Tag Archives: Marriott

Marriott International has appointed Michel Nader as its Area Vice President for the United Arab Emirates. In his new role, Nader will oversee the company’s operations in the country which currently features 60 operating hotels and over 16,000 rooms across 20 brands. Nader will take on his role as Area Vice President for the UAE from Sandeep Walia, who will move into his role as Chief Operating Officer for the Middle East on July 1, 2021. “Michel is an experienced leader who is well-respected by his colleagues and ownership groups, and we are delighted to have him lead our operations for the UAE,” said  Sandeep Walia, the upcoming Chief Operating Officer for Marriott International in the Middle East. “With his extensive knowledge and experience, we look forward to building on the positive momentum and incredible results the team has achieved in the UAE.” Nader brings with him over 20 years of international experience in the hotel industry and most recently was the Market Vice President for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt for Marriott International. Prior to that, he was the Area Vice President for the North Africa Region for the company. A third-generation hotelier, Nader joined Marriott in 1999 as Assistant Food & Beverage Manager at the Le Bristol, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Lebanon, before moving to the Sheraton Coral Beach as Food & Beverage Manager. In 2004, he took on a new challenge as Director of Six Sigma, Black Belt at the Sheraton Mencey and Sheraton La Caleta in the Canary Islands. Michel took on his first General Manager role in 2006, opening the Hotel Marques de Riscal, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Elciego, Spain. He was then …

Marriott International, Inc. signed an agreement with Al Saedan Group, a leading real estate company in the Middle East, to open three hotels across Saudi Arabia. The multi-project agreement includes the country and territory’s first Renaissance Hotel, the world’s largest Aloft Hotel and a Courtyard by Marriott in the Holy City of Makkah. All three properties are projected to open by 2025. “We are pleased to build on our fantastic relationship with Al Saedan Group and further expand our portfolio across Saudi Arabia with these milestone signings,” said Satya Anand, President for Europe, Middle East & Africa, Marriott International. “These agreements underscore Marriott International’s commitment to supporting the growth of the Kingdom’s tourism sector and reinforces the continued demand we are seeing for our portfolio of brands across the country.” “As a company, we are focused on developing projects that support the growth and development of the Kingdom,” said Sultan Al Khudair, CEO of Al Saedan Group. “We are excited to collaborate with Marriott International to open two new properties in the Holy City which will be ideal destinations for those visiting for Umrah and Haj, and to debut Renaissance Hotels in the country. These three new agreements were signed in line with our commitment to bring the highest standards of quality and design to our assets and to provide a premium experience to our guests.”v

Marriott announces another opening in Q3 in 2021, this time in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. JW Marriott Burj Rafal is expected in the third quarter in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Situated on King Fahad Road, a peaceful oasis amidst a dynamic city and just a 5-minute drive from King Abdullah Financial District, JW Marriott Burj Rafal resides in one of the most desirable addresses in Riyadh. The landmark hotel will stand as the tallest residential building in the city, spanning 70 floors, with 349 rooms and suites.

Marriott is looking at expanding their chain further with the addition of Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah a key destination much loved by international travellers as well as domestic travellers or residents. This property marks the first Marriott Hotels resort in Dubai, the hotel is located on the beach of the iconic Palm Jumeirah. For guests that want to be in the heart of it all, Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah is perfectly positioned with easy access to downtown, the main shopping malls, and business districts. The hotel will feature 608 guestrooms, eight restaurants, and lounges, plus a world-class spa and fitness facility, a kids club, and a private sandy beach offering stunning views of the Arabian Gulf beyond.

Marriott International’s commitment to Clean and Global Cleanliness Council, Marriott has introduced digital content about redefined processes and reimagined spaces guided by cleanliness experts and best practices to help hosts, organisers and attendees plan and execute meetings and connect with confidence. Recognised as an industry leader for quality and exacting standards for over 93 years, Marriott is introducing changes which include enhanced sanitation guidelines, new operational training for associates, and increased use of conference technologies to ensure that customers are able to come together when they are ready. Meeting planners may now reference a series of new materials including customer stories and resources that provide additional context and information for designing successful events in the current environment. Available on MarriottBonvoyEvents.com, these tools illustrate Marriott’s approach to delivering high-quality meeting experiences across its full portfolio of hotels and resorts. “Our Commitment to Clean is guiding everything from how we keep our guests and associates safe to how we begin to welcome back event and meetings business across Europe, Middle East & Africa,” said Neal Jones, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Marriott International, EMEA. “Our Global Cleanliness Council is working with us to tackle the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic and what that means for an event or meeting at a hotel. Having experts in the area of hygiene, food safety, infectious disease, and infection prevention has been enormously beneficial in helping us think through everything we can do to support organisations as they begin to envision, plan and execute future meetings and events of all sizes.”

