Preferred Hotels & Resorts has appointed Nicolas Villemin as its new regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

In this role, Villemin, based in the company’s Dubai office, is tasked with the retention and expansion of the brand’s Middle Eastern and North African portfolio.
 
Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ portfolio in the region currently encompasses 21 member hotels, resorts, and residences, located in UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco.
 
“Preferred Hotels & Resorts is one of the largest independent hotel brands in the region, which at present is teeming with portfolio expansion opportunities. Nicolas’ extensive luxury hospitality experience will help to spearhead the brand’s ambitious growth goals across the region, particularly in the GCC and gap markets like Tunisia and Egypt,” said Saurabh Rai, executive vice president of South Asia, Middle East, Africa, and Australasia; “As well as focusing on expanding the brand’s footprint, Nicolas will prioritise existing member hotels, ensuring that we are consistently delivering strong results.”
 
Villemin joins Preferred Hotels & Resorts with 20 years’ industry experience and has spent more than 10 years working in the Middle East. He brings a wealth of expertise from previous senior executive positions and consultancy roles for luxury hotel brands such as Viceroy, Shangri-La and Habtoor Hospitality. Originally from Switzerland, Villemin is fluent in English, French and Portuguese.
 
“The Middle East and North Africa region is full of exciting opportunities in the independent luxury hotel space,” said Villemin, “It is a privilege to take on this new role in such a dynamic region. I look forward to applying my experience in commercial development with both branded and independent hotels to support Preferred Hotels & Resorts development.” - TradeArabia News Service