Starting off as an assistant chief steward at the Waldorf to becoming president and CEO of Rotana Hotels Management Co, Selim El Zyr has come a long way. He tells Shalaka Paradkar that being a people person in the hospitality industry is crucial for success
An austere demeanour, piercing gaze and dressed in a crisp suit, Selim El Zyr looks every bit a tough interviewee. But a few minutes of talk later, two things become abundantly clear: one, he has a sense of humour as dry as day-old bread, and two, he belongs to that rare breed – a business titan who is also a genuine people person.
Both qualities mark men for greatness, and it becomes easy to see why El Zyr is one of the Arab world's foremost business leaders. The 59-year-old president and CEO of Rotana Hotels Management Co. says in his matter-of-fact way, "I like making people happy, and to see people enjoying themselves. This is a company which has been made by our people. To my employees I like to be a role model, a father they can approach for advice," and then deadpans, "and as a father, I like to be the boss."
A deep understanding of the Middle East, coupled with guts and ambition are the principles behind El Zyr's and Rotana's success. Rotana has gone off the beaten path and reaped rich dividends. In 2007, Rotana signed 16 new management agreements including a hotel opening in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. Rotana is also the only major hotel group operating in Khartoum, the capital of war-torn Sudan.
In his Abu Dhabi office which overlooks the blue waters of the Gulf and a flurry of island development, El Zyr is where it all began. Rotana started in 1993 with the single property in Abu Dhabi and is on track to swell its portfolio to 60 properties by 2012.
A graduate of the prestigious L'Ecole Hôteliere de Lausanne in Switzerland, El Zyr started his career with the Hilton group in a laborious kitchen job that got him little appreciation but taught him much. His assignments with the multinational group took him to Germany, Spain, Egypt, Canada, USA, Kuwait and the UAE. When he left the chain he was regional director. He then joined the Abu Dhabi National Hotels Company before becoming an entrepreneur and co-founding Rotana in 1993 along with business partner Nasser Al Nowais.
El Zyr confesses he has never had a real vacation in his 37 years as a hotelier, and he still shows no signs of slowing down. "The beautiful thing about growing old is that I don't have to prove anything to anyone anymore. I have done enough."
I
I am very competitive by nature and I always wanted to go far. Even as a child, I had a burning ambition and drive to be the best at whatever I did.
I am good at convincing people and presenting solutions.
My sorrow is that I am always late and I work too hard. I don't give enough time to myself, and my personal affairs are not my priority. One of the first things I will do when I retire is take a holiday. I have never had a month-long holiday in my 37-year career.
I am a good chef, and no, not just at barbecuing. When I have time, I enjoy cooking, especially trying out recipes from TV cookery shows.
I remember telling my father that I wanted to go into the hotel business, and he asked if I wanted to be a maitre' d. But then he said to me, you can be anything you want, but be the best at your chosen profession. Even the best carpenter is better than an average doctor. It's something I have grown fond of repeating to my colleagues and family.
ME
Me and my parents
I grew up in a family where the most important thing for my parents was providing a good education for my siblings – brother and sister – and me.
I was not the quietest of students. In fact I was the troublemaker of the class but I always had good results, which allowed me to continue in school.
I looked up to my father because he was a man of honour. He kept his word and I always trusted what he said.
I admired my mother. She was very strict but had a strong network of friends, and really good at public relations. My father never denied us anything, so my mother was the disciplinarian. We took advantage of our father whenever mother was away.
We were brought up in a modest way, and I have never been impressed by people who like to show off their possessions or talk down to those who serve them. We were brought up in an environment where the people who worked for us were as important as family. I think this is a very important attitude in business. Initially, this was just an instinct I had. But I have worked to maintain this over the years. It becomes a challenge when it is difficult to ignore your position. But you have to remind yourself that you also started at the [lowest] level. You should not forget your origins or your roots.
I was 17 when I went into military service and I had to shave my head. (I insist that is the reason why my hair never grew back.) It was the first time I went away from my family – I was away for three weeks, the longest period I spent away from them. But I was too busy enjoying my independence to miss home.
Me and my love of hotels
I had a friend whose father worked for the Intercontinental in Beirut. My friend took me along once to meet his father. When I saw the hotel, I was simply bewitched: the colours, the cars stopping at the front porch, the uniformed bellboys ... I stayed for 10 minutes by the door, plenty of time for me to watch the people coming and going. The sights I saw in the hotel that day triggered my lifelong interest in hotels.
A few weeks later, I met my friend's father and asked him about career possibilities in the hotel business. He explained it all to me, and told me the best education in hospitality was to be had in Lausanne, Switzerland.
I finished military service and went to Switzerland at 18.
