Hotels respond to increasingly competitive environment

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 17 November 2004 - The Sheraton Dubai Creek, the Sheraton Deira, the Sheraton Jumeirah and the Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai recently announced a restructuring of the Public Relations departments in the respective properties.

'In a competitive environment such as Dubai,' quotes Elena Mendez, Area Director of Public Relations for the Sheratons in Dubai, 'a strong Public Relations department is absolutely vital.

"With the opening of Media City and other developments here, we are seeing more and more media coming in from all corners of the globe," she explains. "Hotel chains need professional Public Relations representatives to understand and cater to the media requirements, as well as keep in constant communication with their customers and with the direction the city is moving in.

"It is not enough anymore to identify trends in the market, but to be one step ahead, we need to create them," she adds.

On the Jumeirah beach strip, the 256-room Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Resort & Towers recently appointed multi-lingual Marwa Moharam as Public Relations Manager.

Moharam, who holds a Bachelor of Art Degree from the "Ain Shams University" in Cairo, Egypt as well as a Diploma in Language from Manin College in Rome, Italy, joins the five-star resort after holding the position of Assistant Public Relations & Communications Manager in the InterContinental Hotel, Abu Dhabi.

Fluent in Arabic, English, French and Italian, she started off working as an Exhibition Representative for AAPIC, Tarek Nour in Cairo. She then moved on to work as a Marketing Executive for Promoters in the city, followed by the position of Office Manager at Karisma Advertising, also in Cairo.

Moharam has grown up travelling and has also lived in Italy, Turkey and Lebanon amongst others.

Jennifer Amanna, from a strong hotel operations background, was recently offered the role of Public Relations Coordinator at the 224-room Sheraton Deira Hotel & Towers, located in the heart of the city.

With over 15 years of experience in the hotel industry and in Dubai, she started off her career at the Sheraton Dubai Hotel & Towers as Restaurant Hostess in 1989.

The talented hotelier worked her way up in the property, moving on to become a Reservations Agent, a Kitchen Typist, a Banquet Administrator, an Administrative Assistant and then joined the Sheraton Deira in 2003 as Executive Secretary to the General Manager.

Amanna holds a Bachelors Degree in Arts from the Bombay University in India.

Located on the banks of the Dubai Creek, the 255-room Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel & Towers has recently employed 24-year old Syrian, Hania Al Lahham as PR coordinator.

Al Lahham, who speaks fluent French, Arabic, Spanish, English and has a basic knowledge of Italian and German, previously underwent training in both the Hotel Cascade and the Royal Windsor Grand Place Hotels in Brussels, Belgium. She also set up her own business producing and selling Belgian sweets, with a group of hotel management students in the city.

She joins the Sheraton Dubai Creek after a 6-month Management Training which she underwent in a five-star hotel in Dubai.

Al Lahham graduated from the Lycee Francais International de Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and then went on to study hotel management at the CERIA (Institute Arthur Haulot) in Belgium. 

She then opted for further studies in order to obtain a Business Administration Degree with a Marketing Major from ICHEC in Brussels, Belgium.

Located in Dubai's financial district, the Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai will also see Samra Muslim, who interrupted her employment at the Sheraton Karachi Hotel & Towers in order to obtain a Masters Degree in Communications, join mid-December as Public Relations Manager of the property.

" What we have worked to achieve is a balanced Public Relations team with a mix of languages, cultures and skills," explains Elena Mendez, Area Director of Public Relations for the Sheraton Hotels in Dubai.

" I look forward to working with the new team and am confident that each one of these candidates will bring with them a great amount of experience and will contribute strongly to the success of the Sheraton hotels in the city."

-Ends-

© Press Release 2004