UAE-based Al Habtoor Group has appointed Rahim Abu Omar as its new chief operating officer – Hospitality Division.

With four decades of hospitality experience, Omar rejoins the Al Habtoor Group executive team in Dubai to steer a solid portfolio of 14 luxury hotels, seven in the UAE and seven abroad – in the UK, US, Lebanon, Austria and Hungary.

A seasoned hospitality management professional, Omar has played an active role in successfully launching several of the group’s landmark properties, most notably the Metropolitan Beach Resort & Club, Metropolitan Palace Hotel Dubai, Metropolitan Palace Hotel Beirut, Habtoor Grand Beirut and Habtoor Grand Resort in Dubai.

Prior to his appointment as general manager at The Ritz-Carlton Budapest, he served as chief executive officer of Habtoor Hotels from 1999 to 2011 and led the rebranding of four and five-star properties under the Habtoor Hospitality brand.

Omar started his career as a sales executive at the Metropolitan Hotel Dubai where he spent 10 years in various positions, with an emphasis on sales and marketing until he was appointed general manager for the legendary Dubai property in 1992. The original Metropolitan Hotel, which was built in 1979, was demolished to make way for Al Habtoor City, a landmark development incorporating three five-star hotels, three luxury residential towers along the Dubai Water Canal. He also held the position of general manager for the Metropolitan Beach Resort & Club, today rebranded to the Habtoor Grand Resort, Autograph Collection.

Omar attended Cornell University with a concentration on hotel advanced management and holds a Bachelor of Science in business management and chemistry from the University of Jordan. He has served as a member of the first Hotel Committee of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing. In 2009, he was named Hotelier of the Year in Jordan as well as one of the top 50 influential hoteliers in the Middle East, as selected by Hotelier ME magazine.

Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, founding chairman of the Al Habtoor Group, said: “I am delighted to welcome Rahim Abu Omar back to the Dubai headquarters and in a leadership role as our local and international hotel portfolio continues to grow from strength to strength. We have worked together for over three decades and I trust he will be successful in his new role with the hospitality division.”

Omar said: “Joining Habtoor Hospitality is like coming back home. I feel privileged to be part of the Group since it first opened the Metropolitan Hotel Dubai on Sheikh Zayed Road in 1979. The success of its hotel portfolio can be attributed to Khalaf Al Habtoor’s vision to create the best product in terms of ‘hardware’ and his belief in hiring the right people to manage ‘software’.” - TradeArabia News Service