Tag Archives: Middle East

Millennium Hotels and Resorts, Middle East and Africa has announced the addition of Millennium Place to its diversified portfolio of hospitality brands. A modern hotel concept that will cater to the new generation of business and leisure travellers, Millennium Place is slated to open in the first half of 2019 and will stand within the bustling district of Dubai Marina. The hotel features 453-rooms and suites that are designed to deliver a compelling guest experience offering views of the Dubai Marina and the Palm Islands. Its strategic location will allow guests walking access to The Walk, Jumeirah Beach Residence and nearby metro stations. “The Millennium Place Marina will focus on things that make a difference to our guests’ stay. It could be the in-room entertainment, the pillow, our hotel facilities, food and of course our excellent service. We want our guests to call their room a place of their own when staying at Millennium Place,” said Atef El Eskndarany, the newly appointed Director of Sales and Marketing of the property. Eskndarany will serve as an integral part of the pre-opening team and will be responsible for leading the sales and marketing efforts for the property. He brings almost nineteen years of sales and marketing experience in UAE, Oman and Egypt.  Prior to this role, Eskndarany was the Cluster Director of Sales and Marketing for Radisson Blu Dubai Marina and has participated in the pre-opening phase for six hotels of various international hotel brands such as InterContinental Hotel Group, Movenpick and Radisson Hotel Group.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has opened the company’s 100th hotel in region, Wyndham Garden Dammam in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This milestone follows several other significant openings in 2018 across the region, including new hotels in the United Arab Emirates, India and three additional hotels in Saudi Arabia, further strengthening the diverse offering of brands and destinations. Ignace Bauwens, Regional Vice President—Middle East, Eurasia and Africa, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, said, “We are exceptionally proud to have reached the incredible milestone of 100 hotels in the Middle East, Eurasia and Africa region with our latest opening in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. With a wide footprint of hotels, significant diversity of brands and a robust pipeline in place, our mission is to make hotel travel possible for all. Reaching 100 hotels in the region marks another important step in our quest to  offer travellers unique and authentic experiences, wherever and however they want to travel. Growth will continue to be our focus in 2019 and beyond, as we expand our footprint further and continue to bring more hotel choice across the entire region.” Wyndham Garden Dammam opened its doors in December 2018. Marking the introduction of the Wyndham Garden brand in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the opening further strengthened Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ portfolio in this key growth market, now including 15 operational hotels and over 2,300 rooms. Located in the heart of Dammam, Wyndham Garden Dammam offers a variety of rooms, suites and apartments and a fully-equipped female and male health club, as well as a restaurant, café and executive lounge.

Emirates has announced a number of appointments to its commercial operations team across the Middle East, GCC and Africa with effect from January 6, 2019. The appointments bring Emirati talent into key leadership positions, either being promoted from within the organisation or through portfolio rotations, underpinning the airline’s commitment to career development and progression of its UAE Nationals. Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates said, “As we continue to develop our operations in the Middle East, GCC and Africa, the unique backgrounds, experience and skills of each newly-appointed member of our commercial team will further strengthen our commercial and business operations and drive our strategic initiatives in a new year of growth. Their experience will also be instrumental as we focus on executing many of our commercial initiatives to pursue revenue opportunities, improve margin performance, as well as capture new consumer segments.” Mohammad Lootah will be taking on the role of Manager Jordan. Lootah joined Emirates in 2016 and has held commercial support management roles in Riyadh and Kuwait. Tariq Al Mutawa has been appointed as Manager Kuwait. Al Mutawa has been with Emirates for eight years, holding roles in India, Bahrain and Qatar. Hamad Al Ali, has been appointed to lead the airline’s commercial activities as Manager Bahrain. Al Ali joined Emirates in 2013 as a Commercial Support Manager and was posted in South Africa and Ethiopia. After that, he was assigned as Manager Zambia where he executed and delivered Emirates’s commercial activities in that market. Omar Al Bushlaibi, will become Manager Oman. He joined Emirates in 2014 as part of the UAE National Commercial Management Programme, training in the UAE Sales Department, Istanbul, as well as …

Marking its presence in the Middle East, Blacklane has opened its office in Dubai. After the Berlin headquarters and Asia-Pacific office in Singapore, this is the company’s third office having three priorities. The first is to support Emirates’s complimentary chauffeur-drive service as it provides First and Business Class-passengers with chauffeured airport transfers. Blacklane exclusively supplies these rides for Emirates in India, Italy and Sweden. Secondly, it is to add new cities across the Middle East and Africa (MEA). Blacklane currenty serves 21 cities in 10 MEA countries. In the coming months, the company will add dozens of additional cities across the region. Lastly, it is to build corporate business and partnerships across the region. The Dubai team will increase the number of Blacklane guests originating from the Middle East. Jens Wohltorf, CEO and Co-founder, Blacklane, said, “As the centre of travel in the Middle East and the headquarters of Emirates, Dubai is perfect for Blacklane’s office expansion.” He added, “Emirates means quality, and we’re proud to provide that on the ground, online and in our customer service for Emirates’s guests.”

Amadeus has expanded its airline business unit capabilities at its Dubai regional hub covering Middle East, Turkey and Africa region. Following the regionalisation of all business units to get closer to their customers, teams in the Dubai regional hub now include those of airlines, travel agencies, airport IT, payments, mobile and legal. Sabine Hansen Peck, SVP, People & Culture, Communication and Brand, Amadeus, opened the new office of the Dubai-based Amadeus Regional Hub. Further, commenting on the occasion, she said, “The Middle East, Turkey and Africa regions are relevant and growing markets for Amadeus. This expansion reflects our commitment to the region.”

