< Previoushoteliermiddleeast.com May 2022 10 ‘Six-star hotel’ Raffl es Doha appoints new marketing and comms director Appointments CAREERS Four Seasons stalwart Endamia Decour has left the luxe Toronto fi rm to join Accor. Decour has been named the cluster director of marketing and communications of Fairmont Doha and Raffl es Doha – the latter of which Accor describes as a ‘six-star’ hotel. Decour worked with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts for eight years, joining in 2014 as PR manager of Four Seasons Doha. From 2015 all the way until 2021, she was director of PR and communications at the hotel. “I am now all focused on the opening of the most anticipated hotel in the region and also inpatient to share with you this new journey with Raffl es and Fairmont Hotels Doha,” said Decour. Clinton D’Souza joins The St. Regis Downtown Dubai Clinton D’Souza has joined Marriott International at The St. Regis Downtown Dubai. The long-time restaurant professional comes in as F&B manager of four outlets. He will oversee Basta, Bleu Blanc, The St. Regis Bar, The Library and in-room dining. D’Souza started his F&B career in 2009 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Mumbai as a server. After fi ve years, he was promoted to in-room dining supervisor and transferred to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach in 2014. He joined as F &B supervisor and was promoted two years later to the assistant in-room dining manager.Partner Content 11 May 2022 hoteliermiddleeast.com Safir Hotels and Resorts gets a new look As the fi rst Arabian hospitality company in the Middle East, Safi r Hotels and Resorts (SHR) has a goal to signifi cantly accelerate its presence within the MENA region. At the same time, the brand enriches the guests’ experience with a distinctive fl air, infusing Arabian heritage with a modern outlook. SHR updated its brand look and feel with an adornment of Arabic calligraphy that distinguishes the brand appearance and highlights its vision which manifests itself as “Sharing True Arabian Hospitality.” The brand’s mission encompasses every aspect of the hotel’s services. SHR keenly ensures the perfect atmosphere of Arabian hospitality in every property in a genuine way that guarantees an awe-inspiring impression to guests. Eng. Fawzi Khalifa Al Musallam, CEO of SHR, stated: “2022 is a promising year, the hospitality industry is recovering rapidly post Covid-19, within the global direction to ease the restrictions, people are eager to travel and explore new destinations. Meanwhile, we are working closely with our partners to reveal new properties in the pipeline and acquisition opportunities within the MENA region. Our primary targets are the booming markets in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arab Republic of Egypt.” With a fresh brand identity, Safi r Hotels and Resorts emphasises its uniqueness Al Musallam added, “We proudly announce the re-opening of our newly refurbished Safi r Dahab Resort - Egypt, scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2022.” The fi ve-star resort has a distinguished location in the fabulous Dahab-Sinai, which comprises 159 rooms and suites with a balcony overlooking the magical panoramic view of the Red Sea or the gardens. The hotel’s facilities range from a child-friendly pool to a landscaped area with two swimming pools, an on-site diving school, two windsurfi ng centres, a tennis court, a volleyball court by the beach, and a fi tness and massage centre. For dining, the resort features seven restaurants to ensure guests have exquisite options available throughout their stay. Additionally, in the fourth quarter of 2022, the brand plans to open a regional offi ce in Saudi Arabia with the collaboration of q prestigious partner to kick off an ambitious growth strategy. This new offi ce will be a focal point, emphasising Saudi as a key growth market, aligning with the expansion plan, ensuring that Safi r’s expansion path is thoroughly monitored and on track.hoteliermiddleeast.com May 2022 12 IN CONVERSATION With 795 rooms, almost 100 swimming pools and 18 restaurants, including an outpost from Heston Blumenthal, who wouldn’t want to work at Atlantis, The Royal? One of the world’s most ambitious luxury hotels, it is already a part of Dubai’s history. To work at Atlantis, The Royal would mean to be a part of the next chapter of the UAE’s story of success. When the resort opens, more than 1,500 people will be working there, including overlapping positions with Atlantis, The Palm. With a myriad of exciting positions still left to fi ll, Atlantis Want to work at Atlantis The Royal? Here’s what the new resort is looking for Jyoti Chauhan Dubai’s HR VP Jyoti Chauhan spoke to Hotelier Middle East about some of the things she is looking for in candidates for Atlantis, The Royal. She began: “Obviously we’re as excited about Atlantis, The Royal as everyone else is. We see it as an ultra-luxury resort and we are hiring people from all over the world. Diversity is key for us – our guests themselves are from all over the world so it only makes sense our staff are too. “Ultimately what we’re looking for are individuals who have an industry of ultra- luxury hospitality and are able to provide extraordinary service. For candidates, one part of it would certainly have prior experience with ultra-luxury brands.” For the Atlantis hiring team, familiarity with ultra-luxury is very important. Ultra- luxury refers to the very highest peaks of In conversation 13 May 2022 hoteliermiddleeast.com Dubai hospitality, with intimate, personal service guaranteed, even across almost 800 rooms. This is one of the requirements for Atlantis, The Royal: To bring luxury experiences to hundreds of guests at any one time. She continued: “Often, people have associated Atlantis, The Palm as being a big resort with everything for everyone. Whereas Atlantis, The Royal will compete with ultra-luxury brands. Atlantis, The Royal is aiming for a different market. “This also means we’re looking to employ people with a deep understanding and experience within ultra-luxury. Typically though, existing ultra-luxury hotels in Dubai are around 200 or 300 keys, Atlantis The Royal is over 700. “We need to train people to maintain that ultra-luxury experience on a much larger scale. To do that, to make the leap from 200 keys to over 700, we have to give the right tools, training and leadership. We’re not leaving any stone unturned with this hotel, everything will be exceptional.” Staff must “takes things up a notch” Already one of the world’s most famous hotels, Atlantis, The Palm will give many lessons to the upcoming Atlantis, The Royal. Chauhan added: “There are many lessons from Atlantis, The Palm we can take to Atlantis, The Royal but at the same time, we are looking to take things up a notch at Atlantis, The Royal. Our aim is for it to occupy the ultra-luxury space. The offering will be slightly elevated [compared to Atlantis, The Palm] and the average rates will be slightly elevated.” What to expect when working at Atlantis, The Royal With a project as immense as Atlantis, The Royal, the HR vice president urges all applicants to take into account the fact they will be part of history. Pre-openings especially, she said, are challenging, and people should only apply if they have resilience and focus. She said: “Pre-openings are not easy so resilience is key. When the opening is done, you are suddenly part of history. It’s a massive achievement but it’s a lot of hard work to get there. People have to understand and respect that.” To help with this, Atlantis Dubai has an extensive onboarding process: “Everything Atlantis does has to be extraordinary, and all that is underpinned by pillars of care, warmth, connection, precision and empowerment. When we hire people, they must go through an extensive immersion course on our service culture and what is expected. “For onboarding, before anyone joins, they go through a fi ve-day orientation programme. We take them through our service philosophy and we even have a day which is purely experiential. In this instance, we ask onboarding staff to just be a guest for a day and experience Atlantis for themselves. That is critical actually to connect with the brand [in certain roles].” Personality above all else While Chauhan and her team are hiring from all over the world and require experience in ultra-luxury hospitality, she said what really matters is a person’s personality and passion for hospitality. She said: “At Atlantis, The Palm we have 98 different nationalities working there, we will look to have a diverse workforce at Atlantis, The Palm. Currently, recruitment is in full swing and we’re travelling to all corners of the world for it. Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, you name it. “To have experience in such a brand would give them an understanding of the technical aspects within Atlantis, The Royal. Beyond that, we need them to have a passion for hospitality and a passion to connect with people. It’s not that we are interviewing with a checklist in our hand, we are looking for people with both experience in ultra-luxury hotel brands, coupled with that passion. “That personality is absolutely key. You can have the technical aspects nailed but if you don’t have an ability to connect [with guests], you won’t go far. “Finding those personalities can be hard, but in HR, you have to trust your instincts. We have our competency questions but our HR team also has to trust their human instincts on whether this person is right.” Exciting F&B roles Chauhan added: “We’ve fi lled quite a few senior positions already but there are some senior, confi dential