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Read our exclusive interview
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 MARRIOTT HOTELS & RESORTS EGYPT
"When you’re comfortable you can do anything"
Manager:
Mr. Ulrich Huth,
Managing Director
Contact:
P.O. Box 33 Saray El Gezira - Zamalek
Cairo
Egypt
Tel. (20) 2 340.8888
Fax: (20) 2 340.6667
Fax : (20) 2 340.8240
For Reservations -
all 3 resorts -Call our Reservation Center:
Tel: +20 (2) 340 1090
Fax: + 20 (2) 340 8240
Or call Worldwide Reservations tool-free
Germany 0130854422
UK 0800221222
USA & Canada 8002289290
E-mail : cluster@rite.com
Web site : http://www.marriott.com
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Strategy
 Cairo Marriott Hotel
History of the Palace
The Cairo Marriott is a unique property in the company’s international chain, not only for being the largest hotel in the Middle East, but for having a legendary history as well. Khedive Ismail built "Al Gezira Palace" to house France’s Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon the 3rd , who was to participate in the inauguration of the Suez Canal in 1869. It was also meant to be the venue of the performance of Verdi’s Opera Aida.
It took him 23 years to build the Palace and no expense was spared. The Palace was in fact part of an estate on the island which included the magnificent residence of the Khedive.
But the Khedive’s life-style was cramped when he went bankrupt and his estate was liquidated to cover his debts. The next 100 years saw the Palace left to obscurity and neglect. Following negotiations between Marriott International and the Egyptian Government Organization for Tourism & Hotels, restoration began in earnest
1977.
Under the guidance of Egoth and Marriott, a committee of experts met weekly over a six month period in 1977 to make an inventory of the Palace’s treasures and to retain talented craftsmen to restore them. Before they were finished, 123 of the Palace’s 152 original carpets were cleaned and repaired, 28 marble statues were restored as were a cast iron fountain, a grand marble staircase, six clocks, numerous paintings including a portrait of the Princess Eugenie by Mignard Pierd, and a marble table of Louis XIV period.
Restoration of the walls and ceilings was done by a small plaster factory located on the premises and for months, over 75 painters lay on their backs on trestles to regild the high ceilings. Meanwhile, the Palace grounds reduced to 12.5 acres, were landscaped to some of their former glory. The Cairo Marriott opened in October 1982.
There are now 12 lounges and restaurants in the hotel, from the theme evening buffets and family brunch at Omar’s Café to the soothing piano tunes at The Piano Bar.
On the ground floor guests at Salon Eugenie, which was once the Empress’s bedroom, can see a portrait of Eugenie as a Princess.
Adjacent to Eugenie’s is Salon Royal, one of the grand banquet rooms linked to Salon Vert on the first floor by a magnificent marble staircase.
Three further banquet rooms lead you to the rear aspect of the Palace where three ornate balconies overlook the gardens and swimming pool from the ballroom foyer.
Downstairs you can wander along the ground floor from the Casino through the Saraya Café past The Piano Bar, JW’s Steakhouse, Ristorante Tuscany and Omar’s Café and admire some of the Palace’s treasures including the gilded ceilings, oriental chandeliers and examples of priceless antique furniture.
Sharm El Sheikh Marriott
For Reservations Call our Reservation Center:
Tel: +20 (2) 340 1090
Fax: + 20 (2) 340 8240
Or call Worldwide Reservations tool-free
Germany 0130854422
UK 0800221222
USA & Canada 8002289290
Located on the promenade of this vibrant destination on the shores of the Red Sea, there’s so much to do at Marriott’s newest Egyptian beach resort, Wander around the picturesque harbour, enjoy exotic local cuisine or take a boat out to some of the best scuba diving in the world. It’s watersports paradise in a desert oasis with a wide choice of adventurous pursuits available such as desert jeep safaris, quad bikes or horse and camel riding. Take a picnic out into the sea of sand or experience traditional local hospitality by visiting Bedouin tent and it’s people on an organised excursion. Whether you’d prefer to enjoy the sun on our private beach or simply relaxing around the pool and gardens, you’re spoilt for choice at Sharm El-Sheikh Marriot Beach Resort.