The German Embassy has announced the opening of a new visa application centre in Kuwait in a move aimed at bringing greater efficiency to visa application processing services and enhanced customer experience to the residents of Kuwait. The centre operated by VFS Global will also provide biometric enrolment facilities to residents of Kuwait applying for Schengen visas. The processing time for a Schengen visa takes a maximum of 15 days and can be applied for up to three months before the planned date of travel. The VFS Global German Visa Application Centre in Kuwait is located at Level 25, Arraya Tower 2, Al Shuhada Street, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Inaugurating the visa application centre, H E Karlfried Bergner, Ambassador of Germany to the State of Kuwait, said, “The opening of the new centre is in line with the mandate the Federal Republic of Germany has awarded VFS Global to open external visa application facilities in 10 countries world over, including the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.” Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO—Middle East, South Asia & China, VFS Global, said, “VFS Global has a robust and long standing relationship with the Federal Republic of Germany and in the MENA region alone, it is expected that we will handle some 200,000 visa applications a year. While the decision of granting visas will rest with the German Embassy, our endeavor will be to provide visa application submission services efficiently and diligently and to the delight of our customers in Kuwait.”

Ghaya Grand Hotel has won the Arabian Travel Awards 2018 for the Luxury Serviced Apartment Hotels category at a glittering ceremony held at the JW Marriott Hotel, Deira on September 20, 2018. The award was received by Ossama Kachkouche, Director of Sales and Marketing. “We are extremely honoured to be recognised at the recent Arabian Travel Awards. It was a special feeling when all of our hardwork was acknowledged, it’s a seal of approval that we are on a right track and we should continue to maintain and improve our hospitality services.” Kachkouche said. Arabian Travel Awards is a platform for the Middle East to recognise people behind the success of the travel & hospitality industry to make them believe they are achievers. Planned as an exclusive one-of-its-kind event, this award ceremony is held annually. With many people putting their trust in the travel & hospitality industry, Arabian Travel Awards aims to host a world-class recognition for the best in the industry. Based on a unique system of jury, judgment and voting, these awards are fair and unbiased.

Golden Sands Hotel Apartments was declared the Best Family Hotel Apartments at the 2nd annual Arabian Travel Awards. Mirna Tenidis, Director of Marketing of Golden Sands Hotel Apartments, received the award. Last year, the Golden Sands Hotel Apartments was recognised as the Best Brand Hotel Apartment. Mohammed Khoori, General Manager, Golden Sands Hotel Apartments, said, “The Arabian Travel Awards is one of the much-awaited awards in the industry. We are grateful to be recognised as this year’s recipient of the Best Family Hotel Apartments. This is a meaningful award because it reflects who we truly are. Our facilities cater to big and small families and our location is convenient for both young and adult guests. I want to share this award with the team who are relentlessly providing the best service to our valued guests.” Organised by Durga Das Publications, the 2nd Arabian Travel Awards recognised and honoured the best in the travel, tourism and hospitality industries in the Middle East. This year, more than 50,000 votes were submitted from over 25 countries, with nearly 60 awards to recognise at the exclusive event attended by VIPs, dignitaries, travel, tourism and hospitality professionals. During the awards ceremony, a beautifully designed Collector’s Edition Book was also unveiled that showcases the beauty and culture of the Middle East.

Travelport has been recognised as the Best Technology Partner to the travel and hospitality industry in the Middle East for the second consecutive year at Arabian Travel Awards 2018. The company also scooped the Best Travel Technology Provider award, a category formerly called Best Global Distribution System, which Travelport also won in 2017. The ceremony took place recently at JW Marriott Hotel in Deira, Dubai. Arabian Travel Awards is an annual event designed to support, promote and develop the Middle East travel and hospitality industry by identifying and rewarding excellence, and inspiring its practitioners to continuously raise the standards of their product and service offering. Winners are selected based on a unique system of jury, judgement and online voting by industry professionals. In other categories, Cozmo Travel won Fastest Growing Travel Management Company and Al Naboodah Travel won the Best General Sales Agent (GSA) award. Matthew Powell, Managing Director, Travelport, Africa, Middle East and South Asia, said, “We are proud of the work we have done over the last 12 months. Our travel commerce platform is faster, our merchandising and analytics solutions are more powerful, and our mobile applications like Trip Assist, are even more dynamic and in tune with the needs of today’s hyper-connected travellers. We are delighted this work has been recognised by the industry. We will continue to work tirelessly to lead the change we want to see for the benefit of our customers and travellers.”

Tavellers to Muscat can now experience luxurious hospitality with the recent opening of Fraser Suites Muscat. The 120-key property is Frasers Hospitality’s first in Oman, offering business and leisure to travellers in the heart of the capital. Under the ownership of Amer Al Suleimani and co-owners, Ammar Al Suleimani and Ahmed Al Suleimani, Fraser Suites Muscat seeks to redefine the concept of hospitality. Located in the landmark mixed-use complex, the serviced residence offers guests a range of one to three-bedroom apartments, each with stunning views of the city. Its prime location puts it in the vicinity of a host of F&B outlets, mega shopping and lifestyle destinations like the Mall of Oman and Muscat Grand Mall, several large multi-national companies and Muscat International Airport. This spacious property, with modern and elegant furnishing reflecting the essence of the city throughout, also hosts a range of amenities for residents to enjoy. A grand ballroom is also available for events and conferences for up to 800 people. The launch of the property is in line with the growth strategy of Frasers Hospitality, which aims at expanding its global presence with new properties in the Middle East and Africa.