Eddy Tannous Reveals: Rotana’s Strategy for Operational Efficiency in the Middle East & Africa
Hi everyone, this is Alvina Aa. Right now we are at FHS happening right now in Medina JRA and I’m super excited to interview CEO of Rattana Adanos with me. I will ask him about the goals of Ratana, about FHS and uh what are the expectations. So first of all good morning and I’m glad to have an interview session with you. It’s my pleasure as well. So Eddie uh just uh tell us what are the goals of Rotana to be a part of FHS. Well, first of all I want to say we’re always very happy when FHS is taking place in the region because Rotana is a brand that was born in the United Arab Emirates. uh we have been part of the future hospitality summit family for quite some time now. I believe this is one of the best forums in this region for investors, hotel operators and third party providers to interact in a more I want to say boutique setting rather than the big big exhibitions because it allows the opportunity to have meaningful conversations about the growth of the hospitality industry in this region. Rotana to currently operates and manages over 100 projects in the region, Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe and we are super excited to continue building on that momentum and grow within this region. As we talk about Rotana and you said that uh Ratana has close association with UA and overall GCC region. If we particularly talk about Rotana as a big giant in hospitality, how Rotana is keeping its standard alive till the day like what are the challenges in contemporary market? That’s an excellent question and you know just behind us uh the founders of the company are sitting with us here today and this is a testament that what started 33 years ago for Rotana is still there. The culture that was created is still there. But our job with the new management, with the new CEO, with the team is to take that legacy forward. Today, Rotana is a regional brand, but with a global mindset. We are young and small enough to be reachable to our owners. We are one phone call away from getting on a plane and going there and attending any meeting that we need to attend to support them, which is not something you get from the big tycoon brands. We are one phone call away from being in any meeting with one of our owners and supporting their business if required. We are a big team based out of UAE, but we support the hotels very quickly if this needed. If this is needed, I think all of this you’re going to have to redo. So listen, the benefit of of our strength right now is we are a regional company but with a global mindset. In 2025, we worked on a full revamp of our website and our website now, I would say, is competitive with all the big brands in the world. We just joined the global hotel alliance, which just took our um loyalty program database from 800,000 to 33 million members worldwide and next year we are embarking on a full rebranding exercise. So the fact that we understand this region really well but the fact also that we are basically acquiring the tools that make us competitive with the biggest largest brands I think we have a competitive advantage that is very unique for this region. How difficult it is to sustain in this contemporary market. I wouldn’t say it’s difficult. I think if you know exactly who you are and you know the persona of your owners, of your clients, of your brands, you know exactly where to exist. I think the difficulty comes when you’re trying to be something you are not. We know exactly who Rotana is. We are a company that wants to be close to its stakeholders, close to owners, close to colleagues, and close to our guests. And this might sound a little bit cliche, but that’s exactly what we do and how we do it when we form our strategies. So what’s the particularly goal of Rotana? Uh you can describe right now like this is a particular goal of the Rotana group. I would say we want to continue being the preferred hotel operator from this region also for this region and for the rest of the region beyond. Our growth potential in Africa is humongous and we’re really excited about this. Our growth potential in Turkey and Eastern Europe is also very promising and we want to but we want to grow sustainably. We don’t want to become 2,000. Sustainability is something which Rotana is really focused on. Absolutely. But not just sustainability in the literal sense of the word the sustainability as a as a mindset and as a thought process as well. So can you just describe couple of initiatives what Anna has taken in terms of sustainability. Oh we are into all I mean first of all I want to say the person who really leads our sustainability efforts is a lady that works with us. She’s the head of sustainability. Her name is Carol. And if I want to tell you all the things that Carol works on, we need we need a lot more time. But again what I would like to say is we’re using sustainability as a mindset in everything we do. Okay, perfect. And uh that was amazing and I think I can talk more with Adi about Rotana, their goals, their objectives, their particularly even about sustainability. So there’s a lot but we have a short time and I hope that I’ll have another interview session with Adi. That’s all from now. I can tell you, you know, from a sustainability standpoint, we don’t I mean, Carol, who leads our sustainability efforts from our corporate office, is obviously leading so many initiatives. We’re going to need a lot more time if you want to go through all of them. But what I will tell you is the mindset of sustainability goes into every thought process, even our suppliers and our partners. Before we cut big deals with them, we want to make sure that they manage their business in a sustainable way. And sustainability is not just the environment, it’s also how you deal with business on a long term. Perfect. So I think I can talk more and more with Addi about the objectives, goals and even particularly about sustainability on Ratana, but there’s it’s it’s something not one subject I can talk to Addi with. There are a lot I can explore with him. But unfortunately we’re short of time. So I have to wind it up and I really hope that I can have another interview session with Addi. That’s all from now. Albina signing off.
Eddy Tannous Reveals: Rotana’s Strategy for Operational Efficiency in the Middle East & Africa
We interview Eddy Tannous, COO of Rotana Hotel Management Corporation, live from the Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) in Madinat Jumeirah! Rotana, a brand born in the UAE 33 years ago, is revealing its ambitious strategy to maintain its legacy and compete globally.
– Massive Loyalty Growth: Rotana recently joined the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), which instantly boosted its loyalty program database from 800,000 to 33 million members worldwide.
– Regional Strength, Global Mindset: Rotana is small enough to be reachable to its owners (just one phone call away) , offering a personalized partnership that major “tycoon brands” can’t provide.
– Expansion Focus: The brand, which currently operates and manages over 100 projects , sees humongous growth potential in Africa and promising expansion in Turkey and Eastern Europe.
– Digital Revamp: They completed a full revamp of their website in 2025 and are embarking on a full rebranding exercise next year.
Sustainability Mindset: Rotana is highly focused on sustainability, not just in the literal sense, but as a mindset and thought process that extends to working with suppliers and partners.
FHS Experience: Adi praises FHS as one of the best forums in the region for investors and operators to have meaningful conversations in a “boutique setting”.
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