Luxury and Comfort
Located around the gardens and pool with a private balcony or terrace, all guest rooms and suites are stylishly furnished and equipped to the highest standard.
All rooms have individually controlled air-conditioning, electronic locks, mini-bar, direct-dial telephone with voice-mail and remote controlled TV with satellite channels.
Directions
From Sharm El Sheikh airport 20 minutes by hotel shuttle bus or taxi.
Accommodations
Guest Rooms 216
Floors 2
Suites 10
All rooms have individually controlled air-conditioning, mini-bar, direct-dial telephone with voice-mail and data port, hairdryer, electronic door locks, private balcony or terrace and remote control TV with satellite channels, smoke detectors and sprinklers.
Restaurants & Lounges
The Buffet Restaurant-sumptuous breakfast, lunch and dinner buffers. Enjoy the vast variety of offerings and eat to your heart’s desire.
Kana Kai Restaurant - Japanese, Teppanyuaki table cooking prepared by skilled chefs, as well as Polynesian specialties. Dinner only.
Waves Bar & Grill- overlooking the sea front promenade, great salads, burgers and sandwiches- everything al fresco. All your favorite drinks, indoor or outdoor seating.
Piano Bar- for snacks and drinks in a relaxed setting, overlooking the lower lobby. Ideal throughout the day.
Harry’s Pub- a great atmosphere for your favorite drinks and evening snacks. Play pool, enjoy the music and unwind after a full day of activities.
Recreation and Leisure
Located on the Sinai Peninsula along the shores of the Red Sea, with its own private beach. Exciting animation team-aerobics, games, safe facilities for children, swimming pool, Jacuzzi, swim-up bar, full-equipped health club with gymnasium. Watersports including water skiing, windsurfing, parasailing, snorkeling and world renowned scuba diving. Divining schools available with instruction from experts.
Hotel Services
State of the art fire fighting and live safety system. Concierge desk, car rental, gifts shop, shopping arcade, safe deposit boxes, room service, laundry/ valet, complimentary airport shuttle buss, free parking and doctor on property.
Hurghada Marriott Beach Resort
Lazy days in the endless sunshine, lively nights full of entertainment- Hurghada is a classic resort destination with it’s own marina and private island located on the shore of the sparkling Red Sea. Experience the best of both worlds with clear blue waters, lush garden and breathtaking marine life surrounded by a mystical desert.
The luxury accommodation you would expect from a first-class international hotel, a matchless wealth of leisure activities and that special Marriott touch all add up to a very special vacation resort.
Your room or suite with a view
All guest rooms and suites are stylishly furnished and fully equipped to the highest standard and overlook the sparkling Red Sea.
To ensure complete comfort and convenience each gust room has individually controlled air-conditioning, electronic locks, mini-bar, direct-dial telephone with voice-mail and remote controlled TV with satellite channels.
Directions
From Hurghada airport 15 minutes by hotel shuttle bus or taxi.
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Accommodations
Guest Rooms 283
Floors 6
Suites 25
Non-smoking and easy access rooms are available.
All rooms over looked the Red Sea, have individually controlled air-conditioning, mini-bar, direct-dial telephone with voice-mail and data port, hairdryer, electronic door locks, and TV with satellite channels, smoke detectors and sprinklers.
Restaurants & Lounges
Shorouk Restaurant - international all day à la carte cuisine and delectable buffers for breakfast and dinner.
Ristorante Tuscany, an elegant setting with a real taste of Italy.
Pollside Bar- enjoy al fresco lunch, snacks and drinks during the day.
Sunset Lounge- Lively bar and entertainment for your evening pleasure.
The Patio- for snacks drinks and afternoon tea in a relaxed atmosphere.
The Island Bar - a short walk over the bridge to your private island setting with a bar, refreshments and lots of fun. Seasonally operated.
