Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts (BTHR). Butt has previously served as the area general manager for the Banyan Tree Phuket followed by vice president of operations. Most recently, he was the vice president for Asset Management of Host Hotels & Resorts in the US.
 |
Rezidor expands operations
Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group announced two key appointments: Marc Descrozaille (right) as regional director for UAE, Egypt and Jordan, and Shabana Beg as the area director of revenue optimisation for Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. Both of them will be based in Carlson Rezidor’s Middle East regional office in Dubai.
 |
Time Hotels welcomes Sparks
Rachel Sparks joins Time Hotels as the revenue manager. Specialising in sales, marketing and key account management, Sparks was previously with Navarino Services UK and Four Pillars Hotels Limited, UK. She brings to the role in-depth knowledge and experience in distribution & marketing, social media, OTA channel management and revenue anagement.
 |
Oetker Collection appoints Al-Jabari
The Oetker Collection announced Rami Al-Jabari as regional director of sales for Middle East & Africa. Al-Jabari, who has been with the industry for 17 years has held senior positions with Marriott International. Prior to joining Oetker Collection, he was general manager of Marriott Global Sales Organisation for the Gulf Countries and Jordan.
 |
New GM at Holiday Inn Al Barsha
The Holiday Inn Dubai – Al Barsha has appointed JS Anand as general manager. Anand moves to the UAE from Canada where he was general manager with one of the Marriott brands in Toronto. He started his career as part of the opening team at the Goa Marriott, India and has also worked also with brands like Oberoi and Leela.
 |
The K Hotel appoints De Leon
The K Hotel has announced Ayla Ginete De Leon as its marketing and communications manager. De Leon has previously worked in various industries serving as journalist, public relations manager for The Diplomat Radisson Blu and PR & marketing manager for the Banyan Tree Al Areen (now the Al Areen Palace & Resort).
 |
New staff at Park Regis Kris Kin
The Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel has appointed M. Sandeep Kumar as business development manager–Corporate. Multi-lingual with hospitality experience both in India and the Arabian Gulf, he joins the Park Regis from the Sheraton Khalidiya, Abu Dhabi, where he was assistant sales manager.
 |
Amwaj Rotana appoints Chef Snyman
Alan Snyman has been appointed executive chef at the Amwaj Rotana Hotel Dubai. Having worked as executive chef at Towers Rotana Dubai for three years, Snyman is not new to Rotana Group. His previous assignments include the position of executive sous-chef in hotels in Dubai, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Ireland.
 |
Quemener joins Golden Tulip
Golden Tulip Hotels Suites & Resorts Mena has appointed Christian Quemener as the new general manager for Golden Tulip El Mechtel in Tunis, bringing with him 30 years of experience in the industry. Quemener has worked with four and five-star Hotels in various hotel chains in different countries across the worls.
 |
New team at Radisson Media City
The Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Media City has appointed Mohammed AbuKaraki (right) as the new assistant director of sales and Claudia Klingbeil as new marketing & communications manager. AbuKaraki was previously senior sales manager with a five-star hotel in Abu Dhabi while Klingbeil started her career in Australia before moving to Dubai.
 |
Oman Air strengthens team
Oman Air has announced Jaffar Juma Al Lawati (right) as country manager, Oman and Captain Ali Hassan Sulaiman as acting chief officer Flight Operations. Prior to joining Oman Air, Al Lawati was as country manager, Oman, for Etihad Airways while Captain Ali was deputy chief officer Flight Operations.
 |
Ritz-Carlton appoints PR team
Lynn Gervais (right) and Valeria Mertsalova have been appointed as director of public relations and public relations manager, respectively, of The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal. Both of them move from The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) where Gervais was director of public relations and Mertsalova was public relations coordinator.
 |
Mercure Seef gets new GM
Mercure Grand Hotel Seef in Bahrain has appointed a new general manager, Yasser Bahaa. Bahaa, an Egyptian national brings with him over 15 years industry experience and will manage all aspects of the Mercure Grand Hotel Seef. He was previously the GM of the ibis Amman in Jordan.
 |
Purohit heads Hertz team
Rakhi Purohit has been appointed as regional sales manager of the new Hertz dnata outbound GSA team for the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Afghanistan. Purohit, started her career as a Tours and Events manager with Tourism Co-Op in India before moving to the UAE with MMI-dnata where she held various roles.
 |
Serhal joins Crowne Plaza Yas Island
Rami Serhal was recently appointed executive assistant manager for Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi Yas Island. Serhal’s 12 year long career with IHG began in 2000 when he was appointed as chief concierge for Intercontinental Hotel, Phoenicia. He was previously front office manager for InterContinental Hotel Abu Dhabi.
 |
RAK Airport boosts team
RAK International Airport recently appointed Michael Coe (right) as the development director, Terry Sloan as the head of operations, and Salem Hasan Al–Ghafri as the head of security, Control Authorities and Regulatory Compliance. The new appointments support RAK International Airport’s expansion plans which reflect the strong growth of the emirate.