Mohammad Abuharba is celebrated as a strategic player and a calculative risk taker in the market and is very well known for his forward thinking and a very strong drive for results.
Since his induction in IHG, the property has seen year-on-year growth in terms of occupancy, revenue, GOP and all other financial parameters making it an iconic property for IHG in the holy city of Makkah. He has consistently achieved all the business metrics, showing upward growth of his base hotel as well as hotels under his patch.
Abuharba has been highly instrumental in reshaping the Makkah property’s market positioning, and it enjoys a remarkable market share amongst the competition, making Dar Al Tawhid InterContinental a flagship hotel in IHG. He is an impactful and successful influencer with the owning companies as he has always exceeded their expectations and, therefore, he was recently awarded the IHG General Manager Owner Impact Award.
In the past year, he has identified new sources of business and thus helped generate some of the most impressive hotel results in the Kingdom. Using IHG platforms, government portals, resources at hand and through his commendable vision and direction, he helped to generate revenues in excess of SAR871M million and GOP of SAR428 million in properties within his patch (Makkah, Madina and KSA West).
In addition, as chairman of the procurement committee for KSA, he carried out intensive negotiations without compromising on products and services generating savings of SAR2.15M for the base hotel and SAR7.3M for the reporting hotels.
In the past 12 months, he has successfully identified, coached, mentored and invested in the growth and development of talent, which has resulted in the development of GMs and numerous fresh department heads. He has been a mentor in many of IHG’s development programs in the past and is currently a mentor in the program “Journey2GM” within IHG.
Abuharba has achieved a number of accolades in his career, including the aforementioned IH General Manager Owner Impact Award, he was shortlisted for IHG General Manager Award and IMEA Hotel of the Year award in 2010, Leader of the Year in 2012, as well as the Heart-Beat Excellence Award and Winner of Full Metrics for multiple years. Other accolades include Best in Class Loyalty Recognition Award, World Travel Awards, Best 5 Star Hotel in Makkah by the World Hajj & Umrah Convention, Hotel Team of the Year Award and IHG Hotel of the Year Award, to name few.
Crowne Plaza Jeddah GM Akram Shaar shared: “Mohammad Abuharba has been considered as the champion in business, a visionary and possessing a great business foresight. He understands the business, its constraints and its market from deep within and under his coaching and development; I have sharpened my wisdom to a greater extent. He has skills and knowledge at a grass-roots level, which many management schools may not be teaching in today’s world.
“He shows great leadership skills and provides the right opportunities and challenges and support to his team in order to excel in our role. He is a true brand hearted for IHG and also knows his competition from within. I believe, working under him is you are learning under a university where you grow, develop and excel in your function taking new high in your personal achievement.”