Samer Achcar

Associate

Areas of Expertise

• Sales & Commercial

Professional Biography

Samer has over 25 years of experience in sales and marketing, with a proven track record in the hospitality, travel, and tourism industries across 4 continents. He is highly motivated and experienced in strategic sales and marketing planning for global and independent brands, business development strategies, destination management and conducting market feasibility studies.

Samer worked as Director of Global Sales Middle East for Kempinski and later Fairmont, Raffles, Swiss Hotels International (FRHI), the top luxury hotel operator which is now part of Accor Hotel Group, developing business for 120 hotels globally.

In his last role, Samer led a team with varied responsibilities, such as business development in MEA, launching a new retail booking engine targeting travel agencies. He restructured the loyalty platform, added new revenue streams, and built a successful expansion into destination representation with global tourism boards.

Prior to his global role, Samer was involved on a regional level launching properties for the following brands: Jumeirah, Kempinski, and IHG in the Middle East and Africa.

Qualifications

Samer is a graduate of the Lebanese American University in Beirut, Lebanon with a Bachelor of Science, Business Marketing & Management degree and is fluent in English, French and Arabic. He was on the ExCom of the Swiss Business Council, UAE for 20 years supporting trade relations between Switzerland and UAE and is now an honorary member.

Passions

Samer grew up in Liberia which installed a deep feeling of curiosity about the world. As such, travelling, meeting new people and learning about cultures offers infinite possibilities to explore this passion. He also enjoys great hikes outdoors with his family and partaking in seasonal sports, as a viewer or participant. In his free time Samer appreciates reading, watching historical documentaries and classic movies.