BN: The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has taken steps to encourage foreign investment and to have a more conducive business environment. How would you describe today’s investment environment and what are Jordan’s competitive advantages?

Mr. Oussama Massoud (OM): The infrastructure in Jordan has been strongly improved. Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport is a true example of how Jordan’s infrastructure is a point of strength for our country. We can also see a huge development in terms of highways; today Jordan is well connected to its neighboring countries, from Iraq or Syria to Saudi Arabia. The expansion of the Port of Aqaba is also a good sign of how Jordan wants to set itself as the largest economic hub in the region. From another side, we can see Amman as a capital city that is growing vary fast way. We can see important constructions happening all around the city, as well as huge hotel chains establishing themselves here in Jordan. This shows the strength of the city in regards of economic development. And, looking at our industry we can also see growth.

BN: A hotel is more than a place to stay overnight; it is a traveler’s experience of a country and speaks volumes of its people. How does IHG translate this huge responsibility into its day-to-day activities?

When it comes to serving people or guests experience, it is very important to provide our customers with the best hospitality environment. In IHG we have a huge experience in the market and we strive to train and grow future managers for this industry. In fact, most of the hotel chains around the city, or the region have a certain number of people that are coming from either Crowne Plaza Amman or InterContinental Jordan. This is thanks to the vast expertise we have in the hospitality industry and our keenness to teach and train future leaders.

BN: In that regard, IHG has recently signed an agreement for the launch of the ‘IHG Dead Sea Hotels Training Academy’ and give different accreditations. Being the hotel staff 98% Jordanian, how would you describe Jordan’s human capital and how do you invest in your people?

We have a strong commitment towards our human capital and we work hard in order to train them and prepare them for this very demanding industry. Regarding the Dead Sea community specifically, we are working closely with them and helping them to integrate within this hospitality world. Nowadays boys and girls are receiving the necessary attention and training in order to be able to start their career with us. We have two hotels in the Dead Sea region and offer 600 rooms. This is to cater our customers so that they enjoy themselves, but also to give the opportunity to our young people to build a career. IHG has in total 7 properties in Jordan. All the locations where we operate, from Amman to Aqaba, passing by Petra or the Dead Sea are structured and oriented towards guests’ satisfaction and also towards growth opportunities for our future young leaders.

BN: Speaking about the social impact, you also have the IHG Foundation. In what sectors and activities does it focus on in Jordan?

We focus very much on education and we work with universities, educational schools and training centers. We have been working with Yarmouk University in order to train their professors regarding the practice part of the hospitality industry. They are a very good university with very good professors, however they are more focusing on the theory part and for the hospitality and hotel industry we believe you need both of them, therefore we work closely in order to support them with the practical aspect. We also work with Les Roches International School of Hotel Management and specifically with their Culinary School here in Amman. We take their students in for a period of the year as a trainee and we give them the opportunity to learn and get useful experience for the future. We also have the I Grade program, which is a management training of one year and half. The new graduates get the chance to work in different departments and acquire the necessary and valuable experience in order for them to shape their future career.

BN: Back in 2005 when you were appointed General Manager Chris Moloney, Chief Operating Office of InterContinental Hotels Group Middle East and Africa said, “Jordan is an important market for InterContinental Hotels Group and we are thrilled to have such a dedicated and committed member of our team overseeing the hotel. There is no denying that local knowledge really helps to set us ahead of the competition.” 12 years later, what would you say are the milestones you have achieved and how has your local knowledge helped you in achieving them?

I joined IHG 34 years ago and I have been working with them in almost all the Middle Eastern countries until I decided to come back to Jordan. When I came back to Amman, I didn’t have much local experience as I studied and worked abroad. But you always have connections and you try to make the most of them, and that is what I did when I came back to Amman. Speaking about milestones, we managed to renew the Crowne Plaza Amman and make it one of the leading hotels in the region. We opened new hotels in Aqaba and are currently working on the renewal of our Petra property. In terms of human capital, I believe we have done a lot and we are still giving a lot to our people. We managed to produce great leaders; some for example are now General Managers at other properties. This achievement overwhelms us and shows how strong we are in the training part. We also keep offering training opportunities and small courses related to the hospitality and hotel management from the best universities in the world, and this gives the opportunity to our employees to keep growing and learning while working.

BN: Jordan has great potential for traditional tourism being home to world wonders, but also hosted the World Economic Forum in May. What is the potential Jordan could play as a MICE destination in the region?

We are still struggling in the big MICE sector. We have a state of the art Convention Center in the Dead Sea, which is currently under-utilized. Our King did his best to bring the World Economic Forum, the Arab Summit and other international conventions to the Dead Sea, however I believe we need to do more, because we can achieve more. We have the infrastructure; the airport of Amman is serving both the capital and the Dead Sea with almost the same distance, around 45 minutes. In addition, we have enough high standard hotels that could answer the needs of the international people coming to the Dead Sea for any type of convention. Therefore, I believe we should promote more and more towards improving the Dead Sea as a convention center hub and bring more international people and capitalize on it.

BN: Crowne Plaza Amman was the proud first place winner of the King Abdullah II Award for Excellence 2014/2015 in the category of large service companies, the highest level of recognition of quality in Jordan and also won three awards from TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards 2017. What would you say is the key to success in this competitive industry and how do you strive for excellence?

I strongly believe that consistency is the right tool, or maybe the only tool to keep achieving your goal. If you are not consistent you will not be able to reach the goals you have set. As an IHG, we strongly point on this factor and in order to make sure we are consistent we need to take care of our people. The ecosystem in which the company is moving is very important, since we believe our employees are the actors and what we deliver to our customers is strongly correlated to how our people are feeling. We are not looking for fake smile employees, we want to have our people happy to come and help us achieve our goals. From the other hand; we also help them achieve their career goals by supporting them in different working aspects. We have many examples of people who have started from the very bottom in our hotels and were able to reach a strong position within the company. Our Executive Chef started here as a very simple kitchen collaborator and with consistency, determination and passion he managed after a couple of years to become an Executive Chef. Therefore, the message I would like to send is that we work as a team and as a family. We care about each other.

BN: Jordan is the second favorite destination for German tourist in the region and they are also listed in the top three of biggest spenders worldwide. When a German reader reads this report, why should he/her come to Jordan and stay at one of IHG hotels?

We know that Germans are people that like to travel and we Jordanians have a strong relation with them. Germans are used to come to Jordan; they have been coming here since 1960. From my personal experience I can see that Germans are great ambassadors. When they like a specific destination they recommend it to their friends and therefore this makes them number 1 around the world. Jordan has many beautiful attractions that the German tourists, or other travelers will continue to enjoy. We have a lot of history and antiquities whereby German travelers or other international guests will continue coming back and visit our well known wonders such as Petra, Wadi Rum, Aqaba or the Dead Sea.