ME by Meliá Dubai has announced the appointment of Arlette Richter-Picardo as General Manager. With more than fifteen years’ experience at some of the best-known luxury and lifestyle addresses in the United Arab Emirates, she takes the helm of a property whose architecture, inside and out, bears the signature of Zaha Hadid.
The appointment comes as Dubai’s hotel sector enters one of the most strategic periods of its calendar. For the ME brand, whose arrival in Dubai and positioning as an urban resort LTH previously covered in detail, the challenge now is to consolidate an already well-established identity in a highly competitive environment.
A career built between Dubai and Abu Dhabi
A graduate in tourism, marketing and event management from Hochschule Harz in Germany, Arlette Richter-Picardo began her career in hotel events, notably at Novotel London West, before joining Grand Hyatt Dubai and then The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina.
In 2012, she joined the pre-opening team of The St. Regis Abu Dhabi as Director of Events, later becoming Assistant Director of Sales. She then moved to Marriott Hotel & Executive Apartments Downtown Abu Dhabi, first as cluster Director of Sales and Marketing, then as Hotel Manager of both properties. In 2019, the catering sales team there received an Elite Award at Europe, Middle East and Africa level, and the two properties came through the pandemic with net operating income 254% above budget in 2021.
From The Dubai EDITION to Hotel Local
In 2022, Arlette Richter-Picardo took over as General Manager of The Dubai EDITION, a 275-room hotel opposite Dubai Mall. Under her leadership, the hotel generated revenue of around €31 million (AED 130 million), with a 50% flow-through rate in its first year of operation.
She then joined Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah, the brand’s first resort in the Middle East, with 602 rooms and ten restaurants, as Hotel Manager. There she oversaw the rooms and food and beverage divisions, totalling more than 700 staff, and supported the launch of several franchised dining concepts, including Above Eleven, Señor Pico and Okku.
Before joining Meliá, she led Hotel Local Dubai, a 579-room property in Jumeirah Village Triangle. She steered the hotel’s integration into Marriott’s Autograph Collection, drawing on the property’s existing identity to shape the guest journey and develop its “Autograph moment”, the brand’s signature feature.
A remit extended to the lifestyle offer
At the helm of ME by Meliá Dubai, Arlette Richter-Picardo will oversee the property’s strategic and operational direction: commercial performance and profitability, guest experience, food and beverage, human resources and company culture, as well as day-to-day operations.
Working alongside the executive team and stakeholders, her roadmap targets sustainable growth, a stronger positioning for the hotel and the identification of new revenue drivers. Her remit also covers the development of the property’s lifestyle offer, spanning dining, wellness and cultural programming.
The ME brand holds a distinctive place in the Meliá Hotels International portfolio. The group continues to roll it out at landmark addresses, as with the opening of ME Marbella on the Costa del Sol, while retaining the management of assets that change hands, as with the sale of ME Barcelona to Kaya Hotels & Resorts.
Analysis – This appointment is part of a wider renewal of general managers across the emirate’s luxury hotels, as illustrated by Park Hyatt Dubai, which has entrusted its leadership to Ersev Demiroz. The choice of a profile combining commercial and operational credentials, well versed in brand repositioning, reflects Meliá’s ambition to make its Dubai property an asset that is both distinctive and high-performing.
At a glance by The Hospitality Tribune
Arlette Richter-Picardo appointed General Manager of ME by Meliá Dubai
Took office in August 2026 at the Zaha Hadid-designed lifestyle hotel
Previously GM of Hotel Local Dubai, integrated into Marriott’s Autograph Collection
Former GM of The Dubai EDITION: AED 130M revenue, 50% flow-through in year one
15+ years across Marriott, EDITION, Autograph Collection and St. Regis in the UAE
Remit: commercial performance, F&B, wellness, culture and people strategy
