Citymax Appoints New COO – Aly Shariff

Landmark Group’s Citymax Hotels has appointed Aly Shariff as its new chief operating officer.

Shariff, who has nearly 25 years experience in the hospitality industry, will be responsible for operations and development of the Citymax Hotel brand.

Prior to joining Citymax Hotels, Shariff spent 17 years at UK’s Whitbread plc, including more than a decade developing and operating the Premier Inn brand in India and South East Asia.

Citymax Hotels is set to grow from its current portfolio of four hotels and 1,384 keys to eight hotels and 2,333 keys. The last of quarter of 2018 will see the opening of hotels in Ras Al Khaimah and two hotels in Dubai at Business Bay and Al Barsha.

With the opening of the new properties, Citymax Hotels is introducing its refreshed brand identity with new bedroom design, new food and beverage concepts and logo. Citymax Hotels is also re-launching its website.

Plans for a second hotel in Egypt are also at an advanced stage after the launch of Citymax Aswan in late-2017 – the operator’s first managed hotel and first hotel outside of the UAE. The second property, also a managed hotel, will be in Alexandria and is expected to be operational in 2019.