Hilton International, has awarded its Annual Global Service Excellence Award for General Manager of the Year to Shuja Zaidi, General Manager of Makkah Hilton & Towers. The world’s leading hotel brand has also appointed three new General Managers within the Arabian Peninsula.
Zaidi beat 250 other general managers to scoop the award at Hilton’s annual management conference in London last month – presented to him by David Michels, Chief Executive of Hilton Group PLC and Ian Carter, CEO of Hilton International.
“Shuja’s commitment to Makkah is worthy of great commendation; the property is an enormous hotel that generates record breaking profits He successfully integrated an additional 800 rooms Towers complex to the existing 600 room property, inheriting 500 team members on improved training and benefits to drive our internal team member opinion survey up from 59% to 77%, “ said Rudi Jagersbacher, Vice President, Hilton International, Arabian Peninsula.
“I’m very proud to receive this accolade. This award truly is a recognition of my outstanding team, who are committed to maintaining our standards of excellence in a very challenging operation,” said Zaidi.
The Middle East is emerging as a regional tourism hub, attracting visitors year-round and from all over the globe. Currently approximately ten percent of Hilton International’s global revenue comes from within the Middle East. The region is one of the fastest growing leisure and business destinations worldwide.
Given the growth potential of the Arabian Peninsula region, it is no surprise that three general managers find themselves in new appointments. Kevin Brett joins as General Manager for the new-look Hilton Abu Dhabi, Kamel Ajami as General Manager for Hilton Baynunah and Hilton Corniche Residence, while Andreas Bossard is appointed as General Manager for Hilton Kuwait Resort.
“All three gentlemen are experienced hoteliers - we’re confident that their experience, both internationally and regionally, will greatly support our network and policy of excellence, while we will continue to strengthen our regional presence,” said Jagersbacher.
With a quarter century of industry experience, British-born Brett joins as General Manager for the Hilton Abu Dhabi property. An effective motivator with excellent communication skills at all levels, Brett joins from the Hilton Bahrain where he was General Manager and has also worked for Conrad and Inter-Continental.. His extensive experience comes from London, as well as holding previous management positions in Oman, Turkey, and Malaysia.
Meanwhile Ajami who hails from Lebanon was appointed General Manager of the Hilton Sharm Waterfalls Resort in Egypt in 2000, where he won the “People at Hilton Award” in 2002.
A Hilton veteran, Swiss Bossard has worked with Hilton International for most of his professional life. In 1975, Bossard joined Hilton Brussels and after a series of promotions, in 1989 he became General Manager for Hilton Seoul, Korea, followed by General Manager for Hilton hotels in Kuala Lumpur, Sydney and Brisbane - all of which have earned him many plaudits and awards.
