# Leading hotels of the world to open regional office in Dubai



## Dubai-Lover (Jul 4, 2004)

The Leading Hotels of the World to raise hotel quality in Mid East

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, with Jean-Jacques Gauer, left, chairman of The Leading Hotels of the World, and Paul McManus, the organisation’s president & CEO. 
Quality assurance and training for the hospitality industry are just two of the services to be offered by the new The Leading Hotels of the World regional office in Knowledge Village, Dubai.

The luxury hospitality organisation has pledged to raise standards across the board at member hotels through its joint venture, Leading Quality Assurance, which was introduced to the region last month. Leading Quality Assurance is a full-service quality inspection organisation providing not only assessment programs to test all areas of a hotel’s operation, but also analysis, consultancy, seminars and benchmarking.

“Many of the global hotel groups have their own inspection procedures, but for independent and small chain hotels, which comprise the majority of our membership, the best method for assessment and benchmarking is to use independent sources,” explains Jean-Jacques Gauer, chairman of The Leading Hotels of the World.

“It is precisely for this reason that we are introducing Leading Quality Assurance, and the mystery guest, into the Middle East region,” he adds.

Leading Hotels of the World currently has 12 hotel members in the Middle East. 

“Many of our hotels are either independent or belong to smaller groups, such as Jumeirah International and Rotana in this region, and it is these properties in particular that are looking for assistance with the development of human resources and benchmarking assessments to ensure quality standards are met and enhanced,” Paul McManus, president of Leading Hotels of the World, told Hotelier Middle East.

The Leading Hotel Schools of the World represents accredited hotel schools from around the globe, and was set up to augment links between members of Leading Hotels and the potential labour pool, adapting the standard educational curriculum to address specific employment requirements.

“We can facilitate the placement of qualified graduates and interns within member hotels, provide staff training programmes; customise private-label training for hotel companies and deliver on-site, on-campus or e-learning experiences,” says McManus. “As every hotel opens, there is continued pressure to recruit the most experienced or qualified staff, and from our new base in Dubai, we will be able to offer a single resource for our members to give them an added advantage in this area.”

Leading Hotels was formally known primarily for its global distribution, reservations and marketing conduit for premium hotels, representing more than 420 hotels, resorts and spas in 80 countries. Its new regional office will provide a central reservation office for travellers wishing to book at these hotels. 

“Really, the office provides a service to the local market, for the outbound travellers, and to service the intraregional market. For many years, Leading Hotels of the World’s dominant market was the US outbound. Now, we are seeing the emergence of the Middle East as an outbound market, and as a travel destination in its own right. That is very important,” explains McManus.


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## luv2bebrown (Nov 4, 2004)

Krazy said:


> ^ Its a tradition, like asking why do Emaratis wearing Kandooras and Gatras indoors.
> 
> Were there marines in the City Center? I would like to hear more about this raptor!!



I was in plugins with a friend. there were some marines or maybe some serviceman from the US navy in the shop with us. My friend and I went into the home theatre demo room and were watching "Deep Blue Sea." Soon after, the marines joined us and we were all watchin the movie. one of the marines walked really close to the TV to inspect just as the presumably dead shark in the movie SPASMED back to life and went all APE SHIT biting off some guys arm. the poor marine right next to the screen almost got a heart attack and pretty much dove away from the screen cursing. was quite funny.


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## luv2bebrown (Nov 4, 2004)

oh yeah, also in the early 1990s, when burjuman was one of the only malls around, my bro used to see marines there dressed in Hammerpants!


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## Krazy (Apr 27, 2004)

luv2bebrown said:


> I was in plugins with a friend. there were some marines or maybe some serviceman from the US navy in the shop with us. My friend and I went into the home theatre demo room and were watching "Deep Blue Sea." Soon after, the marines joined us and we were all watchin the movie. one of the marines walked really close to the TV to inspect just as the presumably dead shark in the movie SPASMED back to life and went all APE SHIT biting off some guys arm. the poor marine right next to the screen almost got a heart attack and pretty much dove away from the screen cursing. was quite funny.


Thats funny. My university has thousands of cadets in training so I see them almost everyday, running in the cold at 5 in the morning n other crazy shit like that. I lived in UAE for 18 years and never saw a single marine :dunno:


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## crazyeight (Dec 18, 2004)

Fujairah is full of them.


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## Samovar (Sep 4, 2005)

*Jumeirah ends ties with Leading Hotels*
Dubai | Staff Report | 27/09/2005

Jumeirah, the hospitality group, has announced the end of its relationship with the Leading Hotels of the World, and the creation of its own "code" and sales and distribution platform.

The group aims to expand its network of international sales offices, and launch a private label GDS code for all its hotels.

Gerald Lawless, CEO of Jumeirah, said: "We need to develop cutting edge solutions to achieve growth intentions, and that we are able to add substantial value to any business that becomes part of our portfolio."

Jumeirah's private label code, JT, will officially be in effect from December 1 and will be launched with an extensive consumer and trade marketing campaign promoting the introduction of a brand new product range for its hotels and leading with the slogans 'Think Jumeirah, Think JT.'

The decision to launch its own private label code will mean that Jumeirah's existing association with Leading Hotels of the World will be concluded.

"Jumeirah has enjoyed a great relationship with the Leading Hotels of the World since 2000 and our hotels have benefited greatly from their sales, marketing and distribution expertise over the years."

He said: "The services provided have helped Jumeirah to grow into a world renowned luxury hospitality brand with recognition among our consumer and travel trade partners worldwide, and has created the platform for the portfolio and sales and distribution growth that we are embarking on this year."

The group will also cease their relationship with Utell by Pegasus, who have been providing distribution for the group's non Leading Hotels of the World members.


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## Dubai-Lover (Jul 4, 2004)

good decision
the leading hotels of the world has become a club almost every hotel could join
emirates towers and burj al arab exceed the average lhoth


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## dubaiflo (Jan 3, 2005)

doubt that it is a good decision.
the leading hotels club is exclusive and well knowm and still it should be good publicity to be in this book.
nevertheless jumeirah intl can afford not to be in it.


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## Dubai-Lover (Jul 4, 2004)

trust me, the leading hotels club is nothing special anymore
excellent and average hotels are mixed, the definition of being a lhotw is not clear
even in dubai, jebel ali golf resort & spa in one league with burj al arab, emirates towers and al maha? no way!
also, beach rotana abu dhabi and bustan rotana dubai are torn between being a member and not being a member

as for germany, bensberg, adlon,.. in one league with hotel am schlossgarten in stuttgart? wtf


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