Dubai-based Emaar Hospitality Group manages a host of hospitality and leisure projects across the region, including hotels, serviced residences, golf retreats and clubs.
Its portfolio includes world-class hotel brands – The Address Hotels + Resorts, Armani Hotels, Vida Hotels and Resorts and the newly launched Rove Hotels.This year the group will celebrate two milestones – the opening of the first Rove branded hotel and The Address Boulevard Dubai and The Address Residences Boulevard Dubai, says Chris Newman, corporate director of operations, Emaar Hospitality Group, in an interview with TTN.The group focuses on delivering outstanding experiences and continually challenges itself to go further, do more, and surprise guests, he says. Excerpts from the interview:Emaar Hospitality Group owns and manages a diversified portfolio and is on a speedy growth trajectory. What is in store for this year?We are marking two milestones this year: the first is the opening of our first Rove Hotels property – Rove Downtown Dubai – in the next few months. Rove Hotels, a new lifestyle brand and value proposition, developed as a joint venture between Emaar and Meraas Holding, plans to operate 10 hotels by 2020. We are at a point where there is a need to enhance the luxury sector with a strong value proposition for hotels catering to the growing diversity of visitors. Our second milestone is the opening of The Address Boulevard Dubai and The Address Residences Boulevard Dubai later this year. This new property is also located in the heart of Downtown Dubai overlooking Burj Khalifa. We envisage this latest addition to The Address Hotels + Resorts as an urban resort that caters to business and leisure guests; and it happens to be the second tallest building in Downtown Dubai.We are also working on renovation of The Address Downtown Dubai as well as expanding our three core hotel brands – Rove Hotels, The Address Hotels + Resorts and Vida Hotels and Resorts – through new hotels and serviced residences locally and internationally.
What are the main focus areas for the year? What is the vision for the next five years?
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Chris Newman |
How has been the growth for your group in 2015? What is the projection for 2016? 2015 was another growth year for Emaar Hospitality Group. We recorded average occupancy of 86 per cent across our hotels in Dubai, higher than the industry average. Our revenues last year were over Dh 1.6 billion ($457 million). Our projection for this year is to sustain the occupancy levels while strengthening revenue through new hotel openings.
Do you see a major impact from the economic downturn the region is facing? Economies are cyclical and we believe that it is important to adapt to what is happening around us by having the right strategy, being able to react accordingly and embracing innovation. Despite the volatilities, Dubai recorded robust growth in 2015: GDP grew by 4.5 per cent and the tourism sector by more than 7 per cent over 2014 and visitor numbers increased to 14 million plus. All the indices strongly point to the resilience of Dubai’s diversified economy and we believe there are strong prospects for the hospitality sector. We will continue to grow by expanding to new markets, creating new partnerships and diversifying our offering when we identify commercial opportunities or gaps in the market – as we have done with the launch of Rove Hotels.
What is the strategy behind the Rove venture? Which segment of the travel market do these hotels expect to serve? Rove Hotels have a very distinct brand identity that will appeal to our target audience of the new generation of travellers regardless of age who seek a strong value proposition in lifestyle experiences. There is strong demand for value hotels in the region and Europe, especially from young families and Generation Y travellers. The business and Mice sector is also important as they want new experiences in new destinations at affordable prices. Frequent travellers also tend to look for hotels that have something unique or novel to offer at a reasonable price.With Rove we’ve created a brand where people will be happy to share their experiences, tell their friends about the brand and come back again and again.
It has been mentioned that 10 hotels will be launched under the brand by 2020. Can you elaborate on the hotels, their location, etc?The first project is Rove Downtown Dubai followed by properties in Port Saeed, Al Jafiliya, Oud Metha and Dubai Marina. We have also just announced Rove At The Park in Jebel Ali which will serve those coming to enjoy Dubai Parks and Resorts. We have selected sites for all Rove Hotels within walking distance of public transport. Rove Hotels are contemporary and urban in design and inspired by the pulse of Dubai. By 2020 we will have 2,660 rooms across the 10 hotels.
What will be the unique features of these hotels? From the first 15 seconds when our guests walk into the hotel, we want them to have an exhilarating experience; an ‘Instagram-able, wow’ moment encapsulated by the design, architecture and artistic elements of the hotel. Rove Hotels are design-influenced or design-centric while assuring a strong lifestyle and value proposition.Inspired by Dubai, its urban heritage and its cosmopolitan identity and character, the brand design takes local heritage and lends a modern spin to it – from the warm and inviting colour palettes, to using Emirati or locally-based artists for the artwork around the hotels.
Do you plan to expand this brand into other Middle East states?For now we are focused on opening our Dubai properties in line the Tourism Vision 2020. We are looking at new opportunities in other key markets and will consider them as they come up.
What is the impact of the recent fire at The Address Downtown Dubai?There is no material impact of the incident on our financials as we carry full insurance cover. We are currently working to reopen the hotel. Timelines will be announced in due course.
By Sree Bhat