Souffian Zaeraoui is the new cluster general manager for Novotel, Ibis and Adagio Al Barsha hotels. The Accor properties have 1,144 between them.

Zaeraoui has worked for Accor for 14 years, previously serving as hotel D]director for the same cluster until 2018.

A French-Moroccan national, Zaeraoui brings a wealth of experience to the role and will oversee the upcoming transformation of the newly designed Ibis guest rooms for Ibis Al Barsha. The property is the first Ibis hotel in the UAE to roll out the modern designs.

He said: “I couldn’t be happier to be moving back to the Al Barsha cluster, especially in this landmark year of Expo 2020 and the UAE Golden Jubilee. I’m thrilled that I can use all my experience at such an exciting time to take these iconic hotels to greater heights and achieve the desired success with the team.”

He moves from Novotel & Adagio Abu Dhabi Al Bustan and he holds an MBA in International Hospitality Management, IMHI from ESSEC Business School in Paris.

Zaeraoui began his career in France with Marriott and Sofitel Hotels in Paris, before heading up F&B at Novotel Cardiff Centre Wales.

He was the opening operations manager at Pullman Gurgaon Central Park in India before moving to Al Barsha the first time.