Rotana Corporate Sustainability Report 2017

Rotana Corporate Sustainability Report 2017 6 A t Rotana, we are going through a phase of exciting growth and development. Today, we are one of the largest hospitality groups in the region with a portfolio of 66 hotels across the Middle East, Africa and Turkey. While our ongoing expansion is a strong motivation for us at all levels, we do understand there is a long road ahead of us, with many challenges along the way that we need to overcome in our journey towards fully reaching our goals, and setting new ones. Our strategy for achieving the sustainability commitment and goals is detailed in the “Sustainability Strategy“ of this report. The hospitality business like every other business must continuously think one step ahead of environmental, geopolitical, social and technological disruptions to achieve sustainable growth. These include the energy price shock, rise in electricity and water tariffs, unpredictable and extreme weather events. Among geopolitical trends, we have weathered global political change, wars and terrorism. Even technology keeps throwing challenges our way through data fraud and cyber-attacks. Disruption is a key enabler of growth that drives us to rise above every challenge. At Rotana, we leverage the power of disruption to constantly renew our commitment to our stakeholders as well as the communities in which we operate: from inculcating a more environmentally-friendly approach that involves our guests, colleagues, and to an extent, even our suppliers, to consistently standing by our high standards of professionalism and excellence in both new and existing markets. Challenges come and go, but at Rotana, we have remained firmly dedicated to achieving our business goals without losing sight of our key responsibilities, to ensure the health and prosperity of the communities in which we do business. Another key reason why sustainability has taken centre stage in Rotana’s day to day operations is the impact of macroeconomics and political trends, especially in light of a challenging global environment, which in the recent times, has witnessed slow and sluggish growth. Geo- political risks, previously confined to few countries is now more widespread resulting in hotel chains exploring newer markets and thereby intensifying competition. Given the current rhythm of change, sustainability has never been more vital to us. This is why, for this year, our report theme is “Inspire and Innovate“. It’s a theme that encourages us to innovate and that’s why we have launched a new award “Business Innovation award“. Inspiring all our stakeholders remains a key factor to achieving sustainable business. As we reiterate in this report, sound sustainability goals and their execution will remain our top priorities. Guy Hutchinson Acting Chief Executive Officer Message FromActing CEO