Recipient of 9th Golden Excellence Awards 2026 for Hospitality Leadership By: Shaneer Siddiqui
1. Tell us about yourself, your business journey and your contribution to the UAE.
I moved to Dubai in 2004 to manage a single mid-market hotel with forty rooms. Today Meridian Hospitality operates fourteen properties across the UAE and Oman, from business hotels to boutique beach resorts. My contribution has been building an employer that trains and promotes from within — over sixty percent of our department heads started as entry-level staff. In an industry that runs on people, I think that’s the most durable thing you can build.
2. What does receiving the 9th Golden Excellence Award for Hospitality Leadership mean to you?
It’s recognition for every housekeeper, front-desk officer, and chef who has ever gone the extra mile for a guest without anyone watching. Receiving it under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Nahyan Mabarak Al Nahayan makes it more than an industry accolade — it connects our work directly to the values of welcome and coexistence this country is built on.
3. How do you view the role of the Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence in shaping the UAE’s society?
Hospitality is tolerance in practice — every day, our teams host guests from a hundred different backgrounds and make each one feel at home. The Ministry’s work gives that instinct a national framework. It tells our staff, many of whom are themselves expatriates, that the values they practice at the front desk are the same values the country stands for.
4. What opportunities do you see emerging in your industry over the next few years?
Wellness tourism and longer-stay “workcation” travel are reshaping what guests expect from a hotel. We’re also seeing AI transform back-of-house operations — forecasting occupancy, personalizing offers — while the guest-facing experience becomes more human, not less. The winners will be brands that use technology to free up staff for real hospitality, not replace it.
5. What are your company’s key plans and growth priorities for the future?
We’re expanding into wellness resorts along the northern Emirates coastline and doubling our apprenticeship intake. Our long-term goal is to become the region’s most trusted training ground for hospitality talent, as much as a hotel operator.
