Hotelier Middle East - Jan 2010 by ITP Business Publishing

The definitive guide to successful hotel management

January 2010

Hotelier Middle East presents a round-up of the burning issues, top trends and stand-out openings in the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hotel industry this year

WYNDHAM ON A ROLL Eric Danziger outlines his aggressive approach to Middle East growth

RECRUITMENT REVAMPED Hoteliers need to adopt new strategies in order to secure the best employees BAHRAIN UPDATE SPA MANAGERS DEBATE DYNAMIC PRICING BATHROOMS TECH TALK Licensed by International Media Production Zone

January 2010 VVolume 9, Issue 1 05 NEWS

21 CEO INTERVIEW

Hotel fees revenue slumps in Dubai; ADTA focuses on training in 2010; Premier Inn slashes room rates; Divan Hotels enters Iraq.

Wyndham Hotel Group president and CEO Eric Danziger outlines the company’s aggressive expansion plans for the region.

43 COVER STORY: 2010 FORECAST

8 ANNOUNCEMENTS

25 NEW OPENING INTERVIEW

Three new openings from Ritz-Carlton; Hilton signs ﬁrst Doubletree for Saudi Arabia; Jumeirah Group signs ﬁfth project in China.

The management team at Bonnington Jumeirah Lakes Towers describes the hotel’s British approach to hospitality.

14 COLUMNIST

28 GM INTERVIEW

56 COUNTRY UPDATE: BAHRAIN

Viability director Guy Wilkinson urges hoteliers to get involved with team building programmes.

Daniel Mathew describes what it is like to open the world’s tallest hotel, Rose Rayhaan by Rotana.

According to those in the know, the outlook for Bahrain’s hotel industry is positive.

16 LOBBYIST

30 TALKING HEADS

61 SUPPLIER NEWS

The new recruit and appointments.

Layia Hospitality CEO Daniel Hajjar says that charging for the internet is the most logical solution for hotels. .

The W Doha team reviews the hotel’s ﬁrst year of operation and notes the challenges of introducing the American brand to the region.

A.Ronai presents the latest trends in hotel uniforms.

87 LEISURE MANAGER

19 TOUGH TALK

33 ROUNDTABLE: SPA MANAGERS

Industry experts analyse business trends and Hotelier rounds up 10 key hotel openings for 2010.

51 BEST PRACTICE: RECRUITMENT Lee Jamieson reﬂects on how the events of 2009 have changed the hotel industry’s recruitment culture.

68 PRODUCT GUIDE: CLEANING The latest cleaning equipment.

70 PICK OF THE MONTH New products from all sectors.

73 TECH TALK Farnek Avireal makes a global impact; ResNet World gives advice on selecting a CRS provider.

79 HOTELIER INVESTOR Industry news, plus Bench Events’ Jonathan Worsley provides his views on Dubai’s debt problems.

84 RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING

Seven Tides Hospitality managing director Mike Scully says that Dubai hotels need to drastically rethink their pricing strategies and marketing activities in 2010.

62 FITTED OUT A showcase of the stunning lobby at Fairmont Bab Al Bahr.

Boosting revenues from hotel spas and a review of the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge.

94 CALENDAR

Spa experts discuss performance to date and trends for the coming year, from increased demand for ﬁtness to the year of the hammam.

64 PRODUCT ANALYSIS: BATHROOMS

Diary of upcoming industry events.

Experts provide their tips for the best in hotel bathrooms.

96 HOTELIER CONFIDENTIAL Insights from the news desk.

51 21 www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

87 Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

ONLINE

NEWST Hotel chief gets jail for bribery ALER

Most-read stories on hoteliermiddleeast.com

The chief executive of Bavaria Hotels International has been sentenced to jail for revealing company secrets and demanding a bribe. TG, 48, was sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to repay AED 385,000 (US $105,000) following being found guilty of asking for cash in return of awarding an AED 5.5 million ($1.5 million) contract to the Irish company Lissadell. The National reported that TG contacted the owner of Lissadell and persuaded him to pay 7% of the tender value in exchange for

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the contract to supply towels and bedding. The ﬁnancial manager of Bavaria Hotels, AK, told prosecutors he was subsequently contacted by the Lissadell sales manager in the UAE who said the defendant had shown him the contesting tender prices, violating company secrecy laws. TG was not present in court as he was free on bail, however, if an appeal is to be lodged he will have to pay the AED 385,000 ($105,000) and it will have to be done within 15 days [from December 9].

Kempinski has delayed the opening of Emerald Palace on The Palm Jumeirah due to the “monstrosity” of Atlantis, said Kempinski Middle East and Africa president Ulrich Eckhardt.

1. Hotel chief gets jail for bribery 2. Kempinski delays due to Atlantis ‘monstrosity’ 3. Istithmar loses W Hotel in New York 4. Video from world’s tallest hotel 5. Hotel group slashes Dubai room rates by 40%

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For a list of upcoming properties, see www.hoteliermiddleeast.com.To update your company’s list, contact louise.oakley@itp.com January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

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5 NEWS

THE REGION • Signings • Openings • Best practices • Strategy • Branding • Legislation • Events

Hotel fees revenue slumps 25% in Dubai during 2009 Municipality reveals that current year income of $326 million is down on the previous year STORY OF THE MONTH Dubai Municipality has revealed its current-year income from the emirate’s hotels, which are required to pay 10% of their income as an annual operating fee, stands at AED 1.2 billion (US $326.8 million). Although sizeable, this sum indicates a signiﬁcant year-onyear decrease from the 2008 total of AED 1.6 billion ($435.6 million). The announcement came in the Municipality’s annual meeting with Dubai hotel establishments, held in December at Radisson Blu Hotel Dubai Deira Creek. The event, attended by representatives from 500 hotels, addressed hotelrelated ﬁnance issues, including the

Dubai Municipality held its annual meeting with hotels in December at Radisson Blu Hotel Dubai Deira Creek.

government body’s method for collecting operating fees. Speaking exclusively to Hotelier Middle East, a spokesperson for Dubai Municipality said: “The 10% rule has been in place since 2000 —

however, from this year we have introduced a new element [to the fees collection system]. “We have developed a new way of auditing by dividing the hotel establishmentsintofourcategories,basedontheir

risk and the amount they paid to the Municipality.Thecategoriesareranked A, B, C and N, the last one being for new establishments,” said the spokesperson. Delivering the welcome speech, Municipality assistant director general for corporate support services Mohammed AbdulKarim Julfar stressed the importance of “communication and cooperation between the private and public sectors, so as to strengthen relations and stay connected”. He pointed out that the Municipality’s partnerships with hotels were considered key, adding that the organisation was “always keen to communicate with and listen to the suggestions on the work in the Municipality and on ways to develop them and discuss their observations on the procedures regarding the collection of fees”.

ADTA reinforces industry training programme for 2010 STANDARDS Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) has unveiled an intensive programme of industry stakeholder training initiatives for the ﬁrst quarter of 2010. ADTA’s Tourism Partners Development Team, part of the Tourism Standards Division, said the programme is aimed at “ensuring that all who work in the industry are fully equipped to provide the highest standards”. First on the Q1 curriculum is a marketing management course, to be held in association with the Cornell University School of Hotel www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

Administration. To run from January 11 to 13, the course targets hospitality executives and entrepreneurs and will provide a basic understanding of hospitality marketing. ADTA industry professional development manager Paul Ram Prakash said the course would utilise “regional examples, case studies from western hotel ﬁrms, class discussions and real-life examples”. “Participants will learn to apply key principles to solve problems and take advantage of new opportunities,” Prakash said. Following ADTA’s recent MoU signing with Hong Kong Polytechnic University — to collaborate on educational strategies aimed

at honing Abu Dhabi’s ability to engage the rapidly emerging Asian and Chinese outbound markets — a travel agency seminar will be held on February 17. On February 18, the course will look at effective tourism planning. The authority’s ‘Enhancing the Guest Experience’ workshops will continue throughout 2010. “We’ve got at least 10 more workshops during January and February alone — the response to this training has been overwhelming. “It really shows our partners’ commitment to ensuring Abu Dhabi creates the right impression on our guests for a superior visitor experience,” added Prakash.

Training includes class-based learning and debates.

Those interested in enrolling on the Q1 2010 courses, or requiring further information on the ADTA’s training strategy, should contact: Naim Saﬁ, senior tourism partners development executive on +971 2 4181406 or send an email to nsaﬁ@adta.ae. Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

NEWS

Meetings move from pricey resorts to hotels Experts view the Middle East as a competitive meetings destination as long as the price is right TRENDS Fewer meetings are being held in resorts, with planners instead focusing on hotels and dedicated conference centres. This was one of the ﬁndings of the European Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings (EIBTM) Industry Trends and Market Share Report released last month. Compiled by The University of Westminster in London senior lecturer and EIBTM industry analyst Rob Davidson, the report said that corporate meetings and events, including incentive travel, have been hardest hit as a result of the continuing economic crisis. The industry experienced even shorter leader times, greater use of one-day events to reduce the number of overnight stays, and a reduction in the number of suppliers used in order to increase the potential for economies of scale. However, the association sector has been far less affected than the corporate sector. Davidson said: “In a challenging environment, the winners in 2010 will be those suppliers who

offer exceptional value and service and those destinations that target a diversiﬁed business base where downturns in one area of the meetings industry can be compensated for with opportunities in other areas”. Looking forward, he forecast that organisations will continue to select destinations and venues not considered extravagant or luxurious. As a result, the Middle East meetings industry needs to focus on its image, suggested Swantegy president Eric Rozenburg, a regular Hosted Buyer throughout the Reed Travel Exhibitions meetings portfolio. “The region can be highly competitive but needs to keep working on its image, which is still too often perceived as luxurious and leisure-based — which makes it harder to sell for pure conferences,” said Rozenburg. “Service, easy and global air access, venues, technology and competitive pricing are different elements which could be put forward in the positioning. Detailing all CSR elements implemented is also essential in the positioning of the region,” he added. Vok Dams Group’s Colja M. Dams, a key international Hosted Buyer at Gulf Incentive, Business

Affordable hotels located close to exhibition centres, such as Aloft and ADNEC in Abu Dhabi, are appealing venues.

Travel and Meetings (GIBTM) exhibition, agreed that the CO2 footprint of events had become even more important over the past year. He said that hotels also needed to offer meeting planners a high level of service when dealing with requests. “Next to the overall quality of the property, the meeting planner service level is most important — it is crucial to get answers on RFPs (requests for proposals) within the hour — otherwise the business is likely to go elsewhere,” said Dams.

When selecting a hotel for a meeting or event, Rozenburg added that his priorities were technology aspects, free internet access and easy access to an international airport.

DON’T MISS GIBTM 2010 March 29-31 ADNEC, Abu Dhabi www.gibtm.com

Wyndham Hotel Group pledges to bring more brands to the Middle East Wyndham Hotel Group has introduced three more of its 11 brands and multiple sub brands to the region as part of its commitment to an “aggressive, bullish” Middle East expansion plan. “I have made the number one strategic initiative of the Wyndham Hotel Group international growth and within that, a speciﬁc focus on the Middle East and Asia as the principal growth markets,” said Wyndham Hotel Group president and chief executive ofﬁcer Eric Danziger in an exclusive interview with Hotelier Middle East during a visit to Dubai at the end of last year. As part of this strategy, the comJanuary 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

pany has secured its ﬁrst Wyndhambranded hotel in the region, in the King Abdullah ﬁnancial district in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It has also announced plans to bring two Ramada sub brands to the Middle East; Ramada Plaza in Kuwait and Ramada Encore in Doha, Qatar. “All of these countries and more have opportunities,” said Danziger. “There are needs; the question is; which brand addresses that need.” The Super 8 roadside hotel brand would be a logical introduction to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for example, said Danziger. “We certainly believe and are in

discussions with people who believe it more than we do about the need for a Super 8 type product on the roadways in Saudi Arabia,” he said. Danziger also plans to increase the volume of Ramada in the Middle East, following the opening of the new Ramada Downtown Burj Dubai in November 2009. “I’d hate to say these are the only brands we are introducing, but the Ramada is already well introduced to the area and therefore has a great platform to be able to grow in all the places that we aren’t,” said Danziger of future growth plans. For a full interview with Eric Danziger, see page 21.

Danziger: there are plenty of opportunities to introduce more Wyndham Hotel Group brands — such as Super 8 — to different countries in the Middle East.

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

7 NEWS

Premier Inn slashes room rates by 40% Reduction has been made to “preserve” the company’s best value promise RATES Premier Inn, the UK’s largest hotel brand, has announced that it has slashed room rates at its two properties in Dubai by 40% in response to the global downturn. Daily rates at the hotels in Dubai Investments Park and Dubai Silicon Oasis have been cut from AED 495 (US $135) to AED 295 ($80). The price is guaranteed for every Premier Inn room at the two hotels, the company said in a statement. It said: “Despite figures showing that the business continues to benefit in the current economic climate, as business travellers trade down from four-star rivals, the reduction has been made in order to preserve the Premier Inn brand promise of delivering the best value for money available in hotel accommodation”. Premier Inn, Middle East, managing director Darroch Crawford said: “Premier Inn’s value proposition has a strong resonance with customers, which gives us a resilience that other hoteliers envy in this current financial climate. Our priority has always been to provide the very

Lighting, seating & display systems, events, weddings, festivals, exhibitions & parties

Crawford: the reduction is in line with the Premier Inn brand promise of delivering the best value for money.

best value for money accommodation to our customers. This reduction ensures that we remain true to our brand values”. Crawford added: “This is a preemptive measure to ensure our occupancy levels remain healthy and we continue to be recognised as the best value hotel brand in Dubai.” Premier Inn is part of the Whitbread group in the UK and accounts

for 70% of the group’s proﬁts. The 580-strong hotel chain said it remained “ﬁrmly committed” to the Gulf region, with a new 281-room hotel located at Dubai International Airport due to open in December last year. Premier Inn’s hotels in the GCC are operated under a joint venture between the Emirates Group and Whitbread Plc.

Divan Hotels expands into Iraq Turkish hotel chain Divan Hotels is set to take on the growing hospitality market in Northern Iraq, after announcing plans to open a five-star hotel in Erbil in 2011. Divan Erbil, a five-star hotel located in the capital of the Kurdish Autonomous Region, will feature 228 rooms, six meeting rooms, a ballroom, a business centre, and a fitness and spa club. The property will also house four restaurants, a bar and a nightclub. Divan Hotel chairman Sarp Turanlıgil said: “We believe that an international-standard chain hotel will meet an unserved need in this market and for that reason we resolved to make this investment”. The Turkish hotel group is hopwww.hoteliermiddleeast.com

ing to capitalise on the US $5 billion worth of trade between Turkey and Northern Iraq that took place in the ﬁrst nine months of 2009, with that ﬁgure expected to grow to US $8 billion for the whole year and US $25 billion by 2012. Divan Hotels general manager Jeop Bakx said: “As a part of the expansion strategy that Divan initiated in 2005, we are continuing to pursue exciting city hotel projects in major cities in Turkey and within our strategic region. “In both economic and cultural terms Erbil is clearly positioned for dynamic growth and enjoys close business ties with Sulaimaniya, Duhok and Kirkuk. “The city also boasts both of the

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region’s international airports, offering direct connections to both Europe and the Middle East and is home to Salahaddin University,” added Bakx. The property will be owned by Elegan Tourism, which has invested US $90 million into the project, and will be located in the Erbil Congress and Exhibition Centre.

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Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

NEWS

New kids on the block Hotelier Middle East provides the low-down on hotel announcements and new openings

RITZ-CARLTON OPENS A TRIO OF NEW RESORTS

The Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe.

T Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company opened three new resorts The llast month, including its ﬁrst ever Ritz-Carlton Reserve — “a bbrand extension planned for unique destinations around tthe globe”. Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve property, opened in KKrabi, Thailand on December 23, 2009 offering 54 villas aand pavilions. Meanwhile, in the US, The Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake TTahoe is a US $300 million slope-side project that opened oon December 9. It features a 170-room contemporary llodge design and a 17,000ft² Highland Spa. Also recently opened in the western region of the US, The R Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain is a 250-room low-rise resort nnestled in the foothills of the Tortolita Mountains in Arizona.

The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountai

Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve.

FIR DOUBL ST E BY HILTTREE MANAG ON E AGREEMMENT SIGNED ENT IN KSA

AH JUMEIRIFTH F SIGNS CT IN E J O R P CHINA

PROPERTY: Jumeirah Hangzhou LOCATION: Hangzhou, China OPERATOR: Jumeriah Group OWNER: GT Land Holdings Limited ARCHITECT: Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM) KEYS: 250 FACILITIES: F&B, banquet and conference centre

70%

of space already contracted at Arabian Travel Market 2010.

This year, Reed Travel Exhibitions aims to build on the 2009 Arabian Travel Market event, which attracted 2100 exhibitors from 69 countries. To help achieve this, a new feature for 2010 will be ‘Zone 8’, which provides a more relaxed area for informal networking away from the main ﬂoor, as well as increased opportunities to interact with various destinations ﬁrst hand through a series of live shows, which will serve to showcase new destinations and products.

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

PROPERTY: Doubletree by Hilton Al Khobar LOCATION: Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia OPERATOR: Hilton Worldwide OWNER: Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Almousa Trading Group KEYS: 244 rooms and 60 suites OUTLETS: Four FACILITIES: Ballroom, two board rooms, business centre, separate male and female gyms and family swimming pool. STATUS: Scheduled to open Q4 2012

From left:, Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Almousa Trading Group chairman Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah Almousa and Hilton Worldwide, Middle East and Africa president Jean-Paul Herzog.

DESIGN AWARD FOR PARK HYATT JEDDAH Park Hyatt Jeddah was awarded the ‘Best Innovative Concept — Hospitality Award’ at the third annual Middle East Hospitality Expansion Congress (MEHEC) in Abu Dhabi at the end of last year. The 142-room Park Hyatt Jeddah Marina, Club and Spa — located

in the Al Hamra District at the Equestrian Club of Jeddah — is described as a sanctuary offering views of the Red Sea and the King Fahd Fountain. The guestrooms were designed by French interior designer Gilles Quiffet and architect Patrice Hart.

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s we enter the year 2010, the phrase ‘forewarned is forearmed’ could certainly be a useful concept for hoteliers to keep in mind. While many are reluctant to speculate too heavily on business prospects for 2010 and others have openly admitted that the unpredictability of the market makes it almost impossible to make any forecasts, hoteliers do have one valuable weapon up their sleeves. This would be the knowledge and experienced garnered over the past 12 months, which have been the toughest the hotel industry in this region has had to face. Think back to this time last year and the level of uncertainty — even fear — rippling through the industry. Many hotels were forced to make redundancies, freeze recruitment, postpone projects, drastically alter sales strategies and drop rates with barely any notice and no knowledge of when recovery would come. Now, while the hospitality industry is still awaiting stabilisation before ultimate recovery begins — hopefully — in 2011/2012, its strategies for success in 2010 are longterm plans based on experience of operating a hotel in a downturn.

The economic crisis is not going anywhere fast and the realism with which hotels have accepted the situation is much more beneficial to business than the false optimism of a quick recovery that was being bandied around a year ago. Hoteliers now know that rooms are harder to fill, staff counts are tighter and offering consumers value for money is absolutely crucial. And if they have played their cards right during 2009, they should have a decent base to build upon going into 2010. This is where hotels have to use the experiences of the past year, however challenging or painful, to their advantage. As the spa managers taking part in the debate on pages 33 to 40 observe, they know what they are up against in 2010 so can plan appropriately. They are aware, for example, that consumers are still using spas but that they have cut back on their pampering time and on buying products. So as a result, why not look at introducing express treatments and retailing more affordable product lines? It’s definitely not the case that hoteliers should take a ‘glass half empty’ approach to the outlook for the industry — far from it.

Louise Oakley, editor

louise.oakley@itp.com Never more has the industry needed an injection of creativity, but at least this year, decisions and innovations can be made based on last year’s performance. And for the bold among you, perhaps this is the year to capitalise on new opportunities after a cautious 2009. One can’t help but be inspired by Wyndham Hotel Group’s president and CEO Eric Danziger, who revels in the downturn as a chance to ensure his company stands out from the rest (see pages 21 to 23). So, echoing the sentiments I have heard in the hotel industry over the past few weeks, here’s to a better new year in 2010. At least we have some idea of what it will hold! HME

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VOX POP: What is your forecast for the Middle East hotel industry in 2010?

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The Middle East continues to be the best performing region in the world achieving the highest occupancy, ARR and RevPAR. We are, however, operating in a marketplace that is in ﬂux, including some challenges such as the effects on travel of a slowly-rebounding global economy and the H1N1 virus, but we are seeing some early signs of improvement as we look towards 2010 and beyond. Jean-Paul Herzog, president, Hilton Worldwide, Middle East & Africa The fourth quarter of 2009 in Dubai followed the trend of the previous three in terms of occupancy slippage and rate depression, and our belief is this trend will ﬂatten out in 2010 thereby producing very similar occupancy levels. Rate is a more

challenging issue in that there is signiﬁcant new supply coming on stream, which may generate poor strategic decisions being made on pricing by existing operators. Philip Barnes, regional vice president UAE, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts We can’t say that the credit crisis is over as we think that the picture is still not clear yet. Since the crisis started we have seen few of our investors putting some projects on hold, while others were able to fund and complete their projects as scheduled initially. We expect 2010 to be as difﬁcult as 2009 since it will take between six and nine months to get back to normal once the recession is over. We do not expect a strong recovery before 2011. Prices will remain low, clients

will shop around more than before. Christophe Landais, managing director, Accor Hospitality Middle East I would tend to agree with the consensus in that the outlook remains somewhat unpredictable. Signs are now pointing to the fact that the downturn has slowed, but due to the lack of visibility, the shape and size of 2010 is still hard to predict. Generally speaking, I would anticipate it taking two to three years to fully recover and in relation to rates, the questions remains on whether they can return to previous levels — but in certain markets it is unlikely that the previous highs will return. Marko Hytönen, area vice president, The Rezidor Hotel Group

Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

COMMENT

Forewarned is forearmed

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COMMENT

Team building boosts hotel revenues Viability director Guy Wilkinson says not only is experiential training beneﬁcial for boosting conﬁdence and team relations among your own staff, but that your hotel’s facilities could be opened up to bring in extra revenue from other companies investing in such activities

COLUMNIST t’s quite a sight. Normally staid clerks and secretaries, executives and managers have today exchanged their suits for jeans, tee shirts and helmets, and are behaving more like trapeze artists, balancing high up on a precipitously tall timber structure in Hatta. It’s part of a hotel-based corporate team building day led by Dubaibased experiential learning company Abami Consultancy & Training. For many of the participants, being dragged out of their daily routines to clamber up a frighteningly high wall is quite a shock to the system and may not be their first choice for a fun day out. But that’s the point. “We all operate within our comfort zones, at home and in the office,” explains Abami managing director Graham Nugent. “Our lives are boring and predictable and most people have not been exposed to a 50ft climbing wall. “You’re attached via a rope and a pulley to someone on the ground. You need to use dialogue, communication and trust. “You’re taken outside your comfort zone, succeeding in a strange, alien world thanks to your confidence in another person. And the more we step outside our comfort zone, the more we want to do so again. This experience thus gives us confidence to take on new responsibilities.”

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

Abami Consultancy & Training can set up high rope challenges and climbing walls.

STAGING EXPERIENTIAL TRAINING BRINGS EXTRA REVENUE TO A HOTEL An increasing number of people around the Gulf have found new strengths within themselves this way. In the last three years, Abami has held 434 programmes for 240 clients involving 18,000 participants. Operating in Kuwait for 13 years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for 10 years and Dubai for six years, Abami works with multinationals, banks, oil companies and government institutions, presenting learning and development programmes in both English and Arabic. The company has four ‘learning centres’ in the UAE. The original site is part of the Hatta Fort Hotel in the Hajjar mountains, with such amenities as high rope challenges, the ‘leap of faith’ and a climbing wall. The other learning centres are at Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa (part of the hotel’s Centre of Excellence, also including the shooting club and football ﬁelds), the Dreamland Aqua Park in Umm

Al Quwain, and Al Ghazal Golf Club near Abu Dhabi’s international airport, the latest to open.