positions we are fi nalising. We have especially exciting openings in our F&B outlets and a lot of outlets looking to bring in chefs. “Another exciting role I want to mention is our F&B training manager. This person has an F&B background but also a training background. We have interesting roles like cake artists even.” Preparing for an interview If you are one of the lucky hoteliers to be offered an interview at the Atlantis, The Royal, Chauhan has some tips. She said: “For anyone about to do an interview for the role, I would ask them to come in with a fi rm understanding of what ultra-luxury [hospitality] is. Following that, personality is key. Come to the interview table to demonstrate what extraordinary service looks like; show a real passion for hospitality, and show resilience and focus.”Marketing Power List hoteliermiddleeast.com May 2022 14 Ahmed Shaker Regional manager, digital marketing, Premier Inn MENA Shifting from insurance to hospitality, Ahmed Shaker has excelled within Premier Inn MENA. Working across a total of 11 hotels, the marketer has shaken up his department to great success. His efforts have led to a reduction of 35 percent in the overall cost per acquisition over the last two years across all digital activities. He has delivered a customer relationship management (CRM) system to enhance and optimise the customer journey. The CRM system incentivises customers to book directly with the Premier Inn website. Simon Leigh, managing director said: “Ahmed is a true digital marketing expert whose results prove that he is talented in performance marketing and in ensuring a fl awless digital customer journey.” Abhishek Grover Marketing manager, Crowne Plaza Dubai Marina Abhishek Grover started in the hospitality industry fi ve years ago and joined Crowne Plaza Dubai Marina in February 2021. During his hospitality career, he has delivered profi table marketing solutions and campaigns, and thanks to his personal passion the F&B activations have proven to be the most impactful. In the past year, Grover and his team have launched 15 F&B and room promotional campaigns. He also developed promotional campaigns in feeder markets resulting in over AED60,000 in revenue. General manager, Tamara Salha, said: “He has more than proven himself as a leading marketer by securing opportunities to showcase the hotel as a leading resting and dining ve nue.” Hospitality is not an industry that can get away with a “build it and they will come” mentality. For every lavish suite booked, every sundowner purchased at the bar, and every pool pass availed, a savvy marketeer has likely been hard at work. In a region as competitive as the Middle East hospitality, marketing teams work around the clock to put their properties at the front of the market. In this second annual Marketing Power Lisr, Hotelier Middle East shines a light on 75 of the region’s brightest marketeers as nominated by their peers, arranged alphabetically by fi rst name. Marketing Power List 15 May 2022 hoteliermiddleeast.com Aline Ibrahim Director of marketing, PR & communications, Sofi tel Dubai Downtown At Sofi tel Downtown Dubai, Aline Ibrahim’s drive and initiative have ensured that occupancy grew from its lowest levels during the pandemic to its highest levels, maximising occupancy and revenue. She achieved this growth while also managing back-to-back events, promotional campaigns, the property’s digital transformation, and expanding its social media presence. In addition, she coordinates all of the hotel’s CSR activities. Alba D’Souza PR and marketing manager, voco Dubai The Palm As the much-anticipated IHG hotel approaches its opening day, Alba D’Souza plays a vital role in establishing the image of voco Dubai The Palm. With a digital-fi rst approach, D’Souza’s focus is on user-generated content, to establish the hotel as a lifestyle destination on The Palm for residents, expats and tourists alike. Additionally, she is also exploring opportunities to create a voco Dubai The Palm three-dimensional virtual and social experience to host gatherings, business meetings and more. marketing department since August 2021. In that time, she has created a range of successful marketing campaigns, press events and partner programmes. According to her peers, the marketing chief, has “undoubtedly improved both the fi nancial performance and recognition of the Kempinski brand.” Bringing a decade of experience to the hotel, some of Arbramovich’s notable roles include working as the area director of marketing and PR with Interstate Hotels; marketing and communications director for Swissotel in Moscow and a stint as the director of marketing in Marriott International, Russia. Alina Abramovich Director of marketing, Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates Alina Arbramovich has been heading up Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates’ GM, Caroline Trichet, said: “Aline leads and manages her peers, transforming each task into an example of how to achieve the very best. She embodies our values, good spirit, and diplomacy.” kitchen and in front of house. GM Charles Godot said: “Alba is a forward-thinking, creative marketing professional who comes with a strong ability to think on her feet. Passionate for hospitality, she is constantly offering unique and non-traditional perspectives.”Marketing Power List hoteliermiddleeast.com May 2022 16 Amal Oumasse Cluster director of marketing & communications, Millennium Place Barsha Heights, Millennium Place Dubai Marina, Millennium Place Mirdif Amal Oumasse has been working within Millennium Hotels since 2019, supporting the group’s ambitions to bring Millennium Place into the emirate of Dubai. Over the course of three years, she has led all the digital marketing development across the hotels. She has also successfully elevated Ana Maria Baboi Marketing and communications manager, Waldorf Astoria DIFC Even though she’s been with the hotel for just over a year, Ana Maria Baboi’s contributions to the Waldorf Astoria DIFC have already been immense. Baboi has been one of the key players in building collaborative relationships with the Arab Fashion Council. Becoming one of the collaborators for the Arab Fashion Week, the hotel has gained new awareness and revenue streams. Victor Chalfoun, GM said: “She is a remarkably agile leader, able to adapt to the changing business dynamics and deploy adequate marketing strategies to help the property maintain a competitive edge.” Ameen Mohamed Marketing and communications manager, Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah, Muscat and Shangri-La Al Husn, Muscat After a period of lockdowns and border closure for more than 18 months, Ameen Mohamed has navigated his Omani hotels to success. In fact, he drove eight consecutive campaigns on social media thanks to his own in-house video production capabilities, which have been highly perceived in the domestic market. His strategic approach on social media resulted in a 120 percent spike in Instagram followers in less than a year. One of Mohamed’s key contributions has been the implementation of WhatsApp for Business at Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah to manage business operations -a countrywide debut and the fi rst hotel to implement it. Through this, he secured OMR75,000 (US$195,000) in revenue. the brand’s image in the region, and in turn drove revenues. Oumasse has been working in the emirate’s hospitality fi eld since before the turn of the century. As early as 1998, she was director of sales and marketing for Sheraton in Dubai, bringing to Millennium Hotels decades of experience.Marketing Power List 17 May 2022 hoteliermiddleeast.com Since Anu van der Sande joined Grand Millennium Business Bay, she has reinvented the hotel’s social media pages. This, the hotel said, has had an immediate increase in visibility and engagement. In March 2022, the hotel achieved its highest fi nancial numbers since its opening in 2018 in both F&B as well as rooms which are supported by the various marketing activities that rolled out thanks to Sande. GM Andrea Strim said: “We couldn’t be more pleased to have Anu onboard. Anu’s passion and innovative approach to being always fi ve steps ahead of others will allow us to unlock new business opportunities.” Anna Luisa O. Asistio Assistant director of marketing & communications, Jannah Hotels & Resorts Anna Luisa O. Asistio is a familiar face in Hotelier Middle East. Previously on our 30 under 30 list, Asistio continues to climb the ranks of hospitality. Today, she works across fi ve properties and continues to bring to her role a raft of fresh ideas. Most recently, Asistio created s two dark kitchen concepts under Jannah Group. First is El Ranchero, a roaster brand that Anna Nikitina Lead, marketing & communications, Radisson RED Dubai Silicon Oasis Anna Nikitina is closing in on a year in her role at the lively Radisson RED property in Dubai. During that time, she has launched several online campaigns to raise the profi le of the hotel and in turn, drive revenues at the property. Notably, Nikitina led the pre-opening marketing and PR drives for the Jones the Grocer outlet now in the hotel and is poised to become a go-to for nearby residents. GM Stuart Birkwood said: “Anna has brought a new creative approach to Radisson RED Dubai Silicon Oasis. Her strong base of online skills aligned with her work ethic has ensured Radisson RED has continued to set the pace with new ideas.” offers an affordable gourmet experience focusing on rotisserie chicken recipes. The second is Just Kibbeh offering a variety of kibbeh fl avours. Richard G. Haddad, CEO, said: “Anna proves herself in the marketing and hospitality