Langham appoints CEO
Langham Hotels International (LHI) has promoted Brett Butcher to chief executive officer. Butcher has held several roles within LHI including those of senior VP, sales and marketing, senior vice president brands, as well as senior VP, Langham Place Operations. He was also the managing director of Langham Place, Bangkok, Hong Kong.
IHG appoints Mattar
InterContinental has appointed Haitham Mattar as commercial director Near East. Mattar moves from his current role as director of marketing IHG MEA in Dubai to Beirut, to oversee the IHG’s hotels in Lebanon, Libya, Egypt, Jordan and Syria. He will also be general manager Lebanon, for InterContinental Mzaar Lebanon, Crowne Plaza Beirut and Holiday Inn Dunes Beirut.
Double addition to Rotana Hotels
Rotana Hotels has appointed two new executives to its management team. Amin Dakkak (right), takes charge as assistant marketing & communications manager from his previous post at Al Murooj Rotana Dubai. Tarek Medhat joins as area revenue manager for Dubai and Northern Emirates. He has been working with Rotana since 2006.
Al Diar Siji welcomes back Shankar
Al Diar Siji Hotel & Siji Hotel Apartments reappointed Shankar Bharadwaj as director of Sales & Marketing for their two properties in Fujairah. Bharadwaj carries with him a wealth of 30 years experience in the hotel business, moving up in the management ranks as he worked with various international hotel chains in India and the Middle East.
Holiday Inn Al Barsha promotes Nicolas
Holiday Inn Al Barsha announced the promotion of Gilles Nicolas as hotel manager. Nicolas joined the hotel as operations manager in July 2008. He began his career in France and worked there for three years before moving to Canada where he stayed for six years. Gilles joined the Holiday Inn brand in 2004 following his appointment at Accor and Delta hotels group in Canada.
Emirates appoints VP
Emirates has appointed Khalid bel Jaflah as vice president Commercial for UAE. Since joining Emirates in 2001 Bel Jafla has worked in diverse markets where he has been able to implement new strategies and expand his skill set. He has held managerial roles in Syria, Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal, United Arab Emirates as well as India.
Hiring the best
Samaan Fadayel has been appointed as management trainee/ human resources for the Renaissance Hotel, Courtyard by Marriott and Marriott Executive Apartments Doha City Center. Fadayal joins the pre-opening team to assist the director of human resources during the recruitment and talent acquisition for the three new Marriott International hotels in Qatar.
New additions at Ibis & Novotel
Ibis & Novotel Hotels Al Barsha has recently appointed Dilsat Oney as director of finance and administration, who brings with her 12 years of experience and expertise with Accor Asia.
Oney was previously director of finance and administration at Sofitel Ponte 16 in Macau and has also worked in Thailand, Vietnam and China.
Ali appointed at IHG CityStars
The InterContinental Cairo CityStars has appointed Yasser Ali as revenue manager for IHG CityStars Complex. Ali brings with him 10 years experience in the industry. He started in 2000 at InterContinental Pyramids Park, he then moved to other hotels within InterContinental Hotels Group. His last position was revenue manager at InterContinental Al Jubail in Saudi Arabia.
Appointments at Mövenpick El Sokhna
Mövenpick Resort El Sokhna has appointed Sherif Afifi (right) as a front office manager and Salah El Din Ahmed Moustafa as an assistant front office manager. Afifi previously held the same position in the Mövenpick Resort Taba. Moustafa too moves from Mövenpick Resort Taba, where he was duty manager of the resort.
Phoenicia welcomes Weinlaender
InterContinental Phoenicia Beirut appointed Georg Weinlaender as the new general manager. Weinlaender has worked in many different countries and cities including Vienna, London, Paris, Kuwait, Duesseldorf, Montreal and Dubrovnik as well as working in West and East Africa and the Caribbean. He arrived in Beirut joining IHG to take over his new role.
New appointments at Radisson SAS
Radisson SAS Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek has appointed Lin Aydin (right) as director of sales and Stephanie AbouJaoude as director of marketing and communications. Aydin was previously assistant director of sales and marketing since 2007. AbouJaoude was previously PR and communications manager and will be responsible for all of the hotel’s marketing activities
Farajat appointed at Marriott Jordan
Marriott Hotels, Jordan has appointed Saleh Farajat as country director of sales for Jordan based at the Amman Marriott Hotel. Farajat’s most recent position was director of sales at the Sofitel City Center Hotel in Dubai. He began his career in Petra and moved to Bahrain in 2002 as a
director of sales and marketing for the Mercure Grand Hotel Seef in Manama.
JAL Hotels welcomes Waldow
JAL Hotels has appointed Vanessa Waldow as cluster director of sales and marketing for the Hotel JAL Tower Dubai and Hotel JAL Fujairah Resort & Spa. Waldow brings with her pre-opening expertise including stints as the director of sales at the Four Points by Sheraton Complex in Dubai, and senior sales positions at Sheraton properties in Abu Dhabi and Doha.
Larxe-Rey appointed at the Ritz-Carlton
Covi Larxe-Rey has been appointed as director of business travel at the Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain Hotel & Spa. Larxe-Rey has over eight years experience in the hotel industry and was most recently sales manager at the Heathrow Marriott Hotel, UK. She also brings with her a strong operational background and knowledge in events planning.
New faces at Golden Tulip
Golden Tulip Hotels, Inns & Resorts has appointed Duco Everen de Vries (right) as business development director MENA Region. Vries has held senior management positions in international hotel chains such as Hilton, Best Western, Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts. M Dabbass has been appointed as general manager Tulip Inn Riyadh as well as area general manager for Saudi Arabia.
Al Bustan Rotana welcomes Rodriguez
The Al Bustan Rotana Dubai has appointed Gonzalo Rodriguez as the hotel’s new front office manager. Rodriguez started his career as guest service agent assistant and climbed up the hospitality ladder to being a front office manager. He has an extensive work experience in five star properties in various European countries including Spain, Italy and Mexico.
Movements at InterCon Mzaar
Chucri Nemnoum (right) has been appointed at InterContinental Mzaar as the new F&B manager. Nemnoum has worked in landmark restaurants, such as Einstein Bagles, Dave&Busters. Hadi AbdelHadi previously sales manager at InterContinental Mzaar Lebanon Mountain Resort & Spa was promoted to senior sales manager at the property.
New chef at Southern Sun ME
Geoff Haviland was appointed executive chef at the Southern Sun Middle East properties in Dubai - Al Manzil and Qamardeen. With experience in Australia, England, Germany, Hong Kong and Dubai, Haviland will also act as an in-house consultant for future developments. Haviland was also part of the team for the InterCon Dubai Festival City.
Amadeus ME appoints Jaleel
Amadeus ME has appointed Naqqash Jaleel as sales engineer for Travel Office Products and Services, Amadeus MEA. Jaleel previous work experience includes successful stint with the Al Shamel Group of Companies, where his most recent role was that of a Business Systems Coordinator for Carlson Wagonlit Travel, an agency by Al Shamel International in the UAE.