Hotel fit-out companies and suppliers are reaping the reward of a region-wide hospitality boom as operators invest bumper profits into renovating old properties and building new ones.
The British company ISG, which focuses on office and hotel fit-outs is one of the companies benefiting from the trend. It cited the return of market confidence in Dubai as one of the reasons behind its growth in regional earnings.
During the year, it secured a £21 million (Dh125.2m) project at the Kempinski Mall of the Emirates Grand Hotel to refurbish the property’s 393 guest rooms, suites, ski chalets, meeting rooms, gym and spa.
Its Middle East order book has increased to £34m at the end of June from £15m last year.
The three-day Hotel Show at Dubai World Trade Center that runs until September 30 is expected to draw huge interest from international groups eyeing contracts from the regional industry, where thousands of new hotel rooms are under construction.
Orders worth more than US$860 million were placed at the show last year with expected spending of almost $3 billion more for the year ahead. The buying season for a new hotel ranges from 18 months to three years. In Dubai alone, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing expects at least 139 hotel establishments, including 91 hotels and 48 hotel apartments, to be built through 2016.
Last month, Dubai reported an 8.6 per cent increase in hotel room supply as demand rose 10.9 per cent, according to STR Global data. Occupancy rose 2.1 per cent, increasing to 75.1 per cent.
“There is a huge increase in the number of suppliers this year as the show closely follows the growth in the hospitality sector in Dubai,” said Christine Davidson, the event director for DMG Events organising the 15th edition of the trade fair.”
She cited Expo2020 in Dubai and the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Doha as among the reasons for the increase in investment.
The organisers expect a 10 per cent rise in the number of visitors looking to invest, design and build as well as to refurbish and fit out hotels, restaurants, leisure destinations and resorts. The event reported 16,700 attendees from 98 countries last year.
The number of suppliers for new technology, for instance, increased by 31 per cent for this year’s exhibition as hoteliers seek to tap into the changing guest profiles, more of whom prefer reserving rooms on mobile gadgets, or develop websites to take direct bookings.
The trade show started with 100 exhibitors in 1999, when Dubai had 378 hotels, according to Ms Davidson. This year it will have about 600 exhibitors at a time when Dubai has 634 hotels and hotel apartments.
Chinese suppliers form the largest contingent, numbering more than 60. German and Italian suppliers have traditionally formed the top suppliers at the exhibition.
Canon Emirates, which supplies hotels with IT security equipment, has noticed that the sector has gained traction, according to Shadi Bakhour, its general manager. It has contracts with Rixos and Fairmont hotels on The Palm, besides Yas Viceroy, Anantara Dubai The Palm Resort and Spa and the Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Lakes Towers.
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