BENEFITS FOR HOTELS A hotel is an ideal venue for Abami’s experiential learning centres because it offers meeting rooms for yearround indoor training activities, catering, toilets and other support amenities. Abami also needs an area of land about the size of a tennis court on which to build its high rope challenge and other outdoor structures. It is one of the few training companies with the capacity to design and build such structures to international safety standards, as well to conduct the training itself. Staging experiential training thus brings extra revenue to a hotel, with the ﬁrm’s UAE partner hotels earning a daily delegate rate of around AED 100 per person for catering, as well as room bookings on occasion —

about seven or eight courses out of 10 are day courses, with the remainder involving overnight accommodation. Nevertheless, Abami was the largest single revenue source at two of its sites last year. Above all, however, the experiential training sessions add an element of excitement to their host hotels. “We bring life, energy and movement to a hotel, and there is a real buzz when we’re around,” claims Nugent, who adds that this buzz can be added to conferences and seminars too. “We do a lot of conference work too and the addition of two or three ‘interventions’ during such events can really pep them up.” In these difﬁcult days, training can be seen as a ‘nice to have’ budget item, but wise companies are seeing it as an essential investment in human resources, especially as staff are these days being asked to do more work, as workforces are reduced. Although it is true that company budgets have been cut, training goes on, according to Nugent, with halfday team building sessions often being combined with half day strategy meetings, for example. In this same economic climate, hotels need to look at additional revenue sources and experiential training can be a surprisingly lucrative answer. HME

Guy Wilkinson is a director of Viability, a hospitality and property consulting ﬁrm in Dubai. For more information, email: guy@viability.ae

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COMMENT

Technological tragedies Layia Hospitality CEO Daniel Hajjar puts an interesting spin on the “to charge or not to charge” hotel internet debate, as he asks operators how they can justify the massive amount of revenue lost if access is offered for free

smaller and closer, while others could see it as an invasion of oneself, leaving very few human values intact. This leads me to the buzz word of today’s generation — the internet — and the ever-growing need to access the web instantly.

LOBBYIST ack in 1600, when Hamlet used “to be” to allude to both life and action and “not to be” to death and inaction, little did Shakespeare know that the tragedy he wrote would have an everlasting impact on our daily lives. There is no doubt that since then, life has changed and evolved in so many ways. While many of us would debate which era of life was more meaningful, few of us would dispute that, these days, we are all affected by different levels of tragedies on a daily basis. The development of technology is a good example. The optimists would certainly defend their case by arguing that IT has made the world

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

NECESSARY ONLINE ACCESS In the last decade, hotels had to evolve from having a simple fax machine in what was called a business centre to the more sophisticated internet connection in rooms, let alone the chic world of WiFi. This is no longer an option for hoteliers, but a necessity, due to the ever-changing behaviour of our customers, regardless of their gender, age, education background or status. Each type of

customer needs to access the internet for different reasons. In addition to being left with no option but to provide this, they are also expected to continuously upgrade their equipment to improve further the quality and the speed of the connection. For one reason or another, some industry peers tend to willingly or unwillingly deny the high investment cost required to meet these expectations and are arguing that this facility should be offered to their customers at no cost. Having said that and knowing that nothing comes for free in life, someone will be bearing the charge. Could this be the customer through a hidden built-in cost (as part of a package) or would it be the owner, since it is generally an easier way out?

ILLOGICAL FREE SERVICES At a time when experts conﬁrm that access to the internet is becoming one of the key reasons to book a hotel and when business executives must connect to the web to remain in touch with their business partners, col-

AT A TIME WHEN EXPERTS CONFIRM THAT ACCESS TO THE INTERNET IS BECOMING ONE OF THE KEY REASONS TO BOOK A HOTEL, WHERE IS THE LOGIC FOR NOT CHARGING?

Are hotels throwing away money by offering the internet for free?

leagues and desk, where is the logic for not charging? Who could justify it to owners that a large chunk of their revenues had to be cancelled for no valid reasons? Who could approach owners asking them to regularly upgrade their internet offerings with no revenues expected? It is difficult to assess the revenue that could be lost by offering internet access for free, since this will depend on the number of rooms available in the property, its annual occupancy and whether it is a business or leisure property, but the potential loss could easily reach a six-digit figure. As an example, a 300-room business hotel with an annual occupancy of 75% would sell 82,125 room nights per year. Assuming that only 50% of its customers access the internet via a daily rate charged at AED 70 (US $19), this would equal AED 2.8 million ($762,288) in potential loss of revenue if the hotels decide not to charge for this facility. While operators have the luxury to take any decision that would fit their strategy and GOP targets, the real danger is in having all hotels following suit just because one hotel has started offering free internet. With profitability under severe challenges in the months and years ahead, is this a cheap short-term marketing stunt or a long-term suicidal financial decision? If Shakespeare was around these days, he would probably have the answer for us! HME www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

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The price is right Dy Dynamic pricing strategies encompassing everything from F&B and chi child rates through to stop over and twin centre packages are vital in driving more business to Dubai and growing awarness of it as an ideal holiday d destination, says Seven Tides Hospitality managing director Mike Scully have listed below. I believe that if Dubai promotes and supports these as a whole, we will drive substantially more business to our destination and hopefully encourage further investment into the infrastructure of the UAE hospitality industry.

THE OWNER’S VIEW aving recently attended World Travel Market (WTM) with the sales team that will be opening our four new Dubai properties — namely The Royal Amwaj Resort and Spa, Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel, Oceana Hotel and Spa and Mövenpick Deira — there were a number of very interesting observations to be made. I found that the conﬁdence in Dubai was exceptional and on the whole, most of the larger travel agents still considered Dubai to be one of the favourite destinations in the coming year. Obviously, due to the fact that we will be opening four new properties in a market where close to 7000 new rooms could open during 2010, we needed to create an impact, which I believe we did. It was at WTM that we launched our fully inclusive offer into the market. Dubai’s food and beverage is perceived to be very expensive and many holiday makers now like to know what their holiday will cost them before they leave home. We have seen the success of high end, fully inclusive options in destinations such as Asia, Maldives, Caribbean and particularly on cruise holidays. Despite the current economic climate, the tour operators we spoke to at WTM said Dubai’s hotels offered very little to incentivise tourists besides basic rate reductions. They duly embraced our offer with great enthusiasm and we discussed a number of other options, which I

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1. TWIN CENTRES Enhanced twin centering with comparable destinations such as Maldives and Mauritius. Partnering with similar hotels and resorts and combining with an exclusive air fare makes the package compelling. Don’t fear competing destinations, embrace them.

3. EXCHANGE RATES

6. STOP OVER

You need to price with ﬂuctuating exchange in mind. If the pound drops in value, we need to be aware and look at either adjusting pricing in the UK or adapting into new, less affected markets. For example, the Australian dollar is very strong against the USD and Australians travel en route to Europe during our low season of July to September; we need to adjust quickly to access this market now.

We need to reinvigorate stop over trafﬁc to Dubai. Customers long perceived Dubai as too expensive for stopping over en route to Asia or South Paciﬁc or indeed other destinations. We need to work to have these customers leave the transit lounge for the city and spend at least two sampling nights in Dubai. This initiative needs to be led not only by the airlines as done in the past, but by the hotels as well — you can even promote stop over holidays.

4. CHILDREN Kids stay and eat free – look at ways to attract customers during low season.

2. EARLY BIRD

5. F&B

Try to replace with Rate Guarantee. Customers are hesitant in recent months to book on an early bird unless it is an incredible deal which they know will not be repeated with limited inventory offerings and a WIGIG (when it’s gone, it’s gone) offer. Clients often believe what they book now will in fact be cheaper closer to date of travel. We’re looking at introducing a rate guarantee to restore conﬁdence in early bookings.

Good value food and beverage — don’t just say it, deliver it! It’s the number one gripe of customers travelling to Dubai. Introducing half board and all inclusive (we mean all inclusive) packages in hotels is not only good value for guests, but can be proﬁtable. Let’s face it, you can keep your prices high, but if people are choosing a food court over your outlet, you’re not making money.

WE’RE LOOKING AT INTRODUCING A RATE GUARANTEE TO RESTORE CONFIDENCE IN EARLY BOOKINGS

7. TRAVEL TRADE Work closely with the travel trade – DMCs and tour operators are as vital to the distribution as the online intermediaries. Everyone in the chain does a job and should be rewarded with their commission or fee, it’s a fair cost of sale for handling the booking and helping launch new markets or routes. Travel agents make very little out of airlines; we are their bread and butter.

8. AIRLINES There are a number of airlines flying into Dubai where exclusive offers for particular hotels with exclusive packages should be explored a lot more. It is accepted that in peak holiday periods the national airlines concentrate more on hub traffic than on Dubai destination traffic and very often, when hospitality prices are at their lowest, airline tickets are at their highest. There are a number of airlines that do not enjoy the luxury of hub status and are willing to negotiate during these times. HME Mike Scully has worked for some of the leading hotel management companies worldwide — Sun International, Holiday Inn, Accor and Starwood — as well as developing and managing properties for the Dubai Government. He is currently managing director of Seven Tides — Hospitality, which will be opening four luxury properties in Dubai within the next 12 months and which also owns Dukes Hotel in London.

Dynamic pricing strategies must be employed to drive awareness of Dubai as a destination,says SevenTides’Mike Scully.

Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

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21 PEOPLE

Wyndham on a roll As Wyndham Hotel Group ramps up its presence in the Middle East, president and CEO Eric Danziger speaks exclusively to Hotelier Middle East about his bullish and aggressive approach to further development in the region CEO INTERVIEW ric Danziger is one of the leaders in the global hotel industry. As president and CEO of the Wyndham Hotel Group — a role that follows similar leadership positions at the likes of Carlson Hotels and Starwood — he is responsible for a massive 7000 hotels across 11 brands. But instead of sitting in a swanky corporate ofﬁce overseeing his empire from afar, Danziger is the man on the ground, travelling the globe in search of new opportunities and meeting personally with hotel owners to discuss their needs. He paid his second visit to Dubai at the end of last of year — following

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an appearance as a key panelist at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference in May — and, in between signing deals and meeting partners, took time out to meet with Hotelier Middle East to outline his “aggressive, bullish” Middle East campaign. Sat in a penthouse at the new Ramada Downtown Burj Dubai — which Danziger was to cut the ribbon later that day — and accompanied by senior members of the Wyndham management team for the region (see over), Danziger’s passion for the company’s potential in the region came across loud and clear. “We’re out here in force for lots of reasons. When you saw me in May, I think I told you how excited and bullish I was about the future here and all that has happened has been doubled,” says Danziger. “I have made the number one strategic initiative of the Wyndham Hotel Group international growth and within that, a speciﬁc focus on Middle East and Asia as the principal growth markets. “Now when I say principal, keep in mind we are a global hotel company with 11 brands and 7000 hotels so we’re in 100 countries, so there’s growth all over the world but in a prioritisation manner, it’s Middle East and Asia,” he explains. “We have spent a lot of time during the week on a lot of new opportunities, so I only say that to reinforce our sincere and very thoughtful aggressive, bullish campaign against the

ONE OF THE EXCITING FEATURES OF HAVING 11 BRANDS IS WE BELIEVE THAT MANY OF THOSE BRANDS HAVE A PLACE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST Middle East growth. And that’s why I’m here twice a year myself and will be more,” asserts Danziger.

ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR To say that Danziger’s December visit to Dubai and the wider GCC was productive would be an understatement, with several Wyndham stories making the headlines following the trip. The group celebrated breaking ground on its ﬁrst ﬁve-star hotel in the Middle East, the Wyndham-branded hotel located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This will join the Ramada portfolio steadily being built up in the region — there are now three in Dubai, one in Ajman, 10 operational in Saudi Arabia, two in Bahrain, one in each of Doha, Jordan and Beirut and two under construction in Abu Dhabi. Danziger also signed for the introduction of one of the Ramada tiers in Doha, the Ramada Encore, and has another sub brand, the Ramada Plaza, underway in Kuwait.

Adding the Wyndham brand to this collection is obviously a major scoop for Danziger, but by no means will the growth of the company be limited to these two brands. “One of the exciting features of having 11 brands is we believe that many of those brands have a place of great importance in the Middle East,” he says. “Dubai as an example has had many years of luxury growth; well what about the mid-market? There’s always a market for people who might want the comfort or the cost of a mid-market. “Well, we happen to have many of those brands so we’re going through a process and a study of which of those brands should be introduced. Is it a Howard Johnson, Days Inn, Wingate, Hawthorn Suites, a Super 8 etc?” The Super 8 concept might work, continues Danziger, in Saudi Arabia, which has a latent demand for roadside motel-type properties. The country is a strong market for the company — a nearly 1000-room Ramada Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

PEOPLE

MEET THE TEAM Danziger undertook his Middle East tour at the end of last year accompanied by a team of “talented hotel experienced people” focused on this region, carefully built up since he took up the role at the helm of the company just over a year ago. “You can’t say you’re a global company and have people for instance just sitting in London, saying that you’re running the Middle East. So we have a Dubai ofﬁce, you have to be dedicated and committed to the areas you want to grow,” says Danziger.

Hotelier Middle East met Eric Danziger at the newly-opened Ramada Downtown Burj Dubai.

Martin Armistead Senior vice president, development, EMEA Wyndham Hotel Group Martin Armistead has 36 years experience in the industry, the vast majority of it in development. Having only been with the company for 100 days during Hotelier’s meeting, Armistead says he has “joined Wyndham at what I think is the most exciting time”. “It’s a company that I’ve had enormous respect for before I joined and have even more respect for now. It reminds me of a sleeping bear that’s waking up and it’s hungry and we are the best untold story in the hotel industry. With 11 brands and 7000 hotels internationally, it’s just tremendously exciting for us.” Previously, Armistead worked with Trust House Forte, Millennium and Copthorne Hotels, Conrad at Hilton Worldwide and Regent Hotels, and his remit has always been focused on the Middle East and Africa.

Michael Poynter M Ma Managing director and senior vice president for Eu Europe, Middle East and Africa W Wyndham Hotel Group With W six months at Wyndham under his belt, Michael Po Poynter says it is “terriﬁc” to be working with the co company and with Danziger again — the pair worked to together when Danziger originally headed up Wyndh 10 years ago. He has previously held roles with ham E Elegant Hotel Group,Crowne Plaza, Marriott and C Carlson all over the world, from the UK and US to M Moscow and the Caribbean.

Bani Haddad Vice president, development, Middle East and Africa Wyndham Hotel Group Based in Dubai, Bani Haddad has been responsible for looking after the development of Wyndham’s brands in the region for the past two years. Previously, he was involved with the development of Express by Holiday Inn in the region and before that was a general manager in France. He has also worked for Disney, Starwood and Accor.

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

in Mecca was another signing during Danziger’s visit — and there is scope to increase the Wyndham Hotel Group presence there. “The reason there are so many new W Wyndhams and Ramadas in the proc now is that we’ve a little bit of a cess h head start on those, we’ve been doing tthose for a couple of years around h here. But if you think about Super 8 ffor instance — now I’m not announciing a Super 8 programme, I’m just d discussing the logic — on the roadw ways in all of Saudi Arabia, there’s n no roadside properties so people have n nowhere to stop at safe, secure comffortable accommodation. “We certainly believe and are in disccussions with people who absolutely b believe it more than we do about the

need for a Super 8 type product on the roadways in Saudi Arabia. In our mind, smart hotel people should listen to what customers want so they don’t put in a product that they want but one that the customer appreciates, values and says that is what I want,” asserts Danziger. “I absolutely feel like our Mid-East strategy for Ramada and Wyndham is set and its clear, we know who we are, what we are and how big we want to be and then the question is as we begin to introduce our other brands in what way do we do those. “All of these countries and more have opportunities. There are needs, the question is which brand addresses that need. I’d hate to ever say these are the only ones we are introducing, www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

23 PEOPLE

THE FACT THAT DUBAI IS IN A SLUMP NOW, SO WHAT, IT TOO SHALL PASS the Ramada is already well introduced to the area and therefore has a great platform to be able to grow in all the places we aren’t. “Listen, as many places as we said we are which we are very proud of, there are as many places that we aren’t, so as long as there are places that we aren’t that should have one, that’s a target potential. “In the case of Ramada there’s still huge opportunities, in the case of Wyndham, there’s massive opportunities because of the places that we aren’t,” adds Danziger.

CRISIS CIRCLES And in terms of pursuing such an aggressive development plan during a economic downturn, Danziger has no qualms. “I’m really bullish and optimistic about the growth of our businesses in the Middle East. Here’s the reality. Dubai is like New York. It’s a place in the world that is renowned, [a place] that people want to be in. The fact that it’s in a slump now, so what, it too shall pass. It’s a cyclical business. So the fact that Dubai

WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP BRANDS Wyndham Hotels and Resorts Ramada Worldwide Days Inn Super 8 Wingate by Wyndham Baymont Inns & Suites Microtel Inns & Suites Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Howard Johnson Travelodge Knights Inn

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has been over- built the past year or whatever, so what, in two three years it’s positioned back again. That’s why we’re still aggressive about the growth opportunities of our brands in Dubai and we’re deeply committed to them,” he says. For Wyndham Hotel Group, the crisis is an opportunity to “separate from the mass”, says Danziger. “The mass has in many cases chosen to reduce operating expenses and cut things out of the hotel. At the end of the day it’s the hospitality business so you better be sure that we have hospitality. To the consumer, that’s service, that’s quality and the value of what you’re paying for. “We’ve added in most of our hotels all around the world free wireless internet access. And in all the midscale and budget brands it’s free breakfast. So we’ve chosen to add value at a time to communicate to customers the importance with which this company understands their wants and needs.” And for the same reasons, instead of reducing the development team when he took over the company in December 2008 — at the peak of the crisis — Danziger tripled it “because any experience I have had in growing companies was in downtimes”. “From a development perspective, it’s all opportunity. It’s the best time to tell your story and offer a point of difference that the other companies don’t have. We have the attitude that this too shall pass, so there’s an opportunity to create immense loyalty with consumers and ownership groups to our company.” And with recent signings to go by, it seems this is an opportunity Danziger is certainly not going to pass up. HME

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Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

25 PEOPLE

Keep it in the family Bonnington’s Martin Kubler and Alan Bostock explain why the family-owned company’s ﬁrst ﬁve-star hotel is Dubai’s biggest secret and the group’s most notable achievement to date hotels, which is probably another unique selling point.

NEW OPENING

MK: I think this is the ﬁrst 100% owned and operated British hotel in Dubai. We own the land, we own the building, all our own money has gone into this building, there is no local partner.

What is the Bonnington Group’s hotel philosophy and how is that apparent at Bonnington Jumeirah Lakes Towers? Alan Bostock: We are a family company and all our hotels in UK and Ireland have got this personal touch, which is what we are trying to create over here. This is the first fivestar hotel of the group. We wanted to focus on a boutique feel. Martin Kubler: So far, Bonnington has never really done branded hotels; they are all individual properties. And they all have their own identity and their own charm. What brings it together for guests as well as employees is when you are in one of our properties, you become one of the family. It is very visible, I think, in the way we interact with our employees, the way we interact with our guests. The service attitude that we try to instill is that if a guest walks into one of our properties, he or she should be made welcome in the sense that they become part of the Bonnington family during their stay with us. And in the UK and Ireland we have an extremely good track record of retaining staff for 10, 20, 30 years at a time. And we also have a very high percentage of return guests. We’re trying to bring that over here and give it that extra edge for the five-star surroundings. Why was Dubai the first location for the group outside of the British Isles? AB: Going back to 2003/2004, there was tremendous potential at that time. There was the opportunity for overseas investment and ownership with the introduction of free zones; it was attractive from that point of view. We own and operate our www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

Why did Bonnington expand into the five-star segment for this property? AB: Our properties in the UK are good four-star and I think five-star is the level to be at here. It’s the right level for this part of the world. MK: Also, the area here really needed a five-star hotel. Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) is a very important future commercial centre in Dubai. How did you develop the concept for Bonnington Jumeirah Lakes Towers? MK: Our other properties have their identity already; this one we needed to create from scratch. What we’ve come up with is essentially a very British, handcrafted hospitality concept. We’ve tried to deliver a The leisure deck on the 11th floor is exposed to the elements on three sides.

I THINK THIS IS THE FIRST 100% OWNED AND OPERATED BRITISH HOTEL IN DUBAI

BONNINGTON JUMEIRAH LAKES TOWERS FAST FACTS Status: in the third phase of soft opening — five out of 10 hotel floors open and another five/six apartment floors to open as of December 2009. Club floors and Club Lounge opening in the New Year. Outlets: The Cavendish restaurant, Bokabento, Healey’s Bar, Author’s Lounge Facilities: Leisure deck comprising health club, pool, Jacuzzi, steamrooms and hair-

dressing salon, exclusive car hire, hotel shop, four small meetings rooms Competition: The Address Dubai Marina, based on property type and location; Liwa Oaks based on the fact it is the only other property in JLT; Movenpick Ibn Battuta Gate when it opens in 2010 in terms of location; Radisson Blu and Media Rotana. Staff: Currently 260, going up to 300.

Bonnington Jumeirah Lakes Towers director of operations Martin Kubler has been working on launching the brand in Dubai since October 2007.

Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

PEOPLE

Bonnington Jumeirah Lakes Towers general manager (pre-opening) Alan Bostock has been with the company for 30 years.

The Cavendish is the main restaurant, while signature outlet Bokabento is opening early this year.

ABOUT BONNINGTON HOTELS The Bonnington Group was founded in 1907 in Scotland and was later taken over by an Irish company. “The current ownership is in fact Irish; it’s nice that one family took over from anther family,” says Bostock. Also in the portfolio are: Bonnington Rooms in London; Cavendish Hotel in Eastbourne, UK; Regency Hotel and North Star Hotel in Dublin and Royal Hotel & Leisure Centre in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. The company is also developing Gillette Corner in West London, UK, to create a 300room hotel and business park.

very clean, very modern property that still retains key British features. You take the Authors Lounge as an example; it has a fairly modern look to it yet you have Shakespeare on the wall and there will be a library there in a couple of weeks’ time. The rooms are very modern, sleek and user friendly, but, for example, your teapot reminds you of British afternoon tea, so there are these signature elements in all the areas that we tried to incorporate to show our heritage and tradition. So few things over here have history, but we actually do and this was part of the whole learning process — we came over here and we didn’t really realise how important our history is to the local market over here. The Bonnington as a company has received a coat of arms in the UK, which we also brought over here and it turned out that this was actually more of a selling point than a lot of other things. The hotel has 40 storeys but it retains a boutique feel. It will appeal to people who want to stay in ﬁve-star hotels, but want to be treated as an individual. What January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

Bonnington had announced a second property for Dubai at The Waterfront, but this is no longer on the cards. Bostock says: “The intention for the future is that once we get this (Bonnington Jumeirah Lake Towers) established, then we will repeat it”. Kubler adds that the opening of the Jumeirah Lakes Towers property during 2009 was a “huge achievement for what is essentially a very small company”. “We have been seen as the underdog, but we will be one of the ﬁnest hotels in Dubai,” he says.

we’re trying to do is to bring a European service attitude to Dubai that pulls right through from the rank and file to the management. AB: Our focus in all our hotels is towards the corporate client as opposed to the leisure and JLT is obviously a corporate destination rather than a leisure destination. What has been your approach to staff recruitment at the hotel? MK: When we recruit, we don’t just look at your skills, we look at you to see if you will fit into the family. That is very important because it is a family-run company. The owning family is very active. You will very often see our owners here sitting in the lobby dealing with guests and speaking to staff. We’re not bound by overly restrictive brand standards and we’re not bound by head office guidelines that my people should all be [a certain type]. We can really select the people who have the right spirit. Other than that, it is an ongoing exercise to coach and train these

The Cavendish.

people to be able to deliver a different kind of service to other five star hotels in Dubai. Very often, what happens here is you have got the bodies but that doesn’t translate into five-star service. For example, as long as you order something off the menu, that is OK; but as soon as your deviate from that, it’s a long story, you end up speaking to the manager. This is where we are trying to be different. Our management structure is very small compared to other fivestar hotels. We don’t really have an executive committee like many other five star hotels in Dubai. The focus is on customer-facing, on the floor positions. How do you want the hotel to be perceived in the marketplace? MK: One of the tag lines we have is ‘it’s all about you’. If you look at the reviews on TripAdvisor at the moment for the property, you can see some of that filtering through. We’re not getting it right all of the time; then again, I wouldn’t necessarily expect that at this point in time,

but people seem to realise that we are about individual service — looking at you as a person rather than as another guest — and we are about honest value for money. That is another reason why we didn’t go out all guns blazing because we didn’t want to sell something that doesn’t exist. It’s difﬁcult enough in this environment to open a hotel, but we want to be honest with guests in all aspects. AB: With Healey’s Bar now open, we have the only fully serviced bar in JLT at the moment, so should attract local residents. MK: As part of the Bonnington philosophy, we have always tried to tie into the local community and become part of the neighbourhood. Normally, hotel bars can be fairly dreary, but the Bonnington hotel in London always had a fair amount of ‘neighbours’ come and use it because it was a good place to be. I can see the same thing happening here. The word is getting out that we are at the heart of JLT. HME www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

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Sheikh Zayed Rose Hotelier Middle East had a sneak preview of the world’s tallest hotel, where Rose Rayhaan by Rotana GM Daniel Mathew revealed the highs and lows of pre-opening GM INTERVIEW How would you sum up the pre-opening process? It has been hectic with the current situation and the current market; hiring and getting the right people in is also a lengthy process; purchasing of all the operating equipment; and then doing the snagging and the technicality of the building and testing it — so it’s all a lengthy process. So far, it has been successful and we have a very good product. Which markets have you targeted for staff recruitment? For staff, it is a mini United Nations. We have looked all over Asia, Europe, the Cayman Islands and at some parts of the Middle East, in order to maintain the [sense of] Arabian hospitality, because it is an alcohol-free hotel. What are the differences in operating an alcohol-free hotel? Well there is not much of a difference, except it is dry. When speaking about a dry hotel there are a whole lot of segments especially in the GCC, which is itself a big market for the dry product. You go into Asia and you have a lot of countries that are

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METRES TALL The height of the Rose Rayhaan by Rotana

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

non-alcoholic as well. The market is not an issue; we have enough of one for dry hotels. The other facilities are as good as any other hotel, it is just that we want to maintain the Arabian culture. What else do you offer to appeal to the GCC market? We have prepared an extensive room service menu with an Arabic touch because the GCC market would like to dine in-room because it is more private for them. Also, most of the rooms are connecting, so one can be turned into three rooms and there are only three rooms on each wing, so it can become a private room for a GCC family. We have an international buffet which is an all-day dining and we are concentrating a little more on Arabian Middle Eastern food because our focus and target will be more on the GCC markets, so we have to cater to their requirements and needs. At the same time, we will be having some sort of hospitality welcome at the reception like Arabic coffee and dates, and we are trying to be a little more traditional. What other markets will you target? We are predominately targeting the corporate segment, but of course we are targeting also GCC, the leisure market, from Asia and from Europe — all over the place. We are also targeting the government segment because it is a dry property and that is something they would prefer. Will you cross-promote with sister Rotana hotels? Yes, we will be working with both our sister properties across Sheikh Zayed Road; being a non-alcoholic property, we can use the metro to cross to use the services of the Towers Rotana or we have shuttle services to take you to Al Murooj Rotana. So we

The view from Rose Rayhaan, soon to be conﬁrmed as the world’s tallest hotel by the Guinness Book of Records.

have a wide combination of restaurants and bars that could be utilised with the help of our sister properties. How will you be promoting the world’s tallest hotel? If you look at all our collateral, the hotel popping out of the clouds, being the tallest hotel we will take maximum use of that in our marketing econd talltall strategies and we are the second er the t Burj est building in Dubai after ng into the Dubai. We will be getting s; we have Guinness Book of Records; aiting for applied and they are just wa waiting lin ne before us to open — another headline another one pops up. How do you keep the momentum entum moving forward into 2010? The primary focus will bee too see oo oms; how we can ﬁll up the bedrooms; ion n is the present market situation ng to not easy. We are not going d 088 see the glory days of 07 and for a long time so we have too be out in the market tryingg to capture as much as we can to keep our share. In the last two years, online bookings have grown tremendously in

Dubai and that is the focus for us so we will be concentrating on all booking engines. At the same time, we will also be concentrating on DIFC and we have the advantage of having the metro station next to us and the exhibition centre, so all these components gives us a little edge to [help] capture more business. HME

Mathew: The present market situation is not easy.

