The UAE hotel group Rotana is set to create around 5,000 new jobs over the next five to six years as it moves ahead with a pipeline of 40 properties across Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, Somalia, Georgia and other markets, according to its chief executive officer.
Philip M. Barnes, CEO of Rotana, said the company currently operates around 80 hotels and employs roughly 10,000 people.
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Three new properties have already opened this year a new property in Ras Al Khaimah is due to open within the next four to six weeks.
No layoffs during crisis
Barnes said the group avoided any redundancies or hotel closures throughout the recent regional downturn, a stance he described as central to protecting its reputation as an employer.
“We had no layoffs. We had no redundancies,” he said, noting that staff shared in salary reductions for a period but that no jobs or properties were cut.
Barnes said he visited hotels across the UAE in May and June to thank teams personally, adding that staff loyalty built during the crisis was now feeding into improved guest satisfaction and quality scores.
Pipeline weighted towards Saudi Arabia, Africa
Of the 40 properties in the pipeline, about a quarter are in Saudi Arabia, spanning both primary and secondary cities, with a new signing in Riyadh currently under way.
Barnes described the Saudi market as a long-standing strategic focus for the group.
Beyond the Gulf, Rotana is expanding into Africa, with upcoming properties in Islamabad, Mogadishu and multiple sites in Egypt, where Barnes said government-backed investment was reshaping Cairo’s property and hospitality landscape.
Staffing levels will vary by property size, he said, ranging from around 80 to 100 employees for smaller hotels to 200-300 for larger ones. Properties in markets such as Georgia and Pakistan will draw predominantly on local workforces, he added.
Barnes cautioned that pipeline numbers typically shrink over time.
Source: Khaleej Times