Recreation and Leisure
On the Red Sea, with it’s own island where you can swim from beach to beach. Exciting animation team-aerobics, games, safe children facilities, two swimming pool, of which one is seasonally heated, two floodlit tennis courts, fully-equipped health club with gymnasium, squash courts, billiard room, Jacuzzi, sauna steam room and massage. Children’s play room. Watersports including water skiing, windsurfing, snorkling, parasailing- and it’s own scuba divining school with instruction from experts.
Conference and Function Facilities
Three meeting rooms that can accommodate from 10 to 130 persons.
Hotel Services
State of the art fire fighting and live safety system car rental, bank, shopping gallery, safe deposit boxes, 24- hour room service, laundry/ valet, free parking, hairdresser and doctor on call.
Top of page
INTERVIEW WITH
MR. ULRICH HUTH
GENERAL MANAGER OF MARRIOTT HOTEL CAIRO
Saturday 5th December 1998
1/Q: Marriott Hotels are among the most renowned hotels in the world. Could you give our readers a background of Marriott Hotels International and of Marriott Hotel in Cairo?
The Marriott Hotels company was founded in 1927. It was basically a restaurant chain or one restaurant. It did not even have a name. It was a A&W rootbeer stand established in Washington D.C. They only served softdrinks and hot Mexican food. One day a client entered the restaurant before the opening hour and he asked : when is your Hot Shoppe going to open? Hot Shoppe because of the hot food. That’s when the shop was named Hot Shoppe. In the same year we opened our first drive-in restaurant that was followed by many others. In 1957 we opened the first hotel and it was in Washington D.C. From then the company grew rather rapidly. The company was called ‘Hot Shop’ and it was traded on the New York Stock Exchange by that name. Then the name changed to Marriott International. In 1989 we opened our 500th hotel in Warsaw. It was a Marriott hotel that opened in November 1989. Hotel number 1000 was opened in 1996 in Kauai and that was the Hawaii Marriott Hotel. Hotel number 1500 was opened this year and it was the Renaissance Hotel in San Francisco.
- What is the present structure of Marriott Hotels?
We have roughly 1600 hotels. There are various brands. Among these brands we have the Ritz Carlton Brand. We have the Marriott full service hotels. The Cairo Marriott belongs to this brand. We also have the Courtyards which are expanding to Europe now. We have Residence Inn but so far they are in the United States mainly. We also have Ramada Hotels outside the U.S., Renaissance Hotels and a new product called Marriott Executive Residence of which only two have opened so far, one in Hong Kong and the other in Budapest. That is a product for people who stay 6 or 8 weeks or longer. In stead of finding an apartment, we take care of them. There are no restaurants. There are just nice rooms, security, service and taking care of the customer. Our headquarters are in Washington D.C. We divided the hotels into the international division and the domestic division. So, there is one president for domestic Marriott Hotels, those are in the United States and Canada, and another president and managing director for the hotels outside the United States. There are 4 regions outside the U.S. The first region is the Caribbean and Latin America. The second region is the United Kingdom, the Middle East and Africa, the third is Continental Europe, which also includes Israel and Lebanon and the fourth region is Pacific Asia. Those four regions report to the President of the International Division. In that division we have 250 hotels and so far the brands that we operate outside the U.S. are the Marriott, Courtyards, Marriott Executive Residents, Marriott Vacation Club International, Ramada Hotels, Renaissance Hotels. It is a very broad variety of hotels that allow us to have multi units in a city. We could, for example, open a Renaissance Hotel and they would complement each other.
2/Q: Talking about the tourism sector, one can not overlook what happened in Luxor last year when occupancy rate dropped dramatically. What is your opinion about the tourism sector today?
I think that the tourism sector is one of the most important economic sector in Egypt and that is probably why the fundamentalists attacked the tourists. There were only a few incidents and I still believe that Cairo and Egypt, in general, is safer than spending vacations in Miami, New York or Los Angeles. I think that there are more assassinations and bomb explosions in the United Kingdom in one year than we have in Egypt in 10 years. Unfortunately, the incident build up has an immense effect on tourism. I came back here and I brought my family with me. I move freely and I have no problems. My wife would go out at 3:00 a.m. to one of the hotels and nothing would happen to her.