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Learning the lingo Senior executives at W Doha in Qatar reveal the challenges overcome during the first year of operation, from brand language to consumer awareness, and highlight MICE as a priority for 2010 TALKING HEADS The opening of W Doha was postponed by more than a year; what challenges did that throw your way? Marieke Schellen, director of casting: When we did our first recruitment drive, we told the staff it would open in March 2008. We then had to call and email them to say it had been postponed; we managed to hold onto most people and some waited nine months for us to open. Sourcing the right accommodation was also difficult, because we wanted everyone to feel comfortable. We needed staff to bring the W concept to life and that meant keeping people interested because Doha is a little bit more boring than say Dubai, so we wanted to make sure they were enjoying their life here.

struction]. People cannot keep to deadlines in the Middle East. On the construction side, there was also a lack of supervision and there were no real updates – the opening date was changed around nine times, starting in December 2007 and ending in March 2009. Then there was the issue of recruitment — it was a logistical nightmare because each time the date changed we had to contact recruitment agencies, cancel ﬂights and once people had come on board, we had to pay them a salary. Also, when a hotel is not opened, it’s a challenge to keep people motivated.

Schellen: Ensuring our staff uses the right lingo, plus ongoing training. I could easily give you 30 words we use and there are phrases we use on top of that: ‘Well hello’ instead of welcome and ‘My name is Marieke – what is your wish’ is what we use when answering phones or queries at the front desk. Everything has its own terminology. We have a ‘whoops jar’ so if someone makes a mistake with the lingo, they pay ﬁve Qatari Rials into the jar. Sometimes people still get confused — our drivers are ‘wheels’ and it took them a while to get used to that.

What have been your key challenges since opening in March 2009?

Katusak-Huzsvar: One of the key challenges is brand awareness. I think we

Peter Katusak-Huzsvar, director of operations: During pre-opening it was the ever-slipping deadlines [on con-

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

Wael Rashed, area director of sales and marketing, Gulf and Saudi Arabia: I don’t think of challenges, although obviously there are many. There is no fun selling [a hotel] during the good times, but it’s fun when you have to go out and hunt for business. It’s been great to see our baby grow — from 0% occupancy when we opened and then every month growing our occupancies and our market share. It’s probably best to open during a recession

WE COULDN’T USE THE UNIFORMS THE STAFF IN THE US WEARS BECAUSE THEY ARE A BIT TOO SEXY

I THINK WE OVERESTIMATED THE BRAND AWARENESS IN THE MARKET Peter Katusak-Huzsvar Director of operations

over-estimated the brand awareness in the market. Of course, there is also the economic crisis and the impact on business of local companies cost cutting — particularly on entertainment. Another issue is that the area around the hotel is still under construction so the noise level can be quite high. In reaction, we are trying to do some funky things like giving our guests cool headphones and eye masks. We have sent letters to the engineering ofﬁce to see what we can do to get the noise reduced.

It took a while for regional guests to become accustomed to the informal W style.

Marieke Schellen Director of casting

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

31 PEOPLE

The ideal radio, as you like it: Holding an event at W Doha? Give your delegates a massage from the Bliss spa during breaks.

EVEN IF A CORPORATE DOESN’T WANT SOMETHING CREATIVE, IT IS OUR DUTY TO GIVE THEM SOMETHING CREATIVE Wael Rashed Area director of sales and marketing, Gulf and Saudi Arabia

and grow your market from there, rather than a recession hit when you are already open and for occupancies to drop from 80% to 30%. The situation could have been better when we opened, but we took it one step at a time and now the prospects are looking a lot more positive, particularly going into 2010. How has the market in Doha reacted to the W concept? Schellen: We couldn’t use the uniforms the staff in the US wears because they are a bit too sexy; however, our male staff don’t wear ties. We like to be a bit more informal, although some guests wondered why we were not wearing ties and thought that maybe we were not as professional. Katusak-Huzsvar: We discovered the traditional market doesn’t like [the W greeting] “Well, hello there”, so we have had to change a few things plus in terms of amenities we have had to make things a bit more lavish. Instead of M&Ms, we provide the traditional fruit basket and we had to remove risqué items such as the ‘intimacy kit’ from the rooms. Rashed: People stay at W Doha because it’s a luxury lifestyle brand — it’s trendy and fun and we really go all the way to present the hotel and the concept. There are a lot of ﬁnancial institutions that use us because they travel a lot and have become W enthusiasts and they know that whenever they travel to a new destination, their safest bet is to go to the W because it’s the ‘in’ place. www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

Are you worried that with so many hotels opening next year, there could be an oversupply of rooms in Qatar? Rashed: There could be, but we will ensure we are on top of every piece of business and strengthen our relationships with all of our partners. We opened in March so we couldn’t commit to MICE business in advance, but we have been targeting the MICE market since October. We are quite unique with our meetings offering — we call it ‘The Sensory Set Up’. We look at how we can add to the experience with massages from our Bliss spa in the coffee break. We come from a different angle; we are professional, but a bit more fun. Even if a corporate doesn’t want something creative, it is our duty to give them something creative. It’s all about being innovative. W is about wow and it’s important we deliver that wow factor in everything we do. When I’m talking to a client and I get stuck, I simply ask, ‘How can I wow you?’. In the coming year I would like to see MICE represent 25% of our business — that will come from both the regional and international market because Doha is growing and focusing on MICE. This is not a leisure destination; it’s for corporates and sports and is setting itself up to become a leading MICE destination. However, what we do want is MICE business to extend into leisure so delegates come here for business and then stop a few extra days to relax. We also have a huge convention centre opening here in 2011, which will help too. HME

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Spas are fit for business Sitting high above Dubai Marina in a penthouse suite at Dubai Marriott Harbour Hotel & Suites, spa managers from the UAE and Qatar analysed relative success in 2009, debated issues such as recruitment and retail, and predicted an increased emphasis on fitness in 2010 ROUNDTABLE Spas have not escaped the economic crisis unscathed, but what impact have you seen on your business specifically? Mandy Toh: I was thinking that business in 2009 would be less than in 2008 but when we were looking at the statistics I was surprised to find that the number of guests was pretty much the same. We do see that the average spend has gone down by about 10%, but the treatment [volume] hasn’t gone down a lot. Michael Monsod: I’ve been with the company just over a year and when I joined they’d been open a year already. The figures I have for 2009 are much better than 2008. In some cases when I break it down into recreation/fitness centre revenue over last year, it’s 300% more. I understand that definitely there is an impact on what our potential revenue would have been, but we are doing much www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

better than last year and I think both The Palace and The Address is in a unique situation because the area that we are in is developing very nicely as a destination in itself. We would be earning more if we look at our budgets or forecasts but we are doing better than 2008 and we are being really careful; whereas maybe people used to buy two or three products, now it’s just one. Francisca Antunes: We are on the third year of operations, so we had an enormous growth from 2008 to 2009. We most probably lost potential but we didn’t lose in reality because we actually gained the same as Mike, 300% GOP-wise. It has been pretty impressive but business most probably would have grown much more if there wasn’t a crisis. The way people spend changed drastically in Doha since June. In treatments we don’t notice it because it’s wellbeing, it’s health, but spend as far as retail is concerned has

dropped 4%, the ratio has dropped four points. People go a lot for the packages we create much more than for one treatment. They are going for hammam and massage rather than just for hammam. We did not have to reinvent ourselves, but we had to be a little more creative. In June, quite a lot of companies in Doha dismissed quite a lot of people — that created the fear factor, so instead of people getting spa memberships for one year they started asking us if they could get memberships for three months, so that changed.

really encouraged a lot of local business. Our opening has been going very well so far. I’m trying to push it as hard as I can; I’m trying to get people from outside to be members because we have got a health club. We are doing well so far with memberships and treatments; I think people are going more for massages than for full spa packages. And retail is a real challenge. What products do you use? Do you agree retailing them is challenging? FA: Retail is a big challenge now.

MT: Same here, July was the best month for our Timeless Spa.

MM: For me, retail is an opportunity, you have to push it. Anyway, it’s part of guests’ home care regiment. One very good way to get them to come back is to get them to appreciate the product they are using — to get them to do that they will have to take it home and enjoy the product.

Aymen Bin Ali: A lot of people didn’t travel because of the swine ﬂu so that

MT: I think facial products sell more than body products.

MM: In our case July was actually our strongest month for 2009. FA: That’s funny, mine too.

Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

PEOPLE

I’M GOING TO PUT IN EXPRESS TREATMENTS BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR VALUE Aymen Ben Ali Director of spa and health club Ramada Hotel & Suites Ajman

FA: Men buy a lot of body products. AA: The best selling product here is the whitening creams, especially for face and from the GCC market. Are consumers aware of the differences between spa brands and do they care if something is organic? FA: We use Sodashi and we just launched a new Six Senses line this month. It is developed with a company in Thailand and very much with Six Senses people. Six Senses is very strict about what kinds of products we use, so they had to go through a lot of tests — they have to be free of chemicals, they have to be organic, the list is very extensive. We have a lot of regular guests who know about organic products as they have been using Sodashi for three years. Guests little by little are getting into our philosophy. MT: It’s all about letting the guest know what your brand stands for and once they know what your brand stands for, they’ll buy into that idea. AA: There is not brand awareness. It’s ‘I want a facial’ and they don’t ask about products, especially the local January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

market. Guests from Russia and Europe are more spa oriented. FA: I still don’t think that anywhere in the world, apart from maybe Australia or some places in the US, people are that much aware of the types of products they buy. People are starting to ask questions. I don’t ﬁnd that people worry so much about the content, they worry about the brand. MM: It’s about how much they trust your spa. To be organic or natural is a plus but there are not that many enlightened people who are that conscious of it. If they come to your place and they trust your brand — as long as they enjoy it, feel relaxed and their skin feels refreshed and they feel and look younger — they’ll trust what brand you use. It’s up to the establishment to make sure we don’t disappoint them and it’s our responsibility to make sure we don’t provide them with low-standard products. www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

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How is your spa positioned? MT: We don’t want to be too expensive, we want to be at the bottom of the pack because of the facilities that we have and the amount of competition we have. This area [Dubai Marina] is the most populated spa area in Dubai. We are in a very tight spot so we need to price ourselves competitively — lower than the beach hotel but higher than the salon or the standalone spa in this area. FA: Our signature treatments are AED 500 (US $136) but our members have 15% discount. AA: For us it is AED 300 ($82) to AED185 ($50) for treatments; members get 15% discount. If you buy three massages, you get a fourth massage complimentary. Why is it so important to offer spa memberships now? AA: It’s a spa and health club. It can’t be a spa separately. Membership gives them access to pool, health

club, gym, steam and sauna and 15% discount on treatments and 20% discount on F&B in the hotel. I’m trying to use other hotel facilities to promote the membership; if you have oneyear membership, you get a complimentary night in the hotel or with a six-month membership, you get dinner for two or a complimentary treatment. And it is selling. MM: At The Palace we have limited memberships with access to pool, gym, spa facilities, 20% discount on spa treatments and15% discount on food and beverage. At The Address there is no outside membership but there is a spa loyalty programme. MT: Yes, we have limited memberships, with access to the health club, swimming pool, spa wet area, discount in the spa on treatments and discounts on F&B as well. FA: Memberships have access to the hotel pool and the beach, to our spa facilities, to the gym. They have dis-

GETTING TO KNOW YOU: HOTELIER’S EXPERT PANEL Michael Monsod Spa & recreation manager The Palace, The Old Town Spa manager The Address, Downtown Burj Dubai Dubai, UAE

View from one of six penthouse suites at Dubai Marriott Harbour Hotel & Suites, the venue for the roundtable.

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Aymen Ben Ali Director of spa and health club Ramada Hotel & Suites Ajman Ajman, UAE

Michael Monsod started in the spa and recreation industry in 1998 with a resort property in the Philippines. After that, he joined Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts in the Philippines before transferring to Shangri-La Dubai. In his current role, Monsod manages a two-ﬂoor spa at The Palace with six treatment rooms, two hammam areas, a small gym and a pool. The Spa at The Address has 11 treatment rooms, an aroma room and ice cave.

An athlete turned personal trainer turned spa manager, Aymen Bin Ali worked for Grand Hyatt Dubai as assistant spa manager before taking up his current role with R Hospitality, owner of the Ramada Ajman and Ramada Downtown Burj Dubai. The spa launched six months ago with two treatment rooms, but Ben Ali is currently looking at growing the facility — including potentially adding a hammam. Ben Ali is also working on a business plan to introduce a small spa at Ramada Downtown Burj Dubai, which opened in December.

Mandy Toh Spa manager Dubai Marriott Harbour Hotel & Suites Dubai, UAE

Francisca Antunes Spa director Six Senses Spa at Sharq Village and Spa Doha, Qatar

Mandy Toh entered the hotel industry in sales and marketing in Singapore with Rafﬂes International in 2000, moving to Dubai to work for Le Méridien for her ﬁrst spa posting. She previously worked for Banyan Tree before opening up the spa at Dubai Marriott Harbour Hotel & Suites, previously managed by Emirates Hotels and Resorts. The spa is still branded under Emirates Timeless brand and features four ladies treatment rooms, two male treatment rooms, a gym, pool and kids pool.

Francisca Antunes entered the spa industry six months ago, leaving behind hotel operations and general management to fulfil a dream to work for Six Senses. She started her career with Hyatt, moving on to operations manager, hotel manager and GM with Starwood and InterContinental. The 6500m² Six Senses Spa has 23 treatment rooms, which include Thai rooms, a hammam, group hammams, dry flotation rooms, three meditation rooms and two fitness areas — one female-only and one mixed.

Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

PEOPLE

RETAIL IS AN OPPORTUNITY, YOU HAVE TO PUSH IT Michael Monsod Spa & Recreation Manager The Palace, The Old Town

MM: I’ve been trying to fill a PT position for The Palace for the year. You get close to filling the position and then it falls through. count on treatments, retail, and F&B, plus they have between three and four free signature treatments a year. At the moment we have 750 members. We have 50 more places; from January onwards we will only be accepting people to fill the places of those that don’t renew. We have between 160 and 120 people a day coming into the fitness. Moving on to staffing, is recruitment still an issue? AA: Recruitment is very difficult. To get a therapist it took me around three months. MM: It’s depends on where you’re looking, what you’re looking for, what you’re offering and how your organisation processes recruitment. FA: Fitness is tougher than therapists. Our instructors are fully booked out with PT sessions. It took us a while to find what we wanted as it cannot just be a fitness instructor, it needs to be a licensed practitioner of yoga or pilates who can give some classes. January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

FA: And fitness, because it’s growing everywhere in the world, the package that is offered in the GCC countries is not that fantastic anymore to what they get in Europe, Asia etc. AA: And a lot of people prefer to freelance these days. Staff motivation and retention can be tough: do you give commissions? FA: We do, on treatments and retail and fitness sales also. Our fitness manager is an amazing Sri Lankan gentleman; he has created an amaz-

ing points system, if you sell this amount you get this percentage etc and this has been working tremendously —we’ve tripled our ﬁtness. Hosts know their commission percentage will increase depending on the sales. MT: We don’t in this property. Marriott took over just a couple of month ago so it’s something that is in the pipeline but probably not until 2010. It is something that I want to do. AA: We do – we give more for ﬁtness than spa actually. MM: We do. One of the challenges I had was trying to defend these incentive programmes to hotel managers.

WHAT PRODUCT LINES DO YOU USE? The Address Downtown Burj Dubai: ESPA. The Palace — The Old Town: Carita, Decleor and Les Sans de Marrakech. Six Senses Spa at Sharq Village and Spa: Sodashi and Six Senses — new in-house line launched at the end of last year. Ramada Hotel & Suites Ajman: Bella Lucce and Eminence Organics, an organic range from Hungary. Dubai Marriott Harbour Hotel & Suites: Sodashi, Babor and Timeless Spa private label (created for Timeless Spa by Babor).

They say ‘why do you need to give them incentives when a food attendant doesn’t get incentives’. It’s different! You can’t compare therapists [to waiters]. FA: That’s not actually true because I was an F&B manager for quite some time and I used to give incentives on wine sales and, as a result, wine sales increased tremendously. MM: That’s great — that’s what many people don’t understand. If you give an incentive, it’s meant to boost performance. FA: We’re working with immigrants; that is something we cannot forget. We are all immigrants and I think 99% of an immigrant’s focus is money; to send money home and improve the life of the family home. It’s not that they’re going to work better for the commission, but they’ll be happier because they can get more money to send to their family. MM: I succeeded [in securing a commission structure] but it was a bit of a struggle to make [the management] realise that ﬁrst of all it is an industry standard, if you don’t have it, it will www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

PEOPLE

WE HAVE THREE AREAS OF GROWTH IN 2010 — FITNESS, WELLNESS AND CORPORATE WELLNESS Francisca Antunes Spa director Six Senses Spa at Sharq Village and Spa

be hard for you to retain your staff. Plus there is a purpose for incentives; you want them to be happier, you want to motivate them, you want them to push business. It has to be a win-win situation. FA: A lot of the work we do is sales and all sales people get incentives. If a sales person of a hotel gets incentives for their sales, why shouldn’t the person who is selling products and treatments? But I have to say, being on the other side before that, it is very difﬁcult to sit on a table with directors of all departments when one department gets commissions and no other department does. As a GM it is a very tough thing to get a group of directors together and say they are different, because F&B will say ‘I sell food’. A person comes in for an ice cream and goes out eating caviar — I sold it. It’s easy to say GMs are tough and they don’t understand you, but GMs are in a very tough position also. Like I said to my GM before, why does the therapist get commission and I have a waiter that doesn’t get commission.

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

What are your spa trend predictions for 2010? FA: I don’t predict a very big growth but I predict a growth. We’ll be in our fourth year so it wont be in the 100% again but we are predicting growth. One of the things we noticed in 2009 that had an enormous growth, basically tripled, is fitness. We went from having 49 people a day average in January to 130 people a day now. So we are investing a lot more in fitness, yoga classes, pilates classes, spinning classes. I have a waiting list on my spinning classes and we have them four times a week and are going to increase to five times a week and add them in the morning too — before work fitness. MM: According to SpaFinder’s 2010 trends list, 2010 is the year of the hammam and that’s a very good trend for the year. FA: The hammam was actually our number four sales in 2009. AA: A lot of people are asking about it.

FA: It is at the same time the toughest one to sell; all the GCC people that go for a hammam know what a hammam should be. MM: You have to try to be as authentic as possible but at the same time you have to give it a bit of character. In The Palace — The Old Town the layout in itself is not what you see exactly in a Turkish hammam, but the feel is there. What we offer is with a twist of course, gentler but with the same effect, you are exfoliated and cleansed and steamed and brand spanking new when you go out. FA: One other thing that we’ve noticed and it’s going to be one of the things that we are focused on for 2010

is the wellness aspect and we have hired a wellness coordinator. We are working together with the Six Senses Destination Spa in Thailand because they have the best of the best as far as practitioners are concerned. We are going to do a detox programme that our destination spa does. There is an interest there; it’s going to grow. We have three areas of growth in 2010 — fitness, wellness and corporate wellness. So we are offering specific things for companies, like spending a few hours in the office, doing fitness counselling. MM: I think you have a very good opportunity to do this because of your set up. In our set up, people are there either for business or they’re

HOW MUCH IS A 60-MINUTE MASSAGE? The Address Downtown Burj Dubai/ The Palace — The Old Town: AED 475 ($129). Six Senses Spa at Sharq Village and Spa: AED 500 ($136). Ramada Hotel & Suites Ajman: AED 300 ($82). Dubai Marriott Harbour Hotel & Suites: AED 300 ($82).

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

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PEOPLE

WE ARE IN A VERY TIGHT SPOT SO WE NEED TO PRICE OURSELVES COMPETITIVELY Mandy Toh Spa Manager Dubai Marriott Harbour Hotel & Suites

AA: There is the possibility of having a healthy restaurant linking with the health club at Ramada Ajman.

there to relax and indulge but I think this is an area that deﬁnitely can be developed. At The Palace, we’ve started in the restaurant offering organic corners. I’m even coming up with an organic massage oil with our signature scent.

What are your business projections for 2010? MM: For us, we’re being optimistic about next year but being careful about it as well. You don’t want to over project but I think we are entering 2010 a little bit more prepared than how 2009 started. We are entering 2010 with the mindset, let’s be careful, let’s not buy too much, let’s not project too much, so I think 2010 is going to be a good year in fact. FA: I agree with you totally. MT: We think it will be a slow year — 2010 will be slow but we don’t fore-

SPA TRENDS FOR 2010 • • • •

Increased demand for ﬁtness, particularly group exercise. Continued growth in the popularity of hammam treatments. Demand in memberships, especially ﬂexible memberships. Leaning towards wellness, including organic products and F&B offers. Popularity of express treatments. Adding value by integrating spa deals with F&B packages.

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

see a big drop in treatment revenue. What we intend to do is to go with shorter treatments that will incorporate the F&B department as well by offering a spa and lunch package. We did this is 2009 and this worked extremely well. The other thing would be that we’ll be looking at the treatment menu, removing those that aren’t popular and adding new treatments catering not so much to the GCC community but to the expatriate resident. We’ll be introducing for ladies a brightening facial and for men, it will be the massage and back massage.

experience i off th the spa clients. li t W We h have a very good opportunity to target corporate groups at The Address.