At the time, it took some lobbying at home but I did apply and was selected by L'Ecole Hôteliere de Lausanne.
I passed the three-year course with flying colours.
For many weeks I was terribly homesick because there was no way to talk to my family – there was no phone in my house in Beirut. It was a complete change for me. I was the youngest in the college. Many times
I wondered whether I did the right thing. A few months later, I had made enough friends to start liking the place.
Overall, Lausanne was an important experience. First, it taught me that you can be on your own. Second, that basic studies were very important. When we graduated we were not hotel managers. What I knew then is a fraction of what I know today, after 37 years in the business. But that education made us theoretically ready to absorb and process the experiences that we lived every day.
Me and my career
Back in the 1970s when I started my career, we did not have access to the tremendous opportunities that people have today. Now there are 60 hotels under construction in Abu Dhabi. In my time, there were 60 hotels around the world! It was not so easy to job hop. People were happy to stay on in a company and learn as much as they could. My agenda was to stay with Hilton until I got promoted to general manager or beyond.
I would describe my years at Hilton as educative, informative and important for my career. I learned how to work in an organisation with thousands of employees, which was also important.
I became general manager of the Hilton Abu Dhabi, when I was 28, becoming the youngest GM of any Hilton property. The promotions were very important for my career and ego.
When I was with Hilton, I travelled a lot. I said to myself, if I was working so hard for others – I should think of doing this for myself.
Me and Nasser Al Nowais
I met Nasser Al Nowais in 1978 when he had just returned from New York after studying at NYU, and I was the general manager at the Hilton. We were young and quickly a friendship developed. Some eight years after
first meeting him, I joined his company: the Abu Dhabi National Hotels Company.
We had a good rapport. When I was working there, ABNH also managed the Ramada, but intended to break the contract. Nasser Al Nowais called me and asked me to take over as general manager of the Ramada. It was not the most exciting job for me, but I agreed.
ABNH was also building properties in other places, and Nowais told me that after a couple of years, I could move on to the other properties.
Well, business at the Ramada improved. I initiated a lot of changes which had been much needed – we renovated the rooms, installed a new recreation centre.
Eventually I became vice-president of Palmariva and Diar Hotels, managing their properties.
My relationship with Nowais is based on trust. We happen to share the same values: a respect for people and
a passion to serve.
Nowais is a straightforward person, who loves people. He is not materialistic. These are the qualities I appreciate in a person. Our business decisions have never been driven by purelyfinancial considerations.
Me and starting Rotana
In 1992, Nowais resigned as chairman of ABNH. I did not feel comfortable under a new management. So I approached him with the idea of starting our own management company.
I wasn't afraid of taking the plunge. I also had a contingency plan – if Rotana [the chain we were to launch] did not take off, I could always go back to working for any hotel company. I did not stand to lose much in terms of finance, as we had started with a very humble capital. But the other risk was the time we would lose by investing in a company that did not take off.
But I had a strong hunch that it would take off. I had sensed the need for a smaller hotel.
The biggest challenge for me when we opened our first hotel, the Beach Rotana in Abu Dhabi, was to show the world that we could make it successful. We were not taken seriously. We did not have the support of a corporate office, or a network of regional offices who would bail us out. We started alone. I knew where we were going. I had to plan and work hard in order to make a difference. We were up against hotels which have been in this city for over 20 years. They had the maturity, the experience, the people.
But thanks to a lot of teamwork and blessings, we made it. Ours has been an organic growth. There was ambition. From the beginning, we aimed at building 20-25 hotels. When you look at what is happening in the world today, a 100-hotel company is attainable. It was a dream, perhaps, when we first started our business. Given our size and capabilities today, Rotana would have 100 hotels quite soon.
When other owners saw what we had done, they were encouraged.
Nasser Al Nowais' inputs were essential here: because of his contacts and because he is a trustworthy individual.
MYSELF
What made you decide to open a hotel in Iraq this year?
We are aggressive, we dare, we make the right decisions at the right time. We have taken challenges, and have benefited from this aggression.
Being aggressive means you are prepared to take risks. We know that when you go to a country which has that risk, you are vulnerable but at the same time you are also prone to benefit a great deal. The developer who is partnering us in Erbil, Iraq, is taking that risk, and we wanted to support them.
What is the price you have paid for your success?
Probably time. And yes, I did lose all my hair! Though my family was always a priority, the only thing I regret is that I did not spend enough time with my children when they were growing. Now they are of an age when they don't really need me.
When they were younger, I hardly saw them during weekdays. When I left for work they had gone to school and when I returned they were in bed already. It's a price I have had to pay. Overall, I guess I have been a lucky person.
