A decade of success

“Our success as a homegrown brand can be attributed to our progressive corporate strategy, which comprises four main pillars – environmental issues, staff welfare, social responsibility and ethical governance. More than 10% of our existing staff have been with us from the beginning, says Awadalla.

“Another benefit of being independent is that with a flat management structure, we are also very flexible and have been able to react quickly to market trends and issues.”

On February 28, UAE-headquartered hospitality company TIME Hotels celebrated 10 years in business. It was a moment to reflect on the firm’s many milestones during a decade of service excellence and corporate achievement.

TIME Hotels launched in Dubai in 2012 under the leadership of Mohamed Awadalla, the company’s co-founder and CEO.

The group initially launched with six properties in Dubai and Sharjah, before introducing a new brand concept, ‘TIME Express’, for the budget-conscious traveller, and expanding its portfolio into Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt.

With five more hotels due to open this year – TIME Nakheel Deluxe Apartments, New Capital, Egypt; TIME Coral Nuweiba Resort, South Sinai, Egypt; TIME Moonstone Hotel Apartments, Fujairah, UAE; TIME Express Al Olaya – Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and TIME Marina Hotel & Convention Centre on Egypt's North Coast – TIME’s portfolio will have grown to an impressive 19 properties.

Meanwhile, international expansion will see TIME open a 66-key hotel in Sudan in Q3 2023.

Following launch, one of TIME’s first achievements was to secure international hotel sustainability certification, initially through Green Globe, then subsequently with Green Key, which it has maintained ever since, complying with global standards through annual audits.

“We have been compliant with the International Sustainability Hotel Certification for the last 10 years (Green Key),” notes Awadalla.

There are many sustainability achievements of note.

In 2014, TIME became the first hospitality company in the Middle East to offer guests a carbon management programme, offsetting 326 tonnes of CO2 emissions during the first nine months.

TIME has also participated in 10 humanitarian projects over the past 10 years.

They include a food collection initiative in 2021 with the Red Crescent, as well as donating thousands of dollars to cancer hospitals in Cairo and Luxor, and a renovation project for a girls’ school in Kenya in partnership with Etihad Airways. Furthermore, TIME provided efficient cooking stoves for women in Darfur, Sudan, and installed solar panels for a Green Globe & myclimate project in rural Ethiopia.

“We have accomplished so much over the last 10 years; we are extremely proud of our achievements, and we are committed to expanding our portfolio based on our brand values and our founding principles,” says Awadalla. Other notable milestones include TIME’s strategic decision in 2019 to centralise all individual property reservations departments into a dedicated central reservations office (CRO) in Cairo, which has streamlined reservations and harmonised rates. One year later, the TIME Asma hotel opened in Dubai, which was the first hotel in the region, to be managed entirely by a team of women.

“In recognition of our efforts, we have received a total of 79 local, regional and international awards over the last decade.

MILESTONES 2021-2022

Over the past year, TIME Hotels has:

1.

Opened the first hotel run by a female management team

TIME Asma hotel, which opened mid-2021, was the first hotel run by an all-female management team. All hotel operations are managed by women, including human resources, sales, F&B, finance, front office and housekeeping.

2.

Kept all hotels in operation during the COVID-19 pandemic. No property was closed down. The hotel management company put a stringent profit protection plan in place with “enviable results” in terms of talent retention.

3.

Signed its first hotel project in Sudan

TIME inked a management agreement for its first property in Africa. The group will operate a 66-key property in Sudan, with a scheduled opening date of Q3 2023.

4.

Opened its first hotel in Riyadh

In 2021 the company opened the 45-key TIME Al Muruj Hotel apartments in Saudi Arabia. The spacious serviced apartments are fitted with modern amenities to make guests feel at home. The hotel is located just 5km from Riyadh Gallery Mall and 8km from Nakheel Mall.

5.

