A lot of players in the industry have shed excess fat to stay in business. You have chosen to keep your workforce. What makes you think you can sustain them?

We haven’t shed jobs due to our expansion plans. We have 12 hotels that are opening between now and the end of the year and we need 3,000 people - so we didn’t have to [make people redundant]. But I understand and sympathize with organizations that had to tell people “sorry, you do not have a job.”

Many companies are cutting employee numbers quite drastically as a way of reducing costs. But how can Rotana cut costs if you keep your people? What happens if hotel occcupancy drops?

If we have a hotel in Dubai and the occupancy dropped 10 percent, we may need to cut around 50 people, but we have jobs for them due to our expansion plans. Every year we are opening hotels; this year 12, next year 13 or 14 hotels, so almost every month we need 300 to 400 people.

So the excess from one area is being absorbed. We do not have enough excess so we are hiring new people. But, of course, companies that have no growth have to tell people they no longer have jobs.

As someone who has spent decades in the industry, what is your view of the road to recovery? Do you expect to get better news in the next six months?

I hope so, we are very optimistic. By nature, I am optimistic. I look forward to the growth - I do not know if we are at the bottom or not yet, but there will definitely be a boom and I hope to be alive to see that boom. Whether it’s going to be six months or six years, who knows?

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