Ramada Plaza Jumeirah Beach Residence Appoints Director Of Sales And Marketing

Wissam Khalek, the Cluster Director of Sales & Marketing

　　Ramada Plaza Jumeirah Beach Residence, scheduled to open its first Ramada Plaza property in the UAE in June 2012, announced the appointment of Wissam Khalek as the Cluster Director of Sales & Marketing where now he is now mandated to take over the opening of Ramada Plaza Jumeirah Beach Residence in addition to him handling the Ramada Sharjah which opened in February last year.

　　Wissam, an American - Lebanese national, with more than 20 years of experience in travel & tourism industry, has recently joined the opening team with an extensive Sales & Marketing experience with exposure to North American, Middle East, GCC and Africa Markets.

　　A hands-on manager, pre-opening and post opening background, Wissam has an eye for securing and building teams that have outperformed their competitors. Wissam started his sales career right after graduation from FIU in Miami with a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management, his first assignment was at Hilton Hotels Corporation in the Washington DC area. With few years later, he moved on to Wyndham Hotels & Resorts taking charge of their Business Travel Sales efforts for two of their properties in Washington DC. Wissam then moved to the Middle East in 2005 joining Habtoor Hotels in Lebanon.

　　Then in 2007, he joined Corinthia Hotels International (CHI) to open the landmark and iconic building in Khartoum formerly known as Burj Al-Fateh Hotel. Few years later, he honed in his GCC background with a two years stint with Moevenpick Hotels & Resorts in charge of post opening activities of Al Khobar Hotel and pre-opening activities for the Beach Resort property in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

　　With his current move back to CHI Hotels & Resorts, Wissam re-joins his former company and colleagues in re-structuring and stabilizing the 250 unit Ramada Sharjah and work on the pre-opening of the 356 unit Ramada Plaza Jumeirah Beach Residence.

　　"I am excited to re-join CHI Hotels & Resorts and be part of the opening team in the vibrant Jumeirah Beach area and introduce the first Ramada Plaza property in the UAE. This goes along ensuring our Ramada Sharjah property is as well performing at maximum capacity. The excitement of building a very close relationship with all our travel partners in Dubai and the region is of great importance," Wissam says.