Signed a new property in Nuweiba, Egypt

The five-star 203-key TIME Coral Resort Nuweiba is situated in the Red Sea resort of Nuweiba on the east coast of the Sinai peninsula, approximately 140km from Sharm El Sheikh. Overlooking the Gulf of Aqaba, the hotel features three restaurants and bars with extensive gardens and palms with a private sandy beach, ideal for diving enthusiasts. The company has also signed an agreement to manage the four-star 130-key TIME Marina Hotel & Conference Centre near Al Alamein on the Mediterranean coast, just 10 minutes from New Al Alamein City. Opening soon, it will be able to accommodate more than 350 delegates theatre-style and features a rooftop lounge, a restaurant, coffee shop, gym and pool.

“It is particularly gratifying to receive accolades from industry professionals, governments and humanitarian organisations,” adds Awadalla.

People First

Turning the spotlight on the past few years, which have been challenging for the entire industry due to the pandemic, TIME hotels was one of the few hotel management companies to have put in place a stringent profit protection plan with “enviable results” of talent retention.

“Not one employee was made redundant despite long periods of limited revenue,” stresses Awadalla.

“The Middle East is now emerging from the pandemic, and we have had record occupancy levels over the past five months at our UAE hotels due to Expo 2020 Dubai – and we foresee this trend continuing.

He says all of TIME’s GCC hotels are currently at operating at 90% occupancy, which includes hotels in Dubai, Sharjah, Doha, Riyadh, and Dammam.

Introducing Aladdin

TIME Hotels has earned a reputation for embracing innovation since its inception – 10 years ago, it was the first hotel management company to use cloud-based Microsoft Office Azure 365 in 2012 – and in 2022, this approach continues, as Awadalla explains.

“A hotel’s entire operation is dependent on software, starting from sales, marketing and property management to online guest reputation surveys.

“With the pandemic, a lot of applications have been upgraded and now have features that support COVID-related rules and procedures, these usually include contactless options to reduce physical interaction.

“At TIME, we have implemented many software and systems to address such demands and embraced new technologies and applications to ultimately sustain, manage and improve our business.

“Currently, we are using a system called ‘Aladdin’, which is a maintenance management

TIME’S BRANDS

TIME Hotels & Resorts: four-star hotels and resorts

TIME Hotel Apartments: fully furnished fully serviced aparthotels for extended stays

TIME Express: for the budget-conscious

TIME Residences: limited-service apartments software. It assists us with task scheduling, preventive maintenance management, asserts inventory, energy conservation, etc.

“We also have the ‘Tenex’ application, which helps our long-term guests connect safely with the community, get real-time updates about fire alerts and any other announcements, requests for apartment cleaning, among others.

“We are also working with a number of companies in order for all these applications to be integrated into one and looking at including additional features such as assigning guestrooms and apartments cleaning, generating service reports and invoices, to name a few.”

2022 And Beyond

With 2022 already off to a flying start for TIME, Awadalla is “very bullish” about the remainder of the year.

“The UAE and the wider GCC have clearly benefitted from Expo 2020 and reduced COVID restrictions, leading the way to full recovery in Q1,” he says.

“Leisure travellers will continue to drive demand in Q2 and Q3 and we have already secured group leads for our Qatar and UAE hotels in Q4 for the FIFA World Cup.”

The group is also in “multiple negotiations” for hotels across the GCC region and Egypt with a clear corporate vision to expand into Africa, he says.

“We are already taking steps in that direction through hospitality exhibitions, tourism conferences and by partnering with private investors and tourism boards,” he adds.

TIME is also preparing to launch a hotel management company called HOST.

“By partnering with international brands, investors and owners, HOST Hotel Management aims to make considerable cost savings, through leaner and more flexible operations and bespoke property management, while sustaining brand quality standards and values,” Awadalla reveals.

Looking to the near future, the ambition is to operate 21 properties across the Middle East by the end of 2023.

The company is well on target, and judging by Awadalla’s track record and unbridled ambition, could well exceed this modest goal.

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