industries through her hard work and dedication. She is the kind of colleague who lights up the room.” Anu van der Sande Director of marketing & communications, Grand Millennium Business Bay Marketing Power List hoteliermiddleeast.com May 2022 18 Previously cluster director of sales and marketing for Marriott hotels in Riyadh, Ayman Abudayeh worked across fi ve Marriott properties during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Learning a lot about team building, preparation and marketing over that time, he recently transferred to funnel his skills into the newly opened Jeddah Marriott Hotel Madinah Road. The new Marriott property is an immensely important one for the group, standing to showcase the new global design vision of Marriott Hotels. Abudayeh plays a key role in this, as he heads the hotel’s sales and marketing team, showcasing the novel property as a beacon of modern hospitality in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ayman Abudayeh Director of sales & marketing, Jeddah Marriott Hotel Madinah Road Aqsa Yahya Marketing and communications manager, InterContinental Dubai Marina Over the past 12 months, the team led by Aqsa Yahya at InterContinental Marina has put together a marketing campaign positioning the property for Expo 2020 Dubai across a variety of channels including advertising, public relations, direct marketing, online communications, and social media marketing. The digital campaign alone generated 18,396 unique visitors to the hotel’s website from a total of 28,838 site sessions each averaging 11 minutes. The hotel’s general manager has nothing but good thigns to say about the marketing expert. Antje Sahling said: “Aqsa is a resilient and innovative marketing and communications leader with a strong understanding of the current market and its challenges. Truly a joy to work with and an inspiration to the rest of the leadership team.” Though Bushra Musharaf Mehmood has only joined Aloft Abu Dhabi in January 2022, she has introduced improvements in all segments of marketing including enhancing the e-commerce for Aloft Abu Dhabi and its F&B promotions. Patrick Baptist, the property’s manager said: “Although Bushra is a newbie to the brand, she certainly is not new to Marriott International. She is highly skilled and has extensive experience in the Middle East, and with that experience, I am sure she will raise the standards for Aloft Abu Dhabi’s marketing efforts. We have exciting new initiatives on the horizon and plenty of events planned for the rest of the year.” Bushra Musharaf Mehmood Marketing manager, Aloft Abu Dhabi Marketing Power List 19 May 2022 hoteliermiddleeast.com Catherine Yacoub Cluster marketing and communications manager, Hilton Al Seef Collection, Doubletree by Hilton Dubai Business Bay, Catherine Yacoub’s stint with Hilton has been marked by two things: Her affi nity for collaboration and her desire to showcase Emirati culture. Combining these two forces at Al Seef Heritage Hotel, she has partnered with tourism companies, tourism boards and nearby attractions to promote the stories of Old Dubai and Emirati traditions and customs. Moreover, she has been working to source a range of items to strengthen this cultural image. Carine Joun Director of marketing & communications, Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas, Abu Dhabi Thanks to her activations in the past 12 months, Carine Joun managed to boost the overall engagement across social media by 826.97 percent resulting in 3,219,605 total engagements in 2021 versus 315,813 in the year 2020. For a wider reach and higher level of engagement, she collaborated with more than 35 infl uencers from different countries and hosted celebrities and public fi gures to promote the resort to millions of followers. This has led to a 45 percent increase in the number of followers organically on Instagram alone. There are some lofty numbers backing Carolina Campita’s claim to this power list. Over the last 12 months, her commitments to social media, traditional media and PR have generated 307 clippings, $3.5 million in ad value and US$7.7 million in PR value. Moreover, the circulation across the region has topped 357 million. Campita has promoted the hotel’s dining, wellness, business facilities and wedding operations to new heights, securing US$77,000 in event sponsorships in the last 12 months alone. Jeremy Canivet, EAM for sales, marketing and PR said: “Carolina’s contributions to promote the property and its facilities are extraordinary.” Carolina Campita Associate director of PR and marketing, The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain Sami Avasthi, cluster commercial director, said: “Catherine was specifi cally asked many times by DTCM for the highest level of partnership, the latest being Jessica Alba and Zac Efron’s shoot for their fi lm.”Next >