M E H D I B E N L A K H O U A

Nationality : Tunisian Date of Birth : 12th December 1975 Height : 190 cm Marital Status : Married Institute of Hospitality #: 230050439 AIH Mobile : +971-504426022 (UAE)

+216-98-644449 (Tunisia) Passport No. : T501422 Email Address: benlakhoua2003@yahoo.fr mehdi@e-distributions.org Website : www.e-distributions.org

OBJECTIVES

Learn and grow in the hotel electronic Industry with the passion of converting vision and strategy into action.

WORK EXPERIENCE

October 2013 to present Rotana corporate office Corporate Director of E-Distribution www.rotana.com/aboutrotana/corporateexecutives Leading the electronic distribution strategy of the Rotana hotels chain “so far 50 hotels and will reach 100 by 2020” Responsible for the online distribution and strategy, OTA global relationship manager and business development

with all new commerce online partners. In charge of GDS, ODD and Consortia partners. I plan and drive all the projects which involve: Chain standardization plans , New partners contract negotiation, New partners projects implementation. Organizing workshop and trainings tpo coach the hotels and preparing all the materials needed. Attending exhibitions and meeting regularly our partners. I do analyze and report the hotel streangh and weaknesses in terms of electronic distribution to keep him on optimum performance. I do plan and execute the GDS preferred listings of the hotels “Sabre spotlight / Amadeus instant preference / Galileo GHP” I plan and drive the global sales accounts during the negotiations season “RFP season “ I set the budget for chain GDS marketing campaign on all systems and monitor the RIO/new and returning agents. I set the key performance objectives “KPOS’s of all the E-distribution team “5 key employees “ I do use sabre red workspace and Galileo desktop to make sure we have the best positioning. Look for new opportunities on the GDS or the OTA’s to increase the electronic revenue for the chain. I drive and plan the consortia participation list and make sure we have a strong ROI from the chain agreements. Drive the complex channel management of the chain and draw best practices Set the E-distribution action plan of the new openings

January 2011 to present Rotana Area Sales Office Abu Dhabi & Al Ain Area E-Distribution Manager Rotana Hotels Abu Dhabi & Al Ain ” www.rotana.com Explore global opportunities with the Online Travel Agencies (OTA), GDS and Meta Search partners, RFP bids; develop a prioritized strategic plan; and work with the team who will operationalize these initiatives. Strategic focus on increasing incremental eDistribution opportunities, optimizing the OTA package & opaque paths, contracting with new and existing partners, and focusing on improving the connectivity in these channels, including Direct Connections. A key focus on developing new distribution models that provide Rotana Hotels Abu Dhabi area competitive advantage and reduce distribution costs for the distribution. I produce and analyse the metrics required to understand performance in these channels in these regions and assisting in prioritizing work flow to optimize revenue generation from the hotel level teams . Understand the gaps in our distribution opportunities and develop solutions with either internal or 3rd party solutions. Follow the industry trends and partner initiatives to capitalize on new revenue opportunities. I work closely with the Directors who manage these OTA’s and corporate implants and build a strong relationships and work with them to find every opportunity to create new and innovative ways to take advantage of the benefits of their assigned online accounts. I ensure each individual account strategies to be align with the overall company strategies to increase reservation contribution and provide optimal distribution opportunities to the franchisees and ensure activities align with our overall Direct Strategy. Develop, implement, and evaluate the E-Distribution marketing plan. Develop and manage online content that engages audience segments and leads to measurable action. Budget all the portfolio E-Distribution segment “ OTA’s + brand site + GDS + ADS + mobile site” Managing the EDS of 12 Rotana hotels in Abu Dhabi and al Ain

Achievements: 1- 2011 enrolled 4 Rotana properties in Expedia Elite plus program “this program depends on high guest satisfaction standard + production + appealing content” 2-2011 VS 2010 Rotana Hotels AUH-AAN increased the OTA production by 19% in RN and 25% in RR. 3- 2011 VS 2010 Rotana Hotels AUH-AAN increased the Brand website by 100.1% by RN and 74% by RR. 4-2011 VS 2010 Rotana Hotels AUH-AAN increased the GDS by 5.7% in RN and no drop on RR even though the overall city is on decline.

5- 2011 VS 2010 Rotana Hotels AUH-AAN increased by 8 million from the overall E-Distribution sales and I made an increase of 4 million VS my KPO “key performance objectives”. April 2010 to December Hala Arjaan By Rotana Abu Dhabi**** Asst Reservation Manager “acting as Reservation Manager” www.rotana.com n Optimize REVPAR, Set and Implement the hotel’s pricing strategy by market segment in conjunction with the

hotel’s management team. n Implement and monitor incremental revenue targets for the reservations team and groups coordinators. n Ensure maximum visibility and availability is offered on the appropriate distribution channels: CRS, GDS,

Internet, Tour Operator Allocations, UTELL, 3rd Party Websites. n Monitor competitor’s availability and pricing on a daily basis, analyze the market using common tools like,

rate Tiger Competitor’s Pricing Reports, Hotelintelligence, STR Global. n Analysis of booking Patterns and Market Trends. Maintain the hotel’s room’s configuration and rooms

descriptions. n Assist the Sales in devising marketing campaigns that will drive revenue

