Emaar Hospitality to open five Dubai hotels in 2019

Company struck deal last year to sell five hotels to Abu Dhabi National Hotels

Emaar Hospitality is increasing the number of hotel rooms in Dubai ahead of Expo 2020. AFP

Emaar Hospitality, a subsidiary of Dubai’s biggest listed property developer, said it will open five hotels this year as it expands its offering in the emirate in the run-up to Expo 2020 Dubai.

The new hotels in Dubai this year include two under its premium Address Hotels + Resorts collection, another two under its upscale Vida Hotels and Resorts brand and a fifth under its mid-scale Rove brand, a joint venture between Emaar Properties and Dubai real estate developer Meraas.

“We are committed to supporting the Dubai Tourism Strategy [objective] of welcoming 25 million annual visitors by 2025 through our robust portfolio of upcoming hotel projects, and will also focus on expanding our geographic footprint through new hotel management agreements,” said Chris Newman, chief operating officer of Emaar Hospitality Group, in a statement on Wednesday.

Emaar Hospitality is the official hotel partner of the Expo 2020 mega-event, which will run for six months from October next year.

Under its newest plans, Emaar Hospitality will open the 193-room Address Fountain Views and 169-room Address Sky View hotels, both in Downtown Dubai, over the coming months. The two new Vida hotels are in the new Creek Harbour scheme, which will together add 794 rooms and suites to Dubai’s hotel inventory.

Meanwhile, the Rove At The Park hotel will be located at Dubai’s theme park destination Dubai Parks and Resorts, and feature 579 rooms. “All the hotels have commenced online booking and the response from guests is strong,” the company said.

Emaar Hospitality last year struck a Dh2.2 billion deal to sell five of its flagship hotel assets to state-backed Abu Dhabi National Hotels (ADNH) – a transaction that completed this February, Emaar Properties said.

The hotels sale was part of a company strategy to dispose of non-core assets to finance future growth and expand Emaar Hospitality’s hotel management portfolio while remaining asset-light.

ADNH, one of the biggest hotel owners in Abu Dhabi, agreed to buy the Address Dubai Mall, Address Boulevard, Address Dubai Marina, Vida Downtown and Manzil Downtown, which together account for around 1,000 hotel rooms.