Hyatt Hotels Corporation could bring its select services brand, Hyatt Place, to Abu Dhabi in three years, a top company executive has confirmed. The Chicago-based hotels group is also in talks to bring more properties to the region, without revealing any numbers.
Speaking to Emirates Business, Thierry Bertin, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing, International Operations, also seemed unsure if the hospitality industry could ever bounce back to 2007 price levels.
"Last year Dubai saw its room rates drop by 30 per cent, with a 30 per cent decline also in revPAR (revenue per available room)," he said. "But Q1 2010 is looking good for the group, not just here, but globally."
Asked if the possibility of prices stabilising in this market was a distinct possibility this year, and Bertin appeared most skeptical, saying: "It's always about supply and demand. The situation in Dubai is good, but there has been a 16 per cent increase in the supply of hotel rooms. That drives prices."
He added: "Would we ever reach those peak 2007 levels again? Maybe it may never happen, as all those factors won't fall in place again."
Prompted further, he said: "Petrol prices, the boom in the real estate sector, expansion, artificial growth, all of this created a big balloon. We can't see us going back to that. We are depending on regions and markets in Europe to drive tourism growth, and this is a market which is going through a terrible phase - not a growing environment at all. France, Spain, Greece, Italy and UK are all stagnating.
"Demand for Dubai is looking positive currently as we have seven million annual tourists passing through here and we have potential to hit 10 million. But does this mean we can have massive growth here long-term, probably not."
Having said that, Bertin revealed that the group is looking to bring its select services brand to this market.
He said: "We are going to bring Hyatt Place to the Middle East in three years, and are looking at Abu Dhabi for this venture.
"We already have two properties in the capital that are opening shortly, including the Hyatt Capital Gate, together with Adnec by the end of this year.
The second would be the Park Hyatt on Saadiyat Island in the second quarter of 2011, which will be the first hotel there."
Speaking about the future project plans for the UAE, Bertin said: "I can't say, but we are looking at opportunities and developments in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia. Globally, we have nearly 100 hotels under construction, but there's no way to tell how many are under discussion."
Bertin said that the Hyatt group has not delayed construction or cancelled any deals in wake of last year's economic downturn. However, the group was not immune to the market setback.
He also said markets such as India and China will drive the expansion. The company has already announced Hyatt plans to grow its presence in Delhi, Goa, Kolkata and Mumbai, as well as expand into 15 new Indian markets, including Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune, over the next five years. Three of these properties will open by Q4 2010.
By Bindu Suresh Rai
© Emirates Business 24/7 2010
