General Manager of Hilton Zamalek Residence Cairo Hotel

“Hilton Zamalek Residence Cairo is privileged with a lot of success elements and high competitive potentials especial- ly with the renovations made in the entire hotel.”

How did you start your successful hotel career?
I joined the College des frères until the third preparatory grade, then I moved to London and stayed around 2 years, and returned to join the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels. Immediately after my graduation I started my hotel career in the Sales Department in Luxor for two years. Then I went to Sinai to work in different Hilton resorts in Sinai for three years during which I prepared my Master’s thesis and moved afterwards to work in the Four Seasons Hotel, then I returned again to Ramses Hilton, then Residence Hilton, and finally Hilton Plaza in Hurghada. Afterwards there was the offer from Safir Hotel to work as the General Manager of Safir Hotel in Zamalek, later changed to Hilton Zamalek Residence Cairo.

What is your vision in joining Hilton Zamalek Residence Cairo?
Hilton Zamalek Residence Cairo is privileged with a lot of success elements and high competitive potentials especially with the renovations made in the entire hotel.

How does Hilton Zamalek Residence Cairo appeal to Egyptians?
The Egyptians come to the hotel in a satisfactory manner along the year, and they increase especially around the swimming pool. As for the major occupancy, it is for the Kuwaiti guests from the total occupancy of the year which includes the Arabian tourism in the first place and different nationalities, thanks to the unique location of the hotel in between many foreign and Arabian embassies. Moreover, the reservations of the extended stays have increased from the total activity in the hotel.

Dont not you see that the fever of hotel expansions has invaded everybody without exception?
I strongly agree. Previously, the most expanded management companies were the most spreading trademarks companies in Egypt which are known for a long time, while other new trademarks in the Egyptian market were unique trademarks and more conservative regarding their expansion in the number of hotels and resorts. As for today, everybody joined the race track, and owning the largest number of special unique locations has become one of the main goals for all the management companies without exception; also the deployment has become one of the main evidences of success. The matter is no longer limited to the known traditional management companies, but also extended to include new companies which increased the intensity of the competition.

Egypt is currently facing the danger of increasing the tourist attraction areas on the Middle East level, how do you see the challenges and competitive qualities of the Egyptian tourism?
I firmly believe in the competitive capabilities of the Egyptian tourism and its capability of attracting the Arab and foreign tourists equally in comparison with other tourism destinations which appeared on the Middle East Map and truly strongly compete, like Jordan and Dubai. Egypt has touristic resorts which enable it to compete efficiently and its touristic product is miscellaneous and unique at the same time. The whole matter does not only exist in what the individual or the country owns, but in how to use and benefit from it. Yes, the touristic movement is tainted with some relative recession in the previous seasons, however the phenomenon is general and not only in Egypt; may be the most famous reason for this is the global economic crisis and its repercussions which we still live until now, although the private sector is doing fine, especially with the steady and stable increase of foreign companies business, which we can clearly see in the winter season as vacant rooms are rarely found in most hotels.

How do you measure the success rate of the hotel and its excellence?
Usually the success of any hotel is measured by the number of occupancy rates, while the profits of the food and beverages department are not included as this department in the hotel is not characterized with the relative marketability in Egypt for many reasons, the most salient reason is that it is not popular to go and have different meals in the hotel restaurants, as the Egyptian customer prefers the outdoor restaurants in general, which makes some of the hotels in many countries to recourse to the international food restaurants to overcome this obstacle and depend on the marketability of the trademarks and the interest of the customer in them. Therefore, the food and beverages are supported inside the hotel with the least possible effort.

What about Hilton Zamalek Residence Cairo and its competitive potentials?
Despite the increase of the global trademarks and their spread and strong competitiveness, Hilton Zamalek Residence Cairo preserves some special qualities and high competitive potentials headed by the unique location as the hotel overlooks one of the most wide open areas on the Nile river, moreover it is not disturbed by any main streets as it is with most of the other hotels overlooking the Nile. This guarantees for the guests the most comfort and luxury and preserving their complete privacy. Also the neighborhood is an advantage for its elegance and farness from Cairo noise as plenty of Arab and foreign embassies exist in the Zamalek area. We can not also miss the extended stay service offered by the hotel which distinguishes it among only three hotels specialized in such kinds of stays in Cairo. Last but not least, I think that the small number of hotel rooms in Hilton Zamalek Residence Cairo compared with other hotels is also another competitive edge, as the hotel preserves its luster by being able to occupy the rooms without resorting to  the discount touristic offers and others to occupy a large number of rooms in the low touristic seasons.

What about the challenges that the hotel faces?
Like other hotels, Hilton Zamalek Residence Cairo faces some challenges, but the biggest and the most important challenge is changing the image of the hotel as a whole in the mindset of the people by the recent renovations which will be supported by including the hotel among the Hilton International Company hotels. The change starts with the reservations as Hilton International provides the easiest ways of reservation through the central reservation desk which combines all the branches or through the website which is so easy to remember, Hilton.com. Hilton also leaves several prints that the hesitating guest finds, as the points system which the extended-stay guests get and are exchanged with a lot of services inside the hotel or with flying miles. Moreover, the Hilton is distinguished by plenty of the advantages such as its famous breakfast menu and other Hilton services. And by hanging the Hilton mark at the building, some of the main additions will be made to the rooms, such as the modern electronic devices and internet services and other services which will increase the sense of comfort and luxury during the stay.

How does Ahmed El-Selawi see his reunion with Hilton?
As one of the Hilton Family, I am truly happy, as Hilton is a big school from which many have graduated, and it has more than 3000 branches all over the world, between hotels to resorts. Also its strong presence in the Middle East synchronically came with an ambitious expansion plan which is expected to be implemented on the hotel series in the region very soon. I consider myself lucky for returning to the Hilton Family again, and I see more success and accomplishments in the near future, especially in the light of the ambitious plans of the country to support the touristic sector and vitalize the new touristic areas on the Egyptian tourism map, which will encourage the biggest trademarks, as Hilton and others, to invest in the new areas as it will have a great impact on the sector, and consequently on the economic development wheel in general.