Guido De Wilde

Belgian national who started in hospitality industry in March 1983 at ITT Sheraton working for Sheraton Reservations Corporation in Brussels. He started in this global hotel company based on his language skills.  Guido got promoted in September 1984 and moved to Bahrain running the Sheraton Worldwide Reservations Office, responsible for handling hotel reservation requests from the Middle Eastern traveller for any Sheraton globally. During these 4 years he introduced Sheraton’s loyalty program and expanded the office. Guido worked for 4 years in Bahrain and in 1988 moved to Casablanca, opening the Sheraton Casablanca as Director of Sales and Marketing.

In November 1990, he moved to Munich where he worked 3 years at the Sheraton Munchen Hotel and Towers leading Sales and Marketing. Late 1993 he moved to Brussels and joined Conrad Hotels as Regional Director of Sales and Marketing, Europe and the Middle East. In September 1996 he moved back to ITT Sheraton as General Manager of the Sheraton Lisbon Hotel and Towers. From Lisbon he moved to the Algarve where he managed the Pine Cliffs Resort during a period of 8 years. This mix-use luxury resort was managed under the Luxury Collection brand by Starwood. Guido led the operations from 1998 till 2006, of which 4 years also as Area Director Portugal, looking after Starwood’s expansion and operations in Portugal.

In January 2006, Guido moved to Dubai where he set up the offices of Starwood for the Middle East and worked as Vice President for Starwood responsible for all its operations in the Middle East. In 2011 he became Senior Vice President and when Starwood was acquired by Marriott International in September 2016, Guido became Chief Operating Officer for Marriott International in the Middle East. Marriott is the largest hotel company in the world.

In January 2006, Guido moved to Dubai where he set up the offices of Starwood for the Middle East and worked as Vice President for Starwood responsible for all its operations in the Middle East. In 2011 he became Senior Vice President and when Starwood was acquired by Marriott International in September 2016, Guido became Chief Operating Officer for Marriott International in the Middle East. Marriott is the largest hotel company in the world.

By 30 June 2021, when Guido retired, he was responsible for 170 operating hotels and 70 properties under development in the region, Middle East, including Turkey and Egypt. Guido retired from his role at Marriott after a career of 35 years with the company [ITT Sheraton, Starwood, Marriott] and 38 years in the hospitality industry. 50% of his career was spent in the Middle East of which 15 ½ years in Dubai.

Certifications & Education

• Studied at the University of Ghent specializing in Germanic Philology with a special focus on Scandinavian Languages (Masters Degree )
• Studied at the Oslo University specializing in the Norwegian Language and Literature
• Marketing Degree at the Institute for Social Sciences, The Hague (Antwerp)
• Speak 5 languages fluently [Dutch, French, English, German, Portuguese and 2 additional languages that are dormant [Norwegian, Swedish]