Saturday, May 08, 2010
Gulf News
Dubai Unperturbed by econ-omic or political turmoil, Kuwaiti hotel group Safir Hotels and Resorts will triple the number of its properties by 2015.
"Even in the midst of global economic uncertainty our expansion will fare exceptionally well thanks to our resilience proven in surviving the Kuwaiti invasion. We know how to operate in challenging environments without downgrading our service," Helmut Meckelburg, chief executive of Safir International Hotel Management, told Gulf News.
Safir opened a hotel in the Iraqi city of Kerbala last September and it is running at 90 per cent occupancy, he said.
A subsidiary of Kuwait Hotels Company and boasting the Kuwait Projects Holding Company, or Kipco, as its major shareholder, Safir has been in operation since 1993. "We are privately run yet with the government as a silent shareholder. So we enjoy a strong financial background," Meckelburg said.
Budget brand
The Safir brand comes in four and five stars and is adding a budget brand to the mix. With four existing properties in Kuwait, two in both Egypt and Syria and one in Algeria, the expansion plan takes in Morocco, Turkey, India, Sudan, Iran, Oman and the UAE. Some will open as soon as next year or 2012 and the Safir Doha Hotel this year. Another Kuwaiti property, the Safir Hotel and Residences in Fintas, will come on line in December.
"We used to have a property in Dubai and now we need to have a presence here again; also in Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah. We're opening a property in Salalah, Oman, in June," the chief executive said.
Meckelberg is also willing to look at other countries in Africa, listing Angola, Nigeria and Gabon as possibilities.
"We're ready to look at challenging countries; they offer good returns. In Africa, we would go with a three or four-star or budget hotel. We put a property in Yemen on hold as it hasn't got the population to match the opportunity that Iran, for example, offers."
By Nicole Walter
Gulf News 2010. All rights reserved.