MM: For The Palace, 2010 would be the year that we would deﬁnitely move forward with launching the spa rebrand. We were previously Soﬁtel [Le Spa], now it’s The Address Hotels + Resorts. We’ve changed our menu, introduced signature treatments and enhanced our oriental hammam ritual. So my focus for 2010 is to make sure we really get it out in the market and highlight the unique selling points of the spa. For The Address, like Mandy, I would like to incorporate more F&B and physical health elements into the

And ﬁnally, have plans for a Middle East or country speciﬁc spa associations moved forward? MM: At the moment, it needs some capital, there is the issue of what name you can attach to it, plus it is a bit of a challenge to get everyone together on a regular basis. But I foresee that it will happen.

AA: My plan is marketing, new packages. It’s going to be more ﬁtness and wellbeing oriented and I’m going to try to include nutrition. I’m going to put in express treatments because people are looking for value. A hammam is a very good idea that I want to push for. I do have the space for it. I’m going to launch the spa at Ramada Downtown Burj Dubai; it’s like a tropical cabin with a view of the pool.

FA: It must. It has to HR-wise. In Doha, we had one meeting in October and are planning another one. So it is just starting but at least spa managers are talking to each other. HME www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

43 COVER STORY

Hotelier Middle East presents a round-up of the burning issues, top trends and stand-out openings in the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hotel industry this year

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

Hotelier Middle East â&#x20AC;˘ January 2010

COVER STORY

ANALYSIS s a New Year dawns, hoteliers are more likely to be seeing entering 2010 with trepidation than with a spring in their step. The optimism of a recovery this year that many had spoken of during the ﬁrst half of 2009 has long since diminished, with everyone from owners to line staff far more realistic about business prospects in 2010. Expectations are toned down and forecasts lower, with hotels aiming for a better year — as opposed to a good year. On the plus side, hoteliers face signiﬁcantly less uncertainty than at the start of last year. As the saying goes, forewarned is forearmed. The industry coped with the shock start to 2009 and is now far more prepared to manage the downturn through 2010 — cost saving strategies have been tried and tested, recruitment policies amended (see page 51) and sales approaches more proactive.

Hilton’s Herzog forecasts demand for mid-market properties from business travellers.

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

Hotels experimented with solutions to counter the impact of the crisis and now have this tried and tested knowledge and experience to help them power into 2010. And it is not just this new-found wisdom that will work in the industry’s favour; the facts and figures show an industry that is surviving the crisis. According to STR Global data, despite declines, the Middle East still recorded on average higher revPARs and occupancies than other regions. So, people are still checking into the region’s hotels and the softening of rates throughout 2009 has not, generally speaking, had a damaging impact in the short-term. But what about the long-term impact of the economic crisis? How will the Middle East hotel industry plan for success and growth in the future, while still struggling to secure the bottom line in the present time? As we said, forewarned is forearmed, so in order to plan ahead, hoteliers must understand the trends that have dominated the industry over the past 12 months. According to Fairmont Hotels & Resorts regional vice president UAE Philip M. Barnes, also general manager of Fairmont Dubai, “to understand the trends of 2009, one has to understand the consumer”. “Unemployment is at levels not seen in decades in many parts of the world, and from the factory floor to the executive boardroom, people have suffered losses in investments from stock to pensions. This has resulted in a much more cautious approach to life in general, and the dirham spent today is far more significant than it was a year ago,” observes Barnes. “Value for money is firmly placed top of mind with today’s con-

Fairmont Palm Jumeirah is one of the hotly-anticipated Palm properties due to open in Dubai in 2010.

sumer, and there is a return focus on savings inﬂuencing every decision to purchase,” he adds. Accor Hospitality Middle East managing director Christophe Landais urges dynamic pricing from hoteliers to meet this need. “Since the bargaining power of suppliers has shifted to buyer, hotels need to adopt a more tactical pricing policy by segment and distribution

channels. Moreover, hotels should seek not what clients are capable to pay but what they are willing to pay, still keeping the overall pricing strategy in mind,” he says. This is a trend also noted by Hilton Worldwide, Middle East & Africa president Jean-Paul Herzog, who says that value is particularly being sought by business travellers. “Given the economic climate, we are seeing

HOTELS SHOULD SEEK NOT WHAT CLIENTS ARE CAPABLE TO PAY BUT WHAT THEY ARE WILLING TO PAY MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA CONSTRUCTION PIPELINE Chain Scale

Existing Supply

In Construction

Total Active Pipeline*

Luxury

49,920

18,998

28,734

Upper Upscale

74,696

16,199

21,151

Upscale

77,949

17,318

25,187

Midscale w/ F&B

63,162

3,231

7,552

Midscale w/o F&B

1,799

1,112

1,435

Economy

13,360

2,862

6,064

Unafﬁliated

432,105

12,221

29,437

Total

712,991

71,941

119,560

*Includes those projects in the ‘In Construction’, ‘Final Planning’ and ‘Planning’ phases Source: STR Global as of December 18, 2009

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

45 COVER STORY

Accor will follow the 2009 openings of Ibis Muscat and Ibis Amman (pictured) with new Ibis hotels in Kuwait, Bahrain and Dubai in 2010, as well as expanding its Soﬁtel and Pullman brands in the region (see box out).

Fairmont’s Barnes says understanding consumer behaviour is vital to setting pricing strategies.

great demand from the business traveller for mid-market brands like Hilton Garden Inn. Given this segment is in its infancy, we expect demand to continue,” says Herzog. While the demand for these midmarket brands is ongoing, Herzog warns that the hotels must still meet the high standards associated with the industry in the Middle East. “The Middle East has built up a strong reputation for exemplary standards of quality,” he says. “As economy and mid-scale brands gain currency and popularity, our primary challenge is to launch and position these brands in the region, while managing guest expectations,” adds Herzog.

EYE FOR OPPORTUNITY

The growth of these brands also means that four- and ﬁve-star brands need to add more value; luxury isn’t enough on its own anymore. This approach has been adopted by The Rezidor Hotel Group, says area vice president Marko Hytönen, who oversaw the opening of eight new hotels and 2271 rooms in the Middle East during 2009 — a record number for the group, which opened 34 hotels in total worldwide. “I think that added value will continue to play a role in attracting customers and it is something that has proved successful with our Radisson Blu brand — free internet access, late check-out, super buffet breakfast etc,” says Hytönen.

2010 PROPERTIES: ACCOR HOSPITALITY Hotel

Rooms

Location

Ibis Seef

304

Manama, Bahrain

Soﬁtel Bahrain Zallaq Beach

263

Zallaq, Bahrain

Ibis Kuwait Sharq

160

Kuwait City, Kuwait

Soﬁtel Al Khobar The Corniche

239

Al Khobar, KSA

Mercure Al Khobar

160

Al Khobar, KSA

Novotel Dammam Business Park

158

Damman, KSA

Mercure Al Madinah

160

Madinah, KSA

Mercure Al Khaleej

150

Madinah, KSA

Soﬁtel Abu Dhabi Capital Plaza

280

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Soﬁtel Dubai Jumeirah Beach

438

Dubai, UAE

Ibis Dubai Al Rigga Road

280

Dubai, UAE

Pullman Dubai Mall of the Emirates

481

Dubai, UAE

2010 PROPERTIES: INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP Hotel

Rooms

Location

Crowne Plaza Dead Sea Resort

420

Dead Sea, Jordan

InterContinental Kuwait

310

Kuwait

Crowne Plaza Madinah

502

Madinah, KSA

Crowne Plaza Al Khobar

249

Al Khobar, KSA

Holiday Inn Express Dubai Airport

381

Dubai, UAE

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

While operations teams will be focused on offering value, development managers and investors would be wise to take advantage of value in the market themselves during 2010. “We know that worldwide there are many hotels and brands struggling to stay afloat and in 2010, if indeed the business climate remains as it was for 2009, the challenge of debt payment will become much more significant. I think it fair to say we could well see some significant ownership changes of both individual properties and possibly even brands,” says Barnes. Hytönen and Landais also observe opportunities for conversions. “We do not see banks coming back for providing debts on new developments in 2010 as they will be busy in re-structuring primarily ongoing commitments. We expect subsequently equity driven developments and especially distressed funds to be active in taking over existing projects, possibly even existing properties falling short of cash,” explains Landais. “From the operators’ perspective, we believe that this overall situation will trigger a market oriented towards conversion of unbranded/ill-branded projects and properties into international brands managed by operators

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Hotels in the Middle East / Africa construction pipeline

Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

COVER STORY

with strong covenants. There should be foreseeable conditions required by equity funds and also by creditors in case of debt restructuring,” he says. For Accor, this opens opportunities for the Mercure brand in the four-

TRENDS TO WATCH OUT FOR Conversions and takeovers: it’s not just individual properties that might change hands, entire brands may face new ownership

A buyer’s market: consumer demand for value for money should determine what hotels are charging Mid-market growth: opportunity for the diversiﬁcation of the market and the possibilities for more three-star hotels expected to continue Guest expectations: the Middle East is perceived as having hotels of a high standard — value offers and mid-market hotels must maintain this Average rates under pressure: it’s up to hotels to identify opportunities at different periods of the year to maximise them

Demand for international brands: owners will seek brands with global networks

Occupancy steadies: decline seems to have ﬂattened Tight travel budgets: corporate travel still down, but some anticipate growth of the groups segment Reduced pipeline: Upcoming properties pipeline has reduced tremendously; people with cash are kings Asset management: after a decade of asset creation, the hotel industry is now prioritising asset management

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

star segment and Pullman Hotels & Resorts in the ﬁve-star sector, in addition to continued growth in the economy market that Accor has focused on so far in the region. “Now that all [segments] are hit by the slowdown, everyone expects a better resilience of the economy business model, and investors therefore remain adamant in developing such products and will therefore complete their projects. We see a great opportunity for network expansion and gaining considerable market share in the region with the plan to open six hotels between economy and midscale segments in 2010,” says Landais.

UPBEAT ATTITUDE Landais’ positive outlook is shared by those based in the market that has received the most negative attention in recent weeks, Dubai. Jumeirah Group’s future inevitably came under discussion at the end of the last year in the wake of numerous stories associated with Dubai’s debt repayments. However, in an interview with Forbes magazine, chairman Gerald Lawless refuted claims that its parent company Dubai Holding will sell off the luxury hotel operator to pay off debts maturing next year. “Jumeirah and Dubai Holding are part of each other and Jumeirah is not going anywhere,” Lawless told the magazine. “Dubai Holding will be ﬁne.” Jumeirah Group regional director of sales Craig Senior says the company is well advanced with bookings and new openings for 2010. “At Jumeirah we continue to enjoy a robust trading performance with current occupancy rates of more than 95% in many of our hotels, high levels of bookings for the coming year and a healthy balance sheet. We believe strongly in the future of Dubai and the UAE as a travel destination and we therefore remain positive about prospects for the future,” says Senior. In terms of speciﬁc areas of growth, Senior anticipates more inbound travel from China as a result of the UAE government receiving Approved Destination Status from the Chinese government, as well as growth in the GCC, Middle East and Indian Subcontinent feeder markets as travellers opt for shorter vacations. In terms of operational trends, Senior says:

Accor plans to introduce the Pullman brand to the region at Mall of the Emirates.

“We anticipate the groups segment will show a greater positive return in 2010 compared to 2009 booking and enquiry trends. “Average rates will remain under pressure; the challenge for the travel industry in general will be to grow rates at certain periods of the year.” Regarding expansion, Senior says projects are underway in the UAE, Jordan, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Maldives, Bali, Thailand, China, Argentina, Spain, England, Scotland, Germany, the US Virgin

Islands and Morocco. “During the course of 2010, we look forward to the opening of Jumeirah HanTang Xintiandi in Shanghai, Jumeirah Frankfurt in Frankfurt, Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel in Kuwait and Jumeirah Al Fattan in Dubai,” asserts Senior, adding that he expects the group to make further announcements during the course of this year. As mentioned previously, Accor also has signiﬁcant plans for 2010. “Early in 2010, we will open our second hotel in Kuwait, ibis Sharq

I THINK IT FAIR TO SAY WE COULD WELL SEE SOME SIGNIFICANT OWNERSHIP CHANGES OF BOTH INDIVIDUAL PROPERTIES AND POSSIBLY EVEN BRANDS 2010 PROPERTIES: HILTON WORLDWIDE Hotel

Rooms

Location

Doubletree Suites by Hilton Ras Al Khaimah

112

Ras Al Khaimah, UAE

Hilton Doha

324

Doha, Qatar

Hilton Olympia Kuwait

214

Kuwait

Hilton Garden Inn Riyadh Al Muroj

196

Riyadh, KSA

Hilton Amman Jordan Gate

531

Amman, Jordan

2010 PROPERTIES: FAIRMONT HOTELS & RESORTS Hotel

Rooms

Location

Makkah Clock Royal Tower, A Fairmont Hotel

858

Makkah, KSA

Fairmont Residences, Zamalek Island, Cairo

21 residences

Cairo, Egypt

Fairmont Palm Jumeirah

377

Dubai, UAE

2010 PROPERTIES: JUMEIRAH GROUP Hotel

Rooms

Jumeirah Al Fattan Palm Resort

211

Location Dubai, UAE

Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel

307 rooms / 80 serviced apartments / 12 chalets

Kuwait

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

CAUTIOUS CONFIDENCE

The Rezidor Hotel Group is looking for further improvements in 2010, says Hytönen.

with 160 rooms. This follows the opening of our ﬁrst Kuwaiti property — Ibis Salmiya,” says Landais. “We also plan to open ibis Rigga – Dubai, with 280 rooms, within the ﬁrst quarter of 2010 and our new brand ‘Pullman’ strategically linked to the Mall

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

If the plans of Jumeirah Group and Accor Hospitality are anything to go by, development is deﬁnitely picking up pace in 2010. Some major players originally intended to launch in 2009 or 2010 are still missing, for example, Dubai’s ﬁrst Conrad by Hilton is now scheduled to open at the end 2011, The Wave Muscat will not open

hotels such as the Fairmont until 2012/2013 and the Palm Jumeirah is unlikely to have its full remit of hotels until at least 2013. Of course, new properties will impact the supply and demand ratio, which most likely beneﬁted from a rebalancing as a result of the development slowdown in 2009. So, most importantly, are there still enough people travelling to ﬁll the region’s hotels and resorts? “There are always opportunities for growth regardless of business climate, but once again it will come back to understanding the consumer and delivering the product they want at the price they are willing to pay,” says Barnes. He adds that the Middle East should perform in very similar terms to 2009, “which despite being a down-

THE DECLINE IN OCCUPANCY SEEMS TO HAVE FLATTENED BUT IT IS DIFFICULT TO TELL WHETHER OR NOT THE WORST IS OVER

turn on prior years, was still a strong market compared to many others”. “We are seeing some positive indications of recovery in 2010, the decline in occupancy seems to have flattened but it is difficult to tell whether or not the worst is over,” says Hytönen at Rezidor. “Travel budgets will remain tight. The leisure and corporate buy down is evident and expected to continue in 2010 and generally, operating conditions will remain competitive. Again, as visibility is still low it is difficult to know whether the worst is now over, but the Middle East was Rezidor’s strongest market in Q3 2009 (although maybe a little expected given the time of year) and we are hoping for further improvements as we enter into the new year,” he concludes. HME

UPCOMING PROPERTIES For a full list of upcoming properties in the Middle East and beyond, visit www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

COVER STORY

of Emirates, Dubai with 481 rooms by mid-2010. “In Bahrain, the luxurious Soﬁtel Bahrain Zallaq Beach with 263 rooms will welcome its ﬁrst guests by mid-2010, together with ibis Seef which will have 304 rooms. “In Saudi Arabia, our projects are also on schedule with three to four hotels scheduled to open in 2010,” adds Landais.

COVER STORY

Top 10 new hotels Exciting openings abound in the UAE, but there are hidden treasures preparing to launch across the Middle East and North Africa. Hotelier Middle East presents 10 of the hottest properties due to open this year

2 HOTEL MISSONI KUWAIT

This is the ﬁrst lifestyle boutique hotel in Kuwait with interiors designed by Rosita Missoni — a palette of gold, turquoise and beige adorns the rooms with linens chosen from the Missoni home range. The 63 suites include the 312m² Presidential Suite with a 90m² outside terrace. Missoni Kuwait will offer an all-inclusive pricing concept including à la carte breakfast, room service, mini bar, newspaper, laundry, limousine airport pick up and drop off. F&B concepts including Italian family-style Cucina, are overseen by celebrity chef Giorgio Locatelli, and the spa is operated by Bangkok-based Six Senses.

O Occupying the concourse level to llevel eight and levels 38 and 39 oof the iconic Burj Dubai — opening oon January 4 — the Armani Hotel D Dubai will have a dedicated enttrance. The property will bring many firsts to the Middle East including tthe region’s first Armani/Privé — a hhip and upmarket night club and tthe world’s first in-hotel Armani/ S Spa. The hotel will also be home tto the Armani/Dolci chocolates aand sweets store, an Armani/Fiori ((floral shop) and an Armani/Gallleria. The hotel’s food and beverage ooffering will span Japanese, Indian, M Mediterranean and of course, Italiian cuisine.

ARMANI HOTEL DUBAI OPERATOR: Emaar Hotels & Resorts. OPENING DATE: H1 2010. LOCATION: The Burj Dubai. USP: Located in the world’s tallest building. ACCOMMODATION: 160 Armani-designed guest rooms.

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

THE ROYAL AMWAJ RESORT & SPA

OPERATOR: The Rezidor Hotel Group. OPENING DATE: Q2 2010. LOCATION: Symphony Centre, Arabian Gulf Street, Kuwait City. USP: Designer hotel. ROOMS: 169 rooms and suites.

OPERATOR: Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts. OPENING DATE: H2, 2010. LOCATION: The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai. USP: Over-water villas. ACCOMMODATION: 293 rooms and villas,

This property is one of four new Mövenpick properties opening in Dubai this year, two of which will be on The Palm Jumeirah (the other being Oceana). The resort will be the ﬁrst hotel in Dubai to boast over-water villas — there will be 18 in total. There are also 15 beach pool villas. The Royal Amwaj will be located on the crescent on The Palm and feature 2km of temperature-controlled natural swimming lagoons. Additional assets include a spa with 25 treatment rooms and six F&B outlets including Phed, serving cuisine from Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia and Vietnam.

4 The hotel will have two 290m² presidential suites.

ROCCO FORTE ABU DHABI OPERATED BY: The Rocco Forte Collection OPENING DATE: Mid-2010 LOCATION: The hotel is located in the “new commercial centre of Abu Dhabi”. USP: First Rocco Forte Collection hotel for the region. ACCOMMODATION: 281 rooms and suites.

The Rocco Forte Luxury Collection Hotel in Abu Dhabi will be housed in a 12-floor curved structure with design highlights including a Sky Bar, suspended on the fifth floor of a 10-storey atrium. Forte has partnered with renowned British chef Mark Hix, of The Ivy and Le Caprice fame, who will consult on the all-day dining restaurant, while Italian Michelin-starred chef Fulvio Pierangelini will advise on an à la carte Italian restaurant. Additional facilities include a 2000m² spa, 25-metre outdoor pool, a dedicated meetings entrance, seven meeting rooms and a 500-person capacity ballroom. www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

THE MAKKAH CLOCK ROYAL TOWER OPERATED BY: Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. OPENING DATE: 2010. LOCATION: Mecca, Saudi Arabia. USP: Located in one of the world’s tallest towers (76 stories and 577 metres high) boasting a 40metre clock that is ﬁve times larger than London’s iconic Big Ben and is visible from 17kms away. ACCOMMODATION: 858 guestrooms and suites.

This new Fairmont hotel is the focal point of the iconic Abraj Al Bait Complex, which is part of the King Abdul Aziz Endowment Project whose mandate is to upgrade the precincts of the Two Holy Mosques. The complex includes seven towers with a total ﬂoor space equal to 15.6 million square feet — including a Lunar Observation Centre and an Islamic Museum — and is adjacent to the Masjid al Haram, the holiest site in Islam. The above-mentioned Makkah Clock — the focal point of the hotel — will announce daily prayers to the Muslim world, while the hotel’s 76 glass elevators will conveniently transfer passengers to the holy sites.

COVER STORY

BANYAN TREE AL WADI OPERATED BY: Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts. OPENING DATE: Q1 2010. LOCATION: Wadi Khadeja, Ras Al Khaimah. USP: First luxury desert resort with an all-pool villa concept to be located in RAK. ACCOMMODATION: 70 Pool Villas and 31 Tented Pool Villas.

Banyan Tree Al Wadi is the group’s second resort in the Middle East, following Banyan Tree Al Areen in Bahrain. It’s the ﬁrst luxury desert resort in RAK to offer an all-pool villa concept, complete with Asian-inspired hydrotherapy spa facilities, a private beach club, as well as a dedicated nature reserve within the resort grounds.

8 RAFFLES MAKKAH PALACE OPERATED BY: Rafﬂes Hotels and Resorts. OPENING DATE: April 2010. LOCATION: Mecca, Saudi Arabia. USP: A top-end hotel within three minutes’ walk from the Al Masjid Al Haram, offering residents convenient access to the Grand Mosque. ACCOMMODATION: 211 suites.

ROYAL MANSOUR OPENING DATE: Early 2010. LOCATION: Marrakech, Morocco. USP: The hotel’s operating company once told Hotelier this property would be ﬁt for a king and would be the most expensive property in the Middle East in terms of room rates. ACCOMMODATION: 53 riads linked by a series of underground tunnels.

Located in 3.5 hectares of gardens, Royal Mansour is designed in the style of a traditional medina, with each riad ranging in size from one to four bedrooms. Each boasts a private courtyard with fountains and plunge pools and the larger ones have galleries and dining rooms with bars. In addition, all riads have a roof terrace offering breathtaking views of the city or the Atlas Mountains. F&B wise, three-star Michelin chef Yannick Alleno will oversee the two main restaurants offering traditional Moroccan and gourmet cuisine.

Raffles Makkah Palace will have an average of three staff for every suite, complemented with round-the-clock butler service. F&B options include the Tea Lounge in the lobby with a tea and coffee sommelier; the Raffles Creamery serving icecream prepared on a cold ‘teppanyaki’ stone; and a Levantine Restaurant serving Eastern Mediterranean fare. Additional facilities include separate male and female fitness centres, a beauty parlour and grooming salons and the Raffles Amrita Spa.

9 SOFITEL BAHRAIN ZALLAQ BEACH

Thalassotherapy can only be offered in spas next to the sea.

OPERATED BY: Accor Hospitality. OPENING DATE: June 2010. LOCATION: Zallaq, Bahrain. USP: Thalassa Spa. ACCOMMODATION: 262 rooms.

The Sofitel Bahrain Zallaq will boast the “first fully-fledged Thalassa Spa” in the GCC, according to Accor Hospitality Middle East managing director Christophe Landais. The 262-room property is due to open in June 2010 and the spa will span more than 2000m² with 14 treatment rooms. www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

THE PALAZZO VERSACE RESORT DEVELOPED BY: Sunland Group and Gianni Versace SpA. OPENING DATE: Late 2010. LOCATION: Dubai Creek, Dubai. USP: Versace-designed hotel. ACCOMMODATION: 217 rooms and 169 private residences.

This 130,000m² designer hotel will be situated by Dubai Creek and will boast 217 rooms and suites, 169 luxury private residences, restaurants, a spa, meeting rooms, a Versace boutique, indoor swimming pool, and scuba lagoon all designed by Versace. Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

51 BEST PRACTICE

A Whole New World: Recruitment in 2010 Lee Jamieson explores how the events of 2009 have forever changed the Middle East’s recruitment practices in the hospitality industry RECRUITMENT he global economic crisis made 2009 a difﬁcult year for the region’s hospitality industry. Tales of recruitment freezes and redundancies from many of the major operators dominated the region’s media and many hoteliers will continue to tread with caution in 2010. “Recently, there has been a lot of uncertainty in the markets,” conﬁrms Hilton Worldwide vice president for human resources in the Middle East Caroline Stevens. “Due to the dual impact of the global economic recession and the threat of the H1N1 virus, we have adopted a cautious and disciplined

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

approach to recruitment in the region.” Hilton is not alone in its trepidation. The industry as a whole is stepping into 2010 with a degree of caution and is alert to any ﬂuctuations in the economy.

