London's Maybourne Group is keen to have a presence in booming Dubai's hospitality sector in the medium-to-long term, a top company official said recently.
"Visitors from the Middle East now account for only six per cent of our total guests.
We want to raise it to nine per cent in the next few years," said Geraldine McKenna, chief executive of Maybourne Hotel Group, who was in Dubai last week as part of the group's first GCC roadshow.
"There has been an increase in the number of visitors from this region to the United Kingdom. We are seeking increased number of guests from the Middle East," she added.
She said Dubai is an excellent destination and one of the most attractive places for international hotels. "Hence we have already decided to open one of our hotels here and are looking for the right location.
"Although we are looking at downtown Dubai, we will wait until the new projects open, most of which are located outside the city, before taking a final decision."
The Group, which plans to add 15 to 20 hotels in its portfolio, might have a presence in Dubai, in the medium-to-long term, said McKenna.
Her company has appointed Mohammad Al Gezairy Consultants, a Dubai-based hospitality consultants group, to create awareness of the three properties in the regional markets.
The group, which emerged a few months ago following the buyout of London's renowned Savoy Hotel by Saudi billionaire Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz, is also seeking more visitors from the Gulf, a top company official has said.
Maybourne Hotel Group, headquartered in Mayfair, London, owns and manages The Berkeley, Claridge's and The Connaught, three of the world's most renowned hotels.
McKenna said, "The creation of Maybourne Hotel Group is the start of a new era. Our aim is to add to our existing hotels by identifying and acquiring landmark properties in key gateway cities around the world. Our vision is to build and grow, while cherishing the individual personality of our hotels, our customers and our people."
She said her group's share in London's luxury tourism market is about 35 per cent. Most of her hotel guests are from North America, especially the United States a market badly affected by September 11, from which her hotels could not recover as yet.
Hotel occupancy in London is going up, she said. "But is still less than the 2000 level and one of the reasons we are now focusing on the Middle East is to really encourage Middle Eastern guests to stay in our hotels."
The Maybourne Group will invest more than Dh700 million on refurbishment and expansion of its hotels. Revenue from Maybourne's hotel guests accounts for about 50 per cent of its total annual income.
It has an employee to room ratio of about 2.1:1, which allows employees to pay individual attention to guests.
Gulf News
