The Rezidor Hotel Group has appointed the company’s first Saudi female general manager as the country gears up for an active hospitality sector.
Maram Kokandi is to be appointed as the general manager of a new Park Inn by Radisson hotel in Jeddah, which is to open this year.
The Brussels-based group said she would also be the country’s first Saudi woman general manager of a property. “We are committed to empowering our women in leadership at Rezidor,” said Wolfgang Neumann, the president and chief executive of the Rezidor Hotel Group.
Ms Kokandi, who studied hospitality management in the UK, has worked in various hospitality roles in Saudi Arabia.
The Rezidor Hotel Group’s Balanced Leadership programme, which was introduced across Europe, Middle East and Africa in 2014, involves leadership programmes, inclusive policies and awareness of the diversity issue.
“We have already come a long way, from six female employees in 2014 to 84 today, with 12 in leadership positions [in Saudi Arabia],” said Mark Willis, the group’s area vice president for Middle East and Turkey. “The hospitality sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in Saudi Arabia and female participation as industry leaders is essential for its growth.”
Rezidor has 10 hotels accounting for 1,502 rooms in operation in Saudi Arabia. It has 24 hotels accounting for 6,406 rooms under development in the kingdom that are due to be in operation by 2020.
The government has identified the hospitality sector as one area that could drive job creation.
Saudi Arabia, especially in the holy city of Mecca, is among the most active hotel destinations in Middle East in terms of number of properties under construction, according to research and analytics company STR.
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