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The New West End Company, which represents about 600 hotels and retail outlets forecasts there will be about 140,000 tourists from the Middle East shopping in London’s most exclusive shops over the next three months. They are expected to spend about 11% more than they did during the same period last year. Five star hotels in London are trying to make their Arab guests feel more at home by hiring Arabic…
Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG) operating profits plummeted 38% to US$179 million during the first half of this year from US$291 million for the same period last year. IHG is best known for its Crown Plaza and Holiday Inn brand and has the biggest presence in the Middle East of any hotel company. They describe the Middle East and the UK as their strongest markets. During the first half of the year…
Occupancy rates at Dubai’s Atlantis Hotel nearly reached 100% even with many hotels experiencing big drops in revenues and tourist numbers. Atlantis Hotel General Manager said they are extremely happy with their outstanding business results. Amadeo Zarzosa said “For the first six-seven days of this month we’ve nearly been at 100 percent”. He said their share of the market has been in the 90’s and for a 1,539…
Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (Adnec) announced the new Aloft Hotel will open in Abu Dhabi. It will be the second largest hotel in Abu Dhabi, providing 408 additional hotel rooms. Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide will operate the new Aloft Hotel which will be linked directly to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre near the Capital Centre district. Adnec Group CEO said an exhibition…
IFA Hotels and Resorts (IFA HR), based in Kuwait, yesterday announced their year end profits were $108 million or 77.75 fils per share (27cents per share). Total revenues were $184.67 million. The company’s chairman, Ebrahim S. Al Therban expressed satisfaction with the results. He noted this year has been very challenging but “we believe there are still many opportunities for us as a company to explore in…
Dubai hotels are making efforts to reduce their carbon footprint and guests are becoming more concerned about the environmental effects of hotels. The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) said they are planning to implement a required carbon reduction program this year, although there so far no set date. The initiative will aim for Dubai hotels to reduce their carbon footprint 20% by the…
Hotel booking cancellations in the Saudi city of Makkah have increased dramatically in the few weeks before Ramadan starts, due to fears of the H1N1 virus. Ramadan usually indicates the beginning of high season Makah hotels. More than two million Muslims visit the city each year during the fasting month to perform the umrah pilgrimage. Bookings for the Ramadan season at the Makkah Hilton & Towers have…
Two luxury hotels will open in Doha by year end, and two more will open next year. The first two hotels to open are designed to be linked to the City Center building. Five luxury hotels in all are planned – two will be attached to the east side of the shopping mall and the others will be on the west. The planned hotels are the Marriot Courtyard, the Renaissance Hotel, the Doha Shangri-La, the Doha Rotana…
Victor Louis, formerly a Hilton Fujairah Resort General Manager has been named Director of Sales for the Arabian Peninsula & Indian Ocean. Mr. Louis replaces Guy Epsom who reportedly resigned in June. He will be based in the regional office at Dubai Internet City and lead the hotel group’s MEA sales team. Mr. Louise will be responsible for overseeing 19 properties in the UAE, Kuwait, Mauritius,…
The most senior official of Hilton Hotels Corporations regional operations said they plan to open 12 new properties in the GCC and add 3,370 rooms by 2012. Jean-Paul Herzog – President, Middle East and Africa said “For the regional office, we are creating new roles to cover the pipeline of hotels.” He said there will be a30% increase in their personnel headcount by the end of 2009 in order to support new…
Dubai hotel profitability continues to lead the world 35% margins in 2009 according to researchers. CBRE Hotels Vice President Armine Hamdi said their net margins are still excellent compared to other parts of the world. CBRE is a hospitality consultancy and asset management firm. Vice President Arnoud Andrieu said the average net profit in Europe now is between 18% and 20% for the five star segment. Mr.…
Abu Dhabi National Hotels announced yesterday their profits during the first half of the year increased 17.1% to Dh342.2 million, compared to the same period last year.
Abu Dhabi based Rotana Hotels plans to double the number of hotels it operates from 27 to 67 within three years. Chief Executive Selem el Zyr said he ultimately dreams of running 100 hotels. The Rotana brand was inaugurated in 1993 with Beach Rotana Hotels and Towers. Mr. el Zyr was first introduced to the hospitality industry as a 16 year old boy and decided then he would go into the business. He…
Some Dubai hotels in the economy market have begun displaying their rates outside their entrances in an effort to attract last minute walk up guests. Deloitte and Touché Partner Robert O’Hanlon explained “Public announcement of rates happens in many international cities, particularly in budget and economy range hotels, and it is not unexpected to see such a trend emerging locally as the same international brands…
New data shows that hotels continued to feel the impact of the economic slowdown last month. Analysts say Dubai has been hit especially hard because more hotel rooms became available at the same time that demand became weak, forcing hotels to cut rates sharply. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotel executive vice president for the Middle East and North Africa said “Because of the drop in occupancy there has been a bit of…
The international hotel management company Rezidor reported key indicators declined in both the Middle East and internationally in the second quarter of the year. The slowdown was less pronounced in the Middle East than in other regions. Revenue per available room (RevPar) decreased 15.2% in the Middle East and Africa between April and June 2009. Globally Rezidor’s RevPar declined 22.9%. Saudi Arabia was…
A new report by Deloitte said that hotel rates and RevPar may continue to drop in Dubai and the Middle East due to macro economic reasons and the addition of new hotel rooms. However the report highlights factors that may help the region recover in a shorter period of time. The “Deloitte Executive Report: Winter/Spring 2009” said the region has strong fundamentals and will emerge as a stronger contender among…
Etihad Guests announced it has partnered with the Australian hotel group Rendezvous Hotels and Resorts International (RHI). Etihad Guests is the loyalty programme of Etihad Airways and provides extensive benefits for more than a half million members. Etihad Guest members with a qualifying stay at a Rendezvous Hotel will earn 500 miles and members with a qualifying stay at an RHI boutique Marque hotel will earn…
