The London-listed Dubai property developer Damac is to open two new hotels in Business Bay as it aims to complete 10,000 serviced apartments by 2018.
Damac, which sells the apartments off-plan to investors and then rents most of them out through its rental pool, said yesterday that it was on the verge of opening its 18-storey Capital Bay and nearby Cour Jardin serviced apartment blocks in its bid to become the Middle East's largest serviced hotel provider over the next four years.
The company opened its first block of 355 serviced apartments on Dubai Mall Street on New Year’s Eve last year with rates starting at about Dh1,020 a night.
Since then it has opened the 17-storey Naia Downtown Jebel Ali block in Dubai and 211 hotel suites in its Canal Views block, also in Business Bay.
“We currently have more than 10,000 serviced hotel apartments in development, all of which will be delivered by 2018,” said the Damac managing director Ziad El Chaar. “This will position the company as one of the largest hotel apartment operators and developers in the region.”
This month Damac reported that profit during the three months to the end of September doubled to US$224.3 million as the developer benefited from handing over apartments.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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