Tuesday, Apr 25, 2017

Dubai: Time Hotels Management announced on Tuesday plans for a new four-star hotel in Dubai where 80 per cent of the staff members will be female, with dedicated facilities at the hotel for female guests.

The Time Asma Hotel, which will be located in Al Barsha, is due to open in the fourth quarter of 2017.

“The concept will provide career opportunities for more than 100 women, contributing towards goals set out by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to increase the presence of women in the workplace,” said Mohammad Awadallah, chief executive officer of Time Hotels.

Awadallah said the hotel will advance the case for having more women in hospitality board rooms as women continue to be under-represented in the hospitality industry especially in senior management positions.

“We see almost equal numbers of male and female graduates leaving hospitality school, but fewer women enter in the hotel workforce, which shows the industry must do more to attract and support female professionals and their aspirations for career development,” the CEO said.

He was speaking at a press conference at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the hospitality and aviation event currently taking place in Dubai.

The new property will have two floors reserved exclusively for female travellers, and will have services that include a female-only check-in counter, female-only guest relations, and babysitting services, among others. The hotel will also offer its guests female-only parking spaces.

The hotel is also aiming to capitalise on growth in women’s spending and the increase in the number of solo female travellers. Women reportedly make around 80 per cent of all decisions concerning travel and spend more than $125 billion every year on travel.

Away from this property, Time is scheduled to open new properties over the coming 10 months in Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, Luxor, Riyadh, Jeddah, and Doha.

Staff Report

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