Kaani Abdulla Re-elected as GAM President for Second Term

Abdulla Nasheed (Kaani Abdulla), CEO of Kaani Hotels, which owns some of the largest guest houses in the Maldives, has been elected as President of the second term of the National Hotels and Guest House Association (GAM).

Abdulla was elected as President for three years for the second term at the organization's Annual General Meeting with a vote of 27 out of the 29 lawmakers who attended the meeting.

Abdulla has made important contributions to the Guest House Association during the past three years as well.

Overseeing the operation of five guest houses in Kaafu Atoll Maafushi, providing a total of 490 beds, Abdulla continues to make significant contributions to the association. A sixth guest house is currently under construction in Maafushi, and the development of a luxury tourist hotel in Ukulhas will elevate Kaani Hotels' bed capacity to 940.

During the AGM, key leadership positions were filled with Ahmed Waheed from Noo Moo Guest House and Abdul Samiu Imad from Gumbar Inn being elected as Vice-Presidents.

The role of Corporate Affairs has been assigned to Ahmed Naseer, currently serving as the Finance Minister, Mohamed Sahfeeq's Advisor. Naseer is acknowledged as the visionary behind introducing the guest house business to Maafushi, which now boasts the largest number of guest houses in the Maldives.

The Guest House Association's AGM saw the appointment of members for various key positions, including financial controllers, PR and marketing, and Exco.

Abdulla expressed plans for a magazine featuring photographs and information about guest houses, aiming to launch it next year for effective marketing at major fairs.

"We are eager to display the diversity of guest houses and promote our industry," Abdulla said.

"We plan to take the membership of MMPRC to the association this December and set up a counter for the association at all major fairs," Abdullah added.

He said that the guest house association's office will open in Malé from January 1 2024. He added that the association's teams will visit the islands with maximum number of guest houses next year and collect the required information to decide the future course of action.

"Next year, we have decided to seek financial assistance for guest houses that have close ties to institutions such as UNDP, US AID and the European Union," Abdulla said.

Currently, there are 923 guest houses operating in the Maldives, offering a total of 15,122 beds.