COOL CLIMATE An astonishing 71% of HR directors put recruitment on hold last year because of the economic climate, according to Catererglobal. com. However, there is evidence that the recruitment freezes of 2009 are ﬁnally lifting and that the number of redundancies is falling.

“I believe that the hospitality industry is actively recruiting again,” notes Rotana corporate vice president for human resources Joseph Abou Yaghi. “However, organisations are still cost-cautious and nowhere near as aggressive in their recruitment approach as in the past.” These freezes have drastically changed the recruitment landscape in 2010 and operators are adapting their strategies to capitalise on new opportunities and protect loyal employees from redundancy. “Towards the end of last year, we

WE ARE GIVING PRIORITY TO OUR EXISTING ACCOR ASSOCIATES WHENEVER POSSIBLE

Hilton is currently recruiting and developing Saudi Nationals, says Caroline Stevens.

Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

553 BEST PRACTICE

Hotels have been combining job roles to realise cost savings, observes Movenpick’s Craig Cochrane.

There is a huge gap in middle management, says The Hospitality Company’s Lynne Zarbhanelian.

ﬁnally started to see some movement in the region’s hospitality industry,” says Accor Hospitality Middle East managing director Christophe Landais. “However, we are still monitoring recruitment very closely – especially for middle management and management positions, and we are giving priority to our existing Accor associates whenever possible.”

POSITIVE OUTCOMES It seems that the recruitment freeze has also had a positive impact by forcing hoteliers to take stock and resource their operations more effectively. Many chains have used the freeze to invest in the development of their workforce and identify strategies to improve retention.

NEW BLOOD IS NEEDED AND SO SWITCHED ON HOTELS ARE BEGINNING TO DRAW UPON TALENT POOLS IN OTHER SERVICE INDUSTRIES THROUGH SPECIALIST RECRUITMENT COMPANIES “We have focused on the retention and accommodation of our existing employees rather than recruiting new personnel,” explains Rotana’s Yaghi. “In fact, the number of new recruits for all our pre-opening properties in 2009 was small when compared with the number of Rotana inter-property transfers. “We wanted to reduce payroll expenses within our existing hotels and avoid over recruitment for our new developments.” The redeployment of existing staff into new areas of the business as a form of redundancy protection became a pan-industry trend in 2009. Catererglobal.com reported that 46% of HR directors had moved employees within individual hotels

TOP RECRUITMENT TIPS FOR 2010 Ensure that your recruitment policy is aligned with your company’s values Develop a long-term recruitment strategy that builds opportunities for candidates to learn and grow Penetrate talent pools in other service industries to ﬁnd “new blood” As the global economy evolves, look beyond your normal source markets for fresh talent

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

Take advantage of new highly-qualiﬁed candidates from Western Europe looking for employment in the Middle East and offer them development opportunities Partner with specialist recruitment consultants with global reach to ﬁnd talented middle managers “Grow your own” talent for middle management by training and developing existing personnel

and 42% had transferred employees to other properties within the hotel group. This has reversed a deep-rooted recruitment trend in the region: employing people for very specific duties with little opportunity for expansion. “Since the economic downturn, operators have been combining job roles and employing people into more dynamic, flexible roles,” explains Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts vice president human resources in the Middle East Craig Cochrane. “For example, instead of employing a receptionist and a waiter in an executive lounge, there is now an expectation that the same person will perform the check in and deliver food service at breakfast. “This trend also extends to managerial levels where certain functions are combined under one leader to realise cost savings. For example, we’ve seen this in finance and purchasing,” he adds.

MULTI-SKILLING It is hoped that the events of 2009 could foster a more versatile and efﬁcient workforce throughout the industry. Now deployed across the region, these developments have the potential to create cost savings for employers and offer clearer progression routes to employees.

WHO’S RECRUITING IN 2010? Accor: 2000 new employees With eight hotels opening in 2010, Accor’s recruitment needs are geographically broad. Rotana: 2000+ new employees Rotana is recruiting in all areas for its four new openings in early 2010. Mövenpick: 2500 new employees Recruiting in all areas across the Middle East and Asia.

“The business situation in 2009 had a positive impact upon the development of our internal employees,” conﬁrms Rotana’s Yaghi. “Certain employees were ‘forced’ to invest more belief in their subordinates and build up their skills. It goes without saying that this has been very positive for both the employees and the employer.” For sceptics, there is evidence that multi-skilling (as it has become known) can work effectively in the region’s hotels. In fact, it is nothing new at all and has been used in the Middle East’s budget brands for many years. This is, however, the ﬁrst time multi-skilling has been deployed systematically further up the star rating. For example, Accor has been widening the responsibilities of its employees in all hotels by extending the recruitment model used in many of its budget and mid-range brands like Ibis, Suitehotel and Novotel. “In these properties, multi-skilling Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

BEST PRACTICE

TOP 10 GROWING SOURCE MARKETS According to research from Catererglobal. com, 35% of HR directors in the region consider Asia to be the fastest growing source market. This top 10 list shows you where HR directors are currently looking.

Asia 35%

Middle East 32%

Far East 25%

Africa 23%

India 22%

Indonesia 19%

Eastern Europe 18% South America 14% Gulf Region 11% Europe 10%

is already in place and our associates are trained accordingly,” says Accor’s Landais. “It’s important to the way in which we do business.” In recent years, the authenticity of the hospitality experience has become increasingly more important for guests — a trend that has increased the demand for locally recruited employees. However, beyond Dubai, many hoteliers still find it difficult to recruit and retain good quality employees from local sources. In some regions, operators have had to take on more aggressive recruitment campaigns and make bigger investments into the personal and professional development of local employees. “Candidates with Middle East experience are in high demand and can be very hard to find,” says Yaghi, “and, of course, everyone is competing for them! “Rotana is expanding across the Middle East, so we are participating in job fairs across the region in search of local talent. We want to help local people plan a long-term career with us and to embrace our values.” The development of the local workforce is also the lynchpin of Hilton’s entry into Saudi Arabia. With experience in short supply, Hilton has deemed it necessary to take a hand in developing the kingdom’s hospitality industry to secure effective recruitment throughout its longterm expansion plans. “We are dedicated to developing local talent in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” says Hilton’s Stevens. “With ambitious expansion plans in the Kingdom, we are currently recruiting and developing Saudi Nationals to take on a bigger role in the hospitality industry. So far, we have had great success and this has given us a foundation to build up our recruitment strategy.” With intense competition for the most talented candidates, it is essential for employers to start casting their search

beyond their usual recruitment zones. Understandably, employers prefer to recruit people already living the region, but many believe that local talent pools are in need of reinvigoration and fresh blood. “The industry has been highly incestuous in the past with the same people simply moving from one hotel to the next,” explains Kershaw Leonard managing partner Mike Hynes. “New blood is needed and so switched on hotels are beginning to draw upon talent pools in other service industries through specialist recruitment companies.” “It is certainly the time to stop looking solely for new employees with years of expertise within the same ﬁeld,” adds Yaghi. “Instead, we should welcome fresh blood with the right attitude and see what new ideas these employees can bring to the table.”

CASTING THE NET WIDER

“More and more companies are looking at places like Vietnam, Indonesia and some of the more accessible Eastern European countries like Bulgaria and Serbia,” continues Hynes. “There, they can ﬁnd the affordable staff they need with the right kind of working attitude required.” Also, it is likely that the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries will continue to grow as source markets for all industries. As their economic emergence gathers pace, they will be well-positioned to offer the dedicated, educated and talented employees of tomorrow. Interestingly, the economic downturn has opened a window of opportunity for recruiters to poach talent from expensive source markets in Western Europe. “We’re seeing more talented candidates coming to the Middle East from Western Europe willing to negotiate on contracts,” explains The Hospitality Company managing

Source markets continue to evolve and offer new opportunities to recruiters. The bulk of the industry’s working population currently derives from India, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, with Australia and South Africa also remaining ﬁrm favourites. However, the popularity of online job portals and developments in the global economy are revealing new source markets with reserves of untapped potential.

WE’RE SEEING MORE TALENTED CANDIDATES COMING TO THE MIDDLE EAST FROM WESTERN EUROPE WILLING TO NEGOTIATE ON CONTRACTS

According to Mike Hynes, hoteliers need to draw on talent pools from other service industries.

Source: Catererglobal.com

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

SPECIALISATION S director Lynne Zarbhanelian. “For example, I’ve just been interviewing some candidates who had area responsibilities, but have been taken back to unit responsibilities in the current economic climate. So now they’ve come over here in an attempt

I 2009, 16% of candidates applied In directly to hospitality companies, whereas only 2% made direct applications in 2008. Consequently, applications through recruitment agencies have dropped from 14% to 10% in 2009. Recruitment consultancies have been forced to reposi-

tion their services in the current climate and offer more specialised solutions. For example, The Hospitality Company is well-positioned to offer a solution to the industry’s most persistent recruitment problem: the talent squeeze on middle management positions. According to Catererglobal.com, 54% of HR directors operating in the Middle East are experiencing retention difficulties for supervisory roles. Last year the figure stood at 42% “There is a huge gap in middle management and hotels have always struggled in this area,” explains Zarbhanelian. “Recruitment consultants like us can leverage specialised networks with global reach to find the right candidate and reduce the man hours involved in this type of search. It can take one person an entire week to interview and whittle the candidates down to the final three and with more candidates in the market, this can become expensive. Recruitment consultants can

take all of that away and let the HR department invest their energies in other areas.” As the dust settles on 2009, hoteliers must rethink their approach to recruitment for the year ahead — and those with the right strategy will discover fresh opportunities to capitalise on. HME

USEFUL CONTACTS: Catererglobal.com An online job portal recruiting for the high end of the hospitality industry. Contact: Peter Willis on +44 207 769 9104 or peter.willis@catererglobal.com Website: www.catererglobal.com

The Hospitality Company Specialises in recruiting middle managers for the hospitality industry. Contact: Lynne on +971 4 885 2006 or lynne@hospitalitydubai.com Website: www.hospitalitydubai.com

A R E VO LU T I O N I N M O B I L E BU F F E T S E R V I C E : T H E L AT E S T I N D U C T I O N C O O K I N G & W A R M I N G T E C H N O L O G Y !

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Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

BEST PRACTICE

According to Rotana’s Joseph Abou Yaghi, there is high competition for candidates with Middle East experience.

t regain what they had before the to rrecession hit.” The sudden increase in high-qualiity candidates on the job market who aare willing to be flexible over pay has ccreated a unique opportunity for eemployers. Those that are financially aable are finding it easier to recruit taleented individuals — and specialist rrecruitment consultants are feeling tthe pinch. “We are now relying less oon recruitment partners and extern nal sources to provide candidates for rroles,” says Mövenpick’s Cochrane. ““The increased availability of cand didates who are actively searching ffor jobs has enabled us to reduce our rrecruitment costs.”

COUNTRY UPDATE: BAHRAIN

Bahrain

rising

Lee Jamieson discovers that it takes more than an economic downturn to dent Bahrain’s spirits REPORT ahrain is undergoing the largest transformation in its history. This tiny, historic country has become one of the most vibrant business centres in the Middle East and is home to some of the Gulf’s largest ﬁnancial institutions. With internationally competitive ﬁscal policies, Bahrain is attracting large sums of foreign direct investment. The result is the creation of a thriving and transparent open market ranked 16th in the world by the Index of Economic Freedom. More importantly, Bahrain’s success is built upon strategic and measured investment creating a stable,

Accor’s Christophe Landais observes issues in ﬁnding enough personnel for Bahrain’s growing hospitality sector.

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

well diversiﬁed economy — a policy that has created a safe haven for hospitality investors and developers.

SAFE HAVEN Bahrain’s greatest asset for foreign hospitality investors is its comparative stability in the present economic climate. Although Bahrain’s success was built on oil before its independence in 1971, its business interests have since diversified into other areas. Therefore, the country has remained stable in the face of fluctuating oil prices, while other oilreliant economies have been dealing with turbulence. This stability is the result of a long-term government strategy and in 2008, the travel and tourism sector (along with five others) was identified as a vehicle for foreign direct investment to further diversify the national income. This has created the “perfect storm” for hospitality investors and developers. “Bahrain is attractive because its economy is more diversified than its GCC neighbours,” explains Accor Hospitality Middle East managing director Christophe Landais. “By diversifying away from oil, Bahrain has managed to resist the global economic downturn and the impact of dramatically decreasing oil prices. “The IMF is predicting a 3% growth in GDP for 2009, which is impressive when compared to -0.2% in the UAE and -0.9% in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

IT WILL BE A CHALLENGE TO ENCOURAGE BAHRAINI NATIONALS TO JOIN THE HOSPITALITY WORKFORCE In this respect, Bahrain is currently one of the safest places for hospitality investors to direct their capital. And there’s more good news. The stable, transparent commercial practices of Bahrain have created year-round business activity — which has a positive return on investment impact for hoteliers. “Bahrain’s thriving business community is doing business all year round, reducing seasonality for operators,” says Marriott Hotels International area director of sales and marketing in the Middle East, Jeff Strachan.

“The result is fewer peaks and troughs. It’s great for our business to have stable, year-round occupancy.” When Bahrain’s economic and operational stability is coupled with its beneﬁcial ﬁscal policy, it becomes highly attractive to foreign hotel developers, owners and operators. For example, Bahrain imposes no restriction on foreign ownership and no corporation tax. “Some people are talking about the potential introduction of VAT at GCC levels, but this is currently not the case,” said Landais, “and should not be for at least three to four years.”

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57 COUNTRY UPDATE: BAHRAIN According to Marriott’s Jeff Strachan, Bahrain has a “very progressive system”.

10 REASONS TO INVEST IN BAHRAIN A sustainable and diversiﬁed economy has protected Bahrain from the full impact of global economic slowdown Marriott is currently developing Renaissance Amwaj Island.

A NEW CHAPTER Bahrain’s thirst for new developments and foreign investment is set to open a new chapter for the country’s hospitality industry. The Bahrain of today will be unrecognisable by 2013 when many of the ﬂagship development programmes are due to complete. However, the speed of Bahrain’s growth could also become a stumbling block for its fast-growing hospitality industry. Developers, owners and operators should be mindful that the sharp growth in the service industries will be primarily supported by the local population which is little more than one million. “It will be a challenge to encourage Bahraini nationals to join the hospitality workforce,” says

Landais. “The tourism and education ofﬁcials need to make a continuous effort to attract young graduates to the industry. “It’s important because these locals have their roots in Bahrain and will be able to share the beauty of their country with visitors.” Accor, like most companies expanding their operations into the country, supports the various government initiatives aimed at nurturing young talent for Bahrain’s hospitality industry and working to represent hospitality as a credible career option for Bahraini nationals. These innovations are currently being led by training organisations like the Bahrain Institute for Hospitality and Retail and the Bahrain Training Institute.

BAHRAIN HOTEL PERFORMANCE IN 2009

Source: STR Global

Date

Occupancy (%)

ADR (US$)

RevPar (US$)

Jan 09

62.3

224.53

139.81

Feb 09

76.8

240.75

184.89

Mar 09

71.5

244.52

174.88

Apr 09

70.1

290.30

203.59

May 09

61.9

219.80

136.06

Jun 09

56.8

212.43

120.68

Jul 09

58.4

184.13

107.45

Aug 09

50.0

176.40

88.25

Sep 09

46.8

196.37

91.85

Oct 09

69.9

227.37

159.02

Year to Date (Oct)

62.3

224.80

140.10

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THE BAHRAIN OF TODAY WILL BE UNRECOGNISABLE BY 2013 Bahrain’s government is working hard to support and foster a mature hospitality industry with a clear strategic direction. In November, it was announced that Bahrain is to commission a new tourism body tasked with overseeing the country’s tourism strategy and centralising the decision-making process. Although the Bahrain Tourism Authority (BTA) has ministerial approval, it is still awaiting a formal approval from parliament which is expected within the next four months. The BTA aims to work in partnership with the private sector to create a fair and transparent business environment for hospitality operators wanting to enter Bahrain. For example, the BTA is working with the World Trade Organisation to create a new hotel classiﬁcation system with international parity. This new certiﬁcation system will be implemented over the next three years alongside a supporting staff training programme.

NEW DESTINATIONS With such a thriving business community, Bahrain has emerged as a

Competitive ﬁscal policies, including no corporation tax

Bahrain has become a key business hub in the GCC with a long and stable track record

Bahrain is liberal and transparent for foreign investors

Competitive operational costs for businesses

Bahrain is home to one of the most educated and skilled workforces in the Gulf

A strong MICE market is already active in Bahrain

Expo@Bahrain is set to secure Bahrain’s reputation as a major MICE destination

The expansion of Bahrain International Airport is expected to triple the number of visitors A clear tourism strategy is expected from the Bahrain Tourism Authority in 2010

Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

COUNTRY UPDATE: BAHRAIN

Rotana’s Joseph Coubat says Bahrain’s “free, open and transparent environment for business” provides a clear argument for investment.

Rotana will enter Bahrain with the opening of a ﬁve-star hotel in 2011.

major MICE destination and most hotels have positioned their products accordingly. To secure visitors, Bahrain is currently developing Expo@Bahrain, the second largest convention centre in the GCC. Located next to the world famous Formula 1 track, Expo@Bahrain is sure to get maximum exposure when it opens in 2013. With new developments springing up across the country, many of the major operators have new properties in the pipeline.

THE BAHRIAN TOURISM AUTHORITY IS WORKING WITH THE WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION TO CREATE A NEW HOTEL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM WITH INTERNATIONAL PARITY As expected in the current economic climate, construction has slowed, but most projects remain on target with few delays. In 2011, a Four Seasons Hotel will become the ﬂagship property on Bahrain Bay, a US $2.5 billion mixed-use development on the north eastern coast of Manama. Overall,

the development has performed well during the economic slowdown, despite unexpected breaks in construction during 2009. The new Four Seasons property was redesigned accordingly during this period and was signiﬁcantly scaled back from an 85-storey building to 65 storeys. It is expected that

construction will resume mid-way through 2010 and that the property is still on course to complete in 2011 as planned. According to Bahrain Bay CEO Bob Vincent, all third party developers are still on board and construction for many projects is due to restart this year. Elsewhere, Marriott is opening its second project in Bahrain — a Renaissance Hotel on Amwaj Islands. The 30 million square feet that comprise this group of manmade islands hosts leisure resorts, commercial districts and residential neighbourhoods. In addition, Amwaj Islands is supplying waterfront properties, which are in short supply in Bahrain. Economic woes aside, Marriott has found that the development process for new properties in Bahrain is well supported. “Construction of our Renaissance Amwaj Island

BAHRAIN’S UPCOMING PROPERTY PIPELINE Company

City/Region

Brand

Property

Rating

Rooms

V/C

JALHotels

Amwaj Islands

Nikko Hotels International

Hotel JAL Bahrain Resort & Spa

Five-star

300

Opening 2011 onwards

Kempinski Hotels

Manama

Kempinski

Kempinski Hotel Bahrain City Centre

Five-star

200

2010

Marriott International

Amwaj Island

Renaissance

Renaissance Bahrain

Five-star

323

2011

IHG

Seef

Holiday Inn

Holiday Inn Al Seef Bahrain

Midscale

240

2011

Accor

Manama

Ibis

Ibis Seef

Economy

304

2010

Accor

Zallaq

Soﬁtel

Soﬁtel Thalassa Zallaq Beach Resort

Deluxe

263

2010

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

Manama

Four Seasons

Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain

Five-star

TBC

2011

Rotana

Bahrain

Rotana

Bahrain Rotana

Five-star

407

2011

Rixos Hotels

Manama

Rixos Marina West, Bahrain

Marina West Tower One Bahrain

Five-star

286

2010

Shaza Hotels

Manama

Shaza

Shaza Manama Hotel

Five-star

285

2011

IHG

Manama

Holiday Inn Express

EX Bahrain

Limited

224

2011

Hilton Hotels Corporation

Manama

Conrad

Conrad Bahrain

Five-star

250

2012

Starwood Hotels & Resorts

Manama

St Regis

St Regis Bahrain

Five-star

300

2012

Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts

Bahrain

Jumeirah

Jumeirah Al Salam Resort

Five-star

403

2010

Key: S = Suites | A = Apartments | R = Residences | V/C = Villas/Chalets

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

59 COUNTRY UPDATE: BAHRAIN

Hotel is proceeding well,” comments Strachan. “In fact, when we recently opened our Marriott Executive Apartments in Manama, we found that Bahrain has a very progressive system. Everyone has been extremely helpful in the build up to the opening of our properties and our development team will continue to search for additional opportunities moving forwards.” Rotana, in preparing for its first Bahrain opening in 2011, has also discovered the ease of doing business in the country. “We’re making our first entry into Bahrain with a five-star property opposite the financial harbour and so far there have been no specific challenges,” explains Rotana area vice president for Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait Joseph Coubat. “We have been involved in this project since its very inception and have built a strong relationship with the property developers. This has ensured the quality of the final physical product.”

Bahrain Rotana.

By increasing capacity to 15 million passengers per annum, Bahrain hopes to improve connections to its key feeder markets. By investing strategically in infrastructure, fostering a robust and transparent business community and opening its economy to foreign investment, Bahrain may have secured the long-term success of

BAHRAIN IS CURRENTLY DEVELOPING EXPO@BAHRAIN, THE SECOND LARGEST CONVENTION CENTRE IN THE GCC STRATEGIC SUPPORT In true Bahraini style, growth and maturity in the travel and tourism sector will be supported and enabled by strategic infrastructure investments. The ambitious Friendship Bridge is due for completion in 2013 and will provide a direct link between Bahrain and Qatar. Spanning more than 40 kilometres, the project will become the world’s longest marine bridge and will make Bahrain more accessible to inter-regional visitors. The Friendship Bridge builds upon the success of the 25 kilometre King Fahd Causeway which connects Bahrain with Saudi Arabia. Since its opening in the 1980s, Bahrain has experienced growth in weekend and short-stay tourists from its neighbouring country. It is hoped that the Friendship Bridge will foster similar growth from 2013 onwards. In a further effort to increase inbound tourist ﬂows, Bahrain International Airport is also undergoing expansion.

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its hospitality industry. “Bahrain has always focused its efforts on the building of foundations ahead of building landmarks,” said Coubat. “So I think the reasons to invest and do business there are clear. It provides a free, open and transparent environment for business and has a globally competitive, valuecreation story which focuses on sustainability, skills and good governance,” he adds. However, against this backdrop of change, Bahrain still has something to prove to its critics. Can this small, historic country hold its traditions and culture during this unprecedented period of growth? Or will it dilute its greatest asset? “As Bahrain becomes an increasingly competitive market, hotel developers should be careful,” concludes Landais. “Although the country presents great opportunities, we have to bear in mind that it only has a population of one million people and that the market is limited.” HME

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Supplier Focus • News • Analysis • Innovations • Trends

A.Ronai supports UAE Housekeepers Association Catwalk show presents new uniform trends to housekeeping professionals UNIFORMS The need for bespoke, long-lasting materials for uniforms and more ﬂexibility in design were two of the issues highlighted by housekeepers at a meeting of the UAE Housekeepers Association in December. Sponsored by A.Ronai LLC, the event was held at Al Badia Golf Club in Dubai Festival City with 30 executive housekeepers from four and ﬁve-star hotels in attendance. It featured a presentation from A.Ronai’s managing director, Gavin Dodd, on the range of uniform services it provides and a catwalk presentation. “We put together an imaginary brief for a brand new hotel in Dubai and we put our pro-

A.Ronai shows off the latest hotel uniforms.

posal forward for what we thought that hotel would like to wear,” Dodd said. “We showcased reception, concierge, restaurant, spa and kitchen uniforms. We can now manufacture garments here in Dubai, so the uniforms were a mixture between Simon Jersey catalogue garments and garments that we can manufacture here locally. This offers clients a lot more flexibility; obviously they need to give us a certain value of business before they can have that flexibility,” he added. Dodd also pointed out that the company used materials created specifically for uniforms. “The prob-

lem Dubai has at the moment is that if someone says they want a bright blue shirt they’ll go and ﬁnd a bright blue shirt without giving too much thought as to what that fabric will do,” Dodd continued. “What we are trying to get across is that we are associated with a massive company — the Quintet Group which ultimately owns Simon Jersey — that has access to many mills all around the world that make fabrics just for uniforms. You can have these bright colours and we will give them to you in fabrics that will last. People were very positive about that,” he added.

