Holiday Inn Express owned by SAMHI has announced the appointments of Zaheer Hasan Husain as Portfolio Housekeeping Manager and Arjun Mehra as Portfolio Front Office Manager. The newly created portfolio-level roles reflect the brand’s commitment to bringing sharper focus to key operational functions, strengthening service consistency across its growing portfolio, and enhancing the overall guest experience in India.
Zaheer Hasan Husain joins the portfolio with over 20 years of rich international experience across luxury hospitality brands in the Maldives, Seychelles, Zanzibar, the Middle East and India. His expertise spans housekeeping operations, pre-openings, rebranding projects, quality audits, cost optimisation and leading large multicultural teams. He has consistently delivered strong results in maintaining high-quality scores, improving guest satisfaction and enhancing operational efficiency across premium hotel and resort environments. In his new role, Zaheer will focus on further strengthening housekeeping standards, driving operational excellence and supporting capability development across teams within the portfolio.
Arjun brings over 12 years of experience across leading hospitality brands including JW Marriott, Taj Hotels and Hilton. His career spans nearly four years in India and more than eight years of international exposure, particularly in Canada. With a strong background in front office operations, guest satisfaction, revenue performance and high-volume hotel environments, Arjun is well positioned to further strengthen front office standards and service delivery across the portfolio. He will play a key role in driving consistency across guest-facing operations while helping elevate service excellence and team development initiatives.
Commenting on the appointments, Priyanka Ahluwalia, Cluster General Manager, Holiday Inn Express, said, “We are pleased to welcome Zaheer and Arjun to the Holiday Inn Express portfolio at a significant stage in our growth journey. The creation of these dedicated portfolio roles reflects our focus on strengthening key operational functions and building greater consistency across our hotels. Their diverse international experience, operational expertise and leadership capabilities will not only help elevate guest experiences but also support the development of our teams and service culture. We look forward to leveraging their insights as we continue to enhance operational excellence and further define the Holiday Inn Express experience across our portfolio.”
Speaking about his new role, Zaheer Hasan Husain said, “It is a privilege to take on this responsibility at a time of continued growth for the Holiday Inn Express portfolio. Housekeeping is a critical pillar of the guest experience, and maintaining consistent standards across hotels requires a strong focus on processes, people and continuous improvement. I look forward to working closely with teams across the portfolio to strengthen operational excellence, enhance capability development and ensure every guest experiences the quality, comfort and reliability that the brand is known for.”
Commenting on his appointment, Arjun Mehra added, “I am delighted to be part of the Holiday Inn Express portfolio at such an exciting phase of growth. Front office teams play a critical role in shaping first impressions and building lasting guest relationships. My focus will be on enhancing service consistency, empowering teams and ensuring every guest interaction reflects the warmth, efficiency and reliability that the brand stands for. I look forward to collaborating with colleagues across the portfolio to further strengthen the guest experience.”
These managerial appointments further reflect the brand’s commitment to investing in specialised leadership talent and building stronger operational capabilities across its hotels. By leveraging the international expertise of experienced hospitality professionals and fostering continuous learning across teams, Holiday Inn Express aims to further strengthen service excellence while remaining true to its “Room to Belong” philosophy, where employees feel valued, supported and empowered to contribute meaningfully.
