Exclusive Interview: Eddy Tannous, COO of Rotana Hotels, was back at ITB Berlin this year and on the first day of the convention, he stood at the firm’s stand in the centre of the Messe Berlin convention centre; it was busy, and many people were vying for his attention.
It was early in the conference, not even halfway through the first day, and Tannous was thinking back on how far he had come in eighteen months.
“A year ago,” he said, tapping his finger against the glass table in front of him, “I was still fairly new to the company. Now I’m a year-and-a-half in, and we’re still continuing Rotana’s transformation.”
There was a lot coming up.
“We’ve got some exciting news coming up with our website,” he said. “We’ve made it more user-friendly. We’re also looking at some new partnerships both within our normal region and outside of it. And we’ve got a really exciting development that we’re going to announce in May.”
He nodded, scratched the side of his head. “All of it,” he said, then repeated himself. “All of it is about us continuing to take Rotana from being a regional operation into something more global that’s recognised around the world. A big part of it, too, is making sure that our footprint as a company is growing. We’re making some moves into Africa and Turkey. And we’re moving into Eastern Europe, which is a region that we view as a growth opportunity.”
As to why Eastern Europe was being seen as a big opportunity, Tannous said that there is a lot of demand in countries like Poland, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan for quality hotel services such as those Rotana provides.
It was in this space, Tannous said, that he felt that the company could play a part.
But 2025 looks increasingly volatile, within Europe and particularly within that region. Russia’s war against Ukraine has gone into its third year without much indication of the conflict ceasing.
And with the US deciding this week to forgo all military aid, Eastern Europe may be in for a tenser time than many would like or have predicted.
Tannous pointed out that Rotana is a company that’s originated in the Middle East. “We’re acquainted with having to operate in volatile regions,” he said.
“If you look at the Middle East because of everything that’s happened in recent years, you would think there’s a lot of turmoil. But we’ve seen tremendous growth in Abu Dhabi. It’s important that people differentiate between what they see on TV and what’s really going on in the world.”
Overall, he said that trends remain positive for the industry, particularly within the region.
“It’s growing,” he explained, “and that means that it has the potential to create demand. We’re optimistic over the long-term. Last year was good, but this year is looking even better. The Q1 for this year is already showing growth over that from last year. We’re also seeing a lot of people travelling from traditional markets such as Germany. Where they used to travel once per year, they’re now doing it three or, even, four times.”
The 4Hoteliers.com ITB Berlin 2025 news coverage is proudly sponsored by Rotana Hotels. Visit Rotana here