FOUNTAINS DELIVERS YAS WATER FEATURES Crystal Fountains used a new generation of SMART LED lights in order to deliver three water features for The Yas Hotel in Abu Dhabi within a twomonth deadline. The lights, which were developed, tested and manufactured for the project, produce 30 watts of power and can be serviced as much as 80 metres away from the light ﬁxture. According to the company, traditionally, LED lights need to be serviced within 10-15 metres of remote pit chambers. This requires numerous underground chambers housing the power and data supplies to be located near the fountains themselves, causing high infrastructure and maintenance costs. The use of the new SMART LED lights enables the lighting ﬁxtures in Crystal Fountains’ three installations at The Yas Hotel to be serviced from the main plant room, thus saving costs.

Spacebreeze buys out US partner and rebrands Spacebreeze (EU) Ltd, manufacturer of a patio dual heating and cooling system, has bought out its US partner and as a result, rebranded its product. Now called AerFresco, the system cools the air under its parasol using eight adjustable jet nozzles and a two-speed fan. It can also double as an outdoor heating system with its optional

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4.4kW infra red heating system. The new name and change of style “better reﬂects the personality of the product”, according to Spacebreeze managing director Richard Ellicot. Spacebreeze offers a variety of enhancing options for the AerFresco CP7, such as a heavy duty sunshade extension and a misting system. The company is based in the United Kingdom.

Richard Ellicot: the rebranding “better reﬂects” the personality of the AerFresco heater and cooler.

One of the three water features Crystal Fountains installed at The Yas Hotel in time for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

SUPPLIERS

Hotel lobbies lighten up The spacious lobby at Fairmont Bab Al Bahr in Abu Dhabi features an array of striking features designed to welcome guests into the recently-opened hotel FITTED OUT he new Fairmont Bab Al Bahr hotel in Abu Dhabi is a design-driven hotel with a difference; it also has a very relaxed ambience and a practical flow. This becomes clear upon entering the hotel’s main lobby, which offers guests a calming welcome coupled with many interesting features to experience and observe. As Fairmont Bab Al Bahr general manager Michael Kaile says: “When you come into this property it has an incredible feel to it”. Rather than highlighting one product in particular he adds: “I like frankly just to walk in and feel the space, I’m 6ft 3 and I like to feel that I don’t have to duck my head”. He certainly doesn’t have to do that; the hotel’s architect Dubai-based 4D Design dedicated 1015m² to the central entrance lobby. Key features include the stunning silver pillars, floor to ceiling windows and skylight and a glamorous staircase leading down to the hotel restaurants. Kaile says that 4D Design took a very stylized approach to the building, striving to achieve something that had not been done before in Abu Dhabi or Dubai for owner the Al Fahim Group. “Before we opened we expected two things, people who said ‘this is fantastic, this is new, we really like it’ and then equally strongly people who said ‘this is new, this is very modern and we don’t like it’,” says Kaile. “Actually the reception has been amazingly positive,” he continues. “I think the reason for this is not just because of the modern décor but the light. There are a lot of windows in this building and a lot of natural light and that has got a hugely positive response. “The building has a tremendous flow to it,” he adds. “The flow makes a lot of sense, the back of house areas are very well laid out, and the support areas are laid out well too. “This is a very design driven hotel, it doesn’t compromise in many of the areas, in fact it doesn’t compromise at all,” concludes Kaile. Hotelier Middle East took a look around the lobby, which is one of the lightest and brightest we have seen, to put this theory to the test. HME

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

HANGING LIGHTS The Zeppelin S1 and S2 cocoon pendant lamps from Flos, sourced from Italy by Designers Hub in Abu Dhabi, are Hotelier’s favourite feature of the lobby.

NATURAL LIGHT The skylight and ﬂoor to ceiling windows ﬁll the lobby with natural light.

ROPE CHAIR The red Edra-Vermelha chair is made in Italy and designed by Fernando E Humberto Campana. It is made of acrylic covered in cotton and placed with the gold mosaic table, Edra-Brasillia. Both are provided by Designers Hub.

BIRD CAGE The ‘bird cage’, which will be used to serve afternoon tea in the lobby, is from Potterhaus Singapore.

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63 SUPPLIERS

STEPPING UP

UNIQUE SEATS

The wide staircase leading from the lobby down to the restaurants is designed by Interior Motives and manufactured by Golden Arrow Interiors. In the evenings, lights lining the stairs twinkle in different colours.

These funky lights by Ross Lovegrove are made to be sat on.

SCREEN SHOT Designers Hub provided the ClassiconBibendum Armchairs from Germany, which sit in front of two striking screens framing the entrance. The artwork for the screen was designed by Interior Motives and supplied by Cornellian Gallery, with the supporting frame manufactured by Golden Arrow Interiors.

SPARKLING SOFA The Flap Sofa from Edra is part of the Diamond Collection and certainly sparkles at the entrance to the lobby.

KEY SUPPLIERS Designers Hub george@alshamsiad.com 4D Design fourdd@emirates.net.ae Golden Arrow Interiors www.gai.ae

PRESIDENT’S DESK There is a desk speciﬁcally for members of Fairmont’s President Club. The desk and rug were designed by Interior Motives with joinery by Golden Arrow Interiors. Meanwhile, the Cassina Hola Sprint Chairs were from Designers Hub.

Interior Motives www.interiormotivesdubai.org Cornellian Gallery +971 4 349 3990 Ross Lovegrove www.rosslovegrove.com Potterhaus Singapore www.potterhaus.com Flos www.ﬂos.com

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Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

PRODUCTS

Ensuring suite success A well-designed bathroom is key to ensuring guests have the ultimate hotel experience. Some of the region’s top suppliers are on hand to give us their tips for creating the best in hotel room bathrooms

LAUFEN A well-designed hotel bathroom is crucial to ensuring guest satisfaction, explains Laufen Bathrooms international sales and marketing manager Ivan Zupanovic. “Bathrooms are the business card of every hotel.They play a key role in a customer’s perception and are decisive for the hotel guest when judging if the hotel meets his expectations or not.We have seen a continuous shift in hotel bathrooms towards high-end design using premium products.” Zupanovic says a hotel bathroom must meet some speciﬁc criteria: “The bathroom must be easy to clean. Spotlessness is absolutely necessary, in addition to ﬁrst-class design and durable quality.” Too often there is a temptation to

Laufen Bathrooms’ Ivan Zupanovic.

cut corners but as Zupanovic points out: “These products are handling difﬁcult media like cold and hot water and efﬂuent.They are a long lasting investment and that naturally costs money”. So what is Zupanovic’s top tip for installing a hotel bathroom? “It’s KISS — ‘Keep It Strictly Simple’. Our products are made for easy installation and if necessary, easy de-installation. For example, our shower cabin Il BagnoAlessi Dot can be easily mounted in less than one hour.” Zupanovic also recommends the use of complete washbasins rather than built-in washbasins. “They are much easier to install, maintain and to clean.Take a look at the Living City washstand by Laufen.As the basin and shelf are made in a single piece, it forms a single easyto-clean ceramic surface with no joint to get in the way,” he says.

ROCA Right: ROCA W+W. Above left: ROCA Khroma. Below left: Victor Schoone.

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS

What is your favourite hotel bathroom? “It is probably the Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi in Dubai Marina, although Grosvenor House is also very attractive.”

Latest products: W+W: the fusion of washbasin and WC into a single piece. 3/4.5 litres WCs: with a double ﬂush mechanism Bestsellers: MERIDIAN-N: the widest collection of sanitaryware in the market (more than 20 different washbasins, six WCs and four bidets are available)

Roca country manager Middle East Victor Schoone predicts that the top trend for hotel bathrooms in 2010 will be to “bring the colour back into the bathroom”. Schoone says: “Many hotel bathrooms are boring. Just as there are trendy carpets and curtains, why not have trendy bathrooms?” Roca has developed the Khroma Series in four different colours to inject a bit of life into the bathroom, ideal for hotels and resorts. “The concept of Khroma Series is to have unexpected colours in the bathroom.And if you get tired of the colour, you can just change it,” explains Schoone. Schoone highlights the biggest mistake made by hotel operators when it comes to bathrooms as “the crime of ‘cut and paste’.” He says it’s crucial to design bathrooms to ﬁt the space, rather than adopting a ‘standard one size ﬁts all bathroom package’. “A common mistake is that even with a lack of space, hotel operators try to put as many

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS New products: Complete bathrooms: Mimo concept, Real Style Living concept Lb3 from Laufen as well as Modular concepts: Living City Washstand by Laufen Best sellers: Il BagnoAlessi (used in the Kempinski Hotel, Tanzania) Form by Laufen (used in L’Hotel, in Manama, Bahrain), Laufen Pro, Palomba Collection

Contact: Tel: +41 61 765 7609 Email: export@laufen.ch Web: www.laufen.com/middleeast

products inside the bathroom as possible, such as a shower plus bathtub, a countertop plus a large over-countertop washbasin, and WC plus bidet. It’s down to a lack of information about the alternative solutions available.” He advises operators to check out what custom-made solutions are on offer.“At the Roca Design Centre we have 120 designers, technicians and engineers working with the sole objective to design sustainable, quality and functional solutions for the bathroom anywhere in the world, and in any setting.” The ROCA website also offers free access to two 3D design programs; one for end-users and the other for professionals with access to the complete range of Roca products. As for Schoone’s top tip for designing a hotel bathroom, he says: “Try to create as much space in the bathroom as possible.”

Contact: Tel: +971.4. 347.64.00 Web: www.roca.com Email: info.dubai@roca.net

For more information about Hotelier Middle East suppliers contact hotelier@itp.com or +971 (0)4 435 6274. For distributor details see page 76.

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

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65 PRODUCTS

Above: Aveo by Villeroy & Boch.

Below: Villeroy & Boch Middle East bathroom & wellness division regional manager Thorsten Bies.

Contact: Tel: +971 4 3642613 Web: www.villeroy-boch.com Email: info.me@villeroy-boch.com

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS New products: LaFleur tap ﬁttings and various accessories. Best sellers: Aveo bathroom collection by London design agency Conran & Partners, Bellevue and Subway collection.

VILLEROY & BOCH This coming year will see two major trends in terms of hotel bathroom design, predicts Villeroy & Boch Middle East bathroom & wellness division regional manager Thorsten Bies. The first is the continuing integration of the bathroom with the bedroom as designers seek to maximise on space. “Hotel rooms should mediate the feeling of largeness. It is more comfortable and pleasing for the guest,” explains Bies. “The best way to do this is by opening up room compartments like the bedroom and bath and combining them visually. For example, using glass-walls, jalousies or flat shower solutions.” The walk-in shower enclosure Squaro Super Flat from Villeroy & Boch is installed flush with the floor, giving an extra feeling of space in a small hotel room. Also gaining ground in the region’s hotel sector is the concept of eco-friendly bathrooms. “A very important trend, especially for hotels, is environmental compatibility.At Villeroy & Boch reducing water consumption has always been a major issue,” says Bies. “In 2009, the company presented Omnia GreenGain, a WC that consumes just 3.5 litres of

What is your favourite hotel bathroom in the Middle East? It’s currently the Address Downtown Burj Dubai hotel, but two of our latest projects are coming up to compete: The Meydan Hotel in Dubai and the Fairmont-managed Makkah Clock Tower Royal Hotel in Mecca. water per flush, representing a reduction of 2.5 litres per flush and a saving of 40%.” As well as water-saving devices,Villeroy & Boch has come up with the clever ‘ceremicplus’ finish — an extra-easy to clean surface for bathroom units which saves on water as well as aggressive cleaning agents.

For more information about Hotelier Middle East suppliers contact hotelier@itp.com or +971 (0)4 435 6274. For distributor details see page 76.

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Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

PRODUCTS

SANIPEX Sanipex sales director Ben Bryden provides some key ideas to think about when designing a hotel bathroom: “Consider the market being targeted; consider the costs of the products and select the ones that provide long-term value for money.The new Bagno Hotel range caters specifically for the hotel market with high-end, durable and value for money accessories.The range has been welcomed by the hotel industry as it means they no longer have to shop around for products”. Bryden says the biggest mistake made by hotel operators when it comes to bathrooms is the lack of a clear design brief provided to designers. “In some cases, hotel operators do not give designers enough information and realistic budgets to work with.This results in unsuitable products being selected for the high traffic that goes through hotels.” He adds that it is crucial to ensure when installing the bathroom that “all fittings are correct and compatible”. In terms of trends for 2010 in the top-end of the hotel market, Bryden believes bathrooms are set to become even more luxurious.“In terms of four and five star hotels we can expect to see more luxury in the bathroom, with shower jets, steam showers and luxury whirl pools.” And his top tip? “Always make sure to always allow space for a good shower!”

Left: Bagno Design Kudos; Right: Bagno Design Mobili; Below: Sanipex sales director Ben Bryden.

What is your favourite hotel bathroom? Kempinski Mall of the Emirates

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS Contact: Tel: +971 4 330 7771 Web: www.bagnodesign.org Email: info@bagnodesign.org

Latest products: Bagno Kudos, LEED products Best-sellers: Accessories from the Bagno Hotel range

DURAVIT

Blue Moon whirlpool by Duravit. “I think the magic word will be ‘spa’,” asserts Duravit Middle East UAE branch manager Toni El Kadi, when asked about the top trends for hotel bathrooms in the coming year. “Today’s faster pace of life has its downside: for many people stress is a constant companion and hotel guests want to enjoy the healing and energising spa experience in the privacy of their rooms,” he says. Designers are increasingly factoring in whirlpool baths, steam showers and saunas, speciﬁcally developed for the hotel market. El Kadi suggests integrating a compact sauna into the hotel bathroom such as ‘Inipi’ designed by EOOS for Duravit.The sauna measures 1800

x 1170 mm and fits two people. But it’s not just about installing spa products and leaving it at that, warns El Kadi. “Creating a ‘spa temple’ is about the overall atmosphere.You must ensure the right blend of exquisite materials, light, colour and functions. Guests want to experience deep physical and mental relaxation.The overall atmosphere of the bathroom must invite them to luxuriate in intimate and relaxed surroundings.” In terms of practical installation, El Kadi has two top tips. “My first tip is to install a low-profile shower tray, designed to lay so flat that even when installed with a pedestal, it does not exceed 50mm.These

Duravit’s PuraVida Collection. shower trays have been fitted with a new drainage system, installation requires a few simple steps and the trays can be easily replaced after years of use,” he says. “My second tip is for bathtubs.When fitted with furniture panelling, bathtubs are the perfect complement to bathroom furniture. “EasyClick is a new system which allows for simple and precise installation of bathtub panels. The panels come in a practical, space-saving flat box which opens to reveal an ingenious connection system that operates using special rotating rods. In addition to being easy to install, the panelling can be quickly removed for servicing without the need for tub removal,” reveals El Kadi.

El Kadi recommends low-proﬁle shower trays.

Contact: Tel: 971 4 7017117 Web: www.duravit.com

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS Latest products: PuraVida Bestsellers: The ‘barrel’, a conical vanity unit by Philippe Starck. ‘Scola’ washbasin, originally designed more than 30 years ago for use in schools, its classic shape means its now a popular choice in many design hotels.

For more information about Hotelier Middle East suppliers contact hotelier@itp.com or +971 (0)4 435 6272. For distributor details see page 76.

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

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See what’s new at me.

Rêve™ Ensemble Encounter the Rêve Ensemble and be drawn into discovery. Balancing innovative design and uncompromising performance in a wide array of styles, KOHLER® bathroom ﬁxtures, faucetry and accessories deliver distinctive, lasting beauty. Contact a Kohler representative at DIC, Al Thuraya Tower 2, 9th Floor, Suite 905, Dubai, U.A.E. or 971-4-364-2650 to learn more about all KOHLER bathroom products.

PRODUCTS

Product guide: Cleaning kit This month Hotelier rounds up the latest hygienic and professional sanitary products

Sage Sanitizing Systems Tel: +44 1793 773 320 Fax: +44 1793 773 330 Email: llewellyn@mecserﬂex.co.uk Web: www.sagesanitizingsystems.com

PASS THE BUCK This Flo-Pac mop bucket, from US professional cleaning manufacturer Carlisle, is available from UAE-based supplier Everstyle Trading. The durable yellow bucket comes with a wrangler and is made from corrosion-resistant moulded polyethylene. Carlisle manufactures professional foodservice tools designed to improve staff efﬁciency and productivity. Everstyle Trading LLC Tel: + 971 6 531 4106 Fax: +971 6 531 4460 Email: estdxb@eim.ae Web: www.everstyleuae.com

STEAM CLEAN This commercial eight-bar pressure steam cleaning machine comes with a chemical delivery system and a stainless steel construction. The cleaner has an integral vacuum system that ensures surfaces are left clean and dry, as well as a complete set of tools and accessories.

CLEAN COOKS Alto-Shaam has introduced an easy-to-use and efﬁcient automatic cleaning system for its Combitherm cooking units. The SmartClean system is hands-free, fully automatic and uses scrubbing jets of water to clean units in one simple operation.

Alto-Shaam Tel: +1 262 251 3800 Fax: + 1 262 251 1907 Email: international@alto-shaam.com Web: www.alto-shaam.com

Boecker Tel: +971 4 333 0315 Email: dubai@boecker.com Web: www.boecker.com FLY TRAP Pest West glue board fly killer machines are HACCP certified for food areas as no flies’ body parts will fall and contaminate adjacent food items and ingredients. A black glue board attracts many species of flies and other flying insects while the machine is equipped with shatter proof lights. Reflectobakt sleeves are installed to protect the glue board and hide the caught insects from public view.

For more information about Hotelier Middle East suppliers contact hotelier@itp.com or +971 (0)4 435 6274. For distributor details see page 70.

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

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SHURA TRADING & HOTEL SUPPLIES Dubai P.O.Box 124219 Tel: +971 4 3204481 Fax: +971 4 3204482 Abu Dhabi P.O.Box 97 Tel: +971 2 6730565 Fax: +971 2 6732791 Email: shura@emirates.net.ae Web: www.shuraemirates.com

Want to increase your occupancy? Want to increase your profitability? Want to have global reach?

ResNet World is your solution... 'Quote RES001 for no upfront costs'* *valid until the end of February 2010 *For more details please see page 75

Oﬃce 23, Level 29, Reef Tower, JLT P.O. Box 37069, Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 448 7222 / Fax: +971 4 448 7112 Email: info@resnetworld.com

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Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

PRODUCTS

Products: pick of the month Each month Hotelier Middle East showcases a selection of the newest products to hit the market

The Product House Tel: +971 4 368 9874 Email: clare@theproducthouse.biz Web: www.theproducthouse.biz NEW YEAR MAKEOVER The Enrich Body Duo, available from The Product House, is a small collection consisting of Enrich Body Serum 200ml and Enrich Massage and Body Oil 100ml. The collection is presented in a metallic gold gift box and is designed to offer spa visitors two products that combine to transform skin and awaken the senses. The products are made with the natural plant oils of macadamia and evening primrose, combined with the oils of ylang ylang and tuberose.

CMA Spa Tel: cma@cmaspa.com Web: www.wega.it RETRO COFFEE Vela Vintage from Italian coffee machine manufacturer Wega is a retroinspired machine available in two different colours: sand and chrome. The machine is available in semi-automatic mode, electronic mode or a manually-operated lever version; each model variation features practical waterproof touch pads. The boiler pressure and the water temperature are both regulated by a pressure switch, and there is a ﬂow reducer designed to optimise the perfect temperature for brewing espresso coffee.

Raymond Sport Tel: +971 4 339 1331 Email: ofﬁce@raymondsport.com Web: www.raymondsport.com

LIMITED EDITION CYCLE Scandinavian ﬁrm Body Bike International recently manufactured its 75,000th model and to celebrate has launched a limited edition of its Body Bike Classic. A traditional favourite at gyms across the world, this special edition model comes with a black chassis cover, frame and pedal arms coated with a red border. Inside the chassis is stamped with the number 75 to celebrate the 75,000 bikes manufactured to date. The model is available from UAE-based sports equipment supplier Raymond Sport.

Al Tayer Group Tel: +971 4 201 1208 Web: www.altayer.com PAULIN’S PUMPKIN The Pumpkin Collection by Ligne Roset combines comfort, style and elegance. The collection is a remake of a classic that was originally part of the Elysée Palace in Paris and was designed by the late Pierre Paulin. The collection features soft, round shapes and is available in a lively selection of hues.

For more information about Hotelier Middle East suppliers contact hotelier@itp.com or +971 (0)4 435 6274. For distributor details see page 76.

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

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71 PRODUCTS Villeroy and Boch Tel: +971 4 364 2613 Email: info.me@villeroy-boch.com Web: www.villeroy-boch.com Knoll Middle East Tel: +971 4 701 7531 Web: www.knoll.com NEXT GENERATION CHAIR Generation by Knoll is a new chair designed for the contemporary meeting place. It actively responds to the way people sit, including unconventional postures, moving as the user moves. The chair employs an elastic design and can rearrange itself in response to the user. It is distinguished by a high-performance elastomer used in a range of consumer and industrial applications.

MORE MEMENTOS Offering washbasin solutions for all room scenarios and furnishing requirements, Villeroy and Boch has extended its Memento washbasin range by adding a new 100cm washbasin and a hand washbasin to the collection. Inspired by Bauhaus design, the minimalist, rectangular washbasins of the Memento collection are available in pure white, glossy black or in the exclusive designs schemes of New Glory and New Glory Platinum. The full Memento range includes ﬁve vanity units with pull-out elements and drawers, washbasin countertops available in various widths, matching towel holders and various mirror options with and without lights.

For more information about Hotelier Middle East suppliers contact hotelier@itp.com or +971 (0)4 435 6274. For distributor details see page 76.

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Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

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Since 1919 Since 1919 SHURA TRADING & HOTEL SUPPLIES Dubai P.O. Box 124219 Tel: +971 4 3204481 Fax: +971 4 3204482 Abu Dhabi P.O.Box 97 Tel: +971 2 6730565 Fax: +971 2 6732791 Email: shura@emirates.net.ae Web: www.shuraemirates.com

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

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• News • Analysis • Innovations • Trends

Green Globe optimises savings Global body adopts regional energy saving technology Green Globe has adopted a hotel specific energy saving technology developed by UAE-based Farnek Avireal and committed to promoting the system worldwide. The travel and tourism industry sustainability certification organisation will roll out Farnek Avireal’s Hotel Optimiser technology, which aims to produce savings of up to 20% in energy, water and waste costs. Green Globe CEO certification Guido Bauer said: “Hotel Optimiser was designed for the hotel industry and has achieved remarkable results for companies in the UAE and it deserves a worldwide audience. It is a powerful online system that identifies potential savings in energy, water and waste and can reduce the related costs by 15-20% on a sustainable basis.” For its purposes, Green Globe will brand the system as GreenRevMax, standing for green revenue management. “Green Globe’s mission is to make sure that travellers recognise exceptional efforts by hotels and other travel businesses that certify with Green Globe

and its partners. These efforts are reducing pollution, creating wealth and improving the travel experience for all,” added Bauer. Only 20 tourism properties in the Middle East are currently covered by Green Globe certiﬁcation. Farnek Avireal general manager Marcus Oberlin said he was delighted that the organisation has adopted technology developed in the Middle East for worldwide promotion. “Hotel operators and owners, as well as other businesses, have increased profits by saving on bottom-line costs with this technology, which also substantially reduces their impact on the environment,” he said.

The Hotel Optimiser system tracks and analyses energy use; provides year-on-year comparisons; energy costs per occupied room; a reduction forecast; and seasonal impacts of energy, water and waste. “With the key readings generated by Hotel Optimiser, managements have a simple method of setting challenging but realistic annual targets in the areas of energy, water and waste,” said Oberlin. “Initially, when we ﬁrst introduced Hotel Optimiser, some hotel managers were concerned about the costs. But those that have introduced the system have achieved a return on investment in less than two years.”

Oberlin: Hotels have reduced costs and increased proﬁts with Hotel Optimiser.

Bosch’s infrared surveillance camera keeps eye on the ball

The new ZX55 Infrared Imager camera is suitable for day and night surveillance.

Bosch Security Systems has introduced a new all-in-one Infrared Imager camera for long-range, outdoor, day and night surveillance. The ZX55 and ZX55-IP feature Bosch’s infrared technology for high resolution, low-noise, night-time imaging at distances of up to 300 metres. A powerful 9-90mm IR corrected lens eliminates focus shift and IR bleed to enable an unrivalled long range detail capture and deliver the highest

levels of 24/7 protection. In addition, the ZX55-IP features a powerful processor for on-board Intelligent Video Analysis (IVA) to monitor scene activity and flag user-defined events such as alarms. The camera is capable of identification level performance to 100 metres, giving operators the ability to distinguish facial features, and is approved for outdoor operation in the most extreme conditions.

dence in the UAE market in spite of the current crisis and it also proves our conviction to further develop and strengthen our presence in the Middle East.

“We are also in the process of ﬁnding suitable partners around the rest of the GCC countries to establish networks and build showrooms there,” added Yong.

