Chris Laghoutis Email & Phone Number

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Taking care of the Middle East region for all 34 properties under Orascom Hotels Management located in Egypt, Oman, UAE, Switzerland and Montenegro.

United Arab Emirates

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates

Part of the Hotel Pre-Opening Team reporting to the General Manager. I was responsible in recruiting the Director of Sales – Leisure and the Director of Marketing & Communications.Key Accomplishments:• Conducted full market research for the destination and the defined competitor set.• Sourced, negotiated, and finalised the Dubai Sales Office.• Completed the positioning for the hotel in terms of rates and room types for the Wholesale, Corporate and MICESegments.• Developed various opening scenarios for the managed segments of the Rooms Budget, the Sales & Marketing Expenses Budget and Banqueting Budget.• Planned the Travel Calendar for 2021/22

Ras Al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates

Reporting to the Cluster Commercial Director with a dotted line to the Cluster Managing Director and the Regional Director of Sales. Responsible for the sales of a room inventory of 977 keys, leading and coaching a team of 8 Sales professionals in all sub-segments of the business. As one of my key tasks on joining an existing team was to evaluate the team’s performance and efficiency; where I completed a full Account re-distribution by Account Manager providing a more focused and customer centric approach. Another area was to grow our portfolio of Luxury Travel Trade partners for the Waldorf Astoria and within a short period introduced new accounts, while growing volume to the remaining properties. During the Covid-19 Global Pandemic we had to quickly realign our Sales Strategy and activities by closer interactions with our key accounts via telephone, emails and virtual meetings via Zoom, Skype or MS Teams.

Abu Dhabi

Reporting to the General Manager and directly leading a team of 7, responsible for the growth and development of all sales activities for the property, in line with Organisational goals. Oversee the operations of the Conference and Events team, while leading the MICE aspect of the business. As a part of the Senior Leadership Team, responsible for developing and implementing local strategic initiatives. Formulating and executing the business development strategy and product solutions to achieve targets. Overseeing sales and revenue forecasts and spearheading organisational development. Accountable for leading the team by providing day to day guidance, support and mentoring to the team. Overseeing the development and control of all sales budgets. Ensuring implementation and adherence to operational and compliance policies/procedures. Assisting with crucial marketing campaigns and communications in line with strategic plans and objectives.Key Accomplishments:• Incubated and grew the sales team, in the pre-opening phase through the recruitment of 7 sales staff, and the development/implementation of property specific sales procedures.• Increased brand awareness through spearheading the team’s participation in trade shows, being the first Rotana to participate in Luxury Travel Shows (ILTM Cannes, Loop, LTM Moscow and InVoyage).• An integral member of the leadership team, collectively responsible for the Hotel to be recognised as the 1st luxury 5* Resort for Rotana – led the hotel’s collaboration with the exclusive Luxury Tour Operators in key markets (Art of Travel, Journey D’Lux, EWTC, Carrier, Exclusive Destinations, Silverjet, If Only, Minerva Private Travel):• Collectively accountable for leading the team to win prestigious awards:o Haute Grandeur Global Hotel Awards 2018 – Best New Resort o World Travel Awards 2018 – World’s Leading New Resort & Villas o Fact Dining Awards 2019 – Best Friday Brunch – Sim Sim

Sheraton Sharjah Beach Resort & Spa

Reported to the General Manager, from the pre-opening and operational phase of the Hotel. Responsible for providing strategic guidance and leadership to a team of 10, to ensure targets of the sales and marketing teams are met, in line with budget. Key Accomplishments:• Set up a full functioning sales department, from the recruitment of 10 to the development/implementation of all sales processes/procedures and setting of targets/KPI’s.• Oversaw the creation of all pre-opening marketing collateral to ensure correct Brand positioning.• Developed and implemented the sales strategy, in line with regional/global corporate strategy.• Led the team to exceed budgets in the first year of opening.• Created, developed and implemented innovative and effective consumer targeted projects, and managed all aspects of project management from inception to completion. Clients included MNC’s and Government organisations.

Cyprus

A result of an internal promotion, as the Business Development Manager, reported to the General Manager and the Executive Director (owner). Responsible for providing strategic guidance and leadership to the Business Development team, including direct management of a team of 6. Direct responsibility for ensuring the growth of the business is in line with budgetary targets with overall accountability of spearheading the commercial and market growth regionally. Responsible for overseeing the growth in client relationships in all markets, specifically Russian and UK markets for MICE and Leisure. Analysing the market and introducing innovative targeted campaigns to drive revenue growth. All aspects of developing and growing social media engagement and online marketing, through external collaborations. Key Accomplishments:• Led the conceptualisation, launch & development of targeted campaigns and revenue streams, from the design to completion stages.• Grew the business to exceed targets and increase sales.• Oversaw the development, recruitment and training of 6 staff.• Responsible for the growth in corporate relationships, including identification of new clients, and all account management (drafting and presenting strategic client proposals).

Limassol, Cyprus

Paphos, Cyprus

Limassol, Cyprus

Paphos, Cyprus

London, United Kingdom

London, United Kingdom

London, United Kingdom

London, United Kingdom

Ba, Hospitality & Tourism Management

Education record