Emaar Hospitality Group, the hospitality and leisure arm of Emaar Properties, unveiled six new hotels as part of its regional and international expansion at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai. The expansion will be across Emaar’s three hotel brands, the premium Address hotel and resorts, the upscale Vida Hotels and Resorts and the midscale Rove Hotels. An Address Dubai Creek Harbour Hotel and an Address Dubai Creek Harbour Residences will be part of the 6 square kilometre development anchored by the planned world’s tallest tower, designed by Santiago Calatrava. A joint venture with Aldar Properties includes a Vida Beach Reem Island Abu Dhabi and Vida Residences Beach Reem Island, scheduled to open in 2019 or 2020. Internationally, Emaar has agreed to build a new Address Marassi Beach Resort and Address Residences Marassi Beach Resort in Egypt. Emaar Hospitality also announced the opening of its new Rove Trade Centre Hotel in the next few weeks.
“We are in a dynamic market with opportunities all around,” said Olivier Harnisch, chief executive of Emaar Hospitality. Average occupancy at its hotels is 85 per cent, above the rest of the market, said Mr Harnisch.
Emaar Hospitality currently operates 10 hotels and three serviced apartment properties with 26 projects in the pipeline. While there has been a softening in revenue per available room (revpar) in Dubai, with some segments falling 10 per cent in 2016, occupancy rates edged up 3.2 per cent to 79.7 per cent last year, according to STR.
“I don’t see a problem with over supply, its something I have been hearing about in Dubai for ten years,” said Mr Harnisch. “I think we will see some more mid-market offerings but our three Rove Hotels have been exceeding our expectations and I think the demand will remain high. We have a booming airport, a strong [meetings and events] sector, occupancy levels high and Expo 2020 getting ever nearer.”
ascott@thenational.ae
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