Guy Hutchinson

Guy Hutchinson is President & CEO of Rotana, one of the leading hotel management companies in the region with hotels across the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Turkey. Hutchinson is responsible for developing and executing the strategic direction of Rotana and devising and implementing short- and long-term strategies to help the company realize its expansion plans. In addition, he provides executive oversight of all aspects of Rotana’s day-to-day operations. Hutchinson was promoted to the current role in January 2020 after serving a year as Acting CEO of the company. Under his leadership, Rotana has entrenched its preeminent position in the industry with its keen focus on sustaining revenue growth, expanding market presence in the region and globally, enhancing product offering and strengthening commercial efforts and partnerships. Hutchinson was instrumental in the opening of new properties in 2019, including Bosmal Arjaan by Rotana in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital Sarajevo and Johari Rotana in Tanzania’s key commercial city of Dar es Salaam, which marked Rotana’s first foray into the Southeast Europe and East Africa markets. This is in addition to taking over management of Iraq’s famed Babylon Hotel, now named the Babylon Rotana Baghdad, and the signing of an agreement to operate the iconic Palmeraie Resorts in Morocco’s major economic center Marrakech. The introduction of a franchise model and a subsequent signing of five franchise agreements, as well as the adoption of innovative technologies to enhance guest convenience and comfort have been other key achievements of Rotana during Hutchinson’s tenure. The company also implemented a new Central Reservations System (CRS) to improve technical, functional and service support as well as improved performance and offerings. Spearheading the company’s expansion, Hutchinson led the launch of 28 new hotels across 13 markets and oversaw the opening of new Global Sales offices in Paris, Milan, Amsterdam, and Istanbul to drive business from these key markets. Hutchinson joined Rotana as Chief Operating Officer in January 2014, bringing with him extensive experience in the hospitality industry from markets as diverse as Japan, Australia, China, and India, in addition to a previous stint in the Middle East. The international hotelier’s career is notable for its creative leadership and his success in change management, repositioning, and building high performing teams. During his tenure as COO, Hutchinson has played an active role in strengthening Rotana’s leadership credentials in global markets, driving the company’s quality standards and financial performance and ensuring the scalability of its business model with a view to creating shareholder value. The roll-out and implementation of ‘Ideas’, Rotana’s revenue management system, across all hotels are among many highlights of his contributions to the company.