Sarmad N. Zok

'We will re-finance the hotels or re-capitalize their debt, we won't sell them,' says Sarmad N. Zok who joined Prince Al Waleed Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 1995 and has been employed since September 2001 as chief executive officer of KHI.

The group has a $2 billion portfolio of 14 properties, set to rise to 17 within the next week, and Prince Alwaleed holds a 55% stake and is chairman. All the operational hotels are in Egypt and the Levant, aside from the Movenpicks in the UAE and Tanzania. In Dubai the Movenpick Pearl and Fairmont Palm are under construction, so too are the Fairmont Cairo and Four Seasons Beirut.

'We are looking for new hotels in the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, Russia and South Asia,' says Mr. Zok. 'In South Asia we like Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.'

Pakistan and Africa, surely these are places that most hoteliers give a wide berth? 'We are very keen on Pakistan and Libya is booming,' says Mr. Zok.

'We like to buy where we can see the infrastructure improving, or a unique location. In Syria, for example, we can see that in Damascus there is no way another five-star hotel could be built in the next 15 years for planning reasons. This gives us a unique position in the market.'

Prince Alwaleed is famous for his private equity approach to hotels. Mr. Zok says the aim is to achieve a minimum 20% internal rate of return on the investment.

'Hotel operators don't know how to own hotels,' he told the first Arabian Hotel Investment Conference in Dubai for which KHI was a platinum sponsor. Mr. Zok maintains that the interests of the hotel owner and operator are best separated to achieve maximum operational efficiency. It is not an attitude that endears him to traditional family hotel owners.

However, his 'buy-to-hold' approach to hotels is remarkably similar to the approach of the family groups. It is the separation of management and ownership functions that is different, although many groups do this too, particularly in the Middle East.

Prior to joining KHI, Mr. Zok headed Forte's development effort in the Middle East, Africa and India. He was involved in the Meridien takeover transaction and participated in the redevelopment of Forte's branding strategy. Previously, Mr. Zok worked at HVS International, a leading hotel consulting and valuation firm in London covering European markets, and before that at the Hilton Hotel in London in sales and marketing.

A dual Lebanese and UK citizen Mr. Zok received a BS in Hotel Management from the University of Surrey and an MA in Property Valuation and Law from City University Business School in London.