NEWS / REGIONAL
Starwood leadership 'temps' in Dubai Top management takes pulse of the region from Dubai base
Starwood President & CEO Frits van Paasschen and the company's top executives are re-locating to Dubai for a month in a bid to better understand the region and boost local relationships. The President and more
than 200 Starwood execu- tives and GMs from the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America will travel to Dubai as the company runs day-to- day operations almost 7,000 miles and a nine-hour time zone away from its usual HQ outside New York City. The team will meet with
associates, customers, own- ers and prospective devel- opers in the UAE and also take advantage of Dubai's location for business travel to destinations including Mumbai, Addis Ababa, Jeddah, Dushanbe and Kuwait. Following the compa-
ny's successful relocation to China in June 2011, this
The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina
second leadership move reflects Starwood's innova- tive management approach to cultivating a more global culture by understanding, appreciating and leverag- ing different societal per- spectives and approaches to business and hospitality. "With 80 percent of
"We are on the cusp of a new golden age of travel, and Dubai is at the epicenter of this
sea change." _ Frits van Paasschen
Starwood's pipeline coming from rapidly growing markets, it is simply not possible to lead a truly global business from a boardroom in Connecticut," said van Paasschen. "Rising wealth and ever greater global connectivity are creating a once-in-a-lifetime growth opportunity for our business - by fueling new demand, chang- ing travel patterns, and entirely new travel markets. Dubai epit- omises this changing face of travel, and we expect this relo- cation will deepen our relation- ships with partners, associates and customers. Just as with our one-month relocation to China
in 2011, our time in-market will spark new ideas that will fortify our position as the most global high-end hotel company." Starwood's roots in the Middle East date back nearly 50 years, with 45 hotels and another 30 under develop- ment. In Dubai alone, Starwood has 14 hotels and another six in the pipeline. That makes Dubai Starwood's second larg- est market in the world behind New York City. The compa- ny's Middle East footprint is set to grow by about 70 per- cent over the next five years. "Working day-to-day in a
different market allows you to see the world through a differ- ent lens," said van Paasschen. "These trips allow us to listen firsthand to what our associates around the world have to say." Starwood is a world-lead-
ing hotel and leisure com- panies with 1,134 proper- ties in 100 countries and 171,000 employees.
St. Regis lures large-scale conferences to Saadiyat
Having recently completed its first full year of operation, The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi, is ramping up its status as popular venue for large-scale conferences. “The market welcomed us with open arms,” said Jeremy Canivet, Director of Events. “We were able to secure some large conferences, as well as make our mark in the UAE as a social address and wedding des- tination. Overall, 2012 exceeded our expectations and we look forward to building on this success in 2013.” The property kick started
2013 by announcing its spon- sorship of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship 2013. It also hosted the annual
International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) conference in January. “IRENA's two-day event
attracted over 1,000 delegates from all over the world and utilised most of the resort’s available function and event space,” said Canivet. “This is the second consecutive year that IRENA's event has been held at our resort and we look forward to many more years of successful collaboration. “For 2013, our focus
remains on large residential conferences that will fully utilise our ballroom and gues- trooms. Since our opening in December 2011, we have seen a large percentage of our meet- ings business coming from
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within the GCC market. We expect the volume of meetings and events to grow year-on-year as more plan- ners become aware of the resort’s state-of-the-art
facilities and bespoke ser- vice.We can confidently say there are not many hotel ven- ues in the region equipped to cater to the various types of groups and events like we are.”
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