Leading hospitality providers are implementing new and innovative ways to enhance guest and staff experiences with the help of unified communications and contact center solutions from Avaya Holdings Corp., a global leader in solutions, to enhance and simplify communications and collaboration for the global hospitality industry. According to IDG, 62% of businesses believe digital transformation success is defined by excellent customer experience as measured by customer satisfaction scores. “As a significant and growing global hospitality brand known for superior guest experiences across our 5,000 resorts and hotels worldwide, Accor chooses our vendors carefully,” said Denis Collette, Global Call Centre IT manager, Accor. “We have been an Avaya customer over the last 20 years and we look to Avaya for our continued growth in enhancing our guest journey. The Avaya IX Contact Centre solution is rock solid with a history of proven reliability and support.” Moxy Hotels, Marriott’s newest brand, focuses on providing fresh and innovative experiences to guests by combining stylish design and approachable service at an affordable price point. “To ensure we are giving our guests the finest experience we knew we needed a reliable, rich-feature solution that came in at a competitive price point,” said Lowell Beebe-Center, Director of Operations, Moxy Hotels. “Connectivity today is a critical aspect of the hospitality industry. It is essential to have proper infrastructure to provide the reliable services our guests need,” said Joseph Fayad, Corporate Director IT, TIME Hotels, a chain of four resort brands based in the UAE. “Our new Avaya contact centre and unified communications platform helps make it possible for the group to automate key guest services including wake-up calls, reservation reminders, and requests for information on hotel services …

Marriott International has launched Tahseen, a unique hospitality training programme in Egypt, developed in response to a growing need for talent within the industry. Created in partnership with Helwan University and Professional Development Foundation (PDF), the programme is focused on fast tracking the next generation of hospitality leaders from Egypt by providing them with firsthand experience and a springboard to launch successful careers in the industry. The company unveiled the programme at a signing ceremony graced by His Excellency Khalid Atef Abdul Ghaffar, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Egypt. Also present at the occasion was Arne Sorenson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Marriott International, who is on a three-day visit to the country. “Marriott International is a company that believes in putting people first and we are committed to giving our associates the world class training and the opportunity to grow and reach their potential, both personally and professionally. Our vision is to develop future leaders, empowered with the knowledge, skills and opportunities to be successful within the hospitality industry, both regionally and globally. Building a sustainable and robust hospitality education program like Tahseen, that nurtures and builds national talent, is indeed key to our success,” said Sorenson. “Over the last four decades we have worked hard to consciously develop local talent and prepare them to become future leaders in hospitality,” said Alex Kyriakidis, President and Managing Director Middle East and Africa, Marriott International. “Today we employ over 10,200 associates across our hotels in Egypt with 99% of them being local Egyptian nationals.

Marriott International together with Sabre Hospitality Solutions has unveiled a new distribution and booking solution, www.MarriottWholesalers.com, that provides thousands of authorized wholesalers, destination marketing companies, and tour operators access to real‐time rates and inventory for more than 4,200 Marriott properties around the world. The solution is part of Marriott’s strategy to transform the wholesale and leisure segment with technology and shift to dynamic rates and automated reservations, replacing antiquated processes for contracting, accessing inventory and booking hotel rooms. Approved wholesalers can now search real time hotel net rates and inventory globally to create tailor‐made packages for their customers. All hotel bookings are confirmed instantly online. The solution provides significant value to smaller wholesalers by removing the need for them to make a technology investment to gain direct, dynamic access to rates and inventory. The solution will make it more efficient than ever to distribute Marriott’s inventory to the broader leisure package segment. Wholesalers can establish or renew access in seven languages at MarriottWholesalers.com and once authenticated, they immediately have access to the booking engine.