- How did it really affect Marriott resorts in Egypt?
It affected the hotels in Luxor mostly and we do not have one in Luxor. Luxor was the city that was affected most. Hurghada was affected very much. The occupancy level fell in Hurghada and everybody reduced the rates there. It was traumatic there. We also felt it here in Cairo but we do not depend entirely on tourists. We have also corporate business. The groups were affected the most and those who depend the most on groups were badly affected. But, in Egypt, you can always come back. It took only a few months.
3/Q: You have been recently appointed General Manager of Marriott Hotel. There will be huge competitors in Cairo especially with the opening of Conrad Hotel. What will the main guidelines of your strategy be to face this new competitor?
I like competition. I am a very competitive person. It gives us the opportunity to stress more on service and quality and make sure that our customers are happy. This is my goal since I arrived. I make sure that everyone takes care of the customer. There are instructions that came out last week here that whenever I show up with someone anywhere, I am the one that will be served last. Usually in Egypt, the General Manager is served first. I said that I do not care who accompanies me but whenever I am around I get the last service. For me, I focus on the customer and it has to start with the General Manager. If I do not focus on the customer, then no one will. So, we will be the hotel with the best service in the city.
4/Q: What does Marriott offer more so that the people would come to Marriott Hotels and not to other hotels?
This hotel is great. There is no other hotel like the Marriott. If you are sitting in the Promenade Café or in the garden, you will think that you are in a health spa. You have green areas all around, there is no noise from cars, you are protected, it is a safe and clean environment and we take care of that. We assure proper food safely you can eat from any salad bar here. We concentrate on everything that would make the customer feel at home here and we also concentrate on maintenance of the building. We have a variety of restaurants. We have just opened up Roy’s Country Kitchen, which has mid-western American cooking. It has excellent decoration, great food and good prices. You can eat a full American Buffet breakfast for L.E. 18, or a little over USD 3. On the first day of operations we tripled the revenue from before. We have a beautiful restaurant called Tuscany, which has a northern Italian cuisine. It has very good decorations and very nice setting. We also have the J.W. Steak Housewhich serves imported beef from the United States that has outstanding quality. We also have a sea food restaurant across the street. Moreover, we have Harry’s Pub, which is an English Pub that offers a different theme every night. We have Omar’s Café and the Promenade Café. You can spend a week in this hotel without getting bored. It is also a safe environment. We have the modern tower with its modern rooms and we have the old building with its old history and the palace that was build 125 years ago for the opening of the Suez Canal.
5/Q: The government has adopted a more liberal attitude during the last few years. In your opinion, what should the government do to stimulate the tourism sector and the whole economy even further?
That is a difficult question for someone who has just arrived here. I have no idea what was done in the previous years. I only know that they implemented the privatization policy. You have to make sure that it is more convenient for tourists to come here. For example, we have imported American wine. It is a good product but it is very expensive. It costs about $30 while in the USA it costs $3.50. So, there are $27 on customs and freight. Also I would concentrate to produce consumables, and export to the other African countries.
6/Q: What is the situation of the Marriott now in terms of management?
The Cairo Marriott is owned by Egoth, a government company. I just met the Chairman last week and I think that it is an excellent company to work for. They are open minded, friendly and fair partners.
7/Q: What will be your most satisfying personal achievement since you have been appointed General Manager?
My most satisfying achievement would be if I could bring the guest satisfaction rate up by 15 points within the next three months. Three months is a very short time, but I am not patient to wait too long.
8/Q: Keeping in mind that Forbes magazine reaches more than 4 million readers, what will your final message to them be?
As a General Manager of a hotel in Egypt I would like to tell them that they should not listen to a single message that comes out from a group of people who tries to destroy this country. So, they should not hesitate to visit Egypt. Overall, I think that Egypt is as safe place as any big city in the world. Riding the subway in London is probably more dangerous than coming to Egypt. |
© World INvestment NEws, 1998.
This is the electronic edition of the special country report on Egypt published in FORBES Magazine,
May 31st issue.
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EGYPT