Neo-Neon increases Middle East presence LED-based lighting solution provider Neo-Neon has reafﬁrmed its focus in the Middle East by appointing two new team members for the Dubai ofﬁce.

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Akira Saito has joined the company as marketing and communications manager and Svitlana Izotova has joined the organisation as sales manager.

Neo-Neon International LLC Dubai branch general manager Jason Yong said: “These key appointments conﬁrm and demonstrate Neo-Neon’s strong conﬁ-

Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

January 2010 â&#x20AC;˘ Hotelier Middle East

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75 TECH TALK

Maximise revenue through increased connectivity ResNet World director of operations Shane Mansell urges hoteliers to think carefully when selecting a CRS provider in order to avoid paying over the odds for the service they receive

COLUMNIST speak to hoteliers on a daily basis and it is no surprise that the main topic of discussion is the existing economic climate and the effects of the current recession on revenues. The good news is that today’s recession will undoubtedly be followed by tomorrow’s economic upturn. So, in today’s climate, hoteliers should work on diversifying their revenue channels to ensure they maintain fair market share as economies rebound and occupancies start to increase. The single most important way to gain revenue opportunity is through the proper utilisation of the hotel’s Central Reservation System (CRS). Whether your customer wants to book through a travel agent, a thirdparty website, or directly with you, your CRS will provide that capability 24 hours a day. Those who practise well thought out electronic distribution strategies will not only maximise revenue now, but will

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also position themselves to outperform their competition in the future. Those who delay and react to the economic upturn will be left behind. One of the most important decisions a hotel can make is the selection of their CRS partner. The key word to consider when making this decision is ‘partner’. A CRS provider must be willing to work with you to ensure revenue opportunities are maximised. This means listening to you, understanding your needs and most importantly, rolling up their sleeves and actually working for you in the electronic reservation market. CRS providers are often guilty of signing hotels, providing them minimal training and then ﬁling their paperwork in a drawer. If the most common communication from a CRS provider is in the form of a monthly bill, there is truly something wrong with that partnership. Choosing a CRS provider is not always an easy decision. There are some top tips to ease the selection process in the box opposite, but the most important issue is to ensure that your provider is ready to work for you and earn your business. And don’t forget: this is a buyer’s market. Be willing to pay a fair price, but be clear about what you expect from your provider before

Choose the right CRS partner to ﬁt in with your hotel’s speciﬁc electronic distribution needs.

YOUR MONTHLY FEES PAID OUT TO CRS PROVIDERS SHOULD BE DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO THE AMOUNT OF REVENUE THEY BRING YOU

TOP TIPS FOR SELECTING YOUR CRS PROVIDER CUSTOMER SUPPORT Call this what you want; account manager, revenue specialist, revenue architect, etc, but ensure that you are going to be assigned a representative of your CRS partner’s company that will know your property, will understand your goals and will spend the time needed to grow a positive relationship with your staff. If you are simply a property ‘number’ to your CRS provider, it is time to make a change. SIZE DOESN’T ALWAYS MATTER Do not fall into the trap of assuming that the largest CRS providers are the best solution for your property. Each hotel will have its own unique CRS strategy that is based on location, regional economic climate and regional buying habits. Only utilise the tools that will show a measurable return on investment for your property. Avoid spending budget on items that are packaged in larger deals that will not beneﬁt your property. FAIR COST FOR SERVICES The operating costs for a CRS company are largely transparent in the market. The same pass-through costs apply to everybody in the ﬁeld. Be wary of

you sign a contract. They are the experts, so be willing to rely on them to follow up on the promises they make. Look for companies you trust with your future and always remember...the future is bright! HME

large monthly fees that are not tied to extra services. Watch for excessive ‘maintenance fees’. In the end, your monthly fees paid out to CRS providers should be directly proportional to the amount of revenue they bring you. If your performance suffers, then so should theirs. The CRS provider should follow the mindset that their success is dependent on your success. NO LONG-TERM CONTRACTS If a CRS provider is truly conﬁdent in their ability they should not require a long, multi-year contract. There is no basis for this and there is no expense to the CRS provider that should justify requiring multi-year contracts with heavy cancellation fees. You should reserve your right to cancel your contract if you are not satisﬁed with the services you are receiving. When agreeing to a contract, make sure the CRS provider is compensated fairly for future reservations beyond any suggested cancellation date, but do not be pushed into signing a long term contract that can potentially cost your property thousands of dollars in either lost reservation opportunities or cancellation fees.

Shane Mansell has 18 years’ experience in the hospitality ﬁeld and currently holds the position of director of operations at ResNet World. Details: www.resnetworld.com or +971 (4) 448 7222.

Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

SUPPLIER ADDRESS BOOK

Contact details: Sarah Worth Tel: +971 4 435 6374 / Fax: +971 4 435 6080 Email: sarah.worth@itp.com

FITTED OUT

CLEANING EQUIPMENT

BATHROOM PRODUCTS

NEW PRODUCTS

Designers Hub george@alshamsiad.com

Sage Sanitizing Systems Tel: +44 1793 773 320 Fax: +44 1793 773 330 Email: llewellyn@mecserﬂex.co.uk Web: www.sagesanitizingsystems.com

Laufen Tel: +41 61 765 7609 Email: export@laufen.ch Web: www.laufen.com/middleeast

Raymond Sport Tel: +971 4 339 1331 Web: www.raymondsport.com

4D Design fourdd@emirates.net.ae Golden Arrow Interiors www.gai.ae Interior Motives www.interiormotivesdubai.org Cornellian Gallery +971 4 349 3990 Ross Lovegrove www.rosslovegrove.com Potterhaus Singapore www.potterhaus.com Flos www.ﬂos.com

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

Everstyle Trading LLC Tel: + 971 6 531 4106 Fax: +971 6 531 4460 Email: estdxb@eim.ae Web: www.everstyleuae.com Alto-Shaam Tel: +1 262 251 3800 Fax: + 1 262 251 1907 Email: international@alto-shaam.com Web: www.alto-shaam.com Boecker Tel: +971 4 333 0315 Fax: +971 4 333 0776 Email: dubai@boecker.com Web: www.boecker.com

Roca Tel: +971.4. 347.64.00 Web: www.roca.com Email: info.dubai@roca.net Villeroy and Boch Tel: +971 4 364 2613 Email: info.me@villeroy-boch.com Web: www.villeroy-boch.com Sanipex Tel: +971 4 330 7771 Web: www.bagnodesign.org Email: info@bagnodesign.org Duravit Tel: 971 4 7017117 Web: www.duravit.com

CMA Spa Tel: cma@cmaspa.com Web: www.wega.it Knoll Middle East Tel: +971 4 701 7531 Web: www.knoll.com Al Tayer Group Tel: +971 4 2011208 Web: www.altayer.com Mobile Gastro-konzepte - F.Z.E. Tel: +971 4 330 9071 Mobile: +971 50 852 5900 web: www.mgk.ae The Product House Web: www.theproducthouse.biz

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Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

• News • Trends • Analysis • Hotel listings

Hotel investors look to Dubai for deals Overseas ﬁnanciers eye up completed projects in the emirate that may have run short of cash OWNERS

MacLean: Investors are less keen to gamble on developments that are not yet under construction.

Hotel investors looking for a deal are already descending on Dubai in the wake of the recent announcements from Dubai World. CB Richard Ellis managing director Middle East Nicholas Maclean said investors from the Far East, Europe and the US were already looking into available options in the emirate. When the news of Dubai World’s debt problems broke during December’s Eid holiday, MacLean said he had taken a call from an American hotel investor who wanted to come to Dubai. “He has seen all the information relating to DP World and he is therefore making an unscheduled trip to

Dubai in the anticipation that there might be more product in the marketplace than there had been previously,” he said. Maclean noted, however, that investors were less keen to gamble on future developments and were looking at completed or nearly completed projects. “If there is a completed product, which is income producing in the way hotels are with an operator contract in place, then that’s highly interesting if it’s completed,” he said. “Also, if there is something unique about it [being] without an operator, that’s also attractive because although there are a lot of brands exposed here, there are still one or two who want to ﬁnd their way into the marketplace.”

Despite a lot of hotels in the region having been on the market throughout 2009, Maclean said the price and buyer and seller expectations had been a “little out of kilter”. “People are much more wary now and perhaps have returned to what some should have done in the ﬁrst place, looking at the inherent fundamentals of the property they were looking to invest in,” he explained. “From people who understand hotels as products, there’s still plenty of interest in the marketplace and all of the things such as the infrastructure, the ease of living, the central location and proximity to Abu Dhabi count in Dubai’s favour and that means long-term, mediumterm and probably long-short-term, it’s a pretty good place to be.”

US $1.5 billion hotel fund attracts Middle Eastern investors FUNDS A US-based investment company has launched a one billion Euro ($1.47bn) hotel fund and has received “signiﬁcant” interest from the Middle East, the company said. Waldeck Capital launched the Global Hospitality Recovery Fund in March 2009 and will focus entirely on the premium end of the luxury hotel market. The fund said it is looking to purchase non-performing assets with negative cash ﬂow, delinquent assets being disposed of by institutional investors, distressed assets in negative equity and assets that are in breach of covenants by borrowers. CEO of Waldeck Capital Tom Smit told Arabian Business magawww.hoteliermiddleeast.com

The Global Hospitality Recovery Fund from Waldeck Capital plans to invest US $1.5bn in the luxury market.

zine that the company has so far received “significant” interest from investors in the Middle East, especially from Abu Dhabi and Kuwait. “I think first of all a lot of Middle Eastern players in the [hospitality] industry understand that the markets have taken a nosedive,” Smit observed, adding that a lot of investors in the Middle East have been frustrated by returns they have got from investments in high profile hotel brands. “A lot of them have had to take writedowns,” he added. The fund plans to make its first acquisition in the first quarter of 2010 as Smit said he believes prices “will be more sensible by that time.” The fund aims to make a return of 20% and will operate for a maximum of seven years. Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

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Abu Dhabi buys 10.9% share in Hyatt Hotels Corp Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s stake has a market value of approximately US $140 million HOTEL STOCK The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), one of the world’s top sovereign wealth funds, has acquired a 10.9% stake in the Pritzker family’s Hyatt Hotels Corp. The sovereign wealth fund holds 4.76 million Hyatt Class A shares, according to a ﬁling in December with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, reported Bloomberg. The stake has a market value of about $140.4 million. The Abu Dhabi authority is the second sovereign wealth fund to report having acquired Hyatt shares since the Chicago-based hotel chain

went public in November, with the Government of Singapore Investment Corp disclosing last month that it had acquired a 6.9% stake. Hyatt’s shares were sold through the IPO at $25 each and have since risen to $29.51. Commenting on ADIA’s acquisition, CBRE Middle East vice president investment and advisory Arnaud Andrieu said that now was a good time to make long-term investments in hotel stock. Even with predictions of “continued supply increases in 2010” and “declines in revenues and profits year-on-year”, Andrieu said, “we can affirm that the slow-down will be less significant than forecasted and that the rhythm of

recovery may present further acceleration due to anticipation of lower discounts on ADR than expected (from double digits to single digit). “Moreover, operators will face in 2010 attractive distressed opportunities and would be able, for those with enough liquidity on their balance sheet, as Hyatt after their IPO, to start capitalising again in real estate on a long-term basis,” said Andrieu. “Therefore, I am convinced that it is the right moment to take long term (three to ﬁve years holding period) positions in lodging stocks to anticipate market capitalisation growth as this sector has good reasons to rise further. Moreover, the fact that two of the more worldwide important Sovereign

US $1.1 BILLION

was raised at Hyatt’s IPO Wealth Funds and the most active in the hospitality industry chose Hyatt is not a coincidence,” he concluded. Hyatt’s IPO raised almost $1.1 billion through the sale of 43.7 million shares. Hyatt received about $127 million of the proceeds with the remainder going to the Pritzker family, which controls 61% of voting rights.

Istithmar loses W Hotel in Manhattan, NY Accor to split its business into two OWNERS Dubai World’s private-equity arm, Istithmar, spent around US $282 million in 2006 for the W Hotel Union Square in Manhattan. However, at a foreclosure auction in December, the winning bid was $2 million, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The W Hotel is one of the ﬁrst major property assets of Dubai World to be foreclosed on since share prices in Dubai tumbled at the end of November 2009.

According to the report by The Wall Street Journal, despite opening with “lots of buzz”, the hotel defaulted on $117 million of junior debt in October. LEM Mezzanine, a private-equity fund afﬁliated with property-investment ﬁrm Lubert-Adler Partners made the successful bid of $2 million.

BUSINESS The board of directors of Accor has voted in favour of a split of the group’s hotels business and pre-paid services. Accor chairman and CEO Gilles Pélisson said: “The demerger would create a new, solid, sustainable growth dynamic for both businesses, each of which is a global leader in its respective business.” The recommendation is pending shareholder approval, with the Accor board planning to submit the proposed demerger to shareholders

no later than the end of 2010. Meanwhile, the proposal will be submitted to employee representatives for consultation “as soon as possible”. Pélisson added that the demerger, “would also serve as a growth driver for both Hotels and Prepaid Services, offering employees the opportunity to take part in two new entrepreneurial adventures, both of which have bright futures ahead of them”. The review concluded there were “no real synergies” between Accor Hospitality and Accor Services and that separately, the two businesses would be more attractive to investors.

STOCK WATCH — DECEMBER PRICE (US $)

CHANGE (%)

PRICE (US $)

CHANGE (%)

BX Blackstone Group (NYSE)

13.26

-8.9

CHH Choice Hotels International (NYSE)

32.99

MAR Marriott International (NYSE)

28.19

10.2

KHI Kingdom Hotels (LSE)

3.31

-5.7

IHG InterContinental Hotels Group (NYSE)

14.39

2.8

REZT Rezidor Hotel Group (SSE)

21.50

-4.4

HOT Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide (NYSE)

36.93

16.6

LHO LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE)

20.89

WYN Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE)

21.08

12.1

AC Accor (PSE)

38.15

4.6

Notes: Relevant exchanges are indicated in brackets: New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), London Stock Exchange (LSE), Stockholm Stock Exchange (SSE), Paris Stock Exchange (PSE). Quotes sourced from euroland.com, londonstockexchange.com and nyse.com. Figures for October are based on quotes from November 24 compared with December 21, 2009.

For a list of upcoming properties, see www.hoteliermiddleeast.com. To update your company’s list, contact louise.oakley@itp.com www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

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Bin Eid is highly specialized in Senior Level Search & Placement Executive of Hotel / Hospitality Industry Professionals. Our clients include Search prominent 5 star hotels (International chains), 4 star deluxe & Selection properties and other hospitality and leisure industry establishments in UAE and other Gulf Countries. We are now in the process of filling in the above positions for our clients in the UAE, GCC and Other Countries. CV may be forwarded by e-mail to M.D. WARRIER indicating the present / expected salary: BIN EID EXECUTIVE SEARCH Specialised in 5* Hotel Sector Post Box 5455, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Tel. +971 6 5686144 E-Mail – ceo@bineid.ae Website – www.bineid.com

Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort:

Andries Jamneck Man of adventure Andries Jamneck recently joined TDIC’s Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara as desert excursions manager NEW RECRUIT How did you begin your career in the hospitality industry? I have always had a passion for nature and the outdoors, so in 2001 decided to do my diploma in game ranging and lodge management. After my studies I worked as a guide for a fivestar lodge bordering Kruger National Park, South Africa. This was my first step into the hospitality industry and the doors opened up for me. I moved to the UAE and for the past five years I have worked in desert resorts around Dubai and Abu Dhabi. How will your new role at Qasr Al Sarab differ to your previous position at sister property Desert Islands Resort & Spa? While working as a guide at Desert Islands I experienced the rich culture of Abu Dhabi. I took on the challenge of building up a team of professional guides and set up the desert excursions here at Qasr Al Sarab. As a team we will share our passion for the Liwa Desert and give guests an opportunity to experience UAE traditions and the beauty of the region. How closely does the hotel work with TDIC in designing new activity and adventure programmes? Activities at both Qasr Al Sarab and Desert Islands are managed by TDIC tourism operations department; therefore we are part of the structure and work hand in hand in planning and designing each activity to give our guests the opportunity to celebrate the tradition and roots of the emirate. We try to offer a variety of activities, from fitness to kids clubs and traditional outdoor activities.

ing activities at such a remote resort? Being remote can be a challenge at times, but it mainly adds to our advantage. The stunning unpolluted location allows guests to step back from their busy lives and truly experience the remoteness of the region — leaving them with the breathtaking sand formations and the night sky of the Liwa Desert and the Empty Quarter. What do you think will attract UAE Nationals to the resort? Qasr Al Sarab will attract a number of UAE Nationals as it offers the authentic aspects of desert life, as well as the true heritage and rich traditions of the region. Therefore, the region will open up to all types of researchers interested in exploring and studying the Empty Quarter and its environment, archaeology, Neolithic settlements, wildlife and tribes from Liwa. Do you think the emirate of Abu Dhabi can become the adventure capital of the Middle East? Abu Dhabi offers Arabic mystique and ambience with careful, wellplanned developments. With the 2030 plan in mind, it will become one of the leading adventure and tourism capitals of the Middle East. How do you wind down after a busy day working at the resort? My day doesn’t always ﬁnish early, but when time allows I try to get out with the sunset. If it’s with my camera or ﬂying falcons, it rewinds me and gives me an appreciation of the beauty of the region [we live in].

What are the biggest challenges you face in organisJanuary 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

like New York City in the late 19th century, raw and refreshing; attracting the hard-working and the ambitious from all over the Islamic world. “The vast majority of its inhabitants are not the 20-something American investment bankers unable to splash out on Gucci luggage, or the British expat facing the prospect of giving up her Jumeirah beach house and returning to work at a supermarket back in Manchester. “Dubai’s citizens are Arab Nationals, South Asians and Africans. When they arrive the dream does not always match the reality but, as immigrants in the last century who ﬂed famine and oppression felt, the prospect of returning home is usually worse.” It’s vital that we, the outside world (and) together with the local

I’M OF THE OPINION THAT THE DOWNTURN IS GOOD; AN OPPORTUNITY TO DISPENSE WITH THOSE THAT SOUGHT SHORT-TERM FINANCIAL GAIN BASED ON A COMPLETELY FALSE ECONOMY OF HIGH CREDIT week’s reaction to the announcement that Dubai World was in financial difficulties was out of all proportion to the nature of the offence. There is a recession going on, and in a recession companies default, particularly companies that have borrowed vast sums to pursue spectacular property developments.” Hilton then cites the example of London’s Canary Wharf development as “a similar story of a visionary developer taking a wasteland with no infrastructure to speak of and seemingly no prospect of economic development, investing unprecedented sums in state-of-theart buildings to turn it into a model environment, and then waiting and hoping for the tenants to arrive.” Canary Wharf is now a hugely successful development and the heart of London’s financial district.

BEACON OF SUCCESS Hamida Ghafour’s excellent article “Dubai is still a beacon of success” (December 4, 2009, www.thenational.ae) makes for compelling reading and touches a raw nerve. Ghafour says: “Dubai, however, offers hope and opportunity. It is

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

population, still see Dubai as this ‘beacon’ of hope. I’m of the opinion that the downturn is good; an opportunity to dispense with those that sought short-term ﬁnancial gain based on a completely false economy of high credit — be they bankers, retailers, property developers or hoteliers. These are neither the people, nor the businesses that had Dubai’s best interests at heart, and I for one am not sorry to see such mercenaries fail. I do, however, applaud those that are prepared to wait, that have a solid long-term commitment to Dubai, and that recognise that conﬁdence and prosperity will return — once the market has found its feet and re-established itself. In the midst of the Arabian Desert, Dubai is a source of inspiration and a symbol of hope to many millions of people; a demonstration of what can be achieved. And I for one believe in the dream — better this than the alternative. HME

Signature Worldwide, established in 1986, with headquarters in Columbus Ohio in the United States, is the leading provider of training and business solutions in the hospitality industry as well as other serviceoriented organizations. Since its establishment, Signature has helped thousands of clients, including many of the globe’s leading hotel chains, to turn high-level vision and strategy into everyday practice. Signature has managed to achieve this by focusing on the increase of its clients’ revenues, while raising their standards of service quality. International luxury hotel operator Rosewood Hotels & Resorts offer a variety of award winning hotels all around the world. In Saudi Arabia specifically as of 2007, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts opened their third luxury hotel, “Corniche”, in Jeddah. Signature Holdings (Cyprus) Ltd (Signature Cyprus), the official licensee of Signature Worldwide, responsible for the MENA region, approached Rosewood Hotels in an effort to make a direct positive impact on the hotels bottom line revenue. Specifically working with all three Rosewood Hotels, Rosewood Al Faisaliah and Al Khozama in Riyadh, as well as Rosewood Corniche in Jeddah, Signature Cyprus aims, through customized training programs, as well as numerous reinforcement visits and monitoring through mystery shopping calls, to raise the hotel’s customer service standards and set these hotels apart, by having them give out a consistent and “memorable” customer service, that not only build value for these hotels, but also generate brand product loyalty. Signatures’ philosophy is that through a constant process of training, coaching and use of performance measurement tools, a lasting change in your employees’ customer approach can be achieved. As of May 2009, Rosewood Al Faisaliah won the title of Saudi Arabia’s Leading Business Hotel at the world Travel Awards, hosted at the Monarch Dubai, for the second year running, whereas this year Rosewood Corniche was awarded the title of Saudi Arabia’s Leading Hotel. To find out more about how Signature Cyprus can help to align your front-line employees to your brand promise, you can contact us at: Tel: (Cyprus Offices) +357 22 02 04 90 +357 25 81 42 10 (Dubai Office) +971 4 434 7275-6

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Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

INVESTOR

saved from bankruptcy by a US $50 billion takeover. • The US government effectively nationalised Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which between them owned or guaranteed about half of the US $12 trillion mortgage market. • In the UK, the government’s bank bailout has, so far, cost tax payers US $1.5 trillion. So, please forgive me if I think that there is an over-reaction to the events unfolding in Dubai. Credit where it’s due though: some commentators have had a much more balanced view of the current situation. For example, writing in the London Evening Standard (November 30, 2009, www.thisislondon.co.uk), Anthony Hilton says that: “Last

Signature Cyprus and Rosewood Hotels & Resorts

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Bin Eid Executive Search (Specialised in 5* Hotel Sector)

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What are the biggest challenges you face in organisJanuary 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

Contact details: Sarah Worth Tel: +971 04 435 6374 / Fax: +971 4 435 6080 Email: sarah.worth@itp.com

RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING

ON THE MOVE… VAUBELL’S NEW HIDEAWAY Six Senses Hideaway Zighy Bay has appointed Demeiter Vaubell as director of sales and marketing. An Australian national, Demeiter brings with her more than 20 years of hospitality experience having worked for a number of international hotel chains around the world including Hyatt International, Hilton, Carlson Hotels and Anantara Resorts & Spas. Prior to joining Six Senses, Demeiter was based in Bangkok with Anantara Resorts & Spas where she held the position of director of sales international. NEW SEASON FOR TAPKEN

ERKENHAS’ EVENTS

Corinna Erkenhas has joined Rafﬂes Dubai as director of events to help maximise the events and conferences’ targets and support the overall hotel strategy. Erkenhas previously worked for a Dubai-based event agency, where she was managing projects in Abu Dhabi. She was also part of the opening team at Atlantis, The Palm Dubai as associate director of service, convention sales & events and also held roles at both Jumeirah Beach Hotel and Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. FROM CORAL TO RAMADA Ramada Hotel & Suites Ajman has welcomed Iftikhar Hamdani as its new director of sales and marketing. Hamdani brings with him 15 years’ experience in the hospitality industry. He started his career with Pearl Continental Hotels in Pakistan and after moving to the UAE at the end of 1999, he spent nearly a decade developing his sales skills with Coral Hotels UAE.

