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The newly opened Gold Swiss-Belhotel on Al Mina Road in Dubai has been giving free bags of croissants, juice, and chocolate bars to cabbies in the hotels driveway so they will remember the hotel and the location. Deepak Dahiya, Director of Sales and Marketing at the hotel said in the past there were times when the taxi did not know the location of the hotel, and this caused guests arriving at the airport to reach…
Advertising campaigns in Dubai are focusing more on budget and midscale hotels, and less on high priced hotel and glitzy shopping centers. Professor of Marketing at Zayed University in Dubai said about one recent television advertisement by Emirates Airline, “It is trying to highlight Dubai as a place for all segments of the market.” He explained that there is a movement now to brand Dubai away from the luxury…
The hospitality and aviation sector endured a year of rising capacity and falling demand, but continued to maintain its position as a growing market attracting new investment from international players. Airlines and hoteliers based their business plans for 2009 on the assumption that growth in 2007 and early 2008 would continue. However, the global economic slowdown caused some projects to be postponed while…
Millennium and Copthorne Hotels and Resort will open the Grand Millennium Al Wahda Abu Dhabi hotel in the second quarter of 2010. The hotel will be one of the biggest in Abu Dhabi, with a capacity of 850 rooms and hotel apartments. The estimated cost of the hotel was Dh650 million when construction began two years ago. General Manager Kabil Damerji said the cost was modified after the construction value…
Middle Eastern hotelier, the Rotana Group, announced it will increase its portfolio, bringing its total number of properties to 68 by 2012. The hotel management company has so far signed new management agreements for properties in Qatar, Cairo, Jordan, Iraq, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Rotana’s CEO, Selim El Zyr, said “This is part of our strategic aim to have a property located in every key city in the…
The NMC Group of Companies launched their fourth hotel/apartments in Dubai with the opening of the Dh150 million Lotus Hotel Apartments. NMC Chairman Abdullah Humaid Al Mazroie, speaking at the inauguration of the hotel, said the company is going forward with its expansion plans. He said “We have every confidence and faith in the economy and growth of the UAE. Our leaders have built world-class infrastructure…
The world’s tallest hotel opened its doors for guests yesterday in Dubai. The Rose Rayhaan by Rotana is 333 meters tall, has 72 floors with 482 rooms, suites, and penthouses. It is the second property to open under the Rayham Rayhaan Hotels and Resorts brand by Rotana. President and CEO of Rotana, Selim El Zyr said “It is part of our strategic aim to have a property located in every key city in the Middle East…
Calendar year 2009 is closing and the hospitality industry is looking back at gloomy 2009 balance sheets, although the UAE has managed to maintain one of the world’s highest revenue per available room (RevPar) figures. Ulrich Eckhardt, Middle East and Africa President for Kempinski, said it bluntly – “The economic downturn has been bad for the hospitality industry as a whole, and anyone saying otherwise is living…
Tunisia’s Minister of Tourism Mr. Khalil Lajimi chaired a steering committee meeting on Thursday to review a new program to upgrade the country’s hotel units. Presidential measures needed to implement the program were discussed and the minister urged committee members to ensure good quality of diagnostic studies. Two hundred and twenty four membership applications have so far been received by the upgrading…
Hotel bookings in Abu Dhabi and Dubai have picked up with the approaching holiday season, although at a slower pace than in previous years. Rooms are filling up due to an increased number of promotional packages, lower rates, and hoteliers focus on markets other than Europe. Arshad Hussain, director of business development at The Monarch Dubai, said travelers slow to spend have many choices and deals in Dubai,…
Several hotels in the United Kingdom are trying hard to attract Middle Eastern travelers during the slow winter season. The number of UAE visitors to the United Kingdom increased 14 percent this year and experts predict this growth will continue. There was a 50 percent increase in holiday travel during the first half 2009 compared to the same period last year. Luxury hotels are hoping to attract high spending…
Al Dhiafa Holding announced it has launched the International Hotel Consultants Company (IHC) in Abu Dhabi and will provide quality consultancy services for hospitality projects. Al Dhiafa is one of the leading tourism and hospitality companies in the Gulf and the region. Chairman of Al Dhiafa Holding said the new consultancy is consistent with the huge development of the tourism and hospitality sectors in…
Chairman of luxury hotelier Jumeirah Group said Dubai Holding, owned by the ruler of Dubai, will not sell or list Jumeirah Group in order to pay off debt maturing next year. Gerald Lawless said “Jumeirah and Dubai Holding are part of each other and Jumeirah is not going anywhere”. Markets around the world received a shock on November 25th when Dubai asked its creditors for a standstill agreement on $26 billion…
Etihad Airways and Alitalia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Saturday regarding a codeshare agreement to be effective from the start of the Northern Summer season in April 2010, subject to government approvals. The MoU confirms the airline’s intention to operate the codeshare agreement, which will allow Etihad customers from around the world to fly to two new Italian destinations – Rome and…
Dubai based luxury hospitality company, The Jumeirah Group, has been appointed to manage the 250 room, five star, luxury Jumeirah Hangzhou, in Hangzhou, China. Jumeirah Group is a member of Dubai Holding. Gerald Lawless, Executive Chairman of Jumeirah Group, and Su Meng, President of GT Land Holdings Limited, signed the agreement in Hangzhou. The hotel will be located in a prime location in the Central…
The Safir Hotels Company, which is owned by The Kuwaiti Hotels Company, signed a deal with The International Investment and Tourism Group to manage the Safir hotel in Cairo. Sheikh Fahdel Al-Khaled, Chairman of the Board for the hotel company, said they are very proud of their impact in the region since they are one of the major hotels in the Arab World. He said the new agreement will boost tourism…
Late Wednesday night MGM Mirage opened Aria, the flagship casino-hotel of $8.5 billion 578 acre CityCenter development. MGM and partner Dubai World are betting that the CityCenter will bring in visitors to pay for the modern state of the art rooms, and extras like meals at celebrity-chef restaurants, shopping sprees at Tiffany and Gucci, and spa services. However, the 6,000 new high end hotel rooms added by…
French company Accor’s plans to increase the number of hotels in the Middle East will not be affected by Accor’s plans to split its service voucher unit from its hospitality division. Accor Hospitality Middle East previously announced it would increase its 29 hotels to 45 by 2011. An Accor spokesman said “The demerger will not affect the hospitality division’s expansion plans, especially pertaining to the…
