News 9
FRESH LEADERSHIP FOR HMH
Homegrown hotel group Hospitality Management Holding (HMH) announced the appointment of its new CEO, Aboudi Asali on the first day of Arabian Travel Market. The company welcomes the arrival of Asali,
who boasts over 20 years of industry experience, including a previous role as Senior Vice President Development at Jumeirah Group. “Asali will be a key member of our manage-
IHG BOLSTERS REGIONAL FOOTPRINT WITH NEW OPENINGS
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) announced four new hotel signings alongside six hotel open- ings across the Middle East and Africa at Arabian Travel Market yesterday. IHG’s hotel signings include Crowne Plaza Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, InterContinental Doha Festival City and Staybridge Suites Lusail in Doha, Qatar, and the Holiday Inn Mutare in Zimbabwe. This year alone, IHG is opening Crowne Plaza
Muscat OCEC in Oman, InterContinental Fujairah Resort in the UAE, Holiday Inn Doha – The Busi- ness Park in Qatar, Holiday Inn Algiers Cheraga Tower in Algeria and the Staybridge Suites Jeddah Alandalus Mall and Crowne Plaza Riyadh – ITCC in Saudi Arabia. IHG’s growth plans are focused on key cities such as Dubai, Jeddah, Riyadh and Cairo. Rajit Sukumaran, Chief Development Officer – Asia, Middle East, Africa (AMEA) at
InterContinental Hotels Group, also revealed that the region presents “several opportunities” for the brand portfolio. “While we have great demand for our mid-
scale offering in the current economic envi- ronment, we are also seeing interest in our extended-stay brand, Staybridge Suites, in response to the evolution of the region’s major cities into budding business hubs. “We’re also actively looking for strategic part-
ners to introduce Kimpton Hotels and restau- rants to the region as we believe this is the right time accelerate the growth of our luxury/lifestyle brand portfolio. “InterContinental hotels and resorts contin-
ues to drive interest as one of the landmarks of luxury for the region,” added Sukumaran. ——— Visit stand HC0550
SHANGRI-LA HOTELS AND RESORTS REVEALS EXTENSIVE EXPANSION PLANS IN ASIA
ment team with a clear mandate for identifying growth opportunities for the expansion of HMH’s portfolio in the hospitality sector fulfilling our strategic vision,” said HE Sheikh Mohammed Bin Faisal Al Qassimi, Chairman & CE, MANAFA LLC, and Vice Chairman, HMH. He added: “Asali’s extensive experience in
the region and successful history in development and attaining both management and franchise agreements will surely be a recipe for success.” Asali began his career at the Four Seasons
Hotel in Boston before joining Arthur Anderson as a real estate and hospitality consultant in Bahrain, then London. He returned to the Middle East in 2002 to take up the post of Vice President of International Lodging Development for Marriott International, during which time he signed more
Aboudi Asali, CEO, HMH
than 40 hotels across the region. In 2012, he set up a company to provide guidance for hotel opera- tors in the MENA region, negotiating contracts with Hilton, IHG and Starwood. HMH is a fully integrated hotel management
company specialising in the dry segment, ranging from the luxury to budget sectors. Hotels in the HMH portfolio include The Ajman Palace Hotel, Coral Hotels & Resorts, Corp Hotels, EWA Hotel Apartments and ECOS Hotels. ——— Visit stand HC0530
SWISS-BELHOTEL BOOSTS BAHRAIN PORTFOLIO
Global hotel management company Swiss- Belhotel International (SBI) will open two new hotels in Bahrain, effectively tripling its inven- tory of rooms in the kingdom by the end of this year. Grand Swiss-Belresort Seef, a five-star luxury
resort, will be ready by the last quarter of 2017. Meanwhile the company’s new residences prop- erty in Juffair is now in the final stages of being branded as Swiss-Belresidences, and will open its doors in December 2017. The two new properties will join the existing four-star Swiss-Belhotel Seef. Speaking at this year’s Arabian Travel
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts raised the curtain on a pipeline of new luxury offerings across Asia and the Indian Ocean during yesterday’s show. The Hong Kong-based hospitality giant
announced a series of developments and re-open- ings as part of its Asian expansion strategy. Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo is touted to be
the most luxurious hospitality hub to open in the Sri Lankan capital in 35 years. Positioning itself as an ideal getaway, the property, set across 10 acres of land, will comprise 466 guestrooms, 41 serviced apartments and 34 suites. Executive Vice President for Shangri-La
Hotels and Resorts, Michael Cottan, said: “Our world-class facilities in the hotel will appeal to both leisure and business travellers.” The hotel’s lifestyle offerings include the Chi Spa, featuring traditional Sri Lankan and East
Asian therapies. The hotel will also contribute to Colombo’s social scene with five exceptional dining venues, and will also feature the largest hotel conference facilities in the region, capable of catering to up to 2,000 guests. Elsewhere, Shangri-La’s urban lifestyle Kerry
Hotel in Hong Kong will open later this week, while Hotel Jen Beijing will welcome visitors in June. Shangri-La Hotel, Yiwu is set to launch in May, and two additional properties are scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2017. Joining the brand’s redevelopment plans is the much-anticipated re-opening of the Tower Wing at Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore, and the re-launch of the luxurious Shangri-La Al Husn Resort & Spa in Oman later this year. ——— Visit stand HC0820
Market, Laurent A. Voivenel, Swiss-Belhotel International’s Senior Vice President, Operations
and Development for the Middle East, Africa and India, said: “The tourism industry in Bahrain is growing rapidly, with the kingdom expecting to welcome 15.8 million annual visitors by 2018. This has significantly pushed the demand for quality hotels. “We understand the needs of our custom-
ers and are confident both Swiss-Belresi- dences Juffair and Grand Swiss-Belresort Seef will perfectly complement our existing hotel in Bahrain, as well as supporting our wider expan- sion plans and growth strategy in the region as a whole by diversifying our product offering.” ——— Visit stand HC0300
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