Assist the sales team with performance analysis of the hotel’s top producing accounts Understand and monitor the group’s pickup, history and current trends, Set group rates and monitor

displacement. n Contribute to the annual budgeting process, generate daily, weekly, monthly and annual accurate room

forecasts, communicate forecast to all hotel departments and agree specific action plans. n Lead by example with positive sales focused attitude and keep the team well trained. n Using Trust voyager CRS Jan 2009 to Mar 2010 Al Manshar Rotana Hotel Kuwait***** Asst Reservation Manager “acting as Reservation Manager” www.rotana.com n Upselling, forecasting reporting with revenue oriented vision. n Handle reservations on all the channels and make the hotel bookable from all over the world. n Developing the res rev team and train them.

n Maintain strong communication between the all the hotel departments.

n Maintain high level of guest service.

n High believe in electronic distribution.

n Reporting forecasting and preparing case studies + presentations.

2005 to Dec 2008 Al Murooj Rotana Hotel Dubai ***** Reservation Agent www.rotana.com n Duties and responsibilities are to provide a duty daily basis as a standard of Al Murooj Rotana Dubai. n Handle booking, amendment, cancellation and reconfirm for next day arrival using appropriate form. n Be well versed with hotel facilities, services, all applicable rates and package within the hotel of any current

events and happenings in the hotel.

n Maintain the current applicable rates and rate records and exercise room and rate controls.

n Highlight and bring to the superior and guest relations attention in any incoming booking for VIP such as high

officials, ambassadors and CEO’s.

n Ensure the payment instructions are clear and necessary support document available before arrival of guest.

n Ensure that client relationship is reinforced through a professional approach.

n Handle of guest complaints, inform to the superior and follow up the matters. n Attend Daily Department Management Briefing if needed to cover the superior.

2002 - 2004 Restaurant and Coffee Shop in University of Manouba Tunis Made my own investment in the Food and Beverage field after coming back from Saudi Arabia. I rented a restaurant and a coffee shop in the University of Manouba in Tunis where we serve more than 5000 student daily. 1996 - 2002 National Company for Tourism Syahya Abha KSA Reception Manager www.syahya.com.sa n NEW ABHA RESORT: 92 apartment, 40 villas and 230 motel room

n ABHA PALACE HOTEL: 132 rooms

n RED SEA HOTEL (opening)

n AL HARAIDHA HOTEL

n AIRPORT MOTEL

n DAR EL SALAM HOTEL in Makkah (opening)

n AL WADI HOTEL, 192 rooms

1994-1996 Splinded Hotel Kairouan

Front Desk Supervisor n Duties and responsibilities are to provide a duty daily basis as a standard of Splinded Hotel. n Prepare room blocking for the Arrival of FIT and GIT as a daily basis, and ensure on departure of all guests as

smoothly, efficient and satisfied. n Organize the associates at Front Desk to achieve the management goals. n Handle guests by doing reservation, check-in and check out process, and giving information of guests needed. n Handle of guest complaints, inform to Duty Manager and follow up the matters.

1993 - 1994 Apple Mac Tunisia Tunis Customer Service agent n Answering telephone calls

n Customer service

n Product displays

n Pricing and unloading stock , Sales for IT hardware.

EDUCATION AND CONTINUED PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT n Microsoft Windows 2000 Workstation and Server Mcp and advanced excel knowledge + vision

n Pegasus Utell Partnership Program “Netrez, Lanyon, Travelcom”

n Rotana Department trainer

n Rotana MED,

n Destinations leadership program

n Using Opera since 2005 with full knowledge of reservations module + system configurations “rate

codes, packages, updating the full year budget, user rights, group blocks, rate restrictions ect..

n Associate of the institute of hospitality.

n Cornell University Revenue Management Certified

n Introduction to Hotel Revenue Management

n Forecasting and Availability Controls in Hotel Revenue Management

n Pricing Strategy and Distribution Channels in Hotel Revenue Management

n Overbooking Practices in Hotel Revenue Management

n Non-Traditional Applications of Hotel Revenue Management

REFERENCES n Kamal Kashyap “Cluster Revenue Director” Al Murooj Rotana & Al Bustan Rotana.

n Pawel Krokowski Director of Revenue Beach Rotana

n Dana Hlavnova Director of Revenue Al Salam Rotana

n Tarek Medhat Area Director of E-Distibution Rotana Dubai

n Amandio Martin Regional Director of Revenue Asia at Sofitel.

n Mir Shamir director of revenue The Monarch Dubai

n Ms. Shabana Beg Rotana corporate director of revenue and E-distribution

n Sam El Asmar Rotana corporate director of revenue

n Adrian Deegan, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain area director of sales and marketing

n Sundeep Peechera director of revnue Yas island Rotana and centro Yas island

INTERESTS n Webmastering and hosting web sites: www.sectechno.com

n Bloging on hotelrevmgmt.com + e-distributions.org

n Familiar with all kind of operating systems (Windows and Linux) servers and workstations, the

ability to install operating systems from scratch hard and soft.

n All Microsoft's platforms and Linux "Ubuntu, Redhat, Mandrake, Slackware, Suse, Coral Linux,

and Debian”.

n Networking: ability to build and administrate a small network. n Office tools “Word and powerpointe” and advanced excel knowledge