The most senior official of Hilton Hotels Corporations regional operations said they plan to open 12 new properties in the GCC and add 3,370 rooms by 2012. Jean-Paul Herzog – President, Middle East and Africa said “For the regional office, we are creating new roles to cover the pipeline of hotels.” He said there will be a30% increase in their personnel headcount by the end of 2009 in order to support new brands and “ensure they are operating at maximum efficiency.”
Hilton plans to add a total of 22 properties and 5,858 rooms by 2012 in all of Middle East and Africa. This includes 1,444 rooms in Africa and 1,035 rooms in Levant. Mr. Herzog said Hilton continues to do quite well despite a 30% decline in revenue per available room in Dubai hotels.
