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Ambitious Khadija Kalwan’s hospitality dreams of rising to the top have reached fruition as she sits proudly at the helm of a sales department in a popular five-star hotel and hopes her new role will inspire other local women to follow suit.
The mother-of-two was appointed as the sales manager of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia at Al Areen & Spa Bahrain a year ago and since then she has found the position to be an enjoyable endeavour that has allowed her to travel, meet people from around the world and learn from her new experiences.
“Al Areen is a beautiful property and I have learned a lot from working here,” said the 30-year-old from Gudaibiya. “It’s a family hotel that cares for the people that visits it and those that work in it. I love working in the hospitality sector, especially in sales, because I get to meet so many people, am introduced to new cultures and I end up building long-lasting relations. I also love bringing positivity to their doorsteps and touching their hearts. I’m not the kind of person to sit at my desk all day. I love being out and about and I’m a people person. I can’t imagine being in any other career.”
Khadija’s journey into hospitality began at the age of 18 when her aunt Kefaya Hassan resigned from her post as a reservation clerk with the Elite Hospitality Group and suggested her for the role instead.
Being the go-getter that she is, Khadija pounced on the opportunity to help support her family as well as herself.
In the process, she fell in love with the industry and decided to pursue the vocation further by studying at the Bahrain Institute of Hospitality & Retail (BIHR) while she continued working.
However, after some time, she moved onto an administrative role at another company to focus more on her courses. As soon as she graduated from BIHR, she returned to hospitality where she joined the sales department at the Marriott Executive Apartments and Residence Inn by Marriott Manama Juffair, which she found to be both challenging and amazing.
Khadija continued to climb, only this time she returned to the Elite Hospitality Group where it all began but as an assistant sales manager.
While she is thankful to all the knowledge and experience she gained with Elite Hospitality Group, she is thrilled to have taken on the managerial role at Al Areen and is not planning on slowing down any time soon.
“I was more than happy to accept this managerial role for Bahrain as well as the Saudi challenge,” said Khadija. “I am even ready to accept taking on Kuwait for example. I’m always willing to learn something new and even study further to add to me resume and experiences because only then can I better myself and am able to support others.
“What I’d really like is to be a role model for other local women in the hospitality sector and to help open doors for them.
“I would love to see more women working in sales in this industry. Most women in this sector are usually found working in reception, the back office or in human resources but not in sales.”
Unfortunately, a study in 2014 entitled Higher education hospitality programmes in Bahrain: Challenges and Opportunities by Evangelia Marinakou of the Royal University for Women and by Charalampos Giousmpasoglou of Bahrain Polytechnic highlighted that the hotel industry is perceived as an unattractive career choice by many locals because of the reputations of hotel lounges, mixed gender staff and other features that conflict with cultural and religious practices.
“I am proud of this job,” she said. “I only wish to see more women in the hospitality industry. Unfortunately, many Bahraini families view the hospitality sector in a negative way and would not allow their children, their daughters especially, to work in it.
“There is nothing negative about it. It’s a respectable and professional career that can open many doors. My advice to parents is to let their girls try it out. Let them experience the industry because when they see the professionalism as well as the communication and reporting involved in it, then they will understand the industry better and see that it’s a totally different environment.
“There are many opportunities for Bahrainis in hospitality and when I see men and women succeeding in this business it makes me so happy.
“For the longest time, it felt as though I was the only Bahraini woman in the meetings and then one day there was a Bahraini lady in sales and I was over the moon.” said Khadija.
“I’ll be honest, not all women survive in this industry because of the negative perception and because many of us are also mothers with a lot of responsibilities. Not everyone can keep up with the hospitality lifestyle. It is a 24-hour job. But, it really is about organising your time and if you can manage to do that then you will definitely succeed. Plus, we can help one another and support one another because that’s what sisters do.
“I believe you can be a mother and hold a job as challenging as sales. Women can really do anything they put their mind to!”
Khadija would like to thank her husband Adrian Nazareth, 35, a senior sales manager in charge at Ramee Grand Hotel & Spa in Seef, for encouraging her to pursue a career in hospitality as well as sharing the household duties and caring for their daughters Jana, six, a student at Ahlia School and Juwan, one. She also is grateful to her mother Ameera Hassan for all her support.