Thomas Tapken has been appointed group general manager, City Seasons Group of Hotels by City Seasons Group vice president Sheikh Ahmed Bin Ham. Having enjoyed more than 25 years in the industry, Tapken will now lead City Seasons Group in its drive towards ﬂourishing as a recognised international hotel chain. German-born Tapken was formerly regional general manager Dubai for Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts. www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

MEDIA ONE HITS THE RIGHT NOAT A new operations manager has taken up his role at the recently opened Media One Hotel in Dubai. Sebastien Noat will be responsible for the development and implementation of the hotel’s food and beverage concepts as well as overseeing all aspects of the hotel’s operations. Before joining Media One Hotel, Noat was based in Beijing, China launching three very different nightclubs, Bling,

Block8 and LAN Club. Prior to his move to China, Noat was director of food and beverage at the Shangri-La Dubai and his tenure with Shangri-La Hotels Group includes directorial positions in Thailand, Malaysia and China. His vast experience also includes a stint as director of food and beverage at The Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort in Monaco, as well as with the Ritz-Carlton Hotels Group in the US Virgin Islands, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

AL-AMIRY JOINS ROSEWOOD Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has appointed Matthias Al-Amiry as hotel manager for Al Faisaliah Hotel, A

BLU IS THE COLOUR FOR MEHIRI Tunisian national Walid Mehiri has joined The Radisson Blu Residence, Dubai Marina as its new director of sales & marketing. Mehiri has a solid understanding of the tourism industry, cultivated through 14 years of experience working in four- and ﬁve-star properties carrying international brands. Having gone on to hold several positions in the area of sales and marketing as well as revenue management, Mehiri’s most recent role was as regional director of sales and marketing with Swiss-Belhotel International in Dubai looking after Middle East. Mehiri holds a Master Certiﬁcate in Essentials of Hospitality Management from Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in the US. FROM OWNER TO OPERATOR Australian-born Craig Smith has joined the upcoming Mövenpick Hotel & Residence Laguna Tower Dubai as general manager. Prior to joining Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Smith was the assistant vice president, client operations for Dubaibased IFA Hotels & Resorts. In this role, Smith was responsible for developing and driving the strategic direction of the company’s client operations’ objectives in the Middle East. IFA Hotels & Resorts owns the Laguna Tower Dubai hotel, which is set to open during 2010. Smith began his hospitality career in Queensland, Australia with independent hotel operators before joining ITT Sheraton in 1989. He later joined Accor Hotels & Resorts as a hotel general manager.

Rosewood Hotel, in Riyadh. Al-Amiry has held managerial positions with international ﬁve-star hotels and brands across Europe, Asia and the US including RitzCarlton, the Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof in Frankfurt and the Rafﬂes Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in Hamburg. Prior to taking on his latest role he was resident manager for The Peninsula Manila Hotel in the Philippines. Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

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Tiger Woods Dubai “remains committed” to course Development of the Al Ruwaya course continues, but no comment on Woods’ personal life GOLF

While Tiger Woods has withdrawn from professional golf this year, work on his namesake course continues.

Tiger Woods Dubai has announced that it “remains committed” to the Al Ruwaya Golf Course in Dubai, the first golf course designed by the famous golfer’s company, Tiger Woods Design. Speculation has been rife on whether sponsors and key partners will stand by Tiger Woods in the wake of a recent string of allegations of infidelity. “The Tiger Woods Dubai, a member of the Dubai Properties Group, can confirm that it remains committed to the completion of its centerpiece Al Ruwaya Golf Course, and that progress continues on the first golf course designed by Tiger Woods Design,” a state-

ment from the company said. It continued: “Tiger Woods Dubai does not comment on the personal lives of our valued partners”. Woods has already lost his contract with Accenture, while other companies are restricting his visibility in their campaigns. However, he has been getting more support from the golﬁng community in the UAE. Golf in Dubai CEO Mohammad Juma Bu Amin told Gulf News: “We are with you in this difﬁcult time and respect your request for family privacy. As and when you decide to return to the circuit, you can always count on us.” He added: “We will be more than delighted to welcome you to Dubai. Consider Dubai your second home”.

Wild Wadi squad wins UAE lifeguard competition LIFEGUARDING Wild Wadi scored ﬁrst place in the UAE National Lifeguarding Championships, which attracted teams from 14 hotels, clubs and waterparks in the UAE. Held on December 12, 2009 at Jumeirah open beach, the event consisted of several categories such as Run Swim Run, Endurance Race and Surf Swim. Club Mina from Le Méridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina took second place, missing out on the top spot by four points. Third place went to the Shangri-La Hotel Qaryat Al Beri Abu Dhabi and the Atlantis Aquaventure team came in fourth. www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

SPIN OUT AT NEW YEAR INSTRUCTOR COURSES A spinning and an aqua instructor course will be held in Dubai at the end of January, with a sec-ng ond indoor cycling or Abu course planned for y. Dhabi in February. Organised by MVM Sports up and CareerManagement Group Sport Recruitment & Training Ltd, the Spinning Certification course will be held at Fitness First Al Musalla Towers, Bur Dubai on January 29. The Spinning qualification is internationally recognised and certified by SpinFitness and Mad Dogg Athletics USA. It will be run by master instructor Elsa Storm, a certified personal trainer and also founder of the Aquatic Association of South Africa. The Aqua Instructors programme, which is certified under the Professional Aquatic Association of South Africa, will also be lead by Storm and held at Fitness First Al Musalla Towers. With a 50/50 practical and theoretical split, the Aqua Instructors course is designed to cover aquatic physics, anatomy and physiology, intensity training and applied theoretical aspects of aquatic conditioning. The course will run from January 30-31, 2009. Details: www.careersport.net or www.mwmsports.com

TR AINRINTG A LE

The Club Mina team from Le Méridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort scored second place in the championships.

Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

January 2010 â&#x20AC;˘ Hotelier Middle East

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Makeover for the UAE’s oldest golf club Abu Dhabi City Golf Club will benefit from new two-tiered driving range REFURBISHMENT The Abu Dhabi City Golf Club has been relaunched following the upgrade of its Ian Scott Taylor designed nine-hole course and the addition of improved golf carts. All nine holes have been enhanced with the construction of new fairways and greens. Club manager Rhian Lobo said: “The newly-constructed golf greens are now offering a sterner test of golf. There are also more challenging tees — none more so than at the par three seventh. The green on the ninth hole has been moved to the edge of the water, thus creating a thrilling climax to the end of your round. “Any shot finishing too short of the flag will almost certainly mean a watery death”. CEO Shehab Al Hashemi added that it was not just the golf course that had been upgraded. “The Abu Dhabi City Golf Club has purchased a fleet of new carts

Golfers test out the improved course at Abu Dhabi City Golf Club, which promises a “sterner” test of the game.

all equipped with Golf-Cart GPS. Also, the UAE’s ﬁrst two-tiered driving range is under construction and will allow players to practice in a shaded area. The two tiers have 36 bays — 30 of which are covered and equipped with fans. This change to the Abu Dhabi City Golf Club’s

Academy will give members and guests the opportunity to practice all year round more conveniently,” said Al Hashemi. Formerly known as The Abu Dhabi Golf & Equestrian Club since its foundation in 1976, the club has been renamed as part of its new look.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS Barcock bags regional Hilton job Sharon Barcock has been appointed director of spa operations and development for Middle East and Africa for Hilton Worldwide, Previously spa director at Mandara Spa at The Monarch Dubai, Barcock will continue to be based in Dubai at the Hilton Corporate Office. The new role has been created to help develop and deliver Hilton’s new spa concept in the region, which is expected to be announced during 2010. Barcock will report to Hilton VP global fitness and spa Keith Burnet. Morariu fills Rotana recreation role Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi has appointed Daniel Morariu as its new director of recreation. Morariu brings with him 15 years of experience in the areas of leisure, fitness, spa and kids club operations. He is also a certified physical education instructor and a black belt trainer in judo. Previous appointments include positions in Dubai with Hilton, Mövenpick, Grosvenor House and the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Qatar’s ﬁrst waterpark underway

The waterpark is expected to appeal to families and contribute to the growth of leisure tourism to Doha.

Phase one of Qatar’s ﬁrst aqua park in Doha is set to open to the public in April 2010. The ﬁrst 100,000m² phase will feature a giant wave pool, lazy river and various slides and water shoots. The park, which is being developed by Hala Group Enterprises, will also have a lagoon pool with fountains, light effects, rock-art

works, shaded Jacuzzis, and a lazy river. Hala Group Enterprises general manager Ijaz Malik told Gulf News that the wave pool would create waves as high as 1.5metres. A dry section of the park is planned with paintballing, BMX biking and roller skating. The full 300,000m² resort is due to be completed in June 2011.

Daniel Morariu.

On-line pool water monitoring all year round Monitor your pH and chlorine from the convenience of your PC anywhere in the world Aquaclear Poolsquad range from France perfect for Spas, Jacuzzi’s, Plunge pools and small Resort pools Aquaclear systems can be found in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and India Tel: +971 4 3390411 / Fax: +971 4 3390668 info@aquaclear.ae / www.aquaclear.ae

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

LEISURE MANAGER

Breaking the mould Spa development specialist Anni Hood encourages owners and operators to move out of their comfort zone and consider how to generate more revenue and proﬁt from their spa offerings

COLUMNIST rom a global perspective, it is commonplace for hotel spas to be recognised as an effective means to drive hotel occupancy and room rate. There are now many research surveys available (e.g. Smith Travel research (STR)) that illustrate how hotel properties without an appropriate spa facility suffer with lower room rates and occupancies. The research is largely US-centric, although some hotel groups outside of the US have assessed their own performance and also found it to be the case. This evidence cannot be regarded as a blanket assumption for every region of the world. In the Middle East and especially Dubai, occupancy and, until recently, room rates have been some of the highest in the world irrespective of the spa offering. Now, however, with many more hotels opening or soon to open, the importance of the spa product, the integration of it within the hotel and the proﬁt contribution of said spa are becoming ever more important.

OPTIMISATION OF SPACE Consumer caution and frugal spending patterns don’t appear to be a passing fad. This mindset, so previously alien in this part of the world, also extends to owners and developers. It is frequently the case that the January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

The Koi Carp Lounge at The Sanctuary, London: look to spas outside of the traditional hotel infrastructure for creative ideas for establishing successful spa businesses.

MANY RESEARCH SURVEYS ILLUSTRATE HOW HOTEL PROPERTIES WITHOUT AN APPROPRIATE SPA FACILITY SUFFER WITH LOWER ROOM RATES AND OCCUPANCY visionary eyes are bigger than the coffer bellies of the ladies and gentlemen who hold the purse strings to the deliciously extravagant, cuttingedge icons of the future. All too often and increasingly so now, the pressure to drive revenue and strong proﬁt contribution from these new (and existing) gems lies in the hands of the operators. More attention is being paid to the potential optimisation of space and the matching strategy to ensure potential is realised. If the investment for the spa area is regarded in isolation to the rest of the property, notwithstanding any increase in occupancy or rate (referenced above), then the revenue and consequential proﬁt contribution

is under great scrutiny. It’s not that this isn’t so when considered alongside the whole project; however, it has become more essential than ever to be able to quantify ROI for the different elements of the hotel model. The spa and wellness element, including the ﬁtness area, of any hotel is expensive. Without doubt, PR can be crafted to work exceptionally well and that, along with good USPs, great service, originality and value goes a long way to establishing the business.

DRIVING ADDITIONAL REVENUE To drive additional revenue and proﬁt there are two schools of thought; one for existing spas and the second for spas under development.

The key revenue generating areas of a spa are: • Treatments • Retail • Fitness/spa membership • Classes – yoga/fitness For many existing spas, the fitness element is located and managed elsewhere, providing no income or profitable benefit other than potential referrals. Membership remains a great revenue generator if your model is designed for this particular revenue stream. To truly optimise revenue and profitability in your spa, particularly in the Middle East, it may require a move out of the ‘comfort zone’. One cannot be achieved without the other and to break the invisible barriers that exist will take some time and some courage.

CHARGING FOR WET AREAS The wet areas are the single most expensive area of the spa to build, www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

91 LEISURE MANAGER

exacerbated in the Middle East by the need to have both male and female areas. In most cases there is no charge for a hotel guest to use this space and so too for local residents who book a treatment in the spa. So at present, there is no income from wet areas despite high investment alongside large energy and running costs. It’s a nice facility to have and great value for guests — if that value was increased to include additions that made a more complete offer, it would go a long way in providing additional revenue and profitability with minimal investment and/or clever design. There are many models outside the traditional hotel spa infrastructure that do charge a fee for the use of facilities. The Sanctuary in London is a good example and the Aqua Sana brand for Center Parcs another. These are not comparable models I hear you yell. Fair enough, try the Ayana hotel in Bali ( previously Ritz-Carlton) or The Royal Park Shiodome Tower in Tokyo, a Mandara spa. Both of these spas charge a wet area fee and both perform exceptionally well ﬁnancially. The Ayana Hotel has its own Thermae Marins spa as well as its ‘Spa on the Rocks’. Both spas are able to justify fees with comprehensive wet areas and manage their business carefully to ensure that guests having treatments only are not disturbed by a potentially more tourist driven ‘masclusive’ ideal. Having a

less comprehensive wet area does not take you out of the game. For existing spas to suddenly change the tariff and charge for usage of wet areas as they are has danger written all over it; that isn’t what is being suggested. If additional services are offered in the confines of the wet areas that provide value, benefit and appeal, which are possibly self administered and require little investment, there is great opportunity for this to open an additional revenue stream. What would your loyal guests like that you don’t offer? How can this area, if indeed it is substantial enough to justify a fuller experience, be better utilised? Highlighting the health benefits of correct wet area usage is an excellent way of demonstrating the value of this area. Basic health checks, weight, height, BMI, nutritional information and scrubs for guests to self administer all contribute to potential wins in the revenue stakes for little, if any, investment in an area that is currently a giveaway.

A BLANK CANVAS If you are building a new hotel spa and the focus is to optimise revenue and proﬁtability, then the percentage of revenue-generating spaces must be higher than most current models demonstrate. It is always exciting to have a blank canvas. When considering the same issues of revenue and proﬁt optimisation at the early stages

Center Parcs has it sussed at Aqua Sana Whinfell Forest in the UK — wet facilities include these pool water jets.

TO TRULY OPTIMISE PROFITABILITY IN YOUR SPA, IT MAY REQUIRE A MOVE OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE of planning, conceptualisation and design, it is a little easier to achieve. Do ensure that the bricks and mortar space, the business strategy and the projected financials all reflect the same vision: to optimise return, maximise revenue generation and enhance profit contribution. All too often these ricochet in different directions and the challenge then becomes that of an ‘existing’ spa rather than a purpose built piece of real estate.

TIME FOR COLLABORATION

Aqua Sana Elveden Forest spa pool: additional services offered within the wet area can generate revenue.

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

And ﬁnally, I must also raise the question, and indeed the need, for some regional collaboration. As I mentioned, there lies a degree of discomfort in breaking the mould and introducing ‘new’ models where the perception, if not carefully handled, may be one of indifference by the consumer. If it’s not broken, don’t ﬁx it. Right?

Well, it is broken and it does need fixing. To be able to secure stronger spa performances, happier investors and I believe, more confident operators who are able to optimise every piece of their real estate, some unity and discussion may be advantageous. For those bold enough, the creation of a new experience that cleverly utilises existing space and provides value, originality and at the same time feeds consumer demand, will be a winner. Done well, there is an opportunity to redefine not only the spa experience but also the potential of hotel spa financial performance. HME Spa development specialist Anni Hood is based in the UK. Previously, she was group director of spas for Jumeirah Group in Dubai and is now working with Red Cashew on new spa projects. Email your views to: annihood@me.com

Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

LEISURE MANAGER

Rub Al Khali (Empty Quarter): The largest expanse of unbroken sand worldwide.

Organising Adventure In the wake of last month’s Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge, LucyTaylor talks to race director Thierry Anselme-Martin about the highs, lows and potential pitfalls of organising a major sporting event INTERVIEW How did you go about deciding on the routes for each phase of this year’s Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge? This was the third Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge, so we now know the country very well and we know precisely where we can go and what we can do with the race. We also speak with the racers after each edition to get their input and opinions, and take that into account when deciding on the route. Every year, we try to change the course and discover a new part of the country. The Adventure Challenge route is basically a mix of everything we could ﬁnd in Abu Dhabi: sea and mangrove, desert, mountain and January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

The winning team was New Zealand-based quartet ‘Qasr Al Sarab’, named after their sponsor, the luxury, ﬁve-star Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort and Spa by Anantara, which comprised of husband and wife Richard and Elina Ussher, Marcel Hagener and Nathan Fa'avae.

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

93 LEISURE MANAGER

The 40 world-beating teams had to contend with a gruelling, 88km, two-day kayak section.

oasis. To make some changes for 2009, we found a new kayak section and we added a swimming section. The Empty Quarter in Liwa [where the two-day orienteering section of the Challenge took place] is simply amazing; we felt it was it was very important to have [the trek] run over a couple of days, to give the competitors

time to get that real ‘desert feeling’. So every year, we change the route — but honestly, even if you passed by the same route, you probably wouldn’t remember it from one year to the next! Every year, we also change the way in which competitors climb Jebel Hafeet and organise different rope jobs.

What was your aim when developing this year’s competition course? The primarily factor for us is always the security of the competitors and we always keep this point in mind when we draw up the route. The second issue is the level of interest for racers; we try to find the best place to practice each discipline in a natural environment. What, in your view, was the most difficult phase for competitors, and why? Probably the desert section, because it was the longest and the weather was very hot this year. You have to prepare your feet and take properly adapted equipment to run into the sand. The mountain bike section also turned out to be particularly difficult this year, due to a very strong head-wind.

Forty teams from 20 countries kick-start one of the world's most international endurance races.

ADAC BY THE NUMBERS Forty teams representing 20 nations from ﬁve continents took part in the sixday, multi-discipline Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge, vying for US $40,000 of prize money for the winning team. The 2009 Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge was the most trying to date, with a new 428km cross-emirate route. 12 ambulances were on stand-by during the event’s six days, including mobile ambulance facilities mounted on army-code Humvee trucks, to access even the most inhospitable types of terrain.

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

More than 400 personnel assisted with the staging of Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge 2009, including air and sea pilots, medical crews, logistics teams, water and power supply technicians, transportation crews and remote satellite installation experts. Each participant burned more than 7000 calories a day — three times the daily recommended rate for an average grown man. Racers had to consume at least 10 litres of water a day to stave off the effects of dehydration.

What was the biggest logistical challenge of putting the event together? We don’t organise this kind of race in a stadium — our stadium is the entire country! So the issues are getting the permit to organise the race; ensuring competitors’ safety at any time, anywhere during the race (even during the night in the middle of the desert we should be able to reach any team in minimal time); and ﬁnally, transporting all the required elements — such as bikes, kayaks, and base camp equipment — to the sites on time.

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What is the big appeal of Abu Dhabi as a sports event setting? The destination is still relatively unknown in this arena, so the location generates a lot of curiosity. Also, few people realise the diversity of the environment: the draw for us is very clear. HME Hotelier Middle East • January 2010

EVENTS

Calendar A round-up of industry events here and abroad coming up in the next12 months

FEATURED EVENT

Don’t Miss February 21-24, 2010

May 4-7, 2010

GULFOOD 2010

Arabian Travel Market (ATM)

Dubai UAE www.gulfood.com

Dubai UAE www.arabiantravelmarket.com

March 1-3, 2010

GIBTM

May 7-10, 2010

Abu Dhabi, UAE www.gibtm.com

HOTEC

May 1-3, 2010

Muscat, Oman www.mcleaneventsinternational. com/events/HotecMiddleEast2010

Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) 2010

May 18-20, 2010

Dubai, UAE www.arabianconference.com

Dubai, UAE www.thehotelshow.com

Also...

The Hotel Show

April 20-23

FHA2010 Singapore, Asia www.foodnhotelasia.com

FHA2010 (Food & Hotel Asia 2010), Asia’s largest international food and hospitality trade exhibition and conference, will return for its 17th edition from April 20 – 23, 2010 at the Singapore Expo. Since its debut in 1978, FHA has had a proud track record of international companies making up more than 80% of its exhibitors. FHA2008 attracted 53,000 attendees from 90 countries/regions, reinforcing the global focus of the event and its excellence in providing a quality platform for trade buyers and sellers to converge, network and transact.

Expected to occupy in excess of 82,000m² of exhibition space at the Singapore Expo, FHA2010 will return with an even wider range of innovative products, technologies and solutions available in the global marketplace to answer the demands of Asia’s food and hospitality industries. Open to business and trade professionals only, the event encompasses various sections such as: Food Asia, Bakery & Pastry, HotelAsia, Hospitality Technology and Hospitality Style Asia and is co-located with Wine & Spirits Asia.

February 21

June 1-3

November 8-11

Restaurant & Cafe Middle East

Beautyworld Middle East

World Travel Market

Dubai UAE www.messefrankfurtme.com

London,UK www.wtmlondon.com

Dubai UAE wwww .gulfood.com

November 8-11 June 13-15

INDEX

March 29-31

Cityscape Jeddah

Interiors UAE

Dubai,UAE www.indexexhibition.com

Abu Dhabi,UAE www.interiorsuae.com

Jeddah SaudiArabia www.cityscapejeddah.com

Business Travel & Meetings Show

April 18-21

October

Cityscape Abu Dhabi

London UK www.businesstravelshow.co.uk

Abu Dhabi UAE www.cityscapeabudhabi.com

Hotelier Middle East Awards 2010

February 21

May 16-19

Ingredients Middle East

Global Spa Summit

October 4-7

Dubai UAE www.ingredientsme.com

Istanbul Turkey www.globalspasummit.org

Cityscape Dubai

February 9

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

Dubai UAE www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

Dubai,UAE www.cityscape.ae

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com

18/10 Stainless Steel

Design Patent No. 0900836.2

RTNER IN THE FOODSERVICE IND BEST PA USTRY YOUR

CONFIDENTIAL

ON TOP OF THE WORLD new year is upon us at Hotelier Towers and we are all intrigued as to how 2010 will play out. We have between us interviewed a number of trea-

Miss World 2009, otherwise known as Miss Gibralta, Kaiane Aldorino, poses with Jean-Francois Laurent, general manager of The Yas Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

cle-sweet optimists, lemon-sharp doomsayers and a wealth of fence sitters who are walking awkwardly into Q1 full of splinters. One thing we are expecting to see is takeover deals and new management contracts. There are certainly deals out there for the cash rich among us and it will be interesting to see who hangs onto what and who ofﬂoads faltering projects and properties. At least Abu Dhabi hotelier on Yas Island will be going into 2010 with a smile on their faces following the recent visit of Miss World. HotelierMiddleEast.com’s visitor ﬁgures went through the roof when Miss World and her band of also rans turned up to the Abu Dhabi development, and we ran a story full of pictures on it. Anyway, as temperatures cooled, we got wind of a hotelier who was demanding to know from his outsourced PR team why his hotel wasn’t getting any coverage. We hazard a guess it might be something to do with his constant refusal to partake in any interview, discussion or event. As much as we would love to tell the world how his hotel is the best in the world due to his unique service, tasteful décor and uncompromising dedication to zzzzzzzzzz. Sorry, where were we? Ah yes, take

caution when bookin booking a speaker for your next event. One unlucky firm firm booked an exinternational sports star to talk at an evening for its top clients invited from around the world. Unfortunately, the ‘star’ had enjoyed too much hospitality and abused the CEO of the company putting on the event, various nationalities and the audience. Once evicted from the stage, rumour has it he was given a five knuckle bonus for his speech. And now for a tale of two very different hospitality experiences located within five minutes and 500 yards of each other. One of Hotelier’s hangers on stuck his nose into the newly opened Sofitel in JBR and was promptly given a guided tour. No mention of the magazine was given; this was something the staff were doing for anyone who was as curious as our man in the field. Introduced to all the features of the hotel in a friendly and informative manner, he left wanting to go back when all the F&B outlets were open. But in need of some refreshment he ventured to a nearby hotel he had previously promised himself he would not return to due to the level of service. Once bitten twice shy, twice bitten,

glutton for punishment. Unfortunately, he wasn’t pleasantly surprised once again. Waiting for the two reception staff to finish their conversation, he was finally acknowledged — acknowledged with a blunt and ultimately rude reaction to his question. He left and promised himself not to return. He would like to think that the former hotel will continue its good first impression and that the latter will either buck its ideas up or make way for someone who understands at least the basics of good hospitality. Have a great 2010 and let’s hope the optimists win the day. HME

Next issue • Country update: Oman • Industry best practice: Marketing • Roundtable: Hotel engineers • Product analysis: Uniforms • Product guide: Laundry Equipment • Technology: CRM • Interview: Revenue management

Don’t Miss Gulfood 2010 preview: the trends, news and products

Hotelier competition This month you have a chance to win dinner for two at Dine Restaurant at Aloft Abu Dhabi. All you need to do is answer the following question: Which hotel company has opened the world’s tallest hotel? Send your answer and contact details via email to louise.oakley@ itp.com with the word COMPETITION in the subject line. Last month’s winner of a dinner for two at Barouk at Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi Yas Island was Aline Barhouche, human resources manager at Abu Dhabi National Hotels.

January 2010 • Hotelier Middle East

The lobby at Aloft